Tunis, Tunisia - In the old medina of Tunis, a wall installation titled "1001 Bricks" showcases the talents of "invisible" creators, including art students, people with disabilities and school dropouts. Led by Swiss artist Anne Francey, the project took shape over a year through workshops that culminated in a large bas-relief...

TUNIS, TUNISIA -  President Kais Saied on Thursday appointed a new governor of the central bank of Tunisia, a north African country in the throes of economic hardship. Saied named Fethi Zouhair Nouri, a 69-year-old member of the central bank's board, to succeed Marouane Abassi, 64, whose six-year mandate ends on...

Tunis - Tunisia and Saudi Arabia signed seven memoranda of understanding in various fields and sectors on Wednesday afternoon The agreements were signed between acting Tunisian Minister of Economy and Planning, Sihem Nemsia Boughdiri, and Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Bandar bin Ibrahim AlKhorayef. during the 11th session...

Ouled Omar, Tunisia - Tunisian villager Ounissa Mazhoud ties two empty jerry cans to a donkey and cautiously descends a stony hill towards the last local source of water. The North African country, in its fourth year of drought, is grappling with its worst water scarcity in years. Mazhoud -- like...

Tunis, Tunisia - Tunisia's parliament on Thursday began debating a bill that would criminalize any normalization of ties with Israel as fighting rages between Israeli forces and Gaza's Hamas rulers. The draft bill defines "normalization" as "recognition of the Zionist entity or the establishment of direct or indirect ties" with it,...

Tunis, Tunisia - The leader of Tunisian opposition party Ennahdha, Rached Ghannouchi, 82, had his jail sentence on terrorism-related charges raised to 15 months on appeal, his party said in a statement on Tuesday. An earlier ruling in May had sentenced Ghannouchi to 12 months in jail with the same fine...

"We condemn the decision of the Tunisian authorities to refuse entry for the delegation," the delegation, made up of five MEPs, said in a statement. "This conduct is unprecedented since (Tunisia's) democratic revolution in 2011", it said.

Jelassi argued that such "methodical censorship" aims to remove the voices of the opposition or civil society organizations from broadcasts or the press.

Tunis, Tunisia - Tunisian authorities have arrested the head of the national bakery owners' union, accusing him of a "monopoly" as the country faces a weeks-long shortage of subsidized bread, local media reported Thursday. The government in August banned some 1,500 privately-owned bakeries that produce European-style breads and pastries from purchasing...

Tunis, Tunisia - At least two Tunisians including a baby died when their Europe-bound boat sank Saturday off the North African country's southeastern shores, the coastguard said, adding five others were missing. The vessel carrying 20 Tunisians went down at 2:00 am (0100 GMT) 120 meters (395 feet) from the beach...

In a collaborative bid to address the migrant crisis, Tunisia and Libya have announced a shared responsibility for hundreds of migrants stranded at their border. These migrants, primarily from sub-Saharan African countries, had been left in the desert area of Ras Jedir. The deal aims to provide shelter and essential...

During Tuesday's protest, Ennahdha spokesman Imed Khemiri denounced "the return of a policy of intimidation... which restricts freedom of expression and impacts the media".

Around 100 protesters rallied in Tunisia's capital to demand freedom for detained critics of President Kais Saied who has ruled largely by decree for the past two years. The demonstrators, including detainees' relatives, gathered outside the Court of Appeal in Tunis to protest the continued detention of 20 high-profile political,...

Racial tensions flared into violence against migrants from sub-Saharan African countries in Tunisia's port city of Sfax last week, with hundreds fleeing or being pushed to inhospitable southern desert border areas. "All of the 500 to 700 migrants who were at the Libyan border have been transferred elsewhere," Salsabil Chellali...

The EU is ready to offer Tunisia a 900-million-euro package plus 150 million euros in immediate support, European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said. Aside from trade and investment, it would help Tunisia with border management and to combat human trafficking, with support worth 100 million euros this year,...

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Rome backed efforts to secure an IMF bailout for Tunisia and support to tackle its growing migrant problem. She was speaking after talks in Tunis with President Kais Saied whose country is going through a dire financial crisis, political tensions. Tunisia is also a...

TUNIS, TUNISIA - Tunisia's largest union on Monday attacked the government's handling of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a loan to bail out the North African country as it slides deeper into debt. Tunisia is seeking a bailout package worth nearly $2 billion from the IMF, which conditions...

