Tunisia, Syria, DR Congo.

Today's three stories you should know.

Tunisia

At least 10 people from sub-Saharan African countries drowned off the coast of Tunisia when their boat sank as it tried to reach Europe, the Tunisian coastguard said today. Twenty more people are still missing. The drownings came as new UN figures revealed that more than 400 people died while trying to cross the Central Mediterranean in just the first three months of this year. Attempted Mediterranean crossings by people fleeing war and poverty in a number of African and Middle Eastern countries usually increase in the summer months as the seas become calmer. But a wave of violent attacks against Black Africans in Tunisia after a racist speech by President Kais Saied last month has forced many migrants to flee the country.

More from Al Jazeera here.

Syria

Two more big steps for Syria’s government today as it works its way back into the good graces of other Arab nations after more than a decade out in the cold. Its foreign minister arrived in Saudi Arabia for an official visit, and it was announced that it would reopen its embassy in Tunisia. The government of President Bashar al-Assad was shunned by other Arab nations and turfed out of the Arab League when its civil war erupted in 2011 after popular protests were brutally put down. As the apparent rapprochement continues, though, it’s hard not to see it being readmitted to the Arab League soon. The war has now largely shuddered to a stalemate with Assad’s forces back in control of most of the country thanks to support from Russia and Iran.

More from AP here.

DR Congo

Fighting is continuing in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between the M23 rebel group and government-allied militias, the BBC reports. The Congolese government and M23 have signed a peace deal and the rebels are supposed to be in the process of withdrawing from towns they had captured. According to the BBC, it may have been the government-allied fighters instigating the violence and, because the national army is not involved, it is not seen as a major threat to the peace process. More than 750,000 people have been forced from their homes by the conflict.

More from BBC here.