Tag: Tunisia

  • AHEAD OF NIGERIA SHOWDOWN: Cameroon to meet Tunisia March 24

    AHEAD OF NIGERIA SHOWDOWN: Cameroon to meet Tunisia March 24

    •Game holds in Monastir

    Newly-crowned African champions Cameroon have lined up a friendly with the Tunisian national team, Eagles of Carthage, in March ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Nigeria.

    The friendly between the two African powerhouses will take place at the Mustapha Ben Jannet stadium in Monastir on March 24.

    The Tunisian Football Federation announced on their official webpage : “Agreement has just been reached between the Tunisian Football Federation and the Cameroonian Federation for the organisation of an international friendly match on  March 24 at the Mustapha Ben Jannet stadium in Monastir.”

    Before the Indomitable Lions face off against the Super Eagles in August, they will represent Africa at this summer’s FIFA Confederations Cup.

    Nigeria have confirmed a friendly with Senegal during the next international window.

  • Ahead of 2017 ITTF Africa Junior Championships: Tunisia dares Nigeria, Egypt

    Ahead of 2017 ITTF Africa Junior Championships: Tunisia dares Nigeria, Egypt


    Despite acknowledging the superiority of Nigeria and Egypt in Africa, National Technical Director of Tunisia Table Tennis Federation (TTTF), Ramzi Mabrouk believes they are going to ‘rock the boat’ against the superpowers at this year’s ITTF Africa Junior and Cadet Championship in April.
    Having produced teenage sensations duo of Omar Ammous and Bourass Aboubaker that have put the North African country in a vantage position in Africa, Mabrouk is optimistic that it would not be business as usual for Nigeria and Egypt in Tunis when the AJC serves off on April 9.
    “Undeniably, Egypt is the best table tennis nation in Africa. It has an important and historical Table Tennis culture. It also has financial and human resources made available to its federation to achieve the highest international level. Nigeria is not far away. It has great champions for several dozen years playing in iconic clubs in Europe. Tunisia had always been behind these two nations. Sometimes we were able to overtake them on some youth competitions. But it never lasted. Today we start a new cycle and we changed our strategy in order to being competitive and catch up. I hope to get there at the end of this Olympiad,” he said.
    Mabrouk, who will coordinate the Tunisia coaching crew during the tournament, admitted they cannot continue to play second fiddle in the continent. “We hope to win continental titles in different categories of the championship and we are working very diligently to arrive at that result. The Tunisian National Table Tennis Team has been preparing for this competition for a few months. We are in intensive training camps and we will participate in some international competitions in order to finally be ready on D-Day. Tunisia of course is one of the favourite countries for titles, as well as Egypt and Nigeria too. They have a lot of young talent very promising, in boys and girls too. Also, table tennis in Tunisia is increasingly popular, with a greater media presence, and a wider practice throughout the country,” he added.
  • 2017 AFCON:  Tunisia defeats Algeria

    2017 AFCON: Tunisia defeats Algeria

     

    Tunisia has defeated their northern neighbours, Algeria  with a 2-1 win at the ongoing 2017 Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON) holding in Gabon.

    The Tunisian side have indeed  succeeded in   putting Africa  on the brink of elimination.
    An Aissa Mandi own goal early in the second half and a Naim Sliti penalty after 66 minutes put Tunisia in control before Sofiane Hanni pulled a goal back in stoppage time but it was too little too late for Algeria, who are already reliant on results elsewhere if they are to progress from Group B.

    The result leaves Tunisia with three points from two games, with Algeria having picked up just one point so far in a group that also contains Senegal and Zimbabwe.

  • Carthage Eagles face do-or-die clash

    Tunisia faces a do-or-die clash with Algeria as they prepare for a crunch Group B African Nations Cup encounter in Franceville today.

    The two sides had contrasting fortunes in their opening matches. Algeria did not play well but came away with a 2-2 draw against Zimbabwe, while Tunisia dominated Senegal for much of their encounter but ended up losing 2-0. Another defeat will see the Carthage Eagles ousted from the competition with one match still to play.

    Certainly that is the way the Tunisian players see it, with defender Hamdi Negguez admitting: “We will play the match of our lives. We have no other choice: either we win or we go home.”

