The Tunisian parliament won a confidence vote and approved the unity government of Youssef Chahed late on Friday, bringing an end to three months of intense negotiations.&nbsp; 
 
The unity government was backed by 167 members of the 217-seat parliament. It is set to take office in the coming days.&nbsp; 
 
The vote on the new government comes as the North African country grapples with lower tourism revenues and security challenges amid a wave of jihadist attacks on foreign tourists last year.&nbsp; 
 
Chahed&rsquo;s cabinet will comprise members from the Islamist Ennahda party, and will also include eight women and 14 &ldquo;young&rdquo; ministers.&nbsp; 
 
Earlier this month, Chahed was named as the next prime minister after his predecessor, Habib Essid, was dismissed in a no-confidence motion following just 18 months in office. &nbsp; 
 
Essid&rsquo;s government has drawn flak for his failure to address issues of unemployment, poverty, corruption and regional disparities that have plagued the country since the 2011 uprising.&nbsp; 
 
Chahed will become the country&rsquo;s youngest prime minister since it won independence from France in 1956. He will also be the nation&rsquo;s seventh head of government in less than six years.&nbsp; 
 
(WION with inputs from agencies)

The Youssef Chahed-led government, which was backed by 167 members of the 217-seat parliament, is set to take office in coming days

The Tunisian parliament won a confidence vote and approved the unity government of Youssef Chahed late on Friday, bringing an end to three months of intense negotiations. The unity government was backed by 167 members of the 217-seat parliament. It is set to take office in the coming days. The vote on the new government comes as the North African country grapples with lower tourism revenues and security challenges amid a wave of jihadist attacks on foreign tourists last year. Chahed’s cabinet will comprise members from the Islamist Ennahda party, and will also include eight women and 14 “young” ministers. Earlier this month, Chahed was named as the next prime minister after his predecessor, Habib Essid, was dismissed in a no-confidence motion following just 18 months in office. Essid’s government has drawn flak for his failure to address issues of unemployment, poverty, corruption and regional disparities that have plagued the country since the 2011 uprising. Chahed will become the country’s youngest prime minister since it won independence from France in 1956. He will also be the nation’s seventh head of government in less than six years. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Tunisian parliament approves formation of unity government

Tunisia&#39;s President Beji Caid Essebsi today named Youssef Chahed as the new prime minister after parliament ousted Habib Essid in a vote of no-confidence because of his handling of economic reforms and security. 
 
A junior minister in Essid&#39;s government, Chahed, 41, is an agricultural sciences specialist and academic who has taught in France and Tunisia.&nbsp;He is also part of the Nidaa Tounes secular party and has ties to Essebsi&#39;s family, which has led to some criticism from opposition leaders. 
 
Nidaa Tounes and the Islamist Ennahda party, both part of the ruling coalition, control a majority of the seats in parliament, which means Chahed&#39;s nomination is likely to be accepted by lawmakers when they vote on his approval. 
 
(Reuters)

Opposition leaders have criticised the nomination of the 41-year-old junior minister, as he is a relative of President Beji Essebsi

Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi today named Youssef Chahed as the new prime minister after parliament ousted Habib Essid in a vote of no-confidence because of his handling of economic reforms and security. A junior minister in Essid's government, Chahed, 41, is an agricultural sciences specialist and academic who has taught in France and Tunisia. He is also part of the Nidaa Tounes secular party and has ties to Essebsi's family, which has led to some criticism from opposition leaders. Nidaa Tounes and the Islamist Ennahda party, both part of the ruling coalition, control a majority of the seats in parliament, which means Chahed's nomination is likely to be accepted by lawmakers when they vote on his approval. (Reuters)

Tunisian president nominates Youssef Chahed new prime minister

Morocco said today that it had arrested 52 suspected militants inspired by Islamic State and that it had foiled several attacks in the North African kingdom by seizing weapons and bomb-making materials. 
 
It is the largest group arrested in years and the latest of a series of cells that the authorities say they have found plotting attacks inside and outside Morocco. 
 
The North African kingdom, an ally of the West against Islamist militancy, has been on high alert since 2014, when Islamic State took control of large swathes of northern Iraq and Syria. The 52 arrested were among 143 people investigated in many Moroccan cities and towns, the interior ministry said in a statement. 
 
Many members of the group were planning to create an Islamic State province (Wilayat) in Morocco, the statement said. They intended to assassinate Moroccan security and military officers and tourists, as well as targeting prisons and festivals and other institutions in the country. 
 
Morocco&#39;s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation, the judicial part of the Moroccan domestic intelligence service, has tracked suspected militants since Islamic State established itself as a global threat. Morocco has dismantled 38 suspected militant cells with Islamic State ties since 2013, the statement said, adding 159 cells had been found since 2002. 
 
Hundreds of fighters from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria have joined Islamist militant forces in Syria. Some are threatening to return and create new jihadist wings in their home countries, security experts have said. 
 
Nearby Libya has become a major draw for jihadists from North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Islamic State has taken advantage of the security chaos there to build a base, operate training camps and take over the city of Sirte. 
 
