Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi attends a meeting with political parties, unions and employers on January 13, 2018 in Tunis. AFP
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi attends a meeting with political parties, unions and employers on January 13, 2018 in Tunis. AFP
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi attends a meeting with political parties, unions and employers on January 13, 2018 in Tunis. AFP
Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi attends a meeting with political parties, unions and employers on January 13, 2018 in Tunis. AFP

Tunisia extends state of emergency amid turmoil


Mina Aldroubi
  • English
  • Arabic

Tunisia's state of emergency came into effect on Monday amid political tensions ahead of next year's legislative and presidential elections.

The country's presidency on Friday had announced the extension, imposed in 2015, following a series of deadly attacks by extremists.

President Beji Caid Essebsi took the decision after consulting with the ministers of defence and interior, Tunisian news agency TAP said.

According to a statement "the ministers discussed security and military situation in the country and at the borders, especially in response to terror threats and organised crime".

Mr Essebsi also consulted Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, despite strained relations between the two.

The state of emergency grants exceptional powers to security forces, allowing them to ban strikes and meetings "likely to provoke...disorder" the statement said. It also includes measures to "assume control of the press".

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In March, the president decided to extend the nationwide state of emergency for a further seven months. Since then, the issue has been reviewed regularly and extended a number of times.

The state of emergency was put in place in November 2015, following two terrorist attacks.

One suicide bombing claimed by ISIS targeted a police bus in central Tunis, killing 12 security guards, while a mass shooting at the tourist resort in Port El Kantaoui, left 38 foreigners and one Tunisian dead and 39 wounded.

The most recent large-scale assault came in March 2016, when dozens of extremists attacked security installations in the town of Ben Guerdane on the Libyan border. Thirteen security forces and seven civilians were killed.

On Wednesday, two soldiers were killed in a land mine blast during an anti-terrorist operation on Mount Chaambi, near the Algerian frontier. A Tunisian-based division of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Okba Ibn Nafaa, is present in the area.

Extremists groups emerged in the country after the 2001 revolution. Soldiers and police officers are prime targets, particularly in the mountainous areas bordering Algeria.

Despite the troubles, tourism has revived since 2015, with over six million foreign travelers visiting Tunisia in the first nine months of 2018, according to government data.

Arrivals rose 16.9 per cent to 6.3 million between January and September this year, surpassing the overall number for 2014.

Brief scores:

Manchester City 3

Aguero 1', 44', 61'

Arsenal ​​​​​1

Koscielny 11'

Man of the match: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

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The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

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There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

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Labour dispute

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FIXTURES

Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl

MATCH INFO

Liverpool 0

Stoke City 0

Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

MATCH INFO

Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)

Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no

Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)

Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22

Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets

Name: Colm McLoughlin

Country: Galway, Ireland

Job: Executive vice chairman and chief executive of Dubai Duty Free

Favourite golf course: Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club

Favourite part of Dubai: Palm Jumeirah

 

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SQUADS

Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Wahab Riaz

Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal (capt), Lahiru Thirimanne (vice-capt), Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Roshen Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Rangana Herath, Lakshan Sandakan, Dilruwan Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage

Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)

The National Archives, Abu Dhabi

Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.

Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en

PREMIER LEAGUE RESULTS

Bournemouth 1 Manchester City 2
Watford 0 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 0
Huddersfield Town 0 Southampton 0
Crystal Palace 0 Swansea City 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester City 0
West Bromwich Albion 1 Stoke City 1
Chelsea 2 Everton 0
Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0

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In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

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Australia World Cup squad

Aaron Finch (capt), Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa

ESSENTIALS

The flights

Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.

The hotels

Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.

The tours

A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages. 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

Company profile

Name: Fruitful Day

Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie

Based: Dubai, UAE

Founded: 2015

Number of employees: 30

Sector: F&B

Funding so far: Dh3 million

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How do Sim card scams work?

Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.

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