Tunisian opposition announces alliance against president

Tunisian opposition announces alliance against president
Tunisian politician Ahmed Najib Chebbi announces the launch of the National Salvation Front in Tunis. (AFP)
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Updated 27 April 2022

Tunisian opposition announces alliance against president

Tunisian opposition announces alliance against president
  • The new alliance comprises five political parties including Saied’s nemesis the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, along with five civil society groups involving independent political figures

TUNIS: A veteran Tunisian opposition figure announced on Tuesday the creation of a new alliance to “save” the country from deep crisis following President Kais Saied’s power grab last year.

Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, 78, a prominent left-wing politician who opposed Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali’s rule, said the new National Salvation Front aimed to unite political forces, re-establish constitutional and democratic processes and guarantee freedoms and rights in the country.

“We want a return to legitimacy and democracy,” he told a news conference in the capital Tunisia.

Saied — a former law professor elected in 2019 amid public anger against the political class — on July 25 last year sacked the government, suspended parliament and seized wide-ranging powers.

He later gave himself powers to rule and legislate by decree and seized control over the judiciary.

He dissolved parliament last month, dealing another blow to the political system put in place after the North African country’s 2011 revolution.

Chebbi opposes Saied’s moves and describes them as a “coup.”

The new alliance comprises five political parties including Saied’s nemesis the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party, along with five civil society groups involving independent political figures.

The Front’s priority is to rescue an economy ruined by a “rotten” political system that puts off investors, Chebbi said.

It also aims to involve other political groups and “influential” figures before launching a national dialogue on reforms to “save the country,” he added. Chebbi called for a “salvation government” to lead the country during a “transition period” before new elections.

Last week Saied assigned himself the power to appoint the head of the electoral commission, a move critics say aims to create a tame electoral body ahead of a referendum slated for July on constitutional reforms, and legislative elections due in December.

Last month, Saied also inaugurated a “temporary” council of judges to replace an independent watchdog he abolished when seizing sweeping powers over the judiciary.

Saied’s initial power grab last year was welcomed by many Tunisians sick of the often-stalemated post-revolution political system.

But an increasing array of critics say he has moved the country down a dangerous path back toward autocracy.


Mohammed Bin Rashid Library launches ‘A World Reads’ initiative

Mohammed Bin Rashid Library launches ‘A World Reads’ initiative
Updated 31 March 2023

Mohammed Bin Rashid Library launches ‘A World Reads’ initiative

Mohammed Bin Rashid Library launches ‘A World Reads’ initiative
  • Project in line with MBRL’s aim to ignite passion for knowledge in future generations
  • Board member Al-Mazrooei: ‘Reading and knowledge initiatives key for individuals to improve quality of life’

DUBAI: The Mohammed Bin Rashid Library has launched the “A World Reads” initiative, in conjunction with UAE Reading Month, to support and enrich libraries, reported Emirates News Agency on Friday.
The initiative is said to have been launched in collaboration with local publishers, special-publication institutions, and a select group of authors and writers to develop school libraries, readers clubs, cafes and government departments.
“A World Reads” comes in line with MBRL’s efforts, vision, and strategy to ignite a passion for knowledge among future generations, said board member Dr. Mohamed Salem Al-Mazrooei.
“It will considerably encourage similar community initiatives and volunteers to support such endeavors, while playing a major role in strengthening partnership between donors and local partners to achieve this vision,” he said.
“Reading and knowledge initiatives are key for individuals to improve their quality of life, enhance their intellectual and learning competencies, and enable them to better communicate and interact with their communities,” added Al-Mazrooei, who stressed that such initiatives should be encouraged in appreciation of their significance as key contributors to building well-educated and developed societies.
The initiative strives to support and enrich school libraries with a valuable and diverse collection of Arabic and English books for children and adults
“A World Reads” also provides support for students participating in the Arab Reading Challenge Award, along with enriching and developing library collections in federal and local government departments, private institutions, universities and colleges.
A unique collection of books in Arabic, English and Braille will be offered to children, young people, adults, people of determination and visually impaired people integrated into education.
MBRL calls upon local publishers, relative public institutions and entities with special publications, writers, and other parties to participate in the initiative, by donating and sharing their unused publications and books.


