Meeting Chris Guillebeau

In the demand of our ever traveling friend Zizou, we -Tunisian bloggers- are willing to meet that guy called Chris in order to know why he is upside down style, maybe he is just a regular guy as you are, maybe he is just an other so far maven from an other planet.

In order to know more about him, please get to our meetup next Saturday in Biwa Cafe in the Lake area.

Notice that the date and location could be changed.

If you can't comment here, please get to the Tn-blogs Google group.

Tunisia to go nuclear

Talks were also underway on French heavy engineering firm Alstom (ALSO.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) providing equipment for a non-nuclear power station, the official said.

As I did predict a long time, Tunisia is getting nuclear for peace purposes managed by France when the oil prices rocketed the sky and the dawn of the old French over control in Africa slipping between its fingers to new power domes.

Tunis Books Fair 2008

The so awaited yearly Tunis Books fair will start next Friday April 25, 2008, I'll be there Saturday.

Good Morning Tunis

Good morning Tunis,
Humm... let me fill my nose with this virgin air coming out the window,
Even if you beat me harder everyday,
I'll be always your spoiled kid forever...

Al-Qaeda explosive material sources dried up

Some surrendered and arrested terrorists in Jijel and Skikda have recognized that security tightening conducted jointly by Algeria and Tunisia on smugglers of explosives has finished by drying up Al-Qaeda sources of supply with phosphate and concentrated chemical fertilizers.

Via [AL Khabar]

As usual, some rumors, has reported the break down of two terrorists somewhere around a mall in Tunis with explosive belts, the police is doing a wonderful job.

Tunisia: First Screening of Documentary Film Highlights Career of Tunisian Karate World Champion

The first screening of a documentary film dubbed "the Desert Samourai" by the filmmaker Mokhtar Laajimi, was shown on Sunday in a hotel in Sousse .

The movie which highlights the career of Sadok Kouka, a Tunisian kyokushinkai -karate (full contact karate) world champion, took one year to shoot.

The 52 minute-long, documentary movie, features the moving account of Kouka's sportive prowess in Holland , Sweden and Japan , where he won the world title in 1986, after defeating his illustrious Japanese competitors.

Via [All Africa]

Just glad to hear that we got some heroes to talk about, I'm looking forward to to watch that documentary.

Mouse Hunter stands with the giants

My baby is growing fast and now standing.

My other blogs

In the hope to stimulate my brain, I have initiated a couple of parallel blogs, their very early experience is wonderful especially the one dedicated to the photography in Tunisia, wish you can advise:

My redesigned PhotoLog : http://photolog.karim2k.com/
Tunisia Wireless Blog: http://Wirelesstn.blogspot.com
Photography Happens in Tunisie http://phototn.blogspot.com/
Tunisia Oil and Gas News: http://oilgastn.blogspot.com/

have fun browsing and as usual stay tune more following.

BBC Arabic television - Daily news programmes

Daily news bulletins

* Every day BBC Arabic reports the news breaking around the region and around the world.

* Headlines of the key stories are broadcast at the top of each hour and every 15 minutes.

* There is a full news summary every 30 minutes on the hour and half-hour.

Al Alam Hatha Al Masaa and Hassad Alyoum Alekhbary (Newshour)

Two different programmes, twice a day, Newshour is BBC Arabic's flagship daily news programme.

Broadcast at 18.00 GMT (Al Alam Hatha Al Masaa) and 20.00 GMT (Hassad Alyoum Alekhbary), each edition is an hour of news, analysis, background reports, key interviews and debate on the top events making the news in the region and around the world that day.

The later edition of Newshour at 20.00 GMT will be a fast-paced daily window on the world - the one stop for the key analysis and insight for understanding the events of the day. It features interviews with the newsmakers, commentators and experts from all over the world - as well as the BBC's unrivalled network of correspondents around the world.

Al Alam Hatha Al Masaa is broadcast at 18.00 GMT and Hassad Alyoum Alekhbary at 20.00 GMT every day.

Weekly programmes:

Nuqtat Hewar (Point Of Debate)

Nuqtat Hewar is the pioneering live multimedia interactive debating forum that gets to the heart of the matter of a single issue in each edition.

Authoritative but informal in tone, this will be a key forum for passionate, lively, free-flowing debate where the audience shares its thoughts across the whole of the Arab world.

Nuqtat Hewar will be presented by Hosam El Sokkari. He will be leading the debate to get the real voices of the region heard. It will be a regional conversation that's informative, inspiring, challenging, outspoken and controversial - but never boring.

