20 migrants missing after boat sinks near Tunisia

Tunis: At least 20 African migrants were missing on Saturday after their boat sank off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, a judicial official said, amidst a sharp rise in migrant boats from the North African country. The coast guard rescued 17 others off the southern city of Sfax from the same boat, two of whom are in critical condition, Sfax court judge Faouzi Masmousdi said. In recent weeks, dozens have gome missing and died in repeated drowning accidents off the Tunisian coast. Reuters

Suspicious Afghan sneaks into Pak PM’s house

Islamabad: A suspicious man sneaked inside the house of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif despite tight security at the residence of the chief executive of the country, which is a highly sensitive site, media reports said on Saturday citing sources. The suspect was immediately taken into custody by the Counter Terrorism Department of the Islamabad Police and has been shifted to an unknown place. The suspect claims to be a resident of Afghanistan, as per reports. IANS

Missing six-year-old Texas boy feared dead

Houston: A missing 6-year-old boy from Texas, whose parents fled to India from the US and face felony charges of abandoning and endangering their child, is believed to be dead, a top police official has said. Noel Rodriguez-Alvarez, who has special needs, was last seen in November shortly after his twin sisters were born in October last year. Everman Police Chief Craig Spencer said on Thursday that the search for the missing boy is now a death investigation. PTI

Brazil returns to Union of South American Nations

Brasilia: Brazil has announced it will official rejoin the Union of South American Nations, from which it withdrew in 2019. “As Brazil resumes its main international alliances, it will once again join the Union of South American Nations,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. It added that the measure will take effect on May 6 and “places the country back in the group created during President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s second administration”, as per reports. IANS

PIO pushed outside Singapore mall, dies

Singapore: An Indian-origin man has died after he was pushed in the chest by another man and fell down a flight of stairs outside a shopping mall in Singapore. Thevandran Shanmugam, 34, fell backwards down the stairs at Concorde Shopping Mall on Orchard Road last month. He sustained multiple fractures to his skull and was taken to a hospital, reported The Straits Times newspaper on Friday. He was cremated at Mandai Crematorium on Friday evening, it said.