Dead Sea's revival with Red Sea canal edges closer to reality

Yahoo – AFP, Marie WOLFROM, March 18, 2018

Evaporation ponds at the southern part of the Dead Sea where both sodium
chloride and potassium salts are produced (AFP Photo/MENAHEM KAHANA)

Ghor al-Haditha (Jordan) (AFP) - Israel and Jordan have long pursued a common goal to stop the Dead Sea from shrinking while slaking their shared thirst for drinking water with a pipeline from the Red Sea some 200 kilometres away.

Geopolitical tensions have stalled efforts to break ground on the ambitious project for years, but the end of the latest diplomatic spat has backers hoping a final accord may now be in sight.

The degradation of the Dead Sea, on the border of Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian West Bank, began in the 1960s when water began to be heavily diverted from the Jordan River.

"Before 1967, the water was just a 10-minute walk from my house," said Musa Salim al-Athem, a farmer who grows tomatoes on the banks on the Jordan side.

"Now it takes an hour," he said, standing amid the resulting lunar landscape of spectacular salt sculptures, gaping sinkholes and craters.

"Only the sea can fill up the sea."

"Since 1950, the amount flowing in the Jordan has dropped from 1.2 billion cubic metres per year (42 billion cubic feet) to less than 200 million," said Frederic Maurel, an engineering expert at the French development agency AFD.

Heavy production of potash, used for making fertiliser, has also accelerated evaporation that has seen the sea's surface area shrink by a third since 1960.

Experts say water levels are falling one metre (three feet) a year, and warn it could dry out completely within 30 years.

Palestinian refugees at the al-Baqa'a refugee camp near Amman. Jordan is
determined to press ahead with the project to cope with the needs of a rising population
which has been swelled by about one million refugees fleeing war in Syria (AFP Photo/
Khalil MAZRAAWI)

'Economic treasure'

Already 100 years ago, Theodor Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism, had envisaged filling the Dead Sea via a canal dug to the Mediterranean.

The sea's natural beauty and mineral-rich black mud have also provided a source of tourism revenue.

"The Dead Sea has historical, biblical, natural, touristic, medical and industrial values that make it an invaluable cultural, environmental and economic treasure," said Avner Adin, a specialist in water science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

After years of studies, the $1.1 billion Red Sea "Peace Conduit" deal was signed by Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian authorities in 2013.

The project, located entirely on Jordanian territory, includes a desalination plant near Aqaba.

After producing drinking water, the remaining highly saline liquid will be sent by pipeline to fill the Dead Sea, powering two hydroelectric plants along the way.

A subsequent 2015 deal would see Israel get 35 billion cubic metres of potable water from the desalination plant for its parched southern regions.

The mostly desert Jordan, for its part, would get up to 50 billion cubic metres of freshwater from the Sea of Galilee.

Israel also agreed to sell 32 billion cubic metres to the Palestinian authorities.

Jordan announced in November 2016 that it had chosen five international consortiums to build the first phase of the canal.

But talks on how to finance the deal, which calls for $400 million of public funding, and geopolitical flare-ups have kept the project from moving forward.

Experts say water levels are falling one metre a year, and warn it could dry out 

completely within thirty years (AFP Photo/MENAHEM KAHANA)

'Diplomatic hazards'

Some $120 million has already been pledged by donors including the US and Japan, while France's AFD agency has secured the backing of the EU and some member states for $140 million in preferential loans to Jordan.

Talks were frozen last year after an Israeli security guard shot and killed two Jordanians at the Israeli embassy in Amman, prompting a diplomatic standoff that ended only in January.

"We have never been so close to starting the project," Maurel said. "It only needs a final push by the Jordanian and Israeli authorities."

A diplomatic source in Amman said the project remained essential for the region given the environmental and economic stakes, "but it's still at the mercy of diplomatic hazards."

For Adin at the Hebrew University, "It seems to be that the situation is improving. The main obstacle in my mind could be financial."

Officials in Jordan say they are determined to press ahead with or without Israel to cope with the needs of a rising population which has been swelled by about one million refugees fleeing the war in neighbouring Syria.

