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☆ International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation lends Tunisia $280 million
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TUNIS, March 3 (Reuters) - The International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation lent Tunisia $280 million to finance energy imports, the economy ministry said on Friday. Tunisia, suffering a financial crisis, has struggled to provide basic commodities such as energy and food amid a growing social and political crisis in the country. Reporting by Tarek Amara; Editing by Frank Jack DanielOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tunisian union holds biggest protest yet against president
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] Supporters of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) protest against President Kais Saied, accusing him of trying to stifle basic freedoms, including union rights, in Tunis, Tunisia March 4, 2023. REUTERS/Zoubeir SouissiTUNIS, March 4 (Reuters) - Tunisia's powerful UGTT labour union rallied in the capital on Saturday in what appeared to be the biggest protest yet against President Kais Saied, staging a show of strength after his recent crackdown on opponents. Many thousands of protesters filled Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the main street in central Tunis, holding banners that read "No to one-man rule" and chanting "Freedom! Hamma Hammami, head of the Workers Party, said protests were the answer to what he called Saied's "creeping dictatorship". Saied has denied his actions were a coup, saying they were legal and necessary to save Tunisia from chaos.

☆ African migrants suffer under crackdown in Tunisia
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Angus Mcdowall | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/4] Ivory Coast nationals living in Tunisia and seeking repatriation, wait outside the embassy of Ivory Coast in Tunis, Tunisia February 27, 2023. Social media has, meanwhile, filled with accounts by darker-skinned people in Tunisia, including migrants with and without valid visas, African students and Black Tunisians, of ill treatment and fear. Official figures say there are 21,000 migrants from sub-Saharan African countries in Tunisia. Tunisia introduced visa-free travel for many African countries over the past decade. Many migrants in Tunisia aim to cross illegally to Europe but cannot afford the hundreds of dollars to get to Italy - a journey also taken by growing numbers of Tunisians.

☆ African Union criticises Tunisia over 'racialised hate speech' against migrants
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TUNIS, Feb 25 - The African Union (AU) has criticised Tunisia and urged it to avoid "racialised hate speech" after President Kais Saied ordered the expulsion of undocumented migrants and said immigration was a plot aimed at changing his country's demographic make-up . Tunisia's Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it was surprised by the AU statement issued late on Friday, and rejected what it called "baseless accusations" that it said misunderstood the government's position. Saied this week ordered security forces to stop all illegal migration and expel all undocumented migrants, prompting a campaign of arrests that caused widespread fear among sub-Saharan Africans as well as Black Tunisians. In response to criticism from rights groups that his remarks were racist, Saied said he was not racist and that migrants living in Tunisia legally had nothing to fear. Rights groups are holding a demonstration on Saturday to protest against Saied's comments and the clampdown on migrants.

☆ Tunisian police arrest Ghazi Chaouachi, a prominent critic of president
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TUNIS, Feb 25 (Reuters) - Tunisian police on Friday arrested Ghazi Chaouachi, the prominent critic of President Kais Saied, Ghazi's son said, the latest arrest targeting the president's opponents. About 20 policemen searched the house and arrested Ghazi, his son Elyess said. The arrest comes amid a crackdown on dissent this month that has targeted more than 12 people including opposition politicians, activists, protest organisers and a media figure as well as an influential business leader and two judges. Reporting by Tarek Amara Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tunisia opposition says it will hold new protest over arrests
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TUNIS, Feb 24 (Reuters) - A Tunisian protest coalition said on Friday it would not stop working to unite the opposition against President Kais Saied despite the arrest of its top leaders, and added that it would hold a demonstration on March 5. Tunisian police have cracked down this month against prominent critics of Saied, including senior figures in the National Salvation Front, an umbrella organisation that brought together political parties and protest groups. The police and interior ministry have not made any comment on the wave of arrests this month that has targeted prominent politicians, protest leaders, media figures and others critical of Saied. Salsabil Chellali, the Tunisia director at international monitoring group Human Rights Watch, said Saied was going after his critics "with utter abandon". France on Friday expressed "concern at the recent wave of arrests in Tunisia and calls on the Tunisian authorities to ensure respect for individual freedoms and public freedoms, in particular freedom of expression," its Foreign Ministry said.

