Tunisia

TUNIS (Reuters) - Participants at Libya’s U.N.-sponsored peace talks have approved a list of candidates seeking to lead a transitional government that will prepare the North African state for a national election at the end of 2021, the United Nations said.

The transitional government will oversee preparations for the vote that aims to end a decade of chaos and conflict that has left Libya split down the middle and hammered its vital oil exports on which the country’s economy depends.

29 Jan 2021; MEMO: Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has declared that any attempt to harm President Kais Saied means targeting Tunisia and its people.

16 Jan 2021; MEMO: Speaker of Tunisian Parliament Rached Ghannouchi has announced that the Palestinian cause is sacred in Tunisia and a state of consensus prevails in the country regarding the indisputable rejection of normalisation with the Israeli occupation.

The statements made by the leader of the Ennahda movement came in an interview with Al Araby TV channel broadcast on Thursday evening.

13 Jan 2021; MEMO: A former Minister of State Property in Tunisia has warned that Israel intends to demand a huge amount of financial compensation from the government in respect of the property left behind by Jews who left the country to move to the Zionist state. Hatem El-Echi confirmed this on Facebook on Monday.

06 Jan 2021; MEMO: Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi on Tuesday sacked his Interior Minister, who is close to President Kais Saied, a move underscoring tensions between the country's two most powerful leaders, reports Reuters.

Saied and Mechichi are at odds over their respective powers and political alliances. With the dismissal of Interior Minister Taoufik Charfeddine, the tensions could mushroom into a crisis threatening a collapse of the technocratic government.

05 Jan 2021; MEMO: Tunisia is set to propose a bill which would see women conscripted into the army, the Ministry of Defence announced.

Set to be presented to the House of Representatives, the bill will include mandatory military service for both men and women in an effort to achieve further equality between the sexes.

This comes as the country faces an economic crisis and terror attacks.

24 Dec 2020; MEMO: Tunisia and Algeria have prevented an Israeli airplane from using their airspaces on its way to the Moroccan city of Rabat, forcing it to take an indirect route through Europe, local media outlets from both countries reported.

26 Dec 2020; MEMO: The Tunisian authorities announced on Friday the extension of the state of emergency throughout the country for an additional six months.

According to a statement by the Tunisian presidency, the state of emergency will be extended from 26 December to 23 June, 2021.

25 Dec 2020; MEMO: A spokesperson for the Tunis court announced on Thursday that the court had issued an arrest warrant for the Heart of Tunisia party leader, Nabil Karoui, on financial corruption charges.

Spokesman Mohsen Al-Dali revealed that the arrest warrant was issued against the businessman in a money laundering case, without disclosing further details.

TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — About 20 African migrants were found dead Thursday after their smuggling boat, which was trying to reach Europe, sank in the Mediterranean Sea, Tunisian authorities said. Five survivors were rescued and the Tunisian navy is searching for up to 20 others still believed missing.

Tunisian coast guard boats and local fishermen found the bodies off the coastal city of Sfax in central Tunisia, Defense Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ben Zekri told The Associated Press.