"We are proceeding with the project because desalination eventually is the future of Jordan when it comes to water," said Iyad Dahiyat, secretary general of the country's water authority.

"Water is part of the stability of the kingdom itself," he added. "It's a national security issue."

Zimbabwe crowns first 'Miss Albino' in bid to tackle stigma

Deutsche Welle, 17 March 2018

Zimbabwe has put on its first "Miss Albino" pageant in an effort to stamp out discrimination and stigma surrounding the condition. The 22-year-old winner says she wants to fight for the rights of children with albinism.

The winner and two runners up of the Miss Albinism pageant hold flowers on stage

Sithembiso Mutukura beat 12 other contestants to claim the crown at Zimbabwe's first-ever Miss Albinism beauty contest — an achievement she hopes will inspire others living with the rare disorder.

"We must continue to advocate for our rights and I hope my win will empower the girl child," the 22-year-old social work student said.

"I have gone through a lot, but I want people living with albinism to be brave and persevere in life."

Read more: What is albinism?

During the event in Harare on Friday night, the contestants had to respond to questions on stage and model a range of gowns and traditional African robes. Mutukura was awarded US$85 (almost €70) in prize money after being named winner.

Read more: Mr. Albinism Kenya: 'Finally we achieved something'

The 13 beauty pageant contestants strut their stuff on the catwalk

Going global?

Pageant organizer Brenda Mudzimu said a lack of funds had made it difficult to get the initiative off the ground. In the end, the contest only attracted one sponsor, but Mudzimu says she hopes to one day make the event international.

"This will be an annual event which will later be advanced to Miss Albinism Africa and Miss Albinism World because we want to reach all corners of the world," she said.

Read more: Zambian albinos call for end to brutality

In many African countries, people with albinism routinely face discrimination and persecution because of the way they look. The genetic disorder prevents skin cells from producing melanin , resulting in abnormal pigmentation of the skin, hair, and eyes. People with the condition also suffer from vision problems and are susceptible to skin cancer.

"The pageant aims to instil confidence in girls living with albinism in Zimbabwe as well as reduce the stigma," Mudzimu said.

Read more: Cameroonian albino fights prejudice with music

Attacks and discrimination

Tapuwa Muchemwa, a Zimbabwean government representative who was the guest of honor at the pageant, said the country's leaders "strongly advocate that people with albinism deserve their right to life and security and to be protected as well as the right not to be subjected to torture and ill-treatment."

The rate of albinism in Africa is much higher than in other parts of the world. Communities in some countries believe albinism can bring magical powers, wealth and good fortune — a superstition that has led to attackers kidnapping and murdering albinos to sell their body parts to witch doctors on the black market.

According to the United Nations, there have been over 600 attacks on people with albinism documented in 28 countries in sub-Saharan Africa over the past decade. Many more cases are thought to go unreported.

S.Africa looks to strip Gupta brother's residency

Yahoo – AFP, March 11, 2018

In February, South African police raided properties belonging to the Gupta
family in Johannesburg as part of a graft probe (AFP Photo/WIKUS DE WET)

Johannesburg (AFP) - South Africa has launched proceedings to strip the permanent residency status of one of the lynchpins of a controversial Indian business family accused of corruption, an official said on Sunday.

Ajay Gupta, a fugitive sought by police over alleged graft, now faces the prospect of losing access to banking facilities as well as his South African identity papers if his residency is rescinded.

Ajay is one of three Indian-born Gupta brothers who are among South Africa's richest people who are now being investigated by police over corruption allegations. The country's graft watchdog has also accused them of having improper links to former president Jacob Zuma.

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba has discussed the "the possibility of revoking Ajay's residency" with President Cyril Ramaphosa, his spokesman told AFP.

"Since then, he has instructed the director-general of home affairs to investigate the legal environment for that to happen," Mayihlome Tshwete told AFP.

Gigaba has had a torrid week after insisting that Ajay's brother Atul was not a South African citizen, only to be contradicted by the election commission which confirmed he was a citizen who was listed on the electoral register.

Gigaba then skipped a sitting of parliament on Wednesday at which he had been due to answer MPs' questions, citing illness.

