Tunisia

22 Mar 2021; MEMO: Tunisian satellite Challenge ONE was launched today from the Baikonur base in south-central Kazakhstan aboard the Russian Soyuz-2.1a rocket which was also carrying other satellites, Xinhua reported.

Challenge ONE was designed and developed exclusively by Tunisian labour and is a small satellite that weighs about three kilogrammes, and will be used in the Internet of Things technology.

TUNIS, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Tunisian satellite Challenge ONE was launched on Monday from the Baikonur base in south-central Kazakhstan aboard the Russian Soyuz-2.1a rocket which also carried other satellites.

On this occasion, Telnet Group, the owner of Challenge ONE, organized a ceremony at its headquarters in the capital Tunis to follow the live coverage of the event at the presence of Tunisian President Kais Saied.

TUNIS, March 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least six people have died and one was injured in an explosion on Saturday of an asphalt tank in an industrial zone in Gabès, in south-eastern Tunisia.

The explosion, “the causes of which are not yet known”, occurred at 9:30 am local (08:30 GMT).

“We made in a first preliminary assessment six dead and one wounded”, Moez Triaa, the spokesperson for civil protection said.

Four people died on the spot and the other two after being transported to a hospital in Gabès.

13 Mar 2021; MEMO: Tunisia launched a vaccination campaign today against the coronavirus pandemic, days after receiving the first batch of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, Anadolu Agency reports.

Tunisia received 30,000 doses of the Russian vaccine on Wednesday. The batch was part of a shipment of 500,000 doses the North African country is scheduled to get from Sputnik V.

Nurse Mehreziya al-Humami, 54, at El-Menzeh Hospital in the capital Tunis took the first shot.

11 Mar 2021; MEMO: Thirty-nine migrants have died while 160 were rescued after two boats carrying migrants from several African countries sank off the coast of Tunisia.

TUNIS, March 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — At least 39 migrants drowned off Tunisia when two boats capsized on Tuesday, the defence ministry said, as numbers risking the dangerous crossing to Europe continue to rise.

Rescuers pulled 165 survivors from the floundering boats out of the sea to safety.

It was not immediately clear what caused both boats to capsize, but vessels leaving the North African coast for Europe are often heavily overloaded makeshift crafts, departing at night even in rough weather to avoid detection from the coastguard.

01 Mar 2021; MEMO: The chairman of Tunisia's Ennahda party, Rached Ghannouchi, on Saturday announced his keenness to cooperate with both the Tunisian president and prime minister despite differences between the parties, calling for a "joint dialogue".

"We are keen for the President Kais Saied and the Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi to remain in their offices and to continue to play their roles," Ghannouchi said in a rally in the capital city of Tunis.

28 Feb 2021; MEMO: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that Tunisia "need[s] to lower the wage bill and limit energy subsidies while prioritizing health and investment expenditure and protecting targeted social spending."

23 Feb 2021; MEMO: The Speaker of Parliament and leader of the Ennahda movement has said that Tunisia needs help from its international partners. "Especially those who believe in democracy, as it is unable to implement all the reforms on its own," Rached Ghannouchi wrote in USA Today. "Tunisia," he added, "is still a democracy in the making."

16 Feb 2021; MEMO: Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has dismissed five ministers, including those for justice, industry and agriculture and appointed new officials in their place.