Tunisia

A Tunisian court handed jail terms ranging from 13 to 66 years to 40 opposition leaders, businessmen and lawyers on charges of conspiring against state security, Tunisia's state news agency TAP reported on Saturday.

The non-governmental organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has just released a new report on Tunisia, denouncing the government's use of arbitrary detention as “a cornerstone of its repressive policy” and claiming it is designed to strip individuals of their civil and political rights.

The trial of several prominent Tunisian opposition figures accused of national security offences opened on Tuesday, with rights groups denouncing the case as politically motivated. 

Germany has returned hundreds of sound recordings of North African soldiers who were held as prisoners during World War I, helping to fill a major gap in Tunisia’s war archives.

Twenty-seven migrants, including women and children, died after two boats capsized off central Tunisia, with 83 people rescued, a civil defence official told AFP on Thursday.

Like many of his fellow Tunisians, 23-year-old Amine Elhani has never been to the cinema, but now, thanks to a mobile theatre touring the country, he can finally enjoy the big screen.

On a hillside in Tunisia's northwestern highlands, women scour a sun-scorched field for the wild herbs they rely on for their livelihoods, but droughts and rising temperatures are making it ever harder to find the precious plants.

In the sheltered waters of northwest Tunisia's Bizerte lagoon, red algae is being transformed into valuable food additives using nothing but sunlight – a natural process that is creating jobs and reviving marine life in the process. 

French PhD student Victor Dupont has been detained in Tunisia on breach of state security charges for at least 12 days, it was announced this week. His university has denounced the arrest as an attack on fundamental liberties. 

Parched crops on one side and lush green plants on the other, a small farming project in northwest Tunisia demonstrates how foreign funding coupled with dogged local efforts can help tackle the impact of climate change.

Supporters of incumbent Tunisian President Kais Saied celebrated in the capital on Sunday night after an exit poll broadcast on state television showed him winning the election by a landslide, ahead of his two rivals, one of whom is now in prison.

Tunisians are headed to the polls on Sunday for presidential elections widely expected to be dominated by incumbent leader Kais Saied, who's seeking a new term amid a struggling economy and political tensions.

About a third of the nearly 10 million Tunisians set to vote in a presidential election this weekend are under 35, according to official figures. Yet the poll appears to have created a mood of resignation among young people, most of whom would rather leave the country, according to a recent study.

Nearly 10 million Tunisians are gearing up to vote on Sunday in presidential elections dominated by incumbent leader Kais Saied, whose rule has been marked by accusations of authoritarianism.

Tunisia's parliament has approved a law stripping its top court of its authority to rule on electoral disputes, nine days before the presidential election. Opposition groups fear the move is aimed at ensuring President Kais Saied remains in power.

Hundreds of Tunisians protested on Sunday against President Kais Saied, accusing him of deepening authoritarian rule and stifling political competition two weeks before a presidential election. 

In Tunisia, the presidential election campaign kicked off on Saturday, ahead of the vote scheduled for  6 October. Only three candidates are in the running for the presidency. Meanwhile, some activists have begun protesting, raising concerns about a "climate of fear".

Five weeks from Tunisia's presidential election, police have arrested one of the few opposition candidates authorised to run against President Kais Saied. It comes amid what civil society groups have denounced as a "dictatorial" political climate ahead of the 6 October polls.

Presidential polls in Tunisia have gotten off to a rocky start with critics denouncing a crackdown that has seen opponents of leader Kais Saied arrested, jailed and blocked from running. Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to register for the 6 October vote. 

Tunisia will hold a presidential election on 6 October, the office of President Kais Saied announced Tuesday, though he has not indicated if he will seek a new five-year term after his 2019 election.