First Independent Mena Newspaper
The vassalization of Tunisia by Algeria continues to draw criticism among the Tunisian political class. Recently Neji Jelloul, a political party leader, called on Tunisian authorities to safeguard the country’s sovereignty by returning to positive neutrality in the Algeria-instigated conflict over the Sahara territory. Tunisia, under President Kais Saied, has irked Morocco when it rolled […]
Tunisia under Kais Saied is on the footsteps of Authoritarian Algeria. Mimicking Tebboune, Saied uses a rhetoric imbued with conspiracy theories, the threat of the foreign hand and opacity as he seeks a second term. In a speech on the anniversary of the passing away of President Bourgiba, Saied launched a diatribe on the opposition […]
The bumbling Algerian regime continues to embarrass itself and lose credibility by trying to deceive the regional and international community with its old dirty games and political machinations which are no longer working. The latest fumble and slap in the face of the reckless Algerian rulers came from Libya’s Presidential Council which belied Algerian President […]
As Tunisia braces for presidential elections in December 2024, a fog of repression looms over the country that was once the Arab Spring’s success story before it backpedaled to autocracy under a president intent on staying in power. President Kais Saied destroyed the democracy ladder that brought him to power starting a gradual power grab […]
The EU plans an aid of up to €164.5 over three years to help Tunisia stop migrants from crossing to Europe, the Financial Times reported. The EU funding will be invested in a training academy for the country’s national maritime guard, implemented with German federal police, it said. The funds will also help equip the […]
Tunisian authorities closed the Ras Jdir border crossing after armed clashes occurred there between rival Libyan factions. Videos shared on social media showed gunfire and a torched car in the Libyan side of the crossing. The armed violence occurred between the Interior Ministry’s Zuwara Military Chamber task force and armed militias, injuring several security force […]
Senior members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have accused the EU executive of “bankrolling dictators”, claiming that the €150 million it gave to Tunisia last year in a migration and development deal went straight to the country’s president, Kais Saied. The group of MEPs on the human rights, justice and foreign affairs committees at the […]
Once a month of joy and celebration, Ramadan this year has put the finances of ordinary Tunisians on strain as inflation bites, coupled with a shortage of basic goods and rampant unemployment. Tunisia’s February inflation was at 7.5% with prices set to further surge due to the high demand on foodstuff, particularly during the fasting […]
As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on Monday or Tuesday (11-12 March), depending on the sighting of the new moon, Muslims in parts of Africa are bracing themselves for more subdued celebrations amid soaring food prices and continuing violence in Sudan, Gaza and elsewhere in the continent. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the […]
Tunisia’s Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani seems to have made a trip to Paris specifically to protest against a French documentary that exposed Tunisia’s worsening poverty and dictatorship under the rule of Kais Saied. Speaking at a presser with his French Peer Attali, Hachani ranted at the documentary describing it as “an unfriendly act by our […]