Morocco has been the target of militant attacks, most recently in 2011 in Marrakesh, when an explosion in a cafe killed 15 people, mostly foreigners. 
 
(Reuters) 
&nbsp;

The 52 suspects arrested were among 143 people investigated in many Moroccan cities and towns

Morocco said today that it had arrested 52 suspected militants inspired by Islamic State and that it had foiled several attacks in the North African kingdom by seizing weapons and bomb-making materials. It is the largest group arrested in years and the latest of a series of cells that the authorities say they have found plotting attacks inside and outside Morocco. The North African kingdom, an ally of the West against Islamist militancy, has been on high alert since 2014, when Islamic State took control of large swathes of northern Iraq and Syria. The 52 arrested were among 143 people investigated in many Moroccan cities and towns, the interior ministry said in a statement. Many members of the group were planning to create an Islamic State province (Wilayat) in Morocco, the statement said. They intended to assassinate Moroccan security and military officers and tourists, as well as targeting prisons and festivals and other institutions in the country. Morocco's Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation, the judicial part of the Moroccan domestic intelligence service, has tracked suspected militants since Islamic State established itself as a global threat. Morocco has dismantled 38 suspected militant cells with Islamic State ties since 2013, the statement said, adding 159 cells had been found since 2002. Hundreds of fighters from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria have joined Islamist militant forces in Syria. Some are threatening to return and create new jihadist wings in their home countries, security experts have said. Nearby Libya has become a major draw for jihadists from North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Islamic State has taken advantage of the security chaos there to build a base, operate training camps and take over the city of Sirte. Morocco has been the target of militant attacks, most recently in 2011 in Marrakesh, when an explosion in a cafe killed 15 people, mostly foreigners. (Reuters)

Morocco arrests 52 suspected Islamic State militants, foils several attacks

A Tunisian was flown home for trial on Saturday after his arrest in Turkey for allegedly joining the Islamic State group, prosecutors said, days after his father was killed in an airport attack while searching for him.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Anouar Bayoudh arrived in Tunis at 00:30 AM (2330 GMT Friday) with his girlfriend. They were taken to the investigation unit for terrorist crimes at the National Guard,&quot; prosecution spokesman Sofiene Sliti said. 
 
Bayoudh was to appear before a magistrate later on Saturday and both he and his girlfriend were to be charged with &quot;joining a terrorist organisation and involvement in terrorist crimes&quot;, Sliti said. 
 
The 26-year-old has no idea that his father Fathi was buried on Friday after he was among the 44 people killed in a gun and bomb attack at Istanbul`s Ataturk airport earlier this week, the spokesman added. 
 
The military doctor had been in Turkey looking for Anouar, after he and his wife learned late last year that their son had joined IS in Iraq and then in Syria, like thousands of other young Tunisians. 
 
But Anouar had a change of heart after he realised the jihadists were &quot;monsters&quot;, his mother has told AFP. 
 
The young man turned himself in to the rebel Free Syrian Army after realising that he no longer wanted to be part of IS, and was detained in Turkey.&nbsp; 
 
His father was waiting for his wife at the Istanbul airport on Tuesday when the attackers struck, after months of back-and-forth to Turkey to try to find his son. 
 
There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, but authorities say evidence points to IS. 
 
Tunisia has also been the victim of attacks claimed by IS, and it is thought that thousands of Tunisians have travelled to neighbouring Libya, Iraq or Syria to join IS or its jihadist rival Al-Qaeda. 
 
(AFP)

His mother says Anouar had a change of heart after he realised the jihadists were 'monsters'

A Tunisian was flown home for trial on Saturday after his arrest in Turkey for allegedly joining the Islamic State group, prosecutors said, days after his father was killed in an airport attack while searching for him. "Anouar Bayoudh arrived in Tunis at 00:30 AM (2330 GMT Friday) with his girlfriend. They were taken to the investigation unit for terrorist crimes at the National Guard," prosecution spokesman Sofiene Sliti said. Bayoudh was to appear before a magistrate later on Saturday and both he and his girlfriend were to be charged with "joining a terrorist organisation and involvement in terrorist crimes", Sliti said. The 26-year-old has no idea that his father Fathi was buried on Friday after he was among the 44 people killed in a gun and bomb attack at Istanbul`s Ataturk airport earlier this week, the spokesman added. The military doctor had been in Turkey looking for Anouar, after he and his wife learned late last year that their son had joined IS in Iraq and then in Syria, like thousands of other young Tunisians. But Anouar had a change of heart after he realised the jihadists were "monsters", his mother has told AFP. The young man turned himself in to the rebel Free Syrian Army after realising that he no longer wanted to be part of IS, and was detained in Turkey. His father was waiting for his wife at the Istanbul airport on Tuesday when the attackers struck, after months of back-and-forth to Turkey to try to find his son. There has been no claim of responsibility for the attack, but authorities say evidence points to IS. Tunisia has also been the victim of attacks claimed by IS, and it is thought that thousands of Tunisians have travelled to neighbouring Libya, Iraq or Syria to join IS or its jihadist rival Al-Qaeda. (AFP)

Tunisia to try son of Istanbul attack victim over joining IS

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