Middle East

Beirut: Six people were injured in an Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon on Monday. In a statement, the Lebanese Ministry of Health's Health Emergency Operations Center said that an Israeli airstrike on the town of Qaqaiyat Al Jisr in the Nabatieh district of southern Lebanon resulted in injuries to six citizens. The death toll from the Israeli aggression against Lebanon has risen to 2,387 dead, in addition to 7,602 wounded.

Gulf

Jeddah: HH Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud met Monday with Chairman of Sudan's Transitional Sovereign Council Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, who is visiting Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, both sides reviewed the latest developments in Sudan and their repercussions , as well as the efforts being made regarding them. They underlined ensuring the security and stability of Sudan and preserving its sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity.

Europe

Berlin: Efforts to rescue a humpback whale stranded for weeks on Germany's Baltic Sea coast were complicated Monday when the animal unexpectedly swam away but then appeared to have got stuck again. The 13.5-metre (44-foot) whale and its struggle for survival have captured the hearts of the German public, with some of the press calling him "Timmy". Rescuers had cleared sand away from the spot where the whale had been stuck for around three weeks off the island of Poel, near Wismar, and sent a tugboat to be used in the rescue effort. The plan was to lift the whale from the seabed using inflatable cushions and transport it with pontoons back to the North Sea or possibly as far as the Atlantic Ocean. However, the animal swam free on its own on Monday, before coming to a halt on a different sandbank nearby, said Till Backhaus, environment minister for the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Rescuers see the escape attempt as a sign that the whale is still relatively healthy and plan to try again, the Bild daily reported. Backhaus, speaking at the scene, insisted the animal this time had not become fully stranded and was instead "resting". The creature was first spotted stuck on a sandbank on March 23 near the city of Luebeck before freeing itself and then becoming stuck again several times. On April 1, regional officials said they were convinced that the badly injured and distressed animal was going to die and could no longer be saved. But local authorities last week approved a last-ditch rescue attempt proposed by two entrepreneurs, one of whom founded a major electronics retail chain.