Abraham Accords prove no such thing as ‘permanent enemies,’ says former Trump adviser Kushner

Abraham Accords prove no such thing as ‘permanent enemies,’ says former Trump adviser Kushner
Updated 31 March 2023

Abraham Accords prove no such thing as ‘permanent enemies,’ says former Trump adviser Kushner

Abraham Accords prove no such thing as ‘permanent enemies,’ says former Trump adviser Kushner
  • Historic peace deals were hugely important for Middle East stability, Jared Kushner tells FII Priority conference

MIAMI: The US-brokered Abraham Accords signed in 2020 between Israel and several Arab neighbors under then-president Donald Trump have shown that there is “no such thing as permanent enemies,” Jared Kushner said on Friday.

Speaking at the FII Priority conference in Miami, the former senior Trump adviser said the peace deals were hugely important for the stability of the Middle East.

He also said they marked a return to close ties and coexistence between Christians, Muslims and Jews in the region before the Second World War, adding: “It’s a beginning of the return to that time.”

Under the accords, Israel normalized relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco, and has since garnered a closer human connection between their populations, with “Arabs and Muslims now able to say nice things about Israel and Jews,” according to Kushner.

He continued: “It just shows there’s no such thing as permanent enemies, and there’s no such thing as permanent alliances, and that anything is truly possible.”

Speaking about why he made sure Trump’s first foreign visit in 2017 after he became president was to the Middle East, Kushner said it made sense considering that the fight against Daesh was a pressing issue at the time and a priority for Trump.

He also highlighted the chaos in the region at the time, citing the rise of Daesh’s caliphate, Iran’s destabilizing behavior and funding of Hamas and Hezbollah, the Syrian civil war, and crises in Libya and Yemen, saying the previous George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations had “really made a big mess” in the Middle East.

“A lot of the traditional people we were working with were saying, ‘let’s go to Canada or Mexico and kiss a baby,’ and do some, you know, worthless thing,” Kushner said.

During that visit, Trump visited Saudi Arabia, and Kushner told the conference how impressed he was with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, launched under King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The Saudi leadership was as keen as the US administration at the time to focus on shared ambitions and goals, rather than any differences, he said.

Kushner added he could see that the king and crown prince were fully focused on making “big transformations” in the Kingdom, but “traditionalist” policy-planning officials in the US told him the changes would not come to fruition.

“And me having no (political) experience, if somebody’s telling you they want to change, and if we agree with the change, let’s give them a shot to try to do it,” he said. “And so we worked very hard on the trip, and the deliverables from it were truly historic.”

Aside from important economic and security deals signed during the visit to Saudi Arabia, the opening of a center to combat extremism in the country was an outcome of which Kushner is particularly proud.

He highlighted the counterterror financing center, which gave access to US officials to the Middle East’s banking system and allowed the partners to “really fight money that was going to bad actors.”


Tunisia introduces water quota system due to severe drought

Tunisia introduces water quota system due to severe drought
Updated 31 March 2023

Tunisia introduces water quota system due to severe drought

Tunisia introduces water quota system due to severe drought
  • Tunisia recorded drop in dam capacity due to rain scarcity
  • Agriculture ministry banned use of potable water to wash cars, water green areas, clean streets and public places

