Tunisia

10 July 2021; MEMO: Tunisian President Kais Saied on Friday decided that the armed forces, in coordination with civilian medical staff, would survey the entire country to vaccinate citizens against COVID-19 in light of the virus's rapid spread.

This came according to a statement issued on Friday by the Tunisian presidency, of which Anadolu Agency received a copy.

09 July 2021; MEMO: A spokeswoman for the Tunisian Ministry of Health said on Thursday that the country's healthcare sector is on the verge of collapse, with intensive care units full and medical staff exhausted as the coronavirus continues to spread.

"We are witnessing a catastrophic situation," Nissaf Ben Alaya told Mosaique FM. "It requires a lot of effort to find a spare [hospital] bed… We are struggling to secure oxygen… Doctors are suffering from exhaustion to an unprecedented extent."

BEN GUERDANE (Tunisia), July 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — After years of war in Libya, Tunisian traders celebrated the reopening of the border with their oil-rich North African neighbour as a positive sign they hoped would stimulate economic growth.

In the hardscrabble Tunisian coastal town of Ben Guerdane, some 30 kilometres from Libya’s frontier, merchant Jaafar Ben Ali said it was a big relief.

“Now that the war (in Libya) is over, and that the borders are open, it is much easier,” said Ben Ali, who crosses to Libya to buy Turkish-made blankets. “I do a round-trip in a day.”

04 July 2021; MEMO: At least 43 migrants drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy, while another 84 were rescued, the Tunisian Red Crescent told Reuters on Saturday.

The boat had set off from Zuwara, on Libya's northwest coast, carrying migrants from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, and Bangladesh, the humanitarian organisation said.

TUNIS, July 3 (Xinhua) -- The Tunisian maritime guard managed to rescue 96 illegal immigrants off the country's southeast coast, while 43 others are still missing, Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) agency reported Saturday.

"The rescue operation took place off Zarzis coast in the province of Medenine, where units of the maritime guard managed to rescue 96 illegal immigrants from a sinking boat," TAP quoted Mongi Selim, head of the branch of the Tunisian Red Crescent in Medenine, as saying.

TUNIS, July 3 (Reuters) - At least 43 migrants drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy, while another 84 were rescued, the Tunisian Red Crescent told Reuters on Saturday.

The boat had set off from Zuwara, on Libya's northwest coast, carrying migrants from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh, the humanitarian organisation said.

28 June 2021; MEMO: An international committee to campaign for the abolition of the death penalty in Arab countries has been established under the leadership of former Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki, Anadolu has reported.

25 June 2021; MEMO: Tunisian President Kais Saied has said that he will not accept the presence of any foreign troops or military base in his country. He made his comment in a speech delivered on the 65th anniversary of the foundation of Tunisia's National Armed Forces.

This comes weeks after Defence Minister Imed Hazgui said that Tunisia refuses to use its territory to conduct military operations or to establish foreign military units or bases.

24 June 2021; MEMO: Secretary-General of Republican Party Issam Chebbi asked the Tunisian President Kais Saied to clarify details regarding the participation of the country's armed forces in a joint drill in the Black Sea with the Israeli occupation army.

TUNIS, Jun 21 (NNN-TAP) – The Tunisian government added, yesterday, another three governorates to the list of general lockdown, as the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic worsens in the North African country.

The government had already put the north-central governorate of Kairouan under general lockdown on Saturday.

Siliana, Zaghouan, and Bejakn, are the three new governorates where the infection rate reaches 400 cases out of every 100,000 residents, which prompted the decision of imposing a general lockdown, the government said in a statement.