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Migrant Boat Sinks off Tunisia with at Least Eight Dead, 29 Rescued

Representation photo: Refugees and migrants are rescued by members of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms in the Mediterranean Sea on Nov. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Sergi Camara, File)
Representation photo: Refugees and migrants are rescued by members of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms in the Mediterranean Sea on Nov. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Sergi Camara, File)
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Migrant Boat Sinks off Tunisia with at Least Eight Dead, 29 Rescued

Representation photo: Refugees and migrants are rescued by members of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms in the Mediterranean Sea on Nov. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Sergi Camara, File)
Representation photo: Refugees and migrants are rescued by members of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms in the Mediterranean Sea on Nov. 11, 2020. (AP Photo/Sergi Camara, File)

Tunisia's coast guard on Monday recovered the bodies of eight African migrants after their boat sank off the country's coast as it sailed towards Europe, a security official told Reuters, adding that 29 other people were rescued.

The boat sank in waters off the city of Abwabed near Sfax, a departure point often used by African migrants.

Search operations were underway for possible missing persons, said Houssem Eddine Jebabli, an official in the national guard.

Tunisia is grappling with an unprecedented migration crisis and has replaced Libya as a major departure point for both Tunisians and others in Africa seeking a better life in Europe. 

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Arab World

Lebanon's Aoun will Not Hold a Call with Israel's Netanyahu in the Near future, Three Lebanese Officials Say

(L/R) US State Department Counselor Michael Needham, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanon's Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter stand together before meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)
(L/R) US State Department Counselor Michael Needham, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanon's Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter stand together before meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)
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Lebanon's Aoun will Not Hold a Call with Israel's Netanyahu in the Near future, Three Lebanese Officials Say

(L/R) US State Department Counselor Michael Needham, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanon's Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter stand together before meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)
(L/R) US State Department Counselor Michael Needham, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa, Lebanon's Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh Moawad, and Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter stand together before meeting at the State Department in Washington, DC, on April 14, 2026. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP)

Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun will not hold a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the near future, three Lebanese officials told Reuters on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump said leaders of both countries would speak.

Two of the Lebanese officials said that the Lebanese embassy in Washington had informed the US administration before a call between Aoun and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday that Aoun would not speak to Netanyahu.

Also, AFP said a Lebanese official source affirmed that Lebanon has not been informed of any planned contact with the Israeli side.

Arab World

Lebanon President Thanks Rubio During Phone Call for US Efforts to Reach Ceasefire

FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a joint press conference with German President Steinmeier (not pictured) at the presidential palace. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a joint press conference with German President Steinmeier (not pictured) at the presidential palace. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
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Lebanon President Thanks Rubio During Phone Call for US Efforts to Reach Ceasefire

FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a joint press conference with German President Steinmeier (not pictured) at the presidential palace. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa
FILED - 16 February 2026, Lebanon, Beirut: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun speaks during a joint press conference with German President Steinmeier (not pictured) at the presidential palace. Photo: Markus Lenhardt/dpa

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Thursday thanked US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for Washington's efforts to reach a ceasefire in Lebanon.

Aoun received a telephone call from Rubio and "thanked him for the efforts Washington has been making to reach a ceasefire", a statement from the Lebanese president's office said.

It did not mention any possible call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after US President Donald Trump said the Lebanese and Israeli "leaders" would speak on Thursday, with an Israeli minister saying Netanyahu and Aoun would talk.

Arab World

Israeli Strike Severs Last Bridge Linking Southern Lebanon to Rest of Country

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in Nabatieh, Lebanon, April 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in Nabatieh, Lebanon, April 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
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Israeli Strike Severs Last Bridge Linking Southern Lebanon to Rest of Country

Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in Nabatieh, Lebanon, April 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer
Smoke rises following an Israeli strike in Nabatieh, Lebanon, April 16, 2026. REUTERS/Stringer

An Israeli strike has severed the last bridge linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country, a senior Lebanese security official told Reuters on Thursday, adding that the strike “shattered” the bridge and left no possibility of repairing it.

The state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported that “enemy warplanes carried out two consecutive strikes targeting the Qasmieh bridge, the remaining crossing linking the Tyre area to the city of Sidon, completely destroying it.”

The agency also said that Lebanon’s main highway linking Beirut and Damascus was closed on Thursday after an air strike targeted a car, killing one person.

Since March 2, the Israeli army has successively destroyed four main bridges over the Litani River, which divides southern Lebanon into two parts.

Two days ago, the ambassadors of Lebanon and Israel in Washington met at the US State Department to discuss announcing a ceasefire and setting a date to begin negotiations between Lebanon and Israel under US auspices.

Lebanon’s president had launched an initiative on March 9 based on a full truce, a halt to all Israeli attacks, support for the Lebanese army, the army’s control over areas of tension and confiscation of all weapons there, and the start of negotiations with Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the talks would focus on disarming Hezbollah and establishing peaceful relations between the two neighboring countries.