DAMASCUS -- At least thirty-four people were dead and several others injured after a boat carrying immigrants from Lebanon capsized in the Syrian territorial water on Thursday, the Syria Health Ministry announced.

Twenty people onboard the ship were rescued and are currently receiving medical treatment in the coastal city of Tartous, near which the boat sank off, said the ministry, adding that the search is still underway. (Syria-Migrants-Death)

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SAN SALVADOR -- At least seven people died Thursday in El Salvador, including a family of five, after heavy rains caused landslides that toppled homes, the country's General Directorate of Civil Protection said.

The victims died in two "very unfortunate" events, the director of the National Civil Protection System, Luis Alonso Amaya, told local media. (El Salvador-Landslides)

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LONDON -- The Bank of England (BoE) raised its benchmark interest rate to 2.25 percent on Thursday, the highest level since December 2008.

This is the seventh consecutive rate hike since December last year as the BoE continues its fight against soaring inflation in the country, which hit 9.9 percent in August, far above the BoE's 2 percent target. (Britain-Economy-Interest Rate)

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ABUJA -- Authorities in Nigeria's northeastern state of Gombe on Thursday declared an outbreak of cholera after recording at least 10 deaths arising from the disease.

A total of 236 cases of cholera were recorded as of Tuesday, Habu Dahiru, the commissioner for health in Gombe, told reporters in Gombe city, the state's capital, while declaring an outbreak of the disease in at least eight wards of the Balanga local government area. (Nigeria-Cholera-Death)

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ISLAMABAD -- At least seven people were killed and two others injured in monsoon rain-triggered flash floods during the last 24 hours in Pakistan, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said.

Five children and a woman were among those who lost their lives in separate flood-related incidents, according to an NDMA report released Wednesday evening. (Pakistan-Floods-Death)