Day: December 30, 2016

Italian prisons house 39 for terrorism, report says, four are women

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Italian prisons currently house 39 people incarcerated for international terrorism, according to a report by Italy’s prison administration (DAP) on radicalisation and proselytism in Italian prisons, reviewed by ANSA on Friday. “Currently those detained in prison for the crime of international terrorism, among the 179 being tracked, are 39, of whom 3 have definitive convictions, 6 are defendants on appeal, 2 are defendants awaiting a decision by the high Court of Cassation, and 26 are defendants awaiting a first trial or sentencing,” the report said. The prisoners are being held…

New Year eve: Reservations of European market edge up in Djerba

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Booking for the New Year holiday in Djerba and Zarzis edged up to reach 6 thousand and even more, Regional Tourism Commissioner Amel Hachani told TAP. The European market represents 80% of the reservations mainly divided between the French, German and Russian markets. Local tourism is decreasing after reaching 50% in 2015. This drop is caused by the change of the winter holiday’s date. The total number of entries and stays edged up by 50% during the September-November period. The Russian market attracted 220 thousand tourists since the start of…

Tunisia breaks up militant cell near Sousse

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Tunisian security forces said Thursday that they had broken up an Al-Qaeda-linked militant cell with ten members that was active near the coastal city of Sousse. The interior ministry said in a statement that the group had used the Telegram encrypted messaging system to communicate with associates inside and outside Tunisia, and was plotting to carry out “terrorist operations”.. The cell had links to Okba Ibn Nafaa, an Al-Qaeda-linked group based in the Mount Chaambi range near the Algerian border that has claimed attacks against Tunisian security forces, the statement…

Germany targets migrants from North Africa

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As Germans try to come to terms with the bloodiest attack on their country in decades, their government is focusing on toughening the deportation laws. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives are eager to push through legislation, currently blocked by the opposition, that would declare Tunisia, Morocco and Algeria “safe countries of origin,” allowing authorities to easily reject asylum applications from nationals of those countries as “clearly unfounded.” Armin Laschet, deputy party chief of Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU,) said in an email that his party wants to see an end to this parliamentary blockade in…

Most Tunisians consider relations with EU good and would like it to play greater role, poll finds

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Almost two thirds of Tunisians (64%) consider relations between the EU and their country good, while less than half of them (49%) have a positive image of the EU against 63% in the Maghreb region, according to the findings of a survey carried out in the framework of the EU-funded EU Neighbours South project. The majority of Tunisians would like the EU to play a greater role in their country in economic development (71%), trade (63%) and human rights (59%). 53% of respondents believe the EU is an important partner…