    Tunisia coach Henryk Kasperczak felt his side deserved more against Senegal and has been boosted by the return to fitness of midfielder Mohamed Amine Ben Amor, who missed the opener through injury.

    Matches between the two sides have traditionally been tight and this is expected to be another tense affair that is always simmering, with the potential to boil over.

    Both sides are known for their theatrics and it is likely to be an encounter where the referee will need eyes in the back of his head.

    In 30 previous meetings between the teams in all competitions and including friendlies, Algeria have 12 wins to seven for Tunisia, with 11 draws.

  • Berlin Attack suspect shot dead in Milan

    Berlin Attack suspect shot dead in Milan

    24-year-old Tunisian Anis Amri, believed to be the suspect in the Berlin Christmas market truck attack has been killed in a shoot-out in a suburb of the northern Italian city of Milan on Friday, a security source told Reuters.

    Italy’s interior minister who just held a news conference confirmed his death.

    Details later.

  • Ajayi, Bulbwa hit target in Tunisia

    Two Nigerian players plying their trades in the Tunisia Lique 1 were in goal scoring form as their respective teams recorded victories yesterday. Bernard Bulbwa scored the fourth goal for Tunisian gaints, Esperance in their 5-0 mauling of AS Kasserine in a Tunisian League tie played at the famous Olympic Stadium, Rades Tunis.

    Bulbwa who joined the Blood and Gold after an impressive outing for the Flying Eagles at the last Africa Youth Championship in Senegal earlier this year found the back of the net in the 80th minute for his club.

    In another game decided yesterday, ex-Shooting Stars and Dream Team striker, Junior Ajayi’s goal helped CS Sfaxien to a 1-0 away win against EO Sidi Bouzid.

    Ajayi who equally scored on his debut for the Tunisian side last September hit target for Sfaxien in the 64th minute of the encounter.

    Incidentally, Ajayi’s lone strike ensured Sfaxien sustain their leadership status on the log as they now have 18 points after six matches with Esperance on second position with 15 points.

  • Tunisia set to crush Cape Verde

    The north African nation are one of the favourites to succeed in Equatorial Guinea, whereas the underdogs are not expected to match their quarter-final showing two years ago

    Tunisia start their campaign to regain the Africa Cup of Nations title versus Cape Verde with coach Georges Leekens conceding that his side’s preparations have been disrupted by difficulties with accommodation.

    The north Africans won the Afcon for the first time back in 2004 and are among the favourites to lift the trophy for a second time in Equatorial Guinea.

    Leekens’ team will be expected to triumph against a Cape Verde side making only their second appearance at the competition.

    However, the Belgian has been left fuming by problems at the team hotel, which has suffered a powercut and had plumbing problems, ahead of Sunday’s meeting in Ebebiyin.

    “I am very concerned because the challenges we face have nothing to do with  preparing our team for this cup,” Leekens said. “For two or three weeks, we are well prepared for the tournament and we really handled things.

    “On Friday, CAF asked us to train at two o’clock in the afternoon, under the blazing sun and we have agreed to do so, without complaining.

    “With that, there is no problem. We try as we can to focus on our work, but let’s face it, the circumstances are not favourable.”

    Cape Verde surprised many by reaching the quarter-finals in 2013 before succumbing to Ghana.

    After being drawn alongside Tunisia and two other former winners in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo in Group B, expectations are low for the islanders.

    Coach Rui Aguas’ men may have extra motivation to try to prove their superiority over Tunisia having been thrown out of World Cup qualifying for fielding an ineligible player in the last meeting between the two back in September 2013.

    And, following an Afcon qualification campaign in which they finished top of Group F ahead of Zambia, Aguas has his sights set on another run to the knock-out stages of the tournament.

    “The other three teams are stronger and more experienced, but we’ll try to do our best and shine, [and] pass the group stage must always be a goal,” Aguas said.

    “Zambia will be very difficult, they were champions few years ago, but Tunisia are perhaps the strongest physically and defensively, and great technically too”

  • Tunisians hold landmark presidential election

    Tunisia took another step forward in its peaceful transition to democracy yesterday by holding its first free presidential election, with voters hoping for more stability and a better economy.

    Many Tunisians weighed security against the freedoms brought by their revolution and by its democratic transition, which has remained on track in sharp contrast to the upheavals brought by the Arab Spring elsewhere in the region, including the brutal military coup in Egypt and the conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya.

