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France Rescues More than 200 Migrants in Channel

STR / AFP | Migrants attempting to cross the English Channel drift in an inflatable canoe off the French coast at Calais on August 4, 2018, before being rescued by lifeguards.
STR / AFP | Migrants attempting to cross the English Channel drift in an inflatable canoe off the French coast at Calais on August 4, 2018, before being rescued by lifeguards.
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France Rescues More than 200 Migrants in Channel

STR / AFP | Migrants attempting to cross the English Channel drift in an inflatable canoe off the French coast at Calais on August 4, 2018, before being rescued by lifeguards.
STR / AFP | Migrants attempting to cross the English Channel drift in an inflatable canoe off the French coast at Calais on August 4, 2018, before being rescued by lifeguards.

More than 200 migrants were rescued as they tried to cross the Channel in makeshift boats to reach Britain, French authorities said late Tuesday.

In seven separate operations between Monday and Tuesday evening, 210 migrants, including four women and a child, were rescued and brought back to the north French coast after their boats were in difficulty, they said in a statement.

They were brought back to Calais, Dunkirk or Boulogne and taken care of by the border police and, in some cases, firefighters or the maritime emergency medical service, according to AFP.

Increasing numbers of migrants have tried to cross to Britain by sea since late 2018, despite authorities' warnings of the dangers in the busy shipping lane, which is also subject to strong currents and low temperatures.

The approach of winter has also not deterred people from attempting the hazardous crossing.

Last Thursday, the body of a migrant was found in a waterlogged boat on a beach in Wissant, alongside two people suffering from hypothermia.

According to Vice-Admiral Philippe Dutrieux, who heads the coastal forces for the Channel, about 15,400 migrants attempted the crossing in the first eight months of this year: 3,500 of whom were recovered "in difficulty" before being brought back to France.

In 2020, around 9,500 people made or attempted crossings, compared with 2,300 in 2019 and 600 in 2018.

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Suspected Militants Kill Police Officer Assigned to Guard Polio Team as Nationwide Campaign Begins in Pakistan

Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
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Suspected Militants Kill Police Officer Assigned to Guard Polio Team as Nationwide Campaign Begins in Pakistan

Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN
Health workers administer polio vaccines to children during a campaign in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, 13 April 2026. EPA/SAOOD REHMAN

Suspected militants opened fire on a vehicle carrying police officers assigned to protect polio workers in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing one of them and wounding four others before fleeing the scene, police said. Two attackers were killed when police returned fire, The Associated Press said.

The shooting occurred in Hangu, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, shortly after Pakistan launched its second nationwide anti-polio campaign of the year, according to local police official Mahmood Alam.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban and local militant groups, which often carry out similar attacks in the region and elsewhere. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only countries where polio has not been eradicated, according to the World Health Organization.

First lady Aseefa Bhutto Zardari urged families to ensure their children are vaccinated during the weeklong drive, which aims to reach more than 45 million children under 5 across all provinces and regions. She said the campaign will be conducted in coordination with Afghanistan, reflecting a shared commitment to interrupt cross-border transmission and close remaining gaps.

Aseefa is the daughter of President Asif Ali Zardari and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed in a 2007 gun and bomb attack by militants, and who had personally overseen initiatives aimed at eliminating polio during her tenure. In a statement, she said “Pakistan stands at a crucial moment in the fight against polio.” She said while the country is closer than ever to eradication, “the final stretch remains the most challenging.”

Highlighting recent gains, she said 31 polio cases were reported nationwide in 2025, while only one case has so far been recorded this year, but warned against complacency.

Pakistan’s polio eradication program has been running anti-polio campaigns for years, though health workers and the police assigned to protect them are often targeted by militants who falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.

Authorities have deployed thousands of police officers to protect workers following intelligence warnings of possible attacks. More than 200 polio workers and the police assigned to guard them have been killed in Pakistan since the 1990s, according to officials.

World

Israelis Oppose Iran Ceasefire, Divided Over Whether to Respect It, Poll Says

Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate with placards in HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government in Tel Aviv on April 11, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate with placards in HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government in Tel Aviv on April 11, 2026. (AFP)
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Israelis Oppose Iran Ceasefire, Divided Over Whether to Respect It, Poll Says

Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate with placards in HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government in Tel Aviv on April 11, 2026. (AFP)
Israeli left-wing activists demonstrate with placards in HaBima Square against the ongoing war with Iran and against the Israeli government in Tel Aviv on April 11, 2026. (AFP)

Nearly two-thirds ‌of Israelis oppose the Iran ceasefire, but the public is divided over whether Israel should respect the two-week truce or resume attacks on Iran, according to a poll from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The poll was the first national survey of Israelis conducted after the US and Iran agreed last week to a ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, the survey's authors said. The two sides failed to reach a broader deal to end the war in weekend talks in Islamabad.

The ceasefire has halted ‌US and Israeli ‌airstrikes on Iran. But it has not ‌ended ⁠a parallel war ⁠between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, where the Israeli military has continued deadly bombardment that has killed many civilians. Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets at Israeli towns in the country's north.

On Lebanon, more than 61 percent of Israelis believe the truce should not extend to the fighting with ⁠Hezbollah, a core demand by Iran in talks with ‌the US, according to ‌the poll, conducted by researchers at Hebrew University's Agam Labs.

Asked what Israel ‌should do about Iran, 39 percent said Israel should ‌continue attacks, 41 percent said their country should respect the ceasefire, and 19 percent said they weren't sure, the poll said.

The poll was based on a sample of 1,312 Israelis interviewed from April 9-10, ‌with a margin of error of 3.2 percent.

With the fate of the Iran ceasefire ⁠unclear, Israel ⁠is digging in for a long, drawn-out conflict across the Middle East, with Israeli officials concluding that their enemies in Iran, Lebanon, Gaza and beyond cannot be eliminated outright.

The public's perception of Israel's military success in Iran holds high stakes for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces an election due by October that most public opinion polls show he will lose.

According to the Hebrew University poll, Netanyahu's standing among Israelis has decreased since the start of the Iran war, with 34 percent of Israelis preferring him as premier now versus 40 percent at the start of the conflict.

World

Macron Confirms Conference with UK to Examine Possible Defensive Naval Mission for Hormuz

France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Macron Confirms Conference with UK to Examine Possible Defensive Naval Mission for Hormuz

France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)
France's President Emmanuel Macron leaves the Vatican after a private audience with Pope Leo XIV, on April 10, 2026. (AFP)

France will soon organize with Britain a conference aimed at restoring freedom of navigation on the Strait of Hormuz, President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday, adding ‌that any ‌such naval mission ‌would ⁠be done on a ⁠strictly defensive basis only.

"With regards to the Strait of Hormuz, we will be ⁠organizing in the coming ‌days ‌a conference with the ‌United Kingdom and those ‌countries willing to join us in a peaceful multinational mission aimed at ‌restoring freedom of navigation in the ⁠strait," Macron ⁠said on X.

"This strictly defensive mission, which will be separate from the warring parties, is intended to be deployed as soon as the situation allows," he added.