☆ George Santos's elaborate lies has seen the Congressman compared with a 19th-century huckster. History bears that out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Allegra Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

My obsession is summed up pretty well by a tweet from @blagojevism: "George Santos is essentially a 19th-century character. Media depicting these characters found inspiration from real life: in a time before digital records and facial recognition, opportunity was everywhere. George Santos's brand of full-throated scammery is particularly American, something that belongs to this country as much as Abraham Lincoln and apple pie. The phrase "and if you believe that, I've got a bridge to sell you" comes from his legendary real-life method. But Santos, so far, has avoided jail time, giving him at least one leg up over the Yellow Kid.

☆ Powerful Tunisian trade union defies president with mass protests
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Tarek Amara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Supporters of the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT), carry flags and banners during a protest against what they say authority's attacks on freedoms and union rights, in Sfax, Tunisia February 18, 2023. REUTERS/Jihed AbidellaouiSFAX, Tunisia, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Thousands of members of Tunisia's powerful UGTT trade union took to the streets of eight cities on Saturday to protest against President Kais Saied's policies, accusing him of trying to stifle basic freedoms including union rights. In Saturday's demonstrations, thousands of protesters in the southern city of Sfax carried national flags and banners with slogans including "Stop the attack on union freedoms" and "Cowardly Saied, the union is not afraid.". Senior UGTT official Othman Jalouli told the crowd Saied's government "wants to silence the voice of the union". Addressing the Sfax protest, Esther Lynch, confederal secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, said she had come to convey a message of support from 45 million European trade unionists and called for the immediate release of detained union officials.

☆ Tunisia police arrest ex-judges sacked by president, lawyer and media say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-12 | by ( Tarek Amara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The local Mosaique FM radio network said Akremi's arrest was linked to the investigation into the assassination a decade ago of Chokri Belaid, a political activist. Ennahda, the biggest opposition party, said the arrests were aimed at intimidating opponents of Tunisia's president. Saied's political opponents, whom he has labelled traitors, have accused him of a coup aimed at dismantling the democracy built after a 2011 revolution. The president has denied those accusations, saying his moves were lawful and necessary to save Tunisia from chaos. Over recent months, authorities have arrested or opened investigations into several of Saied's political opponents.

☆ Tunisian police detain prominent politicians and businessman
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Tarek Amara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TUNIS, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Tunisian police detained politicians and a prominent, politically connected businessman on Saturday, their lawyers said, in a case that local media said was based on suspicion of conspiracy against state security. Ennahda, an Islamist party that is the biggest in the opposition, said the arrest of Turki was aimed at intimidating the president's opponents. The Salvation Front, the main opposition coalition against Saied, condemned his arrest, saying police had questioned him several times for meeting opposition figures at his home. Neither Turki nor Ltaif have been prominent critics of the president. The businessman, Ltaif, was also arrested at his home, his lawyer Redha Bel Hadj said by phone.

☆ Polls open in Tunisian election with turnout under scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Tarek Amara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] A voter casts his ballot at a polling station during the second round of the parliamentary election in Tunis, Tunisia January 29, 2023. Polls are open from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. (0700 GMT-1700 GMT). On Friday Moody's credit ratings agency downgraded Tunisian debt saying the country would likely default on sovereign loans. Saied's new rules make the parliament subservient to the president, who now takes the lead in forming or dismissing governments. The rules also reduce the role of political parties, with parliamentary candidates listed only by name without reference to their party affiliation.

☆ Italian Movie Star Claudia Cardinale Had a Thing for Brigitte Bardot’s Ponytail
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Marc Myers | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Claudia Cardinale, 84, is an Italian actress who starred in more than 100 films, including “8½” and “The Pink Panther.” Twenty of her films will be screened by New York’s MoMA, with restorations by Italy’s Cinecittà, starting Feb. 3. She and her daughter, Claudia Squitieri, spoke with Marc Myers. I grew up in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. At the time, Tunisia was a French protectorate with a thriving economy. Sicily was only two hours away by boat, so over time a large Sicilian community had emigrated to Tunis for work.

