Tunisia Tightens Measures to Fight Pandemic

A Tunisian health worker prepares to receive people for a vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tunis, Tunisia March 13, 2021. (Reuters)
A Tunisian health worker prepares to receive people for a vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tunis, Tunisia March 13, 2021. (Reuters)
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Tunisia Tightens Measures to Fight Pandemic

A Tunisian health worker prepares to receive people for a vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tunis, Tunisia March 13, 2021. (Reuters)
A Tunisian health worker prepares to receive people for a vaccination against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Tunis, Tunisia March 13, 2021. (Reuters)

Tunisia has announced additional restrictions to curb the Covid-19 disease, as a rise in infections poses what officials called "dangerous" risks for the country.

The new measures, to be imposed from April 9-30, include banning public and private gatherings.

The government is also calling on governors to impose a nighttime curfew from 7 pm to 5 am, moving the start time up three hours from the current 10 pm.

Government spokesman Hasna Ben Slimane, who detailed the measures at a press conference, also announced the closure of weekly souks throughout Tunisia.

A five-day self-quarantine will be required for those arriving from abroad along with a negative PCR test within 72 hours before the trip, AFP quoted the spokesman as saying.

Hospital officials have in recent days spoken of a dangerous situation due to an increase in infections and dozens of deaths per day.

Intensive care beds in hospital Covid units have reached 80 percent capacity and that number is at risk of increasing, Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi told the press conference, calling the situation "dangerous.”

As of April 6, Tunisia had recorded 264,994 virus infections including 9,087 deaths, according to the health ministry.



EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
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EU Condemns Israel's West Bank Control Measures

The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)
The Israeli settlement of Har Homa, seen from the West Bank city of Bethlehem, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. (AP)

The European Union on Monday condemned new Israeli measures to tighten control of the West Bank and pave the way for more settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory, AFP reported.

"The European Union condemns recent decisions by Israel's security cabinet to expand Israeli control in the West Bank. This move is another step in the wrong direction," EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni told journalists.


Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
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Atrocities in Sudan's El-Fasher Were 'Preventable Human Rights Catastrophe'

Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)
Sudanese displaced people who left El Fasher after its fall, sit in the shade in Tawila at the Rwanda camp reception point on December 17, 2025. (Photo by AFP)

The atrocities unleashed on El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region last October were a "preventable human rights catastrophe", the United Nations said Monday, warning they now risked being repeated in the neighbouring Kordofan region.

 

"My office sounded the alarm about the risk of mass atrocities in the besieged city of El-Fasher for more than a year ... but our warnings were ignored," UN rights chief Volker Turk told the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

 

He added that he was now "extremely concerned that these violations and abuses may be repeated in the Kordofan region".

 

 

 

 


Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
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Arab League Condemns Israel's Decisions to Alter Legal, Administrative Status of West Bank

A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)
A general view shows the opening session of the meeting of Arab foreign ministers at the Arab League Headquarters (Reuters)

The General Secretariat of the Arab League strongly condemned decisions by Israeli occupation authorities to impose fundamental changes on the legal and administrative status of the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly in the West Bank, describing them as a dangerous escalation and a flagrant violation of international law, international legitimacy resolutions, and signed agreements, SPA reported.

In a statement, the Arab League said the measures include facilitating the confiscation of private Palestinian property and transferring planning and licensing authorities in the city of Hebron and the area surrounding the Ibrahimi Mosque to occupation authorities.

It warned of the serious repercussions of these actions on the rights of the Palestinian people and on Islamic and Christian holy sites.

The statement reaffirmed the Arab League’s firm support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost among them the establishment of their independent state on the June 4, 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.