Uganda's under-18 girls' basketball team will arrive in Tunisia later today to participate in the African championships.

On 25 September 2008, an appeal court in Bizerte (60 km north of Tunis) ordered the release of Tarek Soussi, a member of the International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners (AISPP), but he still faces prosecution on charges of "spreading false information liable to disrupt public order" in an interview for the pan-Arab satellite TV station Al-Jazeera.

Journalists and human rights activists in Tunisia are regularly imprisoned and harassed for criticising the government of President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali's policies, according to a new report released this week by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based watchdog.

Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about independent journalist Slim Boukhdir following his arrest in the southern city of Sfax on the night of 20 September 2008 by four plain-clothes policemen, who threatened him because of his articles and then dumped him 10 km outside the city. It was the first serious incident since his release from prison in July.

Tunisia promotes itself as a progressive nation that protects human rights, but a CPJ investigation has found that it aggressively silences journalists and others who challenge the policies of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. In a new report, “The Smiling Oppressor,” CPJ has found journalists subject to routine imprisonment, assault, harassment, and censorship.

A special report on Tunisia fom the Committee to Protect Journalists

Kenya's hopes of making it to next year's World Junior Volleyball Championships in Mexico City hit a dead end after they crushed 3-1 to Tunisia at the end of Africa Junior Women's Championships in Kasarani on Friday.

Without the main goal keeper Mário Hipólito, Interclub left for Tunisia to face Club Africain de Tunis on Friday for the group A third round encounter of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup.

South Africa and Tunisia are currently discussing ways to further strengthen and consolidate bilateral relations between the two countries within the broad framework of advancing the Consolidation of the African Agenda.

S Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should urge the Tunisian government to end its harassment and imprisonment of human rights activists when she visits the country on Saturday, September 6, Human Rights Watch said today. She is scheduled to meet with President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who has held office since 1987.

SECRETARY RICE: Hello. I just finished a really very good and extensive discussion with the president. Tunisia is a good friend of the United States, and has been for decades. It is a deep relationship. We have broad cooperation across a range of issues.

Many of Africa’s leading soccer teams are playing away games this weekend as the fifth and penultimate round of qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup and 2010 Cup of Nations soccer tournaments takes place.

FOUR Namibian football referees will officiate at the 2010 World Cup qualifier between Burkina Faso and Tunisia on 06 September in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

After twice being barred from leaving Tunisia, journalist and human rights advocate Sihem Bensedrine was allowed to fly to Vienna on 2 September. IFEX's Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) reported that international support was likely a factor in the Tunisian government's decision to let her leave.

Two men in plain-clothes went to the home of journalist Slim Boukhdir with his national identity card on 27 August, a day after Reporters Without Borders wrote to the interior minister asking him to intercede on behalf of the journalist, who had been without any ID since his release from prison last month.

Access to the social networking website Facebook (http://www.facebook.com ) has been blocked without explanation since 24 August 2008 in Tunisia, in a move that reinforces government censorship of the Internet, Reporters Without Borders said.

Reporters Without Borders calls for the immediate release of Tarek Soussi of the International Association for the Support of Political Prisoners, who was arrested at his home in Bizerte (60 km north of Tunis) today, after giving a phone interview to pan-Arab satellite TV station Al Jazeera yesterday in which he criticised the arrest of seven people.

Reporters Without Borders condemns the Tunisian government's repeated humiliation of journalist Sihem Bensedrine, the founder of the underground newspaper "Kalima". On 24 August 2008, She was again prevented from boarding a flight from Tunis-Carthage airport to Austria, where she has a residency permit. It was the third time this year that she has been prevented from leaving Tunisia.

The Namibian Under-19 rugby side yesterday left for Tunis, Tunisia, to compete in the Confederation of African Cup (CAR) tournament in that country.

Uganda Rugby Cranes coach Yayiro Musisi Kasasa is relishing the prospect of retaining the Africa Cup and reaching the 2011 Rugby World Cup (RWC) in New Zealand despite having a tough semi-final against Tunisia.