One Dies, Dozens Missing in Shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa

Migrants on board of NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat looks at boat Guardia Costiera heading to Lampedusa island, in central Mediterranean Sea, close to Lampedusa island, Italy, August 19, 2022. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo
Migrants on board of NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat looks at boat Guardia Costiera heading to Lampedusa island, in central Mediterranean Sea, close to Lampedusa island, Italy, August 19, 2022. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo
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One Dies, Dozens Missing in Shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa

Migrants on board of NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat looks at boat Guardia Costiera heading to Lampedusa island, in central Mediterranean Sea, close to Lampedusa island, Italy, August 19, 2022. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo
Migrants on board of NGO Proactiva Open Arms Uno rescue boat looks at boat Guardia Costiera heading to Lampedusa island, in central Mediterranean Sea, close to Lampedusa island, Italy, August 19, 2022. REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo

A migrant boat carrying around 35 people sailing from Libya capsized in the central Mediterranean leaving one confirmed dead and two dozen missing, UNICEF country coordinator for Italy said on Sunday.

The rescue operation was carried out on Friday off the coast of Italy's Lampedusa island by the Italian Coast Guard, which saved 11 migrants, including four children travelling alone, and recovered the body of a pregnant woman, UNICEF's Nicola Dell'Arciprete said, Reuters reported.

The survivors and the body were brought to Lampedusa, while the remaining passengers remain unaccounted for.

The boat capsized after two days at sea, Dell'Arciprete said.

More than 32,700 migrants have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean since 2014, including an estimated one in five who were children, according to data from United Nations agencies, Dell'Arciprete said.

Commenting on the news of the shipwreck on social media platform X, Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesperson for the United Nations' International Organization for Migration, said that at least 916 migrants had died in the central Mediterranean so far in 2025.



NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
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NATO: Ukraine Still Receiving Arms Despite Mideast War

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte via Reuters/File

Ukraine is still getting essential defense equipment despite the war in the Middle East, which is depleting stockpiles in Europe and the United States, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Thursday.

"The good news is that essential equipment into Ukraine continues to flow," he told reporters. That included American-made Patriot missile interceptors, which Ukraine desperately needs, he added, AFP reported.

The PURL program, launched last year, allows Ukraine to receive US equipment financed by European countries.

Some 75 percent of the missiles used by Patriot batteries in Ukraine have been supplied through the program, and 90 percent of the munitions used by other air-defense systems, Rutte added.

Rutte called on European countries to increase their own production capacity.

"They need to produce more extra production lines, extra shifts, opening new factories. The money is there," he said.


Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
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Germany FM Says 'Encouraging' if US Speaking Directly to Iran

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul. (Reuters: File Photo)

Germany's foreign minister Thursday said it was encouraging if the United States was talking directly to Iran to end the war in the Middle East, but Washington should make its intentions clear.

"I hear that there are signs that the US is speaking directly to Iran. I think that this is encouraging and this is welcome," Johann Wadephul told reporters before heading into the meeting of G7 foreign ministers outside Paris, AFP reported.

With US Secretary of State Marco Rubio set to join the discussions from Friday, he added: "For the German government it is of great importance to know precisely what our American partners are intending."


US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
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US Envoy Witkoff Says Iran is Seeking an Off-ramp

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, March 26, 2026. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

The United States has sent Iran a "15-point action list" as a basis for negotiations to end the current conflict, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday, adding that there are signs that Tehran was interested in making a deal.

 

Witkoff, speaking during a cabinet meeting at the White House, said that the nascent talks could be successful if the Iranians realize there were no good alternatives - a realization Tehran might be coming to, he argued, Reuters reported.

 

"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them other than more death and destruction," Witkoff told reporters.

 

"We have strong signs that this is a possibility."

 

Witkoff said Pakistan had been acting as a mediator, confirming statements from Pakistani officials.