#AFCON: Gabon, Nigeria Eliminated as Bokina Faso, Tunisia progress to Quarter Final

 Gabon and Nigeria have been eliminated in the ongoing African Nations Cup in Cameron.

The first match of the the round of sixteen between Bokina babes saw Gabon if through penalty shootout after the match ended 1:1.

In the second game of the the day, which was the battle of the Eagles, Nigeria list by 1:0 to Tunisia.

HOW shipwreck off Tunisia kill more than 50 migrants

At least 52 people, mostly from sub-Saharan Africa, died when a boat carrying migrants bound for Italy sank off Tunisia, a health official said Thursday in an updated toll.

AFP  reported that another 17 bodies were recovered as one person is still missing. At least 24 women were among the victims.

After the authorities were alerted by fishermen near the port city of Sfax on Tuesday, the navy and coast guards used divers and a helicopter to search for bodies, most of which were found in the same area, a spokesman for a court in Sfax told AFP.

Some burials were held Thursday, Sfax region's health director Ali Ayadi said, with DNA samples taken in the hope of eventually identifying the bodies before they were lain to rest in numbered graves.

The boat's captain, a 48-year-old Tunisian, was among the dead, according to the authorities.

Council trucks were waiting in front of the hospital on Thursday evening to transfer bodies to a cemetery on the outskirts of Sfax.

Witnesses had told authorities the victims were believed to be passengers on a boat that set off for Italy a week ago with 53 people on board.

An investigation has been launched to identify the organisers of the journey.

UN refugee agency UNHCR said in a statement Wednesday that between January and May this year, "sea departures from Tunisia to Europe have been four times more than the ones recorded in the same period last year".

"A growing number of people engaging in sea crossing are from West African countries, followed by Tunisians, who constituted the majority until last year," it added.

According to Tunisia's interior ministry, 2,226 people have been intercepted trying to leave by sea over the first five months of this year.

Many sub-Saharan Africans arrived in Tunisia from Libya in the months after April last year, when strongman Khalifa Haftar launched a failed campaign to take the capital Tripoli.

"I am deeply saddened to hear of women and children losing their life in those perilous journeys", UNHCR's Tunisia representative Hanan Hamdan said in the statement, expressing concern about the new trend in departures.

"We need to provide people with meaningful alternatives that can prevent extreme choices in the search for a better life," Hamdan added.

Blast in Tunis district home to US embassy: ministry

Assailant in attack on US embassy in Tunis killed: police

Tunis blast was attack targeting US embassy, caused injuries: police

An explosion rocked a district of the Tunisian capital home to the US embassy Friday, the interior ministry said without giving the cause, while state media spoke of an attack.

The blast caused panic among pedestrians near the embassy in the Berges du Lac district, images shared online showed.

The Police in Tunis confirmed that the assailant responsible for the attack has been killed but also noted that the the terrorist attack has causes multiple injuries. according to AFP preliminary reports.

Witnesses, according to Aljazeerqa reports said a man on a motorbike blew himself up near the diplomatic mission in the Berges du Lac district, causing panic among pedestrians at the site.

Photos posted on local news websites showed damaged vehicles on the road outside the embassy.

Karim Benabdallah@karim2k
Sucide attack with a motorbike targeting the US embassy in Tunis, no casualties has been reported yet.
Photos grabbed from other twitts.

The US embassy in Tunis confirmed the attack near the embassy with an alert that people should avoid the area.

According to the embassy, Emergency personnel are responding to an explosion that occurred near the U.S. Embassy in Tunis. Please avoid the area and monitor local media for updates.

The U.S. Embassy is located in Berges du Lac, 1053 Tunis.

The local Radio Mosaique FM said that five police officers were wounded. That report could not be immediately verified. The station also reported that there may have been a second perpetrator.

Armed gunmen have targeted Tunisia in recent years, killing scores of people.

Last summer, ISIL (ISIS) said it was behind three blasts in the capital, including one near the French embassy that killed a policeman and another that wounded five people during a security operation to detain a suspect.

 

Meshkal_TN

@MeshkalTn
Scene outside US Embassy in Tunis right now. Crime scene tape now going up. There appears to be a body organ on the street about 150 meters away from the embassy walls in the middle of the street.

 

This is a developing story.. updates coming

Africa: Tunisia's PM designate forms new govt but future uncertain

Tunis (AFP) - Tunisian Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh on Saturday formed a new government but it immediately hit major hurdles after members of the key Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party pulled out of the lineup.
Fakhfakh, a former finance minister, was tasked by Tunisia's president with forming a government after a previous list proposed under the leadership of Ennahdha was rejected by parliament following October legislative elections.

Several of the ministers chosen by Fakhfakh to join the cabinet are from the ranks of the Islamist-inspired party.

But even before he officially announced the lineup, Ennahdha said it was pulling out of the government.

"Ennahdha's decision places us in a difficult position," Fakhfakh said.

He said he had agreed with the president to search for a solution through legal and constitutional means, implying that his lineup could be modified.

Ennahdha won more seats than any other party in October's legislative election, but was still far short of a majority.

The Islamist-inspired party is demanding a national unity government that would include Qalb Tounes, the party of television boss and defeated presidential candidate Nabil Karoui, which is the second biggest in parliament with 38 seats.

"Ennahdha has decided not to take part in the government or in a vote of confidence," senior party member Abdelkarim Harouni told AFP on Saturday.

Fakhfakh became involved in politics after Tunisia's 2011 revolution, joining the Ettakatol party, which had allied with Ennahdha.

He was named minister of tourism in 2011 before serving as minister of finance from December 2012 until January 2014.

In addition to its political crisis, Tunisia is struggling to meet the expectations of its population, while an assistance package started by the International Monetary Fund in 2016 ends in April.

If there is no government in place by March 15, Tunisian President Kais Saied could dissolve parliament and call fresh elections.

Source