Tunis - Tunisia's premier on Friday banned the niqab Muslim face covering for women in government offices, citing security concerns after attacks in the North African country.

Tunis - Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi's health was improving on Friday and the 92-year-old was expected to be discharged from hospital soon, his office said, a day after he fell ill.

Tunis - Tunisian authorities said Friday that President Beji Caid Essebsi's condition was improving and insisted there was no power vacuum in the North African country, shaken by the 92-year-old leader's hospitalisation and twin suicide attacks.

Tunis - Tunisia is not at risk of a power vacuum despite the sudden hospitalisation of President Beji Caid Essebsi, one of his advisors said Friday, describing veteran leader's condition as stable.

Tunis - Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi was in "critical condition" Thursday after being taken to hospital with a serious illness, a key adviser said.

Tunis - Double suicide attacks shook Tunisia's capital Thursday, even as the country was plunged into uncertainty with the hospitalisation of President Beji Caid Essebsi who was said to be "seriously ill".

Tunis - Two suicide bombers attacked police and the national guard in the Tunisian capital on Thursday, wounding at least nine people including several civilians, the interior ministry said.

Zarzis - The Tunisian trawler radioed in for help as it passed the migrant boat in distress out at sea. But with the packed craft still adrift two days later, captain Chamseddine Bourassine took direct action.

Tunis - The controversial founder of a major private television channel in Tunisia has said he will run for presidency of the North African nation in November polls.

Zarzis - A Bangladeshi farmer watched dozens drown beside him in the Mediterranean before "God sent us the fishermen", who saved him from the cold waters and took him to Tunisia.

Tunis - A boat carrying around 70 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa has sunk in the Mediterranean, leaving three people dead and dozens missing, Tunisian officials said Friday.

Tunis - Tunisia's arrest of an expert investigating possible violations of an arms embargo on war-torn Libya has sparked a diplomatic standoff between the North African country and the United Nations.

Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro is funneling funds from the sale of Venezuelan oil through the Russian state energy giant Rosneft. This avoids the sanctions the US has designed to economically cripple Venezuela and drive Maduro from power.

Tunis - The resignation of Algerian leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika after huge protests has inspired activists in the region, but looks unlikely to spark a repeat of the Arab Spring uprisings.

Tunis - Massive protests that have gripped Algeria might resemble another Arab Spring but those seeking democratic change are mindful of history and want to avoid more upheaval, analysts say.

Tunis - Tunisia will hold parliamentary elections on October 6 and presidential polls on November 10, the electoral commission said Wednesday, the third round of national voting since the country's 2011 revolution.

Tunis - Militiamen have kidnapped a group of Tunisian workers near the Libyan capital Tripoli, demanding Tunis release a comrade, the foreign ministry and a rights activist said."The foreign ministry is following the case of the Tunisian citizens...

Tunis - The Tunisian government and a teachers' union reached a deal Saturday to end a months-long strike that has disrupted schools across the country.

Tunis - A Tunisian court has sentenced seven jihadists to life in prison over attacks at a museum and on a beach in 2015 that killed 60 people, many of them British tourists, prosecutors said on Saturday.

Tunis - A Tunisian court was holding final hearings Friday in two trials over jihadist attacks in 2015 on a museum and a tourist resort that left dozens dead, lawyers told AFP.