South Africa has launched several investigations into the Guptas and Indian tax officials this week raided several properties belonging to the brothers in their former hometown as part of a money-laundering probe.

Last month, South African authorities raided Gupta properties in Johannesburg as part of the ongoing investigation into the alleged graft.

Ajay was declared a "fugitive from justice" by police after failing to respond to a summons.

Thirteen other people are facing charges linked to allegations that the Guptas embezzled millions of dollars of public money meant for poor South African dairy farmers.

They are also accused of receiving highly-favourable government contracts during Zuma's presidency.

Led by Atul, the family arrived in South Africa in 1993 as white-minority apartheid rule crumbled, a year before Nelson Mandela won the country's first democratic elections.

Related Article:

PR firm Bell Pottinger seeks rescue after South Africa scandal

Saudi crown prince meet Egypt's Sisi at start of first foreign trip

Yahoo – AFP, March 4, 2018

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C-R) welcomes Saudi Arabia's Crown
Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C-L) upon his arrival in Cairo on March 4, 2018
(AFP Photo/HO)

Cairo (AFP) - Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held talks in the Egyptian capital on Sunday at the start of his first foreign tour as heir to the throne.

A beaming Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi greeted the prince at Cairo airport after he descended the red-carpeted steps of his plane.

The head of Prince Mohammed's office, Bader al-Asaker, tweeted that the prince's plane was escorted by Egyptian fighter jets when it entered Egypt's airspace.

Prince Mohammed and Sisi, a key regional ally, agreed in talks to bolster economic ties and launch joint projects, "particularly in the tourism sector on the Red Sea", said Egyptian presidential spokesman Bassam Radi.

The prince is to fly off to Britain on Wednesday and then later this month to the United States.

Saudi Arabia views Egypt as a cornerstone of regional stability, after the former army chief Sisi overthrew his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Riyadh viewed Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood with suspicion and at one point briefly recalled its ambassador from Cairo during his turbulent year in power.

It has since showered Cairo with aid to prop up the country's economy, in a relationship that has led to some controversy in Egypt.

In 2015, during a visit by King Salman to Cairo, the two countries agreed on the transfer of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia, sparking protests in Egypt.

Sisi ratified the deal last year, and Egypt's top court annulled lower court rulings for and against the treaty on the eve of the crown prince's arrival.

Prince Mohammed's visit comes ahead of Egypt's presidential polls in late March, with Sisi expected to win a second four-year term.

The visit "will be interpreted as proof of Saudi support for Sisi to remain as the president of Egypt", Mostafa Kamel al-Sayed, a political science professor at Cairo University, told AFP.

Cairo and Riyadh have maintained close ties, although Egypt has signalled a lack of enthusiasm for Saudi regional policy, both on the Yemen war and a potential escalation with Iran.

But it is among a bloc of Arab nations that joined a Saudi-led boycott since June of Qatar.

The crown prince's tour also aims to court investors and comes after a tumultuous period that has seen a military shake-up and a royal purge in Saudi Arabia, part of his sweeping power play.

Prince Mohammed is already seen as the country's de facto ruler controlling the major levers of government.

Egypt unveils tomb of ancient priestess

Yahoo – AFP, 3 February 2018

A general view shows well-preserved and rare wall paintings inside the tomb of an
 Old Kingdom priestess discovered by Egyptian archaeologists on the Giza plateau on
the southern outskirts of Cairo on February 3, 2018

Egyptian archaeologists on Saturday unveiled the tomb of an Old Kingdom priestess adorned with well-preserved and rare wall paintings.

Antiquities Minister Khaled al-Enany told reporters that the tomb on the Giza plateau near Cairo was built for Hetpet, a priestess to Hathor, the goddess of fertility, who assisted women in childbirth.

The tomb was found during excavation work in Giza's western cemetery by a team of Egyptian archaeologists led by Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.

The antiquities ministry said the cemetery houses tombs of top officials from the Old Kingdom's Fifth Dynasty (2465-2323 BC), and that several have already been dug up since 1842.

The newly discovered tomb "has the architectural style and the decorative elements of the Fifth Dynasty, with an entrance leading to an 'L' shaped shrine", the ministry said.