Tunis, Tunisia - Fifteen Tunisian migrants are missing after their boat sank in the Mediterranean during an attempt to reach Europe, authorities said Wednesday. The boat carrying 19 Tunisians sank Monday night, said a statement by Tunisia's National Guard, which oversees the coastguard. Four migrants were rescued by a fisherman after...

Tunisia has recovered 14 bodies of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa in the Mediterranean, bringing to 24 the number of dead after their boat headed for Europe sank, the coastguard said. The spokesman for the National Guard announced that 41 Tunisian migrants, including five women and nine children, had been "rescued"...

TUNIS, TUNISIA - Tunisia's coastguard said Friday it had intercepted over 14,000 migrants trying to reach Europe from January to March, more than five times the number of those who attempted the trip in the first quarter of 2022. "Coast guard patrols prevent 501 clandestine attempts to cross the maritime border...

The IMF was originally expected to approve a bailout deal on December 19, but that was delayed pending a Tunisian budget, which has since passed, and a law to stop banks charging excessive interest.

TUNIS, TUNISIA - Tunisia's main opposition coalition pressed the government on Monday to explain days-long public "absence" of President Kais Saied, saying it had information that he was sick. Saied, 65, has not appeared in public or held any meetings since March 22, according to posts on his Facebook page -...

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had warned Monday that if crisis-torn Tunisia "collapses economically or socially then we will be in a situation where new flows of migrants will come to Europe". An EU delegation arrived in Tunisia on Tuesday to examine "the political and socio-economic situation" and...

Tunisia inaugurated a new parliament largely stripped of its powers, after a vote that saw a paltry turnout amid boycotts following President Kais Saied's July 2021 power grab. The new assembly held its first session at the legislature's traditional home in Bardo, a suburb of the capital Tunis.

TUNIS, TUNISIA -  A goalkeeper at a top-flight Tunisian football club has reached Italy as a clandestine migrant, his club said Friday, as the dire economy pushes thousands into making similar journeys. "Due to the financial crisis facing the club, and difficult living conditions (in Tunisia), the goalkeeper of Avenir Sportif...

TUNIS, TUNISIA - Tunisian President Kais Saied's former chief of staff was sentenced in absentia on Tuesday to prison over audio recordings critical of him, local media reported. Nadia Akacha had been a key aide to Saied until she quit in January last year, citing "fundamental differences of opinion" over the...

Hundreds of Tunisians, including supporters of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, marched Saturday after opponents of President Kais Saied called for protests over worsening economic crisis. Ennahdha had dominated parliament until Saied grabbed power on July 25, 2021, sacking the government and freezing parliament before appointing a new cabinet and ruling...

Tunis, Tunisia - Dozens of Tunisian lawyers protested on Thursday against newly imposed taxes on legal services, part of a 2023 budget that seeks to boost revenues to the cash-strapped treasury. Led by Bar Association head Hatem Mziou, lawyers gathered outside the Palais de Justice in Tunis as well as other...

TUNIS, TUNISIA - Tram and bus workers in the Tunisian capital staged a strike over delays in salaries and the lack of an end-of-year bonus Monday, creating traffic jams across Tunis. The strike is the latest in a string of similar actions as Tunisia grapples with a grinding economic crisis, with...

The Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) "notes the very low level of participation in the elections, which destroys their credibility and legitimacy and clearly confirms the public's rejection" of Saied's programme, it said in a statement. The current political situation "requires the UGTT to assume its national duty and take...

Morocco has taken offense at the hosting of the head of the Polisario movement by Tunisia’s president and recalled its ambassador in Tunis. The Polisario wants an independent state in the Western Sahara, a large mineral-rich area Morocco sees as a sovereign part of its country.

The government has this month begun bailout negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, as its tourism and import-dependent economy has been battered by the coronavirus pandemic and elevated global food and energy prices.

More than a thousand Tunisians rallied Sunday decrying what they said was a power grab by President Kais Saied and his proposed constitutional reforms.

Saied's decree came a week after he said he would dissolve the High Judicial Council (CSM), prompting a nationwide shutdown of courts by judges saying the move would infringe on judicial independence.

French Prime Minister Jean Castex calls reforms in Tunisia important for relations between two countries