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Nine African migrants drowned off Tunisia's coast on Monday after their boat sank.

Tunisia's defence ministry said nine others were rescued by the navy and the coast guards.

The migrants are believed to have been on their way to Italy.

People have drowned off the Tunisian coast in the past while others have made it across to Europe.

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Algeria's state firm is ready to supply additional gas to the EU from its surplus, the company's boss has said.

This is in case of a decline in gas supplies due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Sonatrach CEO Toufik Hakkar said the unmet capacity at the Transmed pipeline linking Algeria to Italy could be used to increase supply.

Algerian gas accounts for about 11% of Europe's gas imports.

The US had reached out to Algeria and other countries for gas supply alternatives in case the Russian invasion leads to low supplies to Europe.

Read more:

Ukraine conflict: How reliant is Europe on Russia for oil and gas?

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A Moroccan appeals court has confirmed a five-year jail term against journalist Soulaimane Raissouni for indecent assault in a case criticised by human rights advocates.

Mr Raissouni has maintained his innocence over the allegations against him, which he and his supporters say are politically motivated.

He is an outspoken critic of the government and among several journalists to have been jailed for sex crimes.

He was arrested nearly two years ago and convicted last July.

He refused food for 122 days as a protest against what he said was the "injustice" dealt to him.

He ended the hunger strike after his health deteriorated sharply.

The government insists his trial was fair.

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Tunisia has withdrawn from cinemas a new film starring the Israeli actress Gal Gadot.

The decision had been taken following protests by activists who say Gadot served in the Israeli army and supports Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories, the Culture Ministry said.

The film, a new adaptation of the murder mystery Death on the Nile by the British author Agatha Christie, has already been banned in Kuwait and Lebanon.

Tunisia, which hosts some major festivals to celebrate Arab and international films, also banned the 2017 film Wonder Woman, which featured Gal Gadot in the lead role.

Tunisians living in Ukraine have urged their national airline, Tunisair, to arrange an evacuation flight as fears grow of an outbreak of war in the region.

The head of the Association of the Tunisian Community in Ukraine, Tariq Alaoui, said that Tunisians have been struggling to leave Ukraine due to international airlines cancelling flights.

Mr Alaoui told Tunisia's state news agency that anxiety had heightened within the community following Russia's announcement to recognise Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.

Mr Aloaui said there were about 1,500 Tunisian nationals in Ukraine, including some 500 students.

Many of them reside in Dnipro and Kharkiv, near the Russian border, he said.

Other countries, including Morocco, had begun repatriation efforts, Mr Alaoui added.

The Tunisian foreign ministry on 20 February called on Tunisians to leave areas of Ukraine where there was significant tension and to maintain continuous contact with the Tunisian embassies in Moscow and Warsaw.

The ministry also said Tunisian nationals wishing to be repatriated could register with the Association of the Tunisian Community in Ukraine, without clarifying if the ministry would coordinate an evacuation.

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Protests broke out in cities across Morocco on Sunday against rising prices and to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the launch of a major reform movement.

February 20th was a pro-reform and anti-corruption group born out of the Arab Spring uprisings that rocked the Middle East in 2011.

Hundreds of people demonstrated in the North African country's city of Casablanca, brandishing banners calling for the release of political prisoners.

Many speakers addressed the crowds, and lamented that none of their demands for social justice, gender equality among others, have been achieved in 11 years.

There were similar protests in the capital, Rabat, and in Tangiers.

Morocco's economy has been hit hard by drought and the coronavirus pandemic.

A similar campaign has been taking place on social media platforms under the hashtag "no to price hikes".

Some posted video footage of themselves on their bikes having abandoned their cars as they could not afford the higher petrol prices.

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The World Health Organization has announced that six African countries will be given the revolutionary mRNA technology to set up their own vaccine production centres - helping the continent acquire self-reliance against the Covid pandemic.

Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia will get the technology used in the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna jabs developed in Europe.

The Senegalese president said the aim was to have 60% of vaccines administered in Africa produced in Africa as well.

In the future, the new African vaccine hub might also produce jabs for diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV.

A ceremony marking the mRNA technology transfer will be held later in Brussels at a summit between the European Union and the African Union.

AFPCopyright: AFP

Algeria's president says the government will introduce unemployment benefits for young adults as the country struggles with high rates of joblessness.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune told journalists that the payments to jobseekers aged 19 to 40 would begin in March.

Those who are eligible will be able to collect the payments of about a $100 (£73) a month, as well as some medical benefits, until they find work.

Making the announcement, Mr Tebboune said that Algeria was the first country outside Europe to introduce such a benefit.

He added that there were now more than 600,000 unemployed in Algeria.

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The head of the Egyptian authority managing the Suez canal has said that work is under way to extend the two-way section of the waterway by 10km (six miles).

The Suez Canal Authority Chairman Osama Rabie said that it would be too expensive to expand the entire canal, which is a vital trade link between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

Last year a massive container ship - the Ever Given - became stuck in the canal for several days, causing considerable disruption to global shipping traffic.

Israel has clinched a $500m (£370m) deal to supply Morocco with an air defence system.

The contract with Israeli Aerospace follows the signing last November of a memorandum of understanding on defence collaboration by the two countries.

Morocco agreed to normalise relations with Israel in a US-brokered deal in late 2020.