Xinhua world news summary at 1530 GMT, May 18

TUNIS -- A total of 23 Tunisian illegal migrants have gone missing while sailing to Italy, according to a statement by the Tunisian National Guard released on Saturday.

"The group of 23 Tunisian migrants left the coast of Korba in the northwestern province of Nabeul late at night on May 3 in an attempt to cross the Mediterranean to enter Italy illegally," the Tunisian National Guard said in a statement posted on