☆ Thousands of Tunisians rally against president on revolution anniversary
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Tarek Amara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

TUNIS, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters marched against Tunisian President Kais Saied's seizure of near total power in central Tunis on Saturday, demanding he step down as they marked the anniversary of a key date in the 2011 revolution that brought democracy. "We were on Bourguiba in January 2011 when Saied was not present... today he is closing Bourguiba to us. We will reach it whatever the price," said Chaima Issa, an activist who took part in the 2011 revolution before the crowd pushed through the barriers. [1/5] Demonstrators hold placards during a protest against Tunisian President Kais Saied, on the anniversary of the 2011 uprising, in Tunis, Tunisia January 14, 2023. However, Saied unilaterally changed the official anniversary date and has said he regards Jan. 14 as a moment when the revolution went astray.

"The situation is very dangerous because of years of continuous drought," said Hammadi Habib, an Agriculture Ministry official. Tunisia already has food supply problems thanks to high global prices and the government's own financial difficulties, which have reduced its capacity to buy imported food and subsidise farms at home. "It is time for the authorities to declare a state of water emergency," said Radhia Smine of the Tunisian Observatory of Water. Thousands of families will lack drinking water," she added. "If we do not take decisions in January to reduce irrigation water and ration water use now to prioritise drinking water... then for sure in August we will not have drinking water in the capital or coastal regions," said Habib, the agriculture ministry official.

☆ Five African migrants die, 10 missing after boat sinks off Tunisia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TUNIS, Jan 7 (Reuters) - At least five African migrants died and another 10 were missing after a boat sank off Tunisia, as they tried to cross the Mediterranean to Italy, a judicial official said on Saturday. The coastguard rescued 20 migrants who had been on the overcrowded boat, which sank off Louata in Sfax region on Friday, the official told Reuters. In recent months, hundreds of people have drowned off the Tunisian coast, with an increase in the frequency of attempted crossings from Tunisia and Libya towards Italy. In light of an unprecedented economic and financial crisis in Tunisia, more than 18,000 Tunisians travelled by boats to Europe in 2022, according to rights group Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights. Reporting by Tarek Amara Editing by Mark PotterOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Three prominent opponents of Tunisian president say they are under investigation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Tarek Amara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

TUNIS, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Three prominent opponents of Tunisian President Kais Saied said on Monday that they had received notices from prosecutors that they were under investigation, including one related to assaulting public security and insulting the president. Chebbi is the leader of the opposition Salvation Front and has organized regular protests against Saied for months. Saied seized control of executive powers in July 2021 and later dissolved parliament, a step described by his opponents as a coup. The powerful UGTT Union also criticized the president, saying that it rejects his autocratic approach and will not remain silent. Hammami said a judge opened an investigation at the request of the justice minister on charges of spreading rumors and insulting the president.

☆ Tunisia union threatens to 'occupy the streets,' rejects 2023 budget
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-26 | by ( Tarek Amara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TUNIS, Dec 26 (Reuters) - Tunisia's powerful UGTT union will hold mass protests and "occupy the streets" soon to show its rejection of next year's austerity budget, the leader of the union said on Monday, in its strongest challenge to the government of President Kais Saied yet. The union, with more than a million members, has proven able to paralyse the economy with strikes. We will not accept it...we will occupy the streets to defend our choices and the interest of the people,” Noureddine Taboubi, the head of UGTT, said. Tunisia has reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a $1.9 billion rescue package in exchange for unpopular reforms, including cutting food and energy subsidies, and overhauling public companies. The 2023 budget showed that wage bill in the public sector will drop from 15.1% in 2022 to 14% next year, a main reform demanded by the IMF.

☆ Tunisia seeks to cut fiscal deficit to 5.5% in 2023, led by economic reforms
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Tarek Amara | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Economy Ministry said on Friday that economic growth in 2023 would be 1.8%, compared with 2.5% expected this year. Tunisia has reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF for a $1.9 billion rescue package in exchange for unpopular reforms, including cutting food and energy subsidies, and overhauling public companies. The country's trade deficit is expected to shrink by 1.5% next year, to 15.8% of GDP in 2023. PAINFUL REFORMSAccording to next year's budget published by the economy ministry, Tunisia intends to reduce subsidy expenditure by 26.4% to 8.8 billion dinars. The ministry said it expects inflationary pressure to continue with the start of the reforms, which the union called "very painful".

