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The 45-year-old had come to the hospital complaining of typical lower UTI (urinary tract infection) symptoms, such as leaking. But doctors were left stunned when scans revealed there was a glass inside her bladder. It was encased by an 8cm-wide (3-inch-wide) bladder stone, which are normally so small they are hard to see with the naked eye.

Tunisia’s Central Bank is in “advanced talks” with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to obtain financial aid for the cash-strapped country, a senior banker has confirmed. Abdelkarim Lassoued, the head of financing and foreign transactions at the Tunisian regulator, told local Shams FM radio on Friday that an agreement with the two Gulf states may be reached soon. He added that talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were also ongoing, without giving details on the amount of aid being discussed. The North African country has seen years of political deadlock since its 2011 revolution, with fractious...

The phrase #ArrestFauci was trending on Twitter Sunday afternoon in response to multiple controversies surrounding Dr. Anthony Fauci. Twitter users posted the hashtag calling out Fauci over reports that hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars were used to subject dogs to cruel testing before ultimately killing them.

Dr. Anthony Fauci is under fire over claims his division of the National Institutes of Health sent a $375,800 grant to a lab in Tunisia to lock beagle puppies in cages so sand flies could eat the dogs alive. The White Coat Waste Project also claims that Fauci-backed researchers spent multiple weeks injecting the dogs with an experimental drug before killing and dissecting them. The puppies were locked in cages for nine consecutive days and used as bait to attract infectious sand flies that would eat the dogs alive, the report alleges. Close to $1.7m was spent on experiments on...

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is seeking answers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Dr. Anthony Fauci about funding that was provided for experiments on beagle puppies. Twenty-four members of the House of Representatives signed a letter to Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of NIH. The letter was prompted by the nonprofit group White Coat Waste which obtained documents under the Freedom of Information Act that appear to show NIAID spent $1.68 million in taxpayer money for experiments on beagle puppies in a lab in Tunisia. Those...

The classical composer who died almost 300 years ago, has been at the centre of a race debate for over a century; but does this mean we should disturb his grave? German singer, Roberto Blanco, has called on the Mayor of Vienna to exhume Beethoven’s body for a racial DNA test. The request is the latest in an over century old debate about the ethnicity of the German-born classical music giant. Beethoven died in Vienna in 1827, and Blanco addresses the city’s Mayor in a public YouTube video. He states his reasoning for the ask is ‘so that we can...

Tunisia's president dismissed the government and froze parliament on Sunday in a dramatic escalation of a political crisis that his opponents labelled a coup, calling their own supporters to come onto the streets in protest. President Kais Saied said he would assume executive authority with the assistance of a new prime minister, in the biggest challenge yet to the democratic system Tunisia introduced in a 2011 revolution. Crowds of people quickly flooded the capital and other cities to support Saied, cheering and honking car horns in scenes that recalled the revolution, which triggered the Arab Spring protests that convulsed the...

TOKYO (AP) — Nobody was watching Ahmed Hafnaoui in lane eight of the Olympic pool. All eyes were on the Tunisian teenager at the finish. Hafnaoui was the stunning winner of the 400-meter freestyle at the Tokyo Games on Sunday, beating a field of faster and older swimmers. The 18-year-old finished in 3 minutes, 43.26 seconds, punctuating his victory with loud yelling that echoed in the mostly empty 15,000-seat arena.

Libya's weak new government needs to strike a deal with strongman Haftar to stay afloat.A businessman with Gaddafi regime ties, Abdelhamid Debaiba defied the odds when a UN-led dialogue chose him as prime minister earlier this month, despite French and Egyptian backing for a rival list led by the east Libyan parliament speaker Aguileh Saleh and west Libyan interior minister Fathi Bashagha. One powerbroker, however, breathed a sigh of relief. Khalifa Haftar, the military commander who launched a devastating war on Tripoli in 2019 only to be defeated and increasingly marginalised, was back in the saddle.

Archaeologists in Corsica have uncovered a necropolis containing some 40 tombs dating from the 3rd to the 6th century.The surprise discovery, at an excavation site in the town of Ile-Rousse, on the western coast, consisted of bodies mostly buried in African [sic] amphorae, or cylindrical jars, from Tunisia...Since late February, French archaeologists have been excavating two sites in the centre of the town, both about 600 m2.Amphorae – often used to import wine, olive oil and brine from Carthage between the 4th and 7th centuries – was used as "receptacles for the deceased", the institute said.While burial within these large...

