Tunisia recovers bodies of 19 migrants
The bodies of 19 people have been recovered off the coast of Tunisia, one of the primary points of departure for those seeking to traverse the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
The Tunisian coast guard said it had recovered the bodies on Tuesday near the port cities of Mahdia and Sfax, the country’s secondlargest city where migrants have in recent weeks clashed with law enforcement.
Despite the risks, migrants continue to attempt the treacherous voyage from North Africa to Europe, travelling in boats from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya to Italy, Greece, Malta, and Spain’s Canary Islands.
More than 49,000 people have come to Europe by sea this year, including more than 7,000 from Tunisia to Italy.
Many more have attempted the journey, including thousands who have been intercepted by North African authorities and an estimated 473 believed to be dead or missing, according to the UN’S International Organisation for Migration.
Tunisian authorities said they have arrested five smugglers. Human trafficking charges typically carry lengthy sentences of up to 20 years.
Japan: Japan’s first Moon lander has survived a third freezing lunar night, the country’s space agency said, after receiving an image from the device three months after it landed on the surface.
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said the lunar probe responded to a signal from Earth on Tuesday night, confirming it has survived another weekslong lunar night.
Temperatures can fall to minus 170C during a lunar night, and rise to around 100C during a lunar day.
The probe, Smart Lander for Investing Moon (Slim), reached the lunar surface on January 20, making Japan the fifth country to successfully place a probe on the Moon.
On January 20, Slim landed the wrong way up with its solar panels initially unable to see the Sun, and had to be turned off within hours, but powered on when the Sun rose eight days later.
Slim, which was tasked with testing Japan’s pinpoint landing technology and collecting geological data and images, has not been designed to survive lunar nights.
Djibouti: An explosion has been reported close to a ship near the strategic Bab el-mandeb Strait, marking what may be a new attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels through the crucial waterway for international trade.
The explosion, reported by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre, comes after a relative lull from the Houthis after they launched dozens of attacks on shipping in the region over Israel’s ongoing war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for the blast, but suspicion fell on the group as they have repeatedly targeted ships in the same area.
It typically takes the Houthis several hours before acknowledging their assaults.
The explosion happened some 80 miles south-east of Djibouti in the Gulf of Aden.