TUNIS: Tunisia on Friday introduced a quota system for potable water and banned its use in agriculture until Sept. 30 in response to a severe drought that has hit the country, the agriculture ministry said.
Tunisia, which is suffering a fourth straight year of serious drought, recorded a drop in its dam capacity to around 1 billion cubic meters, or 30 percent of the maximum, due to a scarcity of rain from September 2022 to mid-March 2023, senior agriculture ministry official Hamadi Habib said.
The agriculture ministry also banned the use of potable water to wash cars, water green areas and clean streets and public places. Violators face a fine and imprisonment for a period of between six days to six months, according to the Water Law.
Residents said that Tunisian authorities have for the last two weeks been cutting off drinking water at night in some areas of the capital and other cities in a bid to cut consumption, a move that has sparked widespread anger. The government declined to comment on the claim.
The new decision threatens to fuel social tension in a country whose people suffer from poor public services, high inflation and a weak economy.
The Sidi Salem Dam in the north of the country, a key provider of drinking water to several regions, has declined to only 16 percent of its maximum capacity of 580 million cubic meters, official figures showed.
Tunisia’s grain harvest will be “disastrous,” with the drought-hit crop declining to 200,000-250,000 tons this year from 750,000 tons in 2022, senior farmers union official Mohamed Rjaibia told Reuters on Thursday.


At least 14 workers dead in gold mine collapse in Sudan

At least 14 workers dead in gold mine collapse in Sudan
Updated 31 March 2023

At least 14 workers dead in gold mine collapse in Sudan

At least 14 workers dead in gold mine collapse in Sudan
  • The workers died after the roof of the Jebel Al-Ahmar gold mine collapsed
  • Many other miners still missing

KHARTOUM, Sudan: At least 14 workers are dead after a gold mine collapsed in northern Sudan, state mining authorities said Friday.
According to the state-run news agency, SUNA, the fatal collapse happened after one of the hillsides that surround the Jebel Al-Ahmar gold mine — situated near the Egyptian border — gave way Thursday afternoon.
Many other miners are still missing among the rubble, it said.
Witnesses cited by SUNA said the workers were searching inside mining wells for gold using heavy machinery which caused the collapse.
Several of the bodies, mostly of young men, have been recovered from the site and search efforts are ongoing, SUNA said.
A security source cited by the state agency said workers are feared to be trapped beneath the mine’s groundwater. Few further details were given.
Collapses are common in Sudan’s gold mines, where safety standards and maintenance are poor.
In 2021, 31 people were killed after a defunct gold mine collapsed in West Kordofan province.
Sudan is a major gold producer with various mines scattered across the country.


Adviser killed in Israeli attack on Syria Iran’s Revolutionary Guard say

Adviser killed in Israeli attack on Syria Iran’s Revolutionary Guard say
Updated 31 March 2023

Adviser killed in Israeli attack on Syria Iran’s Revolutionary Guard say

Adviser killed in Israeli attack on Syria Iran’s Revolutionary Guard say
  • There was no immediate statement from Israel, which usually declines to comment on reports of strikes in Syria

DAMASCUS: Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said in a statement that one of their military advisers was killed in an Israeli attack on the Syrian capital Damascus on Friday, Iranian media reported.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has announced the martyrdom of guardsman Milad Haydari, one of the IRGC’s military advisers and officers, in the criminal attack of the Zionust regime on the outskirts of Damascus at dawn today,” the media quoted an IRGC statement.

Israel carried out an air strike near the Syrian capital early Friday, Syrian state media reported, the second attack near Damascus in the last two days.
Reuters witnesses heard at least three big explosions over the city overnight.
Citing a military source, state media reported that Israel fired “sprays of missiles” just after midnight.
“Syrian air defenses intercepted the missiles and shot down a number of them,” the source said, saying the aggression caused some material damage. There were no details about casualties.
The source said the attack hit “a site in the Damascus countryside” but did not provide further details.
There was no immediate statement from Israel, which usually declines to comment on reports of strikes in Syria.
Israel has for years been carrying out attacks against what it has described as Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran’s influence has grown since it began supporting President Bashar Assad in the civil war that began in 2011.
Iranian-backed groups, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and Iraqi paramilitary groups have entrenched positions around the capital and in the country’s north, east and south.
There have been at least six strikes in March alone, according to a tally by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor with sources on the ground.
Two soldiers were wounded in an Israeli missile attack near Damascus on Thursday, Syrian state media reported.