Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | There is no known cure for the new coronavirus, but in the medicinal herbs souq in Tunis, anxious Tunisians are consulting with herbalists and stocking up on traditional remedies. “I am afraid for my father, who is old and sick, so I have come here …
Read More »Turkey’s Erdogan visits Tunisia amid Libya tensions
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met his counterpart in Tunisia on Wednesday to discuss the conflict in neighbouring Libya, whose UN-recognised unity government has signed a military deal with Ankara. “We discussed ways to cooperate to reach a cease-fire in Libya and restart the political …
Read More »Outsider Saied set for landslide in Tunisia presidency: exit polls
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Conservative academic Kais Saied, a political outsider, was headed for a landslide victory Sunday in Tunisia’s presidential runoff, sweeping aside his rival, media magnate Nabil Karoui, exit polls said. In a contest that reflected Tunisia’s shifting post-revolution political landscape, Saied, an independent, scooped 72.5 percent …
Read More »Media magnate, law master face off in Tunisia presidential vote
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Almost a month since the launch of Tunisia’s presidential vote and whittled down from more than 20 candidates, conservative law professor Kais Saied and media magnate Nabil Karoui face off Sunday before the country’s electorate of seven million. The two political newcomers swept aside establishment candidates …
Read More »Tunisia presidential hopeful walks free from jail in time for runoff
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Tunisia’s presidential candidate Nabil Karoui received a hero’s welcome as he walked free from jail Wednesday, just days ahead of a runoff against a political newcomer. Karoui’s release is the latest twist in a shock election dominated by political outsiders in the country whose 2011 …
Read More »Tunisia: towards a parliament riven by divisions
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Tunisia’s parliamentary elections held on Sunday appear to have failed to forge a clear path to forming a government. Closed door negotiations are already underway, even ahead of official preliminary results due on Wednesday and a two-man presidential run-off set for Sunday. Here is a brief …
Read More »OBITUARY: Ousted Tunisian president Ben Ali dies at 83
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Tunisia’s all-powerful leader for over two decades, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced from power and into exile by a landmark popular uprising in early 2011, sparking revolts across the Arab world. The man who once appeared in official portraits with a benevolent smile …
Read More »Professor, prisoner to face off in Tunisia runoff
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Official results in Tunisia’s presidential election confirmed on Tuesday a duel in the second round of voting between law professor Kais Saied and imprisoned media mogul Nabil Karoui. Saied led the first round with 18.4 percent of the vote, and is set to challenge Karoui …
Read More »Tunisia gears up for presidential poll steeped in uncertainty
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Tunisia will hold on Sunday its second free presidential election by universal suffrage since the 2011 uprising that toppled an autocratic regime, with growing uncertainty over who will reach the next round. Twenty-six candidates are in the race, including the incumbent prime minister and a media …
Read More »Tunisia mourns, advances polls after death of president
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Tunisia is gearing up for snap elections as early as September following the death of president Beji Caid Essebsi, amid uncertainty over who could step forward to run the North African country. Essebsi, the country’s first head of state elected in nationwide polls, died Thursday at …
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