Michel Foucault was one of the first celebrity intellectuals of the 20th century remembered not only for his controversial analyses of prisons, madness and sexuality but for signing a petition in 1977 to legalise sex with children aged 13 SIPA/REX ==================================================================== The philosopher Michel Foucault, a beacon of today’s “woke” ideology, has become the latest prominent French figure to face a retrospective reckoning for sexually abusing children. A fellow intellectual, Guy Sorman, has unleashed a storm among Parisian “intellos” with his claim that Foucault, who died in 1984 aged 57, was a paedophile rapist who had sex with Arab children...

President-elect Joe Biden has made clear in his staffing plans and public remarks that he intends to return America to many of the foreign policy positions championed by his former boss, President Barack Obama. While American mainstream media has largely cheered this – and glowered at President Donald Trump for defending his achievements by making regression more difficult under Biden – many of America’s allies, and some of its foes, around the world are making moves suggesting they expect a full return to the state of global affairs in 2016. The Obama administration’s foreign policy was defined by the tension...

TUNIS (REUTERS) -Islamist militants kidnapped and beheaded a young shepherd in mountains in Tunisia near the border with Algeria on Sunday, security sources and residents said. Troops found the body of Okba Dhouibi after he had been seized by militants, the sources said. Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said that act would not go unpunished.

Black people in the north African country suffer hardship and disadvantage, and many still carry the label of ‘liberated’ slavesMany within Tunisia greeted the news that 81-year-old Hamden Dali had won his two decade-long campaign to have “atig” removed from his name with little more than bemusement. But for Dali atig – meaning “liberated by” – in his name was a painful reminder of his family’s heritage as former slaves. Dali, who lives on the island of Djerba, does not have a telephone. However, his lawyer, Hanen Ben Hassana, from the mainland city of Sfax, was clear: “You have to...

Pictured smiling just weeks before massacring three people at a Catholic church in Nice, this is the face of terrorist killer Brahim Aoussaoui as he entered mainland Europe. The picture was taken by authorities in the Italian port city of Bari, where Aoussaoui was taken ashore on October 8 having spent 20 days in coronavirus quarantine - first on the island of Lampedusa, where he landed on September 20, and then on board the Italian quarantine ship Rhapsody. The ship, carrying some 800 migrants, had been moored off the coast of Bari for 15 days where fellow migrants say Aoussaoui...

Defense Secretary Mark Esper met with Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune today in the first visit of a Pentagon chief to the North African country since 2006. It was also the highest-level US diplomatic meeting with the new Algerian president since longtime ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika was ousted amid popular protests last year. The meeting came a day after Esper signed a 10-year road map for defense cooperation agreement with Tunisia's defense minister and one day before an expected stop in Morocco. The trip is the latest sign that the United States sees strategic opportunity in bolstering its partnerships in North Africa...

Call it a new 'Great Game' or war for hearts and minds, or just influence peddling, but Iran and Turkey are now engaged in greater efforts to expand their role in Africa. This comes as Russia and China are also extending networks on the continent. It is important to understand that this is in the context of the US generally reducing its global role and comes around 60 years after European colonialism was rolled back. The increasing footprint of Iran and Turkey have caused concern for other states that view their role as belligerent. That means that Gulf media is...

MARTHA'S VINEYARD, MA—A teary-eyed Obama reported he was horrified that Trump has taken the first step toward peace in the Middle East with an agreement between Israel and the UAE. Obama condemned Trump for doing the un-presidential work of actually trying to broker peace in foreign countries rather than just exploding them. "My drone strikes -- all for nothing!" he cried as he read the news on his iPhone. "This is horrible!" The former president addressed the nation in a video message recorded in his seaside mansion, slamming Trump for his willingness to suddenly overturn years of presidential precedent. "Look,...

Editor's Note: This piece was coauthored by Bruce Abramson.It’s hard to miss the stakes for America in November’s election. President Trump and the GOP base inhabit a starkly different world than do Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and progressive Democrats. That difference transcends mere policy debate; America’s political parties operate on different moral planes. In no foreign context is that moral divergence clearer than the Middle East. Two recent events illuminate the gap: The Biden-led 2020 Democrat Platform, and the UAE/Israel pact that President Trump brokered. The election will determine whether the Middle East continues on the path towards stability and...

In the wake of the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, there are rumors that several other states could be next to sign an agreement with Israel. While there are hurdles to normalizing relations with some states in the Middle East, there are others who view the UAE decision as a trial balloon and will react positively based on how the next weeks and months play out between Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi. What follows is a list of some countries that reports suggest may be in line to normalize relations. Bahrain Bahrain was long thought to...