"The tomb has very distinguished wall paintings in a very good conservation condition depicting Hetpet standing in different hunting and fishing scenes or... receiving offerings from her children," it said.

The paintings also show scenes of musical and dancing performances as well as two scenes featuring monkeys -- domestic animals at the time -- one picking and eating fruit and the other dancing in front of an orchestra.

A woman takes a photo inside the newly discovered tomb of Old Kingdom official

 Hetpet who was priestess to fertility goddess Hathor on Egypt's Giza plateau

Waziri told AFP the paintings were unusual.

"Such scenes are rare... and have only been found previously in the (Old Kingdom) tomb of 'Ka-Iber' where a painting shows a monkey dancing in front of a guitarist not an orchestra," he said.

That tomb is located in Saqqara, a necropolis about 20 kilometres (12 miles) south of Cairo.

Enany told reporters the new tomb includes "a purification basin on which are engraved the name of the tomb's owner and her titles".

"A German expedition had found in 1909 a collection of antiquities carrying this lady's name, or a lady who has the same name, and these antiquities were moved to the Berlin museum at the time," he said.

"And 109 years later, we find this tomb that carries Hetpet's name."

Waziri said archaeologists will continue to excavate the site and hope to make new discoveries.

Egyptian archaeologists unveil the tomb of an Old Kingdom priestess adorned with well-preserved and rare wall paintings. pic.twitter.com/a0eXSfD3pf

— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 3, 2018

Nigerians meet their Olympic bobsled team

Yahoo – AFP, Phil HAZLEWOOD, with Jim Slater in Washington, Feb 3, 2018

Nigeria's Seun Adigun (L), Ngozi Onwumere (2L) and Akuoma Omeoga (C) will
become the first African bobsleigh team in Winter Olympic history while Simi
Adeagbo (R) will be the first African to compete in the skeleton (AFP Photo/Stefan HEUNIS)

Lagos (AFP) - Nigerians met their Winter Olympic bobsled team for the first time just one week before the start of the Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Thirty years after a Jamaican squad became a global sensation, the trio of Nigerian women Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga will become the first African bobsleigh team in Winter Olympic history.

Born to Nigerian parents they all live in the United States but travelled to Lagos for a rousing Nigerian send-off on Friday night at a corporate reception held in their honour at a luxury hotel.

Their qualification late last year for the February 9-25 Games has since attracted massive interest around the world and won the previously crowd-funded athletes a string of big-name sponsors.

Many people in Africa's most populous nation said they were unaware the country even had a bobsled team. Some were keen to play up their supposed ignorance for comic effect.

"So, you are the driver?" the comedian compering the event said, pointing at Adigun.

"And you are the brake... appliers," he ventured eagerly to Onwumere and Omeoga, as if searching for the correct terminology. "And what is that thing you are pushing? A wheelbarrow?"

"First question," he asked the women's team-mate Simi Adeagbo, who will also make history by becoming the first African to compete in the skeleton. "What is that?"

Despite being new to hurtling down an icy track at 150 kilometres (93 miles) per hour, Nigerians -- noted more for their passion for football -- are happy to cheer the team on.

On the hotel's rooftop bar, with temperatures still in the mid-30s Celsius (95 Fahrenheit) by late evening, guests drank champagne and ate "small chop" (finger food). Dance music distorted through a skyscraper of loud-speakers. Most people arrived late. Everyone blamed bad traffic.

But Nigeria's pioneering winter sports team were made to feel at home with fairy lights and Christmas snowflake decorations twinkling overhead, above white plastic sheeting stuck to the floor with gaffer tape.

Nigerian bobsled team member Seun Adigun was a 100m hurdler for Nigeria 

at the 2012 London Summer Olympics (AFP Photo/Stefan HEUNIS)

Dry ice and cotton wool

To complete the frozen idyll, a bored-looking teenager wearing a single red rubber glove operated a dry ice machine that sent damp-smelling fog curling over snow drifts of cotton wool.

Nearby, air conditioning units were set to the equivalent of 16 degrees -- a good 10 degrees below the temperature that normally makes some in tropical Nigeria don a hat and coat.

