Ouagadougou: The Burkinabè Sambo sports association, in partnership with the African Initiative association, organized a Sambo competition on Saturday to strengthen links between practitioners from Burkina, Mali and Niger. 'Sport is a key area of our association. We want to make people known through sport, culture, education and science,' declares Azenwo Soumaïla Ayo, President of the African Initiative Association. For him, sport is a means through which the people of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) manage to fraternize. Mr. Ayo spoke on Saturday in Ouagadougou on the occasion of the first edition of the 'Vladimir Poutine' international Sambo tournament. The competition saw the participation of 27 Burkinabè practitioners, 9 Malians, 9 Nigeriens and 2 Russians. 'We witnessed a great tournament with really committed athletes. The public also came out massively to support the actors,' rejoices the President of African Initiative. Sambo is a martial art and combat sport consisting of the techniques of w restling, judo, karate, boxing and various traditional wrestling body forms. This tournament brought together men and women athletes in the -58 kg, -64 kg, -71 kg and under 98 kg categories. 'Sambo tournaments are organized all over the world. We added the name of the Russian president with the aim of bringing the two peoples together,' says Dapla Palenfo, President of the Burkinabè Sambo sports association. 'With the current dynamic of bringing together the people of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, we thought that sport can contribute to working to ensure that there is cohesion, understanding and above all peace' adds Mr. Palenfo. 'For a new discipline that is very little known, athletes are starting to get into the swing of things, we think the level is acceptable' notes the President of the Sambo association. At the end of the tournament, in the general ranking, Niger is declared first followed by Burkina. The podium is completed by Mali. The under 98 kg category was won by Burkinabè Ilara Abdoul Malic k. Numerous prizes consisting of medals, certificates and sums of money were awarded to the most deserving. All the stakeholders wanted to see the association become a federation in the coming years. Sambo is a complete sport that began in 1930 in the Soviet Union, now Russia. He entered Burkina Faso in September 2021. The Burkinabè Sambo Sports Association (ASBS) works to promote the discipline in the land of honest men. The ASBS estimates to date, 200 Sambo practitioners in Burkina. It has 10 formal clubs including 4 in the central region, 3 in the northern region and 3 in the central-west. Source: Burkina Information Agency
Local elections’ final results to be announced on February 27 (ISIE)
The final results of the local elections will be announced on February 27, President of the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE) Farouk Bouaskar announced on Friday, during an information day dedicated to the process of setting up the National Council of Regions and Districts in the governorate of Gafsa.
Once the results are announced, the members of the local councils will be summoned by the governors within 8 days to set up the local councils, Bouaskar added.
The first inaugural meeting will be chaired by the member with the highest number of votes in each local council, who will in turn assume the provisional chairmanship of the council to which he or she belongs for a period of 3 months.
The ceremony to swear in the president of the said council will be recorded in minutes drawn up for this purpose, following which the draw for the representation of local councils on the regional council will take place within the next 24 hours.
Bouaskar also indicated that the meeting with the members of t
he local councils of the Gafsa governorate had been an opportunity to dispel the doubts surrounding the delimitation of the respective competences of the delegate, the governor and the local councils, calling for “legislative intervention” to settle the issue.
Pending the adoption of a text “apportioning” powers, Bouaskar pointed out that the rules governing the operation and organisation of local councils would be governed by Organic Law No. 29 of May 9, 2018 promulgating the Local Authorities Code.
As for the remit of the local councils, the ISIE President specified that these structures will mainly be in charge of supervising blocked development projects planned at the level of delegations and governorates.
As part of their mission, they will also have the right to demand accountability and to propose new projects to be included in the 2025 budget and the national development plan to be validated by the second parliamentary chamber, the National Council of Regions and Districts.
Source: Agence Tunis A
frique Presse
Tunisia hosts 13th annual African Air Chiefs Symposium
Tunisia will host the 13th annual African Air Chiefs Symposium on February 26 – March 1, 2024, co-organised by Tunisia Air Force and the Association of African Air Forces sponsored by U.S. Air Forces Europe-Air Forces Africa.
The symposium is a multinational security cooperation initiative facilitated by the AAAF sponsored by USAFE-AFAFRICA, said the National Defence Ministry in a press release on Saturday.
The AACS programme serves as an opportunity to build on previous symposia, identify key challenges confronting African air chiefs, strengthen partner networks, discuss strategic airlift and share best practices for enhancing partner capacity.
The symposium will feature a diverse range of workshops centered on the theme ‘Pan-African Education and Training Opportunities,’ Women, Peace and Security and air mobility.
The symposium is intended to foster more effective military relationships between AAAF’s participating nations and welcome membership from other African nations.
Approximately 40 African nati
ons will participate in this year’s AACS.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
ISIE holds meeting of information with freshly elected local officials
The Independent High Authority of Elections (French: ISIE) Saturday held an information meeting for freshly elected members of local councils in the governorate of Tunis.
Tunisians cast their ballots in the first round of local elections last December 24; the runoff vote took place last February 4.
There are 21 local councils in the governorate of Tunis. Each council will be chaired by the member who garnered the highest number of votes.
Local councils will hold their first session on March 1 at the seat of delegations, said Regional Director of Tunis 2 election commission Hosni Sahbani said.
The draw for the Tunis regional council is set for March 2 at the premises of the City of Culture. Then, candidacies will be filed for the council of district to which the governorate of Tunis belongs, that is the second district.