    It hasn’t been easy for Tunisia, however, and the nearly four years since the revolution have been marked by social unrest, terrorist attacks and high inflation that has voters punishing the moderate Islamists that first came to power.

    The front runner of the nearly two dozen candidates for the presidency is Beji Caid Essebsi, an 87-year-old former minister from the previous administrations who many are hoping will get the country back on track.

    “He is a veteran politician with experience that can ensure security and stability,” said Mouldi Cherni, a middle age driver living in Tunis’ Carthage suburb who voted for Essebsi. “The people are tired, life has grown expensive and Tunisians don’t even have enough to make an ojja,” the local omelet favored by the poor.

    The strikes, social unrest and occasional political assassinations have kept away foreign investment and the economy foundered after the revolution as an Islamist-led coalition government struggled with the country’s problems.

    In the end, the Islamist Ennahda Party stepped down at the start of the year in favor of a government of technocrats, but they still completed one of the region’s most progressive constitutions.

    The Islamists, who won about a quarter of the seats in parliament, opted not to field a presidential candidate.

    Voters have since turned to Essebsi’s Nida Tunis party, a loose collection of liberal and leftist politicians, giving them nearly 38 percent of the new parliament last month.

    There are fears, however, that Essebsi has authoritarian tendencies and that his domination of the parliament and the presidency could bring back the old one party state.

    In Tunisia, the main power resides with the prime minister. The presidency is a largely symbolic post with some responsibilities for defense and foreign affairs.

     

    Opposition to Essebsi has coalesced around the current interim president, Moncef Marzouki, a veteran rights campaigner who is respected for his long fight against tyranny.

    “I voted for a man I thought was clean, with integrity and sincerity,” said Azzedine Issaoui, in Tunis’ working class district of Kram, who said he chose Marzouki.

    The lines as voters gathered in the morning at polling stations were not as long as last month’s parliamentary elections, and for the first half of the day younger voters were largely absent.

    If no candidate gains an outright majority, there will be a runoff between the two top vote getters on Dec. 28.

    Other possible candidates for a runoff include Hamma Hammami of the left-wing Popular Front coalition and millionaire football club owner Slim Riahi.

     

  • Tunisians Elect President For First Time

    Tunisians Elect President For First Time

    In just the third free election since the early 2011 revolution in Tunisia that ended the 10 year regime of autocrat Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisians will on Sunday vote for a new president.
    A total of 27 candidates are vying for office but a race is emerging between a rights activist who says the election is a chance to stop the return of old-regime stalwarts and a veteran ex-Ben Ali official.
    According to statistics from the Tunisian electoral commission, out of the 5.2 million citizens who are eligible to cast ballot in the presidential election, 1.2 million registered voters are concentrated in capital Tunis and the provinces of Manouba, Ariana and Ben Arous.
    Meanwhile, next to this areas are the southeastern Sfax 1 and 2 electoral districts with some 441,000 registered voters, while the eastern Nabeul 1 and 2 districts have a combined 370,000 voters.
    However, just after about three years after the end of Ben Ali’s one-party rule, Tunisia has become a model of transition for the region by adopting a new constitution and avoiding the turmoil facing its neighbours.
    The election is an aftermath of a general election in October when the main secular Nidaa Tounes party won the most seats in the parliament, besting the Islamist party Ennahda that won the first free poll in 2011.
    Among the 27 presidential candidates, two candidates appear to be the frontrunners in the upcoming polls — interim President Moncef Marzouki, who was voted into office a few months after Ben Ali’s ouster by members of the elected Constituent Assembly, and Beji Caid Essebsi, who served as parliament speaker under Ben Ali.
    Lead by Essebsi, the Nidaa Tounes Party clinched the most seats by a single party in last month’s parliamentary polls, winning 86 seats. Nidaa’s victory knocked Ennahda into second place with 69 seats, according to definitive official results.
    With about 70% turnout of registered voters, the Free Patriotic Union (UPL), led by entrepreneur Slim Riahi, emerged third with 16 seats in the election to the 217-member parliament while the leftist coalition Popular Front coalition took 15, while another 15 parties divided up the balance.