The team took the gentle ribbing with good humour, batting back comparisons to Jamaica's participation in the 1988 Games in Calgary, Canada, that led to the 1993 Hollywood film "Cool Runnings".

Adigun is the driving force behind the team's Olympic dream, from working with the US team to learn the sport to hammering and nailing together a makeshift wooden sled in Houston and gathering fellow sprinters to make a run at history.

She was a 100m hurdler for Nigeria at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. Omeoga was a sprinter for the University of Minnesota and Onwumere was a double sprint medalist at the 2015 African Games.

"I basically got into the sport of bobsledding in 2015 after a little bit of a hiatus from athletics," the US magazine People recently.

"I also learned that Nigeria had never had any Winter Olympians... and then to cap it off I learned the continent of Africa had never been represented, man or woman, by any bobsleigh team.

Their qualification last year for the Olympic Games has won previously 

crowd-funded athletes (L-R): Seun Adigun, Ngozi Onwumere, and Akuoma 

Omeoga a string of big-name sponsors (AFP Photo/Stefan HEUNIS)

"So I was like, 'OK, this is obviously something that's going to hang over my head if I don't step in and try and do something about it."

At the reception, questions about the basics of the sport -- from timings to the number of people participating -- were met with polite responses.

But in a country where self-sufficiency is a matter of life and death for most people, the women's hard work and commitment to achieving their goals got the loudest cheer.

Adigun explained that once she had told herself out loud that she was going to try to make the Winter Olympics there was no going back.

"Once you speak (something) into existence, that's an affirmation that you're going to commit," she added.

"Can you speak gold into existence?" asked the compere.

Adigun smiled. Then the dancing started.

Trump says US 'deeply respects' Africa in letter to AU

Yahoo – AFP, January 28, 2018

"I want to underscore that the United States deeply respects the people of
Africa," Trump wrote (AFP Photo/Nicholas Kamm)

Addis Ababa (AFP) - President Donald Trump said the United States "deeply respects" Africans and will dispatch its top diplomat to the continent, in a letter to African leaders seen by AFP on Sunday.

The letter sent last week comes after Trump provoked a firestorm of indignation among African nations earlier in January when he reportedly called them "shithole countries" during a meeting with lawmakers in Washington.

While Trump has denied the remarks, they are expected to be formally condemned by the 55 member states of the African Union during their ongoing summit in the Ethiopian capital.

"I want to underscore that the United States deeply respects the people of Africa, and my commitment to strong and respectful relationships with African nations as sovereign nations is firm," Trump wrote in the letter.

"Our soldiers are fighting side-by-side to defeat terrorists," he said, and "we are working together to increase free, fair and reciprocal trade."

The letter was not made public, but its existence was confirmed by Chris Meade, a diplomat with the US delegation to the AU.

Meade declined to comment on its contents, but an AU source confirmed the accuracy of the text of the letter circulating on social media.

Earlier this month media reports emerged of Trump demanding to know during a meeting on immigration reform why the United States should accept citizens from "shithole countries", including Haiti, El Salvador and the entire African continent.

Trump defended himself on Twitter, saying: "The language used by me... was tough, but this was not the language used."

In the letter, Trump does not acknowledge the reported comments, but said Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would make a "extended visit" in March. He told African leaders that he looks forward to "welcoming many of you to the White House."

Spotted hyena returns to Gabon park after 20 years: researchers

Yahoo – AFP, January 20, 2018

Spotted hyenas have been spotted in Gabon for the first time in 20 years
 (AFP Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

Libreville (AFP) - A spotted hyena has been sighted in a Gabon national park for the first time in 20 years, conservationists said Friday, the latest large predator to have returned to a region where many had gone locally extinct.

The Bateke Plateau National Park lies close to Gabon's border with the Republic of Congo.

Its forests and grasslands once teemed with wildlife, including many large mammal predators, but the ecosystem was decimated by decades of poaching.

Officials said a spotted hyena had been caught on camera traps in the park for the first time in two decades giving hope that more large mammals might return after years of conservation efforts.

The sighting comes two years after a lone male lion was photographed by camera traps after returning.

