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Tunisian Minister of Environment Arrested Over Italian Waste Scandal

A view of a container being carried by a crane above a freight ship at the port of Sousse, where containers of household waste from Italy are blocked. (AFP)
A view of a container being carried by a crane above a freight ship at the port of Sousse, where containers of household waste from Italy are blocked. (AFP)
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Tunisian Minister of Environment Arrested Over Italian Waste Scandal

A view of a container being carried by a crane above a freight ship at the port of Sousse, where containers of household waste from Italy are blocked. (AFP)
A view of a container being carried by a crane above a freight ship at the port of Sousse, where containers of household waste from Italy are blocked. (AFP)

Tunisian Environment Minister Mustapha Aroui has been sacked and arrested on Sunday over the shipment of hundreds of containers of household waste from Italy to Tunisia, according to spokesperson for the Sousse Court of First Instance Jabir al-Gunaymi.

Justice took over with the arrest of 21 people, including a Customs official, two directors at the National Agency for Environmental Protection (ANPE), four employees from the National Agency for Waste Management (ANGED), and the owner of a private laboratory.

During an accountability session before the parliament, Aroui stated that Tunisia is working on returning the containers to Italy -- he continued that the Italian authority was informed of illegal trade activities.

Head of the Tunisian Administrative Reform and Anti-Corruption Commission Bedreddin al-Kamudi said that several officials from the Customs and the Ministry of the Environment were arrested.

Kamudi added that arrests will continue when the judicial research covers other officials related to this matter.

The shipment was seized by the Tunisian Customs after protests held by civil organizations and accusations of receiving hazardous waste from Italy.

The Customs accused the Ministry of Local Affairs and the Environment of standing behind the waste shipment and insisted that the Ministry granted permission for this.

A report was submitted on Dec. 14 to the Tunisian Administrative Reform and Anti-Corruption Commission, revealing several disorders that need to be referred to the judiciary. Further, the report presented recommendations to avoid similar scenarios in the future.

Notably, the Tunisian authority launched an investigation into corruption-related issues, namely “misconduct”, in which Tunisian former Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh, Industry Minister Youssef bin Saleh, and MP Jalal al-Zayati were involved.

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Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
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Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)

Syrian Christians gathered at churches in the country's capital Damascus on Wednesday amid tight security measures to celebrate their first Christmas after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

"Today there is a large deployment of security to protect the churches, fearing sabotage, but things are normal," Nicola Yazgi told dpa, while attending a mass in eastern Damascus.

Security forces affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is now leading Syria's interim government, were deployed outside churches and in the streets in Christian-majority neighborhoods in the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

According to the UK-based war monitor, churches across Syria - including in the southern city of al-Sweida, and in the northern cities of Aleppo and Idlib - opened their doors for Christmas celebrations.

Yazgi said he was celebrating two things this year: "Christmas and the victory of the revolution and the fall of the tyrant. We hope that today will be the day of salvation from the era of al-Assad family injustices."

Suad al-Zein, an engineer, also joined the mass in Damascus. She expressed her joy despite the lack of decorations in the streets: "For us, joy is in our hearts."

Civil war broke out in Syria in 2011 following pro-democracy protests against al-Assad's regime.

In late November, HTS and other opposition groups launched a rapid offensive, making major territorial gains before capturing Damascus earlier this month. Al-Assad fled to Russia with his family.

Since then, HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has tried to reassure minorities in Syria, promising moderation and respect for all religious sects.

A group of people burnt a Christmas tree in Hama province on Monday evening, prompting hundreds of protesters to take to the streets in several cities.