Magharebia news reports that a Tunisian coastguard boat rescued 35 illegal African migrants trying to reach Italy from Libya. The rescue operation took place near the coast of Sfax on Friday, when a broken motor caused a small boat carrying sub-Saharan immigrants from Libya towards the Italian island of Lampedusa to drift off course.

Some Tunisian bloggers are angered by the decision of Hou-Hou blog to allow the inclusion of the Gay Tunisia blog in his TN-blogs aggregator. The first angry reaction was submitted by Tunisian Doctor, who wrote, 'with the addition of Gay Tunisia to TN-blogs, I will leave you, dear blogger friends, in protest of a group whose sexual practices play no part in our culture, religion or legal system'.

Tunisia’s first privately owned radio station, Radio Mosaique, has been in operation for just under four years, yet its open discussion of sensitive subjects important to Tunisians has caused its popularity to soar,reports Magahrebia news.

The Tunisian government has failed to make progress in improving free expression conditions over the past year, even further stifling dissidents, the IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG) has found in its fourth major report.

Tunisian authorities have followed the example of China and Thailand, blocking access to a website sharing videos for national residents. The 'Dailymotion' site had posted some political videos and its editor now risks three years in prison.

With recent films, (both long and short feature films) Tunisia will take a big part in the 20 th edition of the "Ouagadougou International Film Festival" (Fespaco) in Burkina Faso. The festival, Africa 's second film festival, which will be held from February 24 to March 3, 2007 , will also feature a round table around the theme: Tunisia 's experience in producing '10 short films ten gazes'.

An international coalition of free expression groups has urged new U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to remind Tunisia of its obligations under international law to respect freedom of expression and other human rights. The IFEX Tunisia Monitoring Group (IFEX-TMG) says more than one year after Tunisia hosted the U.N.-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), the state of free expression is as poor, if not poorer, now than it was when the conference was held in November 2005.

An Amnesty International statement claims that the Egyptian authorities were preparing to forcibly return four Tunisian nationals – Ayman Hkiri, Ahamed Lahbib, Mhamed Almadiri and another whose name was unknown. If returned to Tunisia they would be in grave danger of torture, Amnesty added.

IFEX-TMG members have called on the Tunisian President to cease harassment of human rights defenders and journalists: “We, the undersigned members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG), again call on Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to stop persecuting human rights defenders and journalists.”

The Ministry of Culture's review board has announced the censorship of playwright Jalila Baccar's new work, "Corps-otages" ("Captive Bodies"), directed by Fadhel Jaibi. After wavering for more than three months, the review board, which is responsible for reviewing all theatrical releases in the country, refused to issue the permit required for the play to open. The board is demanding that Jaibi bring the play in line with a list of 100 themes subject to censorship before it grants the opening permit.

Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali reiterated his support for the promotion of the rights of women in the Arab world as ''a central issue in the process of development and modernization''. Speaking on the occasion of Tunisia's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Personal Status Code, which granted Tunisian women their rights, President Ben Ali said, ''the various contemporaneous world changes show that a society's attainment of progress and invulnerability depends on the freedom and rights women enjoy in that society, and on the duties and responsibilities they assume therein.''

The Working Group on Press Freedom and Free Expression in North Africa (WGFENA) has condemned the assault perpetrated by Tunisian security forces against the prominent writer and human rights activist, Naziha Regiba (also known as "Um Ziad"). The attack came after security forces besieged The National Council for Liberties in Tunisia [Conseil National pour les Libertés en Tunisie, CNLT] to prevent its members from attending a meeting.

According to a report prepared by members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) Tunisia Monitoring Group (TMG), violations of freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of association and other basic human rights are still rampant following the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), held in Tunisia in November 2005.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed its grave concern regarding Tunisian journalist Slim Boukhdhir's announcement that he was commencing a hunger strike. Boukhdhir, formerly a journalist with the publications "Akhbar El Joumhouria" and "Essarih", has over several months been restricted to making ends meet by freelance writing and obtaining random contracts with various press organisations. He was previously a correspondent with Alarabya.net and has currently been working at the daily "Al Shouroukh", after a brief stint with the weekly "Al Hadeth" that was cut short.

Incarcerated since 1 March 2006 for publishing an article on the Internet , lawyer and human rights defender Mohamed Abbou has been on hunger strike since 11 March. He is protesting his prison conditions that have worsened since 2 March, when a gathering in front of Kef prison, where he is detained, took place that was blocked by the police and the National Guard.

Freedom of expression groups have urged Tunisia to release Mohammed Abbou and all other remaining prisoners of opinion. On the first anniversary of the jailing of Tunisian internet writer, lawyer and human rights activist Mohammed Abbou, international freedom of expression groups welcomed the recent release of many Tunisian prisoners of opinion including journalist Hamadi Jebali, imprisoned for more than 15 years, and the youth of Zarzis, whose release was the focus of an international campaign, but expressed dismay at the continued incarceration of Abbou and the escalation of other free speech violations.

Reporters Without Borders has noted the release of Hamadi Jebali, editor of the weekly Al Fajr, on 25 February 2006, after 15 years in prison. The Tunisian authorities have also freed the "Zarzis Internet-users" who were jailed in April 2004. Jebali and the group of six so-called "Zarzis Internet-users" were among the 1,600 prisoners who received a presidential pardon, on 25 February 2006. Jebali, whose publication Al Fajr, is the organ of the Islamist movement An Nahda, has been in jail since 1991. He was sentenced to one year in prison for defamation after publishing an article by lawyer Mohammed Nuri calling for the military courts to be abolished.

The Executive Secretariat of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) has announced the freezing of the web-pages of both the Geneva and Tunis phases of the summit. This is coming as it has taken a firm step in updating media professionals on the post-WSIS related information by maintaining its 'WSIS E-Flash' medium.

Ordinary Tunisians are still living in the darkness of a regime that watches them, intimidates them, and denies them the right to free speech, says this report from the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). "Ironically, WSIS might well have made conditions worse for local journalists, at least temporarily, because it provoked more crackdowns by the government."

I have just finished reading your comprehensive editorial on events unfolding in Tunis and send my sympathy to journalists in general and human rights activists in particular.

I think the UN must not sit down unconcerned for that country's authorities to treat communicators as common criminals. What is the purpose of the Summit in the first place? What a shame!