"The return of these large carnivores is a great demonstration that the efforts of our rangers and partners are having a positive effect on Bateke wildlife," professor Lee White, director of Gabon's National Parks Agency said in a press release.

The spotted hyena was so unknown in recent memories that when researchers showed local park rangers the photographs from the camera traps they did not know the species.

But village elders in communities north of the park instantly recognised the hyena, researchers said.

The sightings are a far cry from when researchers first set up their camera traps in 2001.

That year all they photographed in Bateke was a lone antelope and multiple poachers crossing into the park from the Republic of Congo.

The lion first spotted in 2015 has since made the park his home. But he has yet to be joined by any others.

"This lion... has been continuously photographed during his three-year reign of the park, but remains alone, calling for a mate," the researchers said.

The Netherlands expels top Eritrean diplomat over ‘diaspora tax’

DutchNews, January 18, 2018

The Netherlands has told Eritrea that its highest diplomatic representative in the Netherlands must leave the country. 

Tekeste Ghebremedhin Zemuy, the chargé d’affaires in The Hague is being expelled because of the country’s pressure on Eritreans in the Netherlands to pay a ‘diaspora tax’. 

Foreign affairs minister Halbe Zijlstra told parliament that the move is a ‘severe diplomatic signal’ to Eritrea. Eritrea has a diplomatic mission in the Netherlands but no embassy. 

Despite talks with the ambassador in Brussels, no action has been taken to stamp out the payments and the Netherlands has now decided to declare the chargé d’affaires persona non grata. 

Eritrea has imposed the 2% tax on its nationals in other countries since 1994. However, research by the Dutch government last September, which focused on the tax in seven European countries, found problems with both the legal basis and the way the tax is collected. 

In particular, tax collection is seen as mandatory by many Eritreans, and non-compliance can lead to the denial of consular services or the punishment of family members in Eritrea, the report said. 

The Dutch government said at the time the ways in which the tax is collected are ‘unacceptable’. 

Some 20,000 Eritrean nationals live in the Netherlands.

Protests mark Tunisia uprising anniversary

Yahoo – AFP, Kaouther Larbi and Ines Bel Aiba, January 14, 2018

Protesters shout anti-government slogans outside the Tunisian General Labour Union
headquarters on the seventh anniversary of the 2011 uprising (AFP Photo/Anis MILI)

Tunis (AFP) - Tunisians on Sunday marked seven years since the uprising that launched the Arab Spring, with fresh protests and some people expressing pride but others anger over persistent economic problems.

The North African country is seen as having had a relatively smooth democratic transition since the January 14, 2011 toppling of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after 23 years in power.

But seven years later, anger has risen over new austerity measures after a year of rising prices, with protesters again chanting the 2011 slogans of "Work, Freedom, Dignity".

On Sunday, several hundred people took part in rallies in the capital Tunis, responding to calls to demonstrate from a powerful labour union and several political parties.

Security was tight as protesters poured through checkpoints into Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the epicentre of the 2011 demonstrations, but no incidents were reported.

Demonstrators chanted against "poverty and hunger" as they marched up the avenue, accusing "thieves" of having stolen the country.

Outside the offices of the powerful UGTT trade union, demonstrator Foued el-Arbi waved an empty basket marked "2018".

Tunisians wave their national flag and the flag of the Ennahda Islamist party as

 they gather on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis on January 14, 2018 to mark the 

seventh anniversary of the uprising that launched the Arab Spring (AFP Photo/

FETHI BELAID)

"This empty basket sums up our situation seven years after the revolution," said the philosophy professor.

But others expressed their pride over the uprising that unseated Ben Ali.

The revolution "is the best thing that could have happened, despite the hardships... As long as there are people (who believe), there is hope," said Mohamed Wajdi.

A wave of peaceful protests and night-time unrest hit cities and towns across the country over the past week, after hikes in value-added tax and social security contributions introduced in early January.

The interior ministry says it has arrested more than 800 people suspected of taking part in violence, theft and looting since the unrest began.

Protesters' demands have included a review of the 2018 austerity budget and more efficient measures to fight enduring corruption.

