Day: April 8, 2024

Tunis: Tunisian Film Night” features on the agenda for the evening of April 13, as part of the 17th edition of the “Caravane des Cinémas d’Afrique” festival, which runs from April 5 to 15 in Saintes-Foy-Lès-Lyon.

Two feature-length fiction films, “Ashkal, l’enquête de Tunis” by Youssef Chebbi and “Sous les figues” by Erige Sehiri, as well as the docu-drama “Four Daughters” by Kaouther Ben Hania will be screened.

Mohamed Ben Attia’s film “Par delà les montagnes” which has been shortlisted for the competition, is one of nine films in the running for the Prix du Public offered by the town of Sainte-Foy-lès-Lyon.

Tunisian filmmaker Erige Sehiri is among the Festival’s 2024 guests.

Launched in 1991 and having become a biennial event since 1992, the Caravanes des Cinémas d’Afrique festival, in which 20 countries, including Tunisia, will be represented, aims to promote the African continent’s film industry and showcase African cultures in all their diversity.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

Tunis: Some 673 Tunisian undocumented migrants reached the Italian coasts in March 2024, down 13.38% compared with the previous year.

The number of those dead or missing stood at 63, reads the monthly report of the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES).

As such, the number of Tunisian undocumented migrants who reached the Italian coasts in Q1 of 2024 stood at 1,371.

The report further revealed that undocumented Tunisian migrants account for 12% of all irregular migrants who arrived to Italy this year.

The overall number of those dead or missing in Q1 of 2024 were up to 167.

171 irregular border-crossing operations, over 90% by sea, were foiled and 5,404 undocumented migrants were arrested on the Tunisian coasts, over 86% of them are foreigners.

A total of 8,517 undocumented migrants were prevented from crossing the borders.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

KEF: The rise in temperatures over the past two weeks has had a negative impact on crops in the Kef governorate, especially in the south of the region, Mounir Laabdi, president of the regional agricultural union (URAP), told TAP.

He said nearly 100,000 hectares of cereal farms were damaged in the region, where the area sown this season is 174,000 hectares.

“However, the harvest is expected to be better in the north of the governorate, where crops are likely to be able to withstand the climate change, especially as weather forecasts predict rain in April, a crucial period for the agricultural season,” the same source said.

The governorate of Kef is experiencing its fourth consecutive year of drought and several farmers in the region have been forced to abandon cereal cultivation, which has fallen from 204,000 hectares to 174,000 hectares.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

_: The number of protests upped by 11% in March 2024 compared with February 2024, which saw 179 social protests, according to a report by the Tunisian Social Observatory under the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES).

Locals topped the list of protesters (27%), followed by wage earners (18%).

Protesters demanded better living conditions, as well as other fundamental rights such as the right to water, quality health services, better infrastructure, the supply of goods, price adjustments and a healthy environment.

Sit-ins were the most popular means of protest, with 76 sit-ins reported for a variety of reasons and demands.

Protest movements came second with 41, followed by recourse to the media (35 times).

Claims for the right to work and regularisation of employment status accounted for around 40% of all protests.

Workplaces were the main places where protests took place, with most sit-ins staged in administrative offices, followed by the media through distress calls by several actors ca
lling on officials to intervene.

Gafsa Phosphates Company ranked third, after having been in the lead for several consecutive months in terms of the number of recorded protests.

The map of reported protests revealed strong indicators of the return of thirst protests against water shortages (18% of reported protests). Most of these protests were due to the problem of sudden interruptions to the supply of drinking water, which continued in several districts and areas of the governorates of Gafsa and Nabeul for more than 24 consecutive hours, according to the same report.

The governorate of Gafsa saw 46 protests, the highest number in March, followed by the governorate of Tunis (45), Sousse (14) and Bizerte (13).

135 of the protests were staged in an organised manner, while the remainder were spontaneous.

March witnessed a single women’s protest in Mdhila, calling for the right to drinking water.

Protests calling for the criminalisation of normalisation with the Zionist entity and support for the Palestini
an cause continued throughout March, condemning the Zionist occupation and the genocide of the Palestinians.

Tunisian men and women carried on taking part in periodic rallies in huge numbers, the largest of which was on March 30 to observe Land Day, according to the report.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse