Tunisian PM Cancels Italy Trip after Minister Gets Virus

Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi. (AP)
Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi. (AP)
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Tunisian PM Cancels Italy Trip after Minister Gets Virus

Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi. (AP)
Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi. (AP)

Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi canceled a planned visit Tuesday to Italy at the last minute, after one of his ministers accompanying him on a visit to France tested positive for the coronavirus.

Mechichi had been on a three-day trip to France, where he met French Prime Minister Jean Castex, as well as the presidents of the Senate and the National Assembly.

Castex's office said French officials who attended the meeting have been informed. Since sanitary protocols were respected, Castex is not considered as having been in close contact with an infected person, his office said.

Senior French political officials have repeatedly said that they adhere to strict sanitary rules during the pandemic.

According to the official TAP news agency, Minister of Economy and Finance Ali Kooli was found positive for Covid-19 during tests carried out in Paris before the planned trip to Rome. TAP reported that the other members of the delegation tested negative for the virus.



Israeli Military Says It Intercepted Missile Launched from Yemen

Footage released by Houthi Military Media says to show a launch of missile, which the Houthis say they fired at Israel, at an unknown location in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released on December 19, 2024. HOUTHI MILITARY MEDIA/via REUTERS
Footage released by Houthi Military Media says to show a launch of missile, which the Houthis say they fired at Israel, at an unknown location in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released on December 19, 2024. HOUTHI MILITARY MEDIA/via REUTERS
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Israeli Military Says It Intercepted Missile Launched from Yemen

Footage released by Houthi Military Media says to show a launch of missile, which the Houthis say they fired at Israel, at an unknown location in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released on December 19, 2024. HOUTHI MILITARY MEDIA/via REUTERS
Footage released by Houthi Military Media says to show a launch of missile, which the Houthis say they fired at Israel, at an unknown location in this screen grab obtained from a handout video released on December 19, 2024. HOUTHI MILITARY MEDIA/via REUTERS

Israel's military intercepted a missile early on Wednesday that was launched from Yemen and crossed into Israeli territory, the army said.
Sirens were activated due to the possibility of falling shrapnel from the interception, the army said in a statement.
Magen David Adom ambulance service said in a statement that it had received reports of approximately nine people injured on their way to the protected area.
"For the 5th time in a week, millions of Israelis were sent to shelter as Houthi terrorists in Yemen launched a missile attack," the Israeli military said in a post on X.
The Iran-backed Houthi group has repeatedly fired drones and missiles towards Israel in what it has described as acts of solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.