TUNIS: The Tunisian coast guard said Thursday it had recovered the bodies of 13 migrants after a shipwreck off Sfax, the port where violent clashes erupted last week between migrants and residents.
“Last night, units affiliated with the Sfax maritime region thwarted an attempted illegal crossing and rescued 25 sub-Saharan migrants, but 13 bodies were also recovered,” the coast guard statement said.
Sfax is the North African country’s second largest city and a departure point for migrants seeking to reach European shores across the Mediterranean.

RIYADH: On his first trip to Saudi Arabia since being appointed the first EU special representative for the Gulf region, Luigi Di Maio has told Arab News that recent world events show that new collaborations are needed.

He was responding to the question whether European nations can afford to ignore the rise of the GCC and Arab Gulf states in a multipolar world.

NAIROBI: Iran’s president has begun a rare visit to Africa as his country, which is under heavy US economic sanctions, seeks to deepen partnerships around the world.

President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Kenya on Wednesday is the first to the African continent by an Iranian leader in more than a decade. He is also expected to visit Uganda and Zimbabwe and meet with the presidents there.

BATABO, Syria: Syrians in the country’s last rebel enclave expressed alarm on Wednesday after the UN Security Council failed to renew an aid delivery mechanism to the area, imperilling critical humanitarian assistance.

The UN largely delivers relief to northwest Syria via neighboring Turkiye through the Bab Al-Hawa crossing, but the deal to do so expired on Monday.

Russia on Tuesday vetoed a nine-month extension of the agreement, and then failed to muster enough votes to adopt just a six-month extension, during a vote at UN headquarters in New York.

JUBA: Sudan’s pro-democracy movement has faced innumerable challenges and setbacks since the Sudanese Armed Forces and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces plunged the nation into a violent power struggle in April, triggering a major humanitarian emergency.

Driven by a desire for peace, representative governance and social justice, pro-democracy activists have nevertheless remained committed to Sudan’s transformation, making use of the same grassroots networks that helped overthrow long-time ruler Omar Bashir in 2019.