'Fall of the budget'

More than 1,000 people took part in Sunday's protest outside the UGTT offices. "The people want the fall of the 2018 budget," some chanted, echoing 2011 calls for the fall of the regime.

Unemployment figures and inflation rate in Tunisia. 

Political parties and a union called for fresh protests against 

austerity after a week of unrest. (AFP Photo/Vincent LEFAI)

Hundreds more gathered after Ennahdha, an Islamist party that is part of the ruling coalition, and Prime Minister Youssef Chahed's Popular Front party also called for demonstrations.

President Beji Caid Essebsi marked the anniversary by attending the opening of a youth centre in the working-class Tunis suburb of Ettadhamen, which saw clashes between young protesters and police this week.

"This year we will start to take care of the young," he said. "The revolution for freedom and dignity... was in effect led by the young."

Several local residents turned out to air their frustration.

"He says he will help us, and then he goes back to his palace," said Mouna, a high school student.

Tunisia's 2011 revolt was sparked by the self-immolation of a fruit seller in desperation at police harassment and unemployment.

On January 14, 2011, Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia, inspiring similar revolts across the region in what became known as the Arab Spring.

Tunisian workers hold up a basket with text reading in Arabic: "the basket is empty" 

while shouting slogans against the government in front of the Tunisian General 

Labour Union (UGTT) headquarters in Tunis (AFP Photo/Anis MILI)

Tunisia has been praised for its steps towards democracy in the years since, compared to countries now wracked by war such as Syria or Yemen.

A new constitution was adopted and legislative and presidential polls held in 2014.

But authorities have struggled to revitalise Tunisia's economy, including after deadly jihadist attacks in 2015 dealt a major blow to the key tourism sector.

Seven years on, youth unemployment is more than 35 percent, according to the International Labour Organization, while inflation was more than six percent at the end of last year.

On Saturday, Essebsi announced an increase in aid to the needy and improved health care as part of social reforms.

The action plan, costing more than 70 million dinars ($28.5 million), will benefit more than 120,000 Tunisians, according to the authorities.

Tunisia has secured a 2.4-billion-euro ($2.9-billion) IMF loan in return for a reduction in its budget deficit and financial reforms.

Egypt Copts hold Christmas mass under tight security

Yahoo – AFP, January 6, 2018

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi speaks near Coptic Pope Tawadros II (L)
during a Christmas Eve mass at the Nativity of Christ Cathedral in Cairo on
January 6, 2018 (AFP Photo/KHALED DESOUKI)

Nativity of Christ Cathedral (Egypt) (AFP) - Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Christians held a Christmas Eve mass on Saturday at a massive new cathedral east of Cairo amid tight security after a year of deadly jihadist attacks on the community.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gave a short speech before the liturgy, which was led by Pope Tawadros II, wishing the Christians a merry Christmas and telling them that the country would prevail over the jihadists.

"You are our family, you are from us, we are one and no one will divide us," he said to ululations and chants from some of the congregants and visitors.

Police had set up barricades outside the cathedral in a new administrative capital Egypt is building east of Cairo.

The cathedral, Sisi said, was a "message to the world, a message of peace and a message of love".

Police had tightened security around the country's churches ahead of services following a spate of attacks that began in 2016.

More than 100 Christians have been killed in the violence, including a shooting at a church south of Cairo just last week claimed by the Islamic State group.

Since the military ousted divisive Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, security forces have sought to quell attacks led by the Egypt branch of IS which has increasingly targeted Christians.

While the jihadists have also taken aim at other civilians, including more than 300 Muslim worshippers massacred at a mosque last November, they have focused on the ancient Coptic community.

In December 2016, an IS suicide bomber killed almost 30 worshippers at a church in Cairo located in the Saint Mark's Cathedral complex, the seat of the Coptic papacy.

In the Sinai Peninsula, where IS is based, hundreds of Christians were forced to flee in January and December after a wave of assassinations.

IS suicide bombers killed more than 40 people in twin church bombings in April and shot dead almost 30 Christians a month later as they headed to a monastery.

The year ended with an IS jihadist killing nine people in an attack on a church in a south Cairo suburb.

Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 93 million people, have long complained of discrimination and intermittent sectarian attacks.