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Tunisia: Draft constitution gives president immense powers
Tunisian President Kais Saied published an amended version of a draft constitution late Friday in an attempt to ward off criticism after the original was slammed for the nearly unlimited power it gave his office. The new constitution, which will be put to a referendum...
Tunisia: UGTT union boss says IMF conditions for loans drastic and unacceptable
The head of Tunisia's powerful UGTT trade union confederation on Thursday rejected conditions set by the International Monetary Fund for a new loan to bail out the country's struggling economy. "We reject the conditions set by the IMF, given Tunisians' low salaries,...
Tunisia: Former Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali arrested
Tunisian police on Thursday arrested former prime minister Hamadi Jebali, an ex-senior figure in the Ennahdha party which is the nemesis of current President Kais Saied, Jebali's lawyer said. He could not say why Jebali was detained. "The police arrested Mr Jebali...
Tunisia: Regime uses military court to punish opponents of President Kais Saied
A Tunisian military court upheld a one-year prison sentence Friday against a prominent critic of President Kais Saied convicted of "attacking the dignity of the army", his lawyer told AFP. The Tunis Military Court of Appeal also banned Seifeddine Makhlouf, head of...
Tunisia arrests editor of news website Echahed
The head of a news website close to Tunisia's Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party has been arrested over alleged links to a company accused of conspiring against the state, his lawyer said Friday. Lotfi Hidouri, editor in chief of Achahed, was placed in custody on...
Tunisia union confronts president with general strike
By Ezzedine Said Tunisia's main labour union holds a vast public sector strike Thursday to demand salary hikes and concessions on looming reforms, upping pressure on a president already facing a string of crises. Up to three million workers could observe the strike,...
Politics & Religion: Conservative party Ennahda insists on enshrining religion in next Tunisian constitution
Opinion by Arezki Daoud: The Islamo-conservative party, Ennahda, is in a tough spot. On the one hand it warns against dropping references to Islam in the upcoming referendum on a new constitution. But on the other hand, it is calling for a boycott of said referendum....
Tunisia: Rights and judicial groups decry president’s attack on judges
A coalition of 10 rights groups Friday condemned a decree by Tunisian President Kais Saied firing scores of judges, describing it as a "deep blow to judicial independence". The June 1 presidential decree saw Saied award himself the power to fire judges, and he duly...
Law: Liberal Tunisians looking to draft a constitution without mention of religion
By Ezzedine Said and Aymen Jamli The legal expert charged with rewriting Tunisia's constitution said Monday he would present President Kais Saied with a draft stripped of any reference to Islam, in order to confront Islamist parties. The first article of a...
Tunisian police block protests against president’s referendum
Tunisian police scuffled with protesters against President Kais Saied on Saturday as around 100 people demonstrated against a planned July referendum, a year after his power grab opponents describe as a coup. The police blocked the protesters as they attempted to...
Tunisia: More political drama in Tunis as president fires dozens of judges
By Aymen Jamli Tunisian President Kais Saied on Thursday sacked 57 judges accused of corruption and other crimes, after passing a new law strengthening his grip on the judiciary. Saied, who has steadily extended his powers since he sacked the government and suspended...
Environment: Turtles freed in Tunisia with tracking monitor
Three rescued loggerhead turtles were released into the Mediterranean off Tunisia on Sunday, one with a tracking beacon glued to its shell to help researchers better protect the threatened species. The main risks to sea turtles in Tunisia are linked to fisheries,...
Tunisia: Trade union UGTT rejects participation to presidential dialogue
Tunisia's powerful UGTT trade union confederation said Monday it would not take part in a national dialogue proposed by President Kais Saied, arguing that it excludes key actors and civil society. Saied sacked the government last July before dissolving parliament and...
Migration: Dozens of migrants rescued by Tunisian navy
The Tunisian navy said Saturday it rescued 81 migrants, one of them a woman, who had set out for Europe from Libya on a barely seaworthy vessel. The boat, which had been damaged, was boarded around six kilometres (four miles) off Tunisia's northeastern coast, the navy...
Tunisia: New alliance to oppose power grab by President Saied
A crowd estimated at more than 2,000, lower than expected, took part Sunday in the first demonstration of a new alliance to oppose a power grab by President Kais Saied. "We shall overcome," and "We are united, not divided," read banners of the National Salvation Front...
Tunisia: Child migrant crossings from Tunisia take on alarming proportions
A record number of irregular migrants under 18 years old reached Italy from Tunisia last year, more than quadrupling in four years, a rights group said Wednesday. Tunisia has become a major conduit for migrants seeking to reach European shores, particularly the...
Tunisia: Struggling to make ends meet, Tunisians show no interest in presidential poll
By Kaouther Larbi Tunisian President Kais Saied, who last year grabbed power in what critics labelled a coup, has now asked voters for their political views -- but days before the online poll closes, fewer than six percent had taken part. Most people in the small...
Tunisia: Protest in Tunis over president’s “power grab” as economy worsens
Thousands of Tunisian opposition supporters demonstrated Sunday in the capital against President Kais Saied's power grab and the economic crisis in the North African country. "Poverty has increased", and "Famine is at our doorsteps", they chanted as at least 2,000...
Tunisia: President appoints interim judicial authority after sacking independent council
Tunisia's President Kais Saied inaugurated a "temporary" council of judges on Monday, which replaces an independent watchdog that he abolished weeks ago as he seized sweeping powers over the judiciary. Saied had last month scrapped the High Judicial Council (CSM),...
Tunisia: Ex Justice Minister Bhiri released from house arrest, under investigation for “terrorism”
A former justice minister and senior figure in Tunisia's Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, under house arrest since December, was released Tuesday but remains under investigation on "terrorism" charges, the government said. Noureddine Bhiri had been detained by...
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