Opposition politicians said Tunisia's lowest ever turnout stripped away any facade of democratic legitimacy for Saied's political project and called directly for his ouster. Saturday's dismal turnout strongly reinforced a perception of scant public support for his plans. As a political independent, Saied lacks the nationwide support of a party apparatus that can mobilise on his behalf. "Politics has become a luxury that we cannot afford," said Lamia Gharbi, who was queuing for bread at a Tunis bakery. Successive coalition governments have failed to find a fix for public finances that can satisfy lenders without prompting a domestic backlash.

☆ EIB bank lends Tunisia 150 mln euros in emergency support for food security
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

TUNIS, Dec 18 (Reuters) - The European Investment Bank, the lending arm of the European Union, has approved a 220 million euro loan ($233 mln) for Tunisia, including 150 million euros in emergency support for food security, the Tunisian Ministry of Economy said on Sunday. Tunisia is in a deep financial crisis which has resulted in a shortage of many food commodities in recents weeks. Agriculture Minister Mahmoud Elyess Hamza said the loan will help Tunisia to regularly supply soft wheat. ($1 = 0.9450 euros)Reporting by Tarek Amara Editing by Raissa KasolowskyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Tunisian opposition calls on president to quit after low turnout election
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Tunisia's President Kais Saied speaks outside a polling station during parliamentary election in Tunis, Tunisia, December 17, 2022. Tunisian Presidency/Handout via REUTERSTUNIS, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Tunisia's "Salvation Front" opposition coalition called for President Kais Saied to quit office, saying he had lost his legitimacy after Saturday's parliamentary election had a preliminary turnout figure of less than 9%. Although opposition groups have previously attacked Saied's political programme, they had not previously said he should quit office. "From this moment we consider Saied an illegitimate president and demand he resign after this fiasco," he said. Saied has presented his political changes as necessary to save Tunisia from years of political and economic crisis.

☆ Polls open in Tunisian vote boycotted by opposition
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/5] A woman casts her ballot at a polling station during parliamentary election in Tunis, Tunisia December 17, 2022. Saied shut the previous parliament down last year, surrounding the legislature with tanks and assuming near total authority. The vote appears to have stirred little interest among a population jaded by political dysfunction and struggling with economic hardship. With the main parties absent, a total of 1,058 candidates - only 120 of them women - are running for 161 seats. For 10 of those - seven in Tunisia and three decided by expatriate voters - there is just one candidate.

☆ Tunisians Emigrate in Record Numbers as Hopes Fade for Its Economy, Democracy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

A rescue operation to help people in a boat off the coast of Tunisia in August last year. Many Tunisians are making the dangerous journey by boat from their home country to the European Union. TUNIS, Tunisia—Record numbers of Tunisians are leaving the country after a decade of economic turmoil and the government’s turn toward authoritarianism, dimming hopes that a younger generation can build a future in the nation that sparked the Arab Spring. The flood of Tunisian émigrés spans socioeconomic classes, with professionals, the working class and the destitute represented among those fleeing, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushes up the price of food and gas, and the government pulls back from subsidizing basic items such as sugar and rice. Inflation has reached nearly 10% this year, and economists say a $1.9 billion International Monetary Fund loan secured by President Kais Saied isn’t enough to pull the country of 12 million people back from the brink.

DOHA/RABAT, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Moroccans slumped with disappointment on Wednesday after their team's semi-final defeat to France, but were still pumped with pride for a World Cup run that spurred tears of joy across Africa and the Arab world. In the first World Cup held in an Arab country, and one already marked by upsets, Morocco won supporters far afield as the first Arab team to reach the quarter-finals and the first African team to reach the semis. It is already an honour and we are proud to see people from different countries root for the Moroccan team," said Taoufiq Ouchikh. We lost to a world Cup champion and we dominated," said Abdelilah Sair, another fan watching in the same cafe. Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch lauded a team he called heroes that brought joy to Moroccans and made the country's name "resonate on every tongue during the World Cup".

In an Abidjan cafe where people were watching the game and drinking beer to celebrate the win, customer Jules Goule said Ivorians were proud of Morocco's win. "Through Morocco Africa has just shown that it can compete with other continents in football," he said. As the game wound on, Morocco fans screamed "Ole, ole, ole!" In the media box, a security guard, screaming with triumph, hugged a Moroccan journalist who was weeping with happiness. But in Rabat, joyful fans thronged the streets, people poured towards the downtown square where Morocco's victories are celebrated.

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