Tunisia News · Friday, 2 October 2026

Tunisia

Jailed opposition figure Ahmed Néjib Chebbi begins hunger strike over prison media restrictions

Chebbi, 81 and held in what Tunisian authorities call the 'conspiracy against state security' case, started an open-ended hunger strike on 1 October, his family said, to protest limits on detainees' access to independent media. "I would rather die than live without dignity," he said in a statement; he suffered a respiratory episode in the Mornaguia prison yard in late July, and the Al Joumhouri party has warned of the health risk the strike poses at his age.

Source: Kapitalis · Thursday, 1 October 2026

STEG workers threaten strike over safety lapses and frozen pay talks

Tunis-region STEG employees warned of possible strikes after a general assembly on 1 October, citing delayed safety equipment for grid workers and the unresolved death of team leader Adel Amraoui, electrocuted in Mateur on 5 September, alongside frozen wage-grid talks. The sector last threatened a strike in July 2025 over similar grievances, and that one was called off after a late-night mediation session; no strike date has been set this time either.

Source: Webdo · Thursday, 1 October 2026

Court hears bid to halt Abir Moussi's PDL congress hours before its opening

The emergency chamber of the Tunis court of first instance opened a hearing on Friday on a complaint from a member of the Free Destourian Party (PDL) seeking to stop the party's congress, set for Saturday and Sunday. Her lawyer argued the organizers had not followed the rules for calling it. The party's own lawyers asked for time to study the complaint, and the court adjourned without ruling, leaving the congress's legal status unresolved hours before it opens. The congress is meant to renew PDL's leadership, and its jailed president Abir Moussi, whose convictions became final on 29 September at twelve years and six months, is its only candidate.

Source: Réalités · Friday, 2 October 2026

Geopolitics

US sends roughly 9,000 sailors and Marines toward Iran as naval buildup grows

The USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, with more than 7,000 sailors, and an amphibious force carrying some 2,000 Marines, roughly 9,000 people together, left San Diego for the Gulf region, part of a buildup a US official said would leave three aircraft carriers and two amphibious groups near Iran by November. Two other carriers, the USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington, are already operating in the Arabian Sea as the war between the United States, Israel and Iran continues.

Source: Gulf News · Friday, 2 October 2026

Flydubai co-pilot accused of attacking captain mid-flight, forcing emergency landing in Saudi Arabia

A co-pilot allegedly assaulted the captain of flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv, causing the plane to lose altitude sharply before an emergency landing in Tabuk with 174 people aboard, Saudi authorities said. The co-pilot, an Omani national hired less than a year ago, was handed to the UAE, whose chief prosecutor is investigating whether the attack involved prior planning or any link to terrorism.

Source: Al Jazeera · Thursday, 1 October 2026

Europe

Washington presses Europe to release diesel reserves as pump prices hit a record

The Trump administration is pushing France, Germany and other European governments to release strategic diesel stockpiles, warning of a possible US export ban if they refuse, as diesel at the pump reached a record price across the EU. The European Commission and several governments held emergency talks on tapping the reserves, and EU energy commissioner Dan Jørgensen called a release a real possibility.

Source: Euronews · Thursday, 1 October 2026

Russia expels Hungarian diplomats as Budapest breaks from the Orbán era

Russia ordered a group of Hungarian diplomats out within two weeks, retaliating after Budapest expelled ten Russian diplomats in September over what it called unacceptable activity. The tit-for-tat marks a sharp break from Viktor Orbán's years of closer ties with Moscow, now that Prime Minister Péter Magyar has reset Hungarian foreign policy.

Source: Euronews · Thursday, 1 October 2026

French investigative outlet says it authenticated antisemitic messages attributed to Jordan Bardella; he denies them

Mediapart said Thursday it had authenticated Facebook Messenger screenshots from 2013 and 2014 containing antisemitic remarks it attributes to Jordan Bardella, leader of the far-right National Rally, based on a Meta data extraction certified by a court bailiff. Bardella denied writing the messages, calling them "crude fabrications," and said he would sue Mediapart for defamation and forgery; the dispute lands seven months before France's presidential election, where Marine Le Pen, Bardella's party mentor and National Rally's presidential candidate, currently leads the polls.

Source: Euronews · Thursday, 1 October 2026