TUNIS: Mass inoculation in Tunisia starts on Tuesday when the first coronavirus vaccines arrive in the North African nation using Russia's Sputnik V jabs.
Initially 30,000 doses are due to arrive Tuesday from Russia, followed by 500,000 doses "in coming weeks" said a presidency statement citing "constant diplomatic efforts" to procure them.
Being amongst the last North African nations to start vaccinations, Tunisia has some 11.7 million inhabitants and has recorded 237,704 Covid-19 cases including 8,201 deaths since the pandemic began.
The government had previously announced it was expecting an initial 94,000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca/Oxford jabs from mid-February, but delivery under the UN-led Covax scheme was delayed. Beijing last month also pledged to gift 100,000 doses.
A vaccination campaign is expected to begin in coming days.
Lockdown measures remain in place, although rules have been eased slightly, with an overnight curfew now starting at 10:00 pm instead of 8:00 pm.
For travelers, mandatory quarantine at a hotel has been replaced by self-isolation at home for 48 hours.
Tunisia set to receive first coronavirus jabs
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Tunisia set to receive first coronavirus jabs
- First initial 30,000 doses arrive Tuesday from Russia followed by 500,000 doses in coming weeks
Israel strikes Islamist group’s HQ in Sidon, south Lebanon: state media
- “The Israeli enemy carried out an air raid a short while ago, targeting a headquarters of the Jamaa Islamiya,” state media said
- The strike almost entirely destroyed a seven-story building
BEIRUT: Israel struck a headquarters belonging to the Islamist group Jamaa Islamiya, an ally of Hamas and Hezbollah, in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon on Tuesday, state media reported.
“The Israeli enemy carried out an air raid a short while ago, targeting a headquarters of the Jamaa Islamiya” in the coastal city, state media said.
Sidon was largely spared of major Israeli attacks during the last war between Israel and Hezbollah, which a November 2024 ceasefire sought to end.
The strike almost entirely destroyed a seven-story building, according to an AFP photographer, and ambulances rushed to the scene.
It caused a powerful blast in a densely populated area, as seen on local media.
The Israeli military then issued an evacuation warning for another building in Sidon, saying it will hit “Hezbollah military infrastructure... in light of its prohibited attempts to rebuild its activities in the area.”
The Jamaa Islamiya had previously been the target of Israeli strikes in Lebanon after claiming responsibility for rocket launches toward Israel during the war between Israel and Hezbollah that began in October 2023.
Last month, it accused Israel of seizing one of its officials from a town near the border.
The Israeli military said that it “apprehended a senior terrorist” in the group who was then “transferred for further questioning in Israeli territory.”