The vote for this second district is scheduled to take place on Febuary 15, as set out in ISIE calendar.
Repesentatives of the Tunis election commission mainly spoke about the relation be
tween local councils and the regional council and the possibility for an elected official to head a regional council.
They also said the newly elected officials are ” new law-makers” and will get the status of MPs once the different councils are installed.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Local councils to be set up March 1 (ISIE)
The final results of local elections will be announced on February 27,
said member of the Independent High Authority For Elections (French: ISIE) Aymen Ghattas. Local councils will be installed in delegations on March 1.
A draw will be held one day after local councils are installed in the runup to the establishment of regional councils, Ghattas told an information day held Saturday in Monastir for members of local councils under the theme “Finalising the Process of installing the National Council of Regions and Districts.”
This draw will take place under the supervision of the election authority, in full
transparency, and minutes will be drawn up by a bailiff at the end of the draw, he added.
Once local and regional councils installed, candidate filing in the elections of councils of districts will begin before the vote of members of the national council of regions gets underway, i.e. three members for each regional council and a single member for each district council (77 members in total).
By virtue
of the Constitution, the National Council of Regions and Districts can appove regional and district development plans, adopt the State budget and monitor government action.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Jawhar ben Mbarek sentenced to six months in prison
The Tunis Court of First Instance has sentenced leader of the National Salvation Front, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, to six months in prison in connection with a case brought by the Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE).
This was revealed by Samir Dilou, a member of the Defence Committee, in a statement to TAP on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, the Committee for the Defence of Detainees on charges of conspiracy against the State announced that a complaint had been filed against Jawhar Ben Mbarek for statements in which he described the 2022 parliamentary elections as “a coup, a parody, rather than a political deadline.»
In the same statement, the Defence Committee added that the Public Prosecutor’s Office had referred the case to the Criminal Division of the Tunis Court of First Instance, in accordance with the provisions of Decree-Law No. 54 of September 13, 2022 on combating offences related to information and communication systems.
Dilou said the court’s decision constitutes “a clear and blatant violatio
n of the rights of the defence”, as the court did not hear the arguments of the lawyers who had requested a postponement of the hearing due to the “critical” state of health of their client, who is on hunger strike along with the other defendants involved in the case.
In the wake of this verdict, Dalila Ben Mbarek Msaddek, Jawhar Ben Mbarek’s sister and a member of the defence committee, announced in a video she posted on social media that she would also be going on a “wildcat” hunger strike in protest at the court’s verdict.
Jawhar Ben Mbarek has been detained since February 2023 on charges of “conspiring against state security”.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Case of plotting against State security: Ali Larayedh joins hunger strikers
Detainees accused of «plotting against State security» will continue the hunger strike they have observed for the last eleven days, said leaders of the National Salvation Front, Saturday, during their weekly sit-in in before the Municipal Theater of Tunis,
Secretary General of Ennahdha movement, Ajmi Ourimi, added that Vice-President of Ennahdha movement, Ali Larayedh, has been on hunger strike since last Thursday, as a sign of solidarity with the strikers
Ourimi called for their immediate release.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Kaouther Ben Hania’s Four Daughters wins Best Documentary at César Awards
Kaouther Ben Hania’s Oscar-nominated Four Daughters (Les Filles d’Olfa) won Best Documentary at the César Awards, France’s equivalent of the Academy Awards.
The ceremony, which crowned Anatomy of a Fall as Best Film, took place Friday night at the Olympia Theater in Paris.The win for Four Daughters comes in the midst of final Oscar voting.
As she accepted the award, Ben Hania turned her attention to the situation in Gaza, saying “it’s so horrible and no one can say they were unaware. This is the first live-screen massacre, live on our phones.”
The film competed for the Palme d’Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 19 May 2023. It was released in France on 5 July 2023. It was selected as the Tunisian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Gafsa: Wadi El Kébir birdge put into service
The bridge over Wadi El Kébir on National Road 15 linking the governorates of Gafsa and Kasserine was put into service Friday after completion of works, said Regional Director of Public Works Ali Bouzaiene.
The project had been stalled since 2013 for land-related reasons which meant works had been suspended for over 5 years. Works resumed in 2019 after the regional directorate of public works and regional authorities stepped in, he told TAP.
This extremely important structure will allow an uninterrupted flow of traffic on national road 15.
The 300m bridge was built at a cost of TND 6.7 million. Works involved laying out the shoulders, stabilising slopes and installing guardrails.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse
Health Ministry: new digital platform of communication between central training unit, regional units launched
A digital platform of communication between the central unit of training coming under the Health Ministry and regional units was launched Friday.
The launch ceremony was attended by Health Minister Ali Mrabet and US Ambassador Joey Hood, the ministry said in a press release.
The plateform is designed to support training efforts in health-related fileds and facilitate the exchange of information between the capital and regions through new technologies.
The US made a donation of top-notch technology equipment as part of a partnership programme under SAHA, the health sector governance support programme.
SAHA programme is also geared towards upgrading the system of training and continuous professional development and promote the principle of equal opportunities in training for all regions and all health professionals.
Mrabet said the ministry eyes quality training and capacity-building for healthcare staff in all specialties in a bid to provide services which respond to the needs of citizens and revamp manag
ement methods.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse