Tunisia

06 July 2022; MEMO: Tunisia's annual inflation rate rose to 8.1 per cent in June, up from 7.8 per cent in May, the state-run National Institute of Statistics announced yesterday. This is the "highest in three decades," it said, noting that the increase was attributed to the "consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war."

06 July 2022; MEMO: The Tunisian judiciary yesterday froze the bank accounts of the Speaker of the House in the now dissolved government, Rached Ghannouchi, and two of his family members, as well as the accounts of the former Prime Minister, Hamadi Jebali, and two of his daughters.

02 July 2022; MEMO: Tunisian activists on Friday took the proposed draft Constitution announced by President Kais Saied to social media for discussion.

One of the debated issues is the use of ambiguous words in the terms and articles of the Constitution drafted by Saied's allies.

01 July 2022; MEMO: The Head of the Tunisian Bar Association and one of the members of the authority entrusted to draft the new Constitution received great criticism after he warned Tunisians of the possibility that the Speaker of the Tunisian dissolved Parliament, Rached Ghannouchi, to assume power in case the referendum on the new Constitution fails.

01 July 2022; MEMO: The Tunisian judiciary charged the head of the Ennahda movement Rached Ghannouchi, along with 32 other figures, with terrorism.

Lawyer Iman Gazara said: "On Monday, 33 people were officially charged in this case [the assassination of Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi] including the head of the Ennahda movement, Rached Ghannouchi, on charges relating to membership in a terrorist organisation."

She added that "the first investigating judge … brought 17 charges against the 33 defendants."

01 July 2022; MEMO: A delegation from the International Monetary Fund will visit Tunisia on Monday to start negotiations over a loan programme, a Central Bank official told Reuters on Friday.

This follows the completion of technical talks between the IMF and Tunisia, said Zied Mouhli, a Central Bank spokesperson.

Tunisia, which is facing a financial crisis, is seeking to reach a loan deal in return for an unpopular reform package to shore up its struggling public finances.

27 June 2022; MEMO: The Tunisian Ministry of Energy launched on Saturday the first floating photovoltaic station in the Middle East and North Africa region, with a production capacity of about 200 kilowatts.

The ministry said in a statement that the floating photovoltaic station extends over an area of 2,500 square metres, Russia Today reported.

25 June 2022; MEMO: Tunisian police on Thursday raided an industrial facility in the city of Sousse and detained ex-Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali, his family revealed.

According to a statement posted on his family's Facebook page, the police seized the phones of Jeabli and his wife, who was with him when he was detained, and was taken to an unknown location.

23 June 2022; MEMO: Three judges in Tunisia have staged a hunger strike in protest against President Kais Saied's decision to sack 57 judges, including them, Anadolu News Agency reported.

This came in a statement read out on Wednesday by Hammadi Rahmani, one of the three striking judges, in the capital, Tunis.

The judges on hunger strike are Rahmani, Ramzi Bahria and Mohamed Taher Kanzari.

21 June 2022; MEMO: The Head of the Economic and Social Committee that oversaw the national dialogue, Ibrahim Bouderbala, revealed that the draft of the new Constitution has been completed, pointing out that it will be handed over on Monday to President Kais Saied.