Tunisia
A Tunisian investigating judge has issued 18 pretrial detention warrants in the gold-laundering case this paper has followed since 20 October, when police said 13 suspects were held; six more Sfax jewellers were added to custody on 22 October. Investigators now say the network used shell companies and falsified supplier records to launder close to two tonnes of gold over six years. The case's earlier seizures stand: more than 70 kilograms of gold, 4.5 kilograms of silver, nine luxury cars and cash, worth close to 25 million dinars in total.
The World Justice Project's 2026 Rule of Law Index ranked Tunisia 89th out of 143 countries, with its overall score falling from 0.53 in 2021 to 0.48 this year. The steepest declines were in limits on government power, down 22.4%, and in fundamental rights, down 19.9%. Tunisia placed sixth among the ten Middle East and North Africa countries the index surveyed.
Tunisia's water utility SONEDE announced an emergency plan for summer 2027 after shortages this year exposed strained supply networks in several regions. The plan includes new pumping stations and wells for Greater Tunis and the north, 20,000 metres of new pipes and a dozen pumps for the centre, the Sidi Abdelhamid desalination plant to supply Sousse, Monastir and Mahdia, and 29 new deep wells in the south. SONEDE did not give a total cost or timeline for the programme.
Mohsen Gharsi, dean of Tunisia's Order of Engineers, estimated unemployment among the order's more than 100,000 registered engineers at close to 23 percent, a figure he said still needs refining with the labour ministry. Gharsi argued the problem is not too many graduates but the economy's limited capacity to absorb their skills, citing continued emigration, especially among IT specialists.
The Tunisian Association of Democratic Women (ATFD) called on Sunday for urgent government intervention in the crisis at the National Union of Tunisian Women (UNFT). UNFT's headquarters and remaining equipment have been seized to enforce old debt rulings. The union's central committee said on Saturday the seizure traces to a ruling by the labour chamber of Gafsa's court of first instance, now 14 years old, covering debts from 1987 to 2012, after the state subsidy that paid staff salaries was cut. Employees have gone without pay or social security coverage for two years. ATFD wants the offices reopened, regional activity resumed, and a full settlement that protects staff rights, and warns the dispute risks dismantling a civil society body at its employees' expense.
Source:
Réalités · Sunday, 25 October 2026
Europe
Hundreds of thousands marched in Paris on Saturday in a second nationwide wave of protests over the cost of living, pensions and housing, a week after a first round of unrest brought more than 2,000 arrests. Police said nearly 2,400 people were arrested this time, including close to 1,000 in Paris, and nearly 1,000 security personnel were injured. The same weekend saw Italy protest against rearmament and the cost of living, Spain protest for higher pensions, and Portugal protest for affordable housing.
Source:
Euronews · Saturday, 24 October 2026
Thousands of students, professors and opposition supporters marched in Tirana on Saturday demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation, burning pillows he had placed outside his office as a goodwill gesture before heading to the education ministry. Police deployed 2,500 officers with tear gas and water cannon; more than 300 protesters and officers were injured and dozens were detained. Rama, who on 18 October blamed his conservative opponents for the violence, this time pointed to "foreign actors," naming Russia and Iran, over unrest that began with university tuition fees and a Kushner-linked coastal luxury-hotel project.
Source:
Euronews · Saturday, 24 October 2026
Jordan Bardella was re-elected unopposed as leader of France's far-right National Rally with 98.98% support at the party's congress in Orléans on Saturday. He urged members to help "lead Marine Le Pen to the Élysée," a day before she addresses supporters on the next phase of her 2027 presidential campaign.
Source:
Euronews · Saturday, 24 October 2026