  • Revisiting The Arab Spring

    Revisiting The Arab Spring

    26-year-old Mohammed Bouzaazi did not fulfill his planned four year degree in psychology. at the University of Tunisia. But at least he managed to secure a junior degree in bacallauearete level.. He did not have a job in the normal establishment due to high unemployment rate and tough economic circumstances in his native Tunis, the capital of the north African nation of Tunisia. He was continually harassed as a vegetable vendor where he etched out a living as a seller at the nation’s capital.

    At the last count, what has now been generally characterized as the Arab spring was created, elevated, impacted and in a general sense enamored by a whirlwind of societal discontent, led by this gentleman of modest beginnings.

    He set himself ablaze, setting the stage for combustions, retributions and polytypical convulsions all over the Arab world. After Tunisia was Yemen, Libya fell, Egypt is yet in turmoil, Syria is still boiling while Iran is eye boiling Israel.

    Our concern today undoubtedly is about the Mediterranean state of Egypt.. This is a nation that made peace with the state of Israel. This is a country that prides itself with so much political liberalism even as a virile military establishment is always on the standby.

    In come President Mohammed Morsi in to this volatile mix. He introduced high handed Islamic constitutional changes into a very much liberal enclave. The outcome was discomfiting to the large extent of provoking reactionary elements to frongtail into the now popular descent of their discontent aka the Arab Spring. Could it have have happened earlier than now only providence knows. In any event, deposed President Morsi’s tenure met its cherished abrupt termination with a transitional arrangement backed fully with the mighty and fury of the military establishment.

    Now the transitional government has promoted the man in the saddle, General el-Sisi to the position of Field Marshal preparatory to being a front rurner and chief content ender to the June slates presidential election between which he is conjured to unshed his military toga for a civilian toga as0 civilian president.

    The question on our front burner is this. Was the deposition of Mohammed Morsi borne out of any altruistic ideological, religious or personal egoistic concerns or otherwise?

    Is Field Marshal el- Sisi so altruistically gifted to lead the Egyptians out of their tumltutuous enclave or pecunious chicanery?

    Morsi is now being tried on the fourth criminal count charge and no end in sight this time it is specifically for a jail brake offense in 2011. He remains defiant and still insists to be the president of Egypt.

    As noted earlier, he remained incalcitrant, even in incarceration insisting that he remains the president of the nation.

    The interim government in Cairo has promoted General el-Sisi, the man who deposed Morsi to the post of Field Marshall positing him to contest the presidency in April having proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a political tour de force, meaning that in any election a Sisi candidacy is a shoe-in to the Cairo palacy.

    Question is what beholds of the quest for democracy in a so much celebrated liberal and democratic Egypt? Where do we go from here?

    The Arab Spring revolution was a call to order in a politically dysfunctional and unjust society no doubt. Dictators and sit tight leaders were upturned, uprooted and sent packing from there comfort zones. Libya’s Colonel Ghadafi lost out, Yemeni’s president had a run for the border, Syria’s Assad is still on oxygen octave battling for the soul of his life, even the eastern bloc from Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine and Bangladesh are not spared of political restlessness.

    In the middle of all these, our man in the saddle in Egypt, now Field MarshallSisi says his military establishment, he is not contesting for the presidency. He is so busy putting Morsi and all that he stands for as in the Muslim Brotherhood into uter mud just as we say call a dog a bad name as to hang it.

    He already has arranged a constitutional referendum with an approval rating of 98

    .1 per cent which guarantees full grip on power till thy kingdom come in good old Cairo.

    Does it really matter if Field Marshall el-Sisi now becomes President el-Sisi? Does the average Egyptian benefit more or less from this transformation agenda?

    These are the salient and pertinent issues that appertain to the tumult in the land of the living as regards to Cairo. Wait a minute. May be Morssi made some miscalculations in terms of constitutional realignments. May be he was a little tilted to Islamic fundamentalism as in strict enforcement of Sharia and all that but with a military guy trying to shed the toga of militarism for anewed democracy is not conducive to an established civil society as in Egypt.

    This is a nation that has established peace pact with Israel, that has strong military and economic relationship with America and continues to establish itself as a strong regional power in the Mediterranean.

    There should be an Egypt solution to the Egyptian problem. The military should not come in as an army of occupation just because of his monopoly of power of militarism.

    If the people upstaged Mubarak, that decision should hold. If Morssi became upper ended, he should be checked. The military belongs in the barracks, so shall it ber.