Using contributions from the dedicated Nuqtat Hewar website, the programme will be broadcast for about 50 minutes on both radio and television. This will extended on BBC Arabic radio for about 30 minutes. This is a pioneering tri-media programme - unique in Arab broadcasting.

Taking one issue, it uses modern technology to be a truly unique live interactive dialogue. Nuqtat Hewar aims to use phone calls, emails, text messages, blogs, pictures, and professionally shot pre-recorded vox pops in key cities, as well as 3G and webcam contributions.

Nuqtat Hewar will cover news, politics and social issues. Its range of topics will be the widest in Arab broadcasting - tackling the big issues that make a difference to lives throughout the region - including subjects regarded as social taboos.

Nuqtat Hewar is multicast on both BBC Arabic television and radio three times a week (Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 15.06 GMT). Following the multicast on both platforms the debate continues on radio for 30 minutes.

Ajenda Maftouha (Open Agenda)

Open Agenda is an in-depth exploration of a single issue. Each edition features a single presenter and a range of guests. They will delve beneath the headlines to examine the undercurrents behind the headlines and bring a wide range of perspectives to the issue at hand.

Open Agenda is broadcast on Tuesdays at 19.00 GMT (repeated on Wednesdays at 13.00 GMT).

Lajnat Taqqasi Al Haqqaeq (The Commission)

A panel of independent people get to the heart of the matter by investigating topical social, political and economic issues in The Commission every week.

The panel call expert witnesses and key commentators to examine their knowledge and capture their insights on the key issues. Together they dig deep to explore different perspectives on one of the big issues of the day.

Linked from London, the programme is recorded on location around the region.

The Commission is broadcast on Wednesdays at 19.00 GMT (repeated on Thursdays at 13.00 GMT).

Fiassameem (To The Point)

To The Point is the hard-hitting, one-to-one interview news programme, presented by Hasan Muawad. He will ask the difficult questions of the personalities behind the stories that make the news - from international political leaders to entertainers; from corporate decision-makers to ordinary individuals facing huge challenges.

The half-hour interview is the result of detailed research and in-depth investigations.

To The Point is broadcast on Fridays at 19.30 GMT (repeated on Saturdays at 13.30 GMT).

The BBC in the Arab world - Channel frenquicies

BBC Arabic TV is distributed by Arabsat, Eutelsat and Nilesat satellite systems:

Arabsat - Badr 4

Orbital location - 26 degrees East
Transponder number - 15
Frequency - 11996 MHz
Polarisation - Horizontal
Symbol rate - 27500
FEC - ¾

Eutelsat - Hotbird 8

Orbital location - 13 degrees East
Transponder number - 50
Frequency - 11.72748 GHz
Polarisation - Vertical
Symbol rate - 27500
FEC- ¾

Nilesat 102

Orbital location - 7 degrees West
Transponder number - 26
Frequency - 12206 MHz
Polarisation - Vertical
Symbol rate - 27500
FEC - ¾

The BBC has launched a new Arabic language TV channel

The channel is free to everyone in North Africa and the Middle East with a satellite or cable connection.

It will distinguish itself from other state-funded channels by reporting "without fear or favour", BBC World Service director Nigel Chapman said.

This is the BBC's second attempt at an Arabic channel. The first closed in 1996 in the wake of an editorial dispute with its Saudi funders.

The channel enters a crowded market, dominated by the Qatar-based al-Jazeera and the Saudi-funded al-Arabiya channels.

...

Starting at 1000 GMT on 11 March, BBC Arabic television will broadcast 12 hours a day, shifting to a 24-hour service later in 2008.

Presenters: Fida Bassil, Osman Ayfarah, Lina Musharbash and Rania al-Alattar
Presenters: Fida Bassil, Osman Ayfarah, Lina Musharbash and Rania al-Alattar
The channel will broadcast 30-minute news bulletins every hour and two main 60-minute bulletins at 1800 GMT and 2000 GMT.

The so long awaited TV channel is coming down - I did heard about it years ago-, I'm a BBC mania I listen often to their programs in both Arabic and English and catch their podcasts all the time thanks to my Songbird, I was really active on the Arabic site and have participated in Xtra twice, I like the BBC 4 documentaries and how the whole network handles news and promotes both blogging and photography, I;m sure that the new Arabic spoken born TV will be an other good kid of such great network.

In fact since 2003, BBC Arabic has been actively promoting blogging and here I say the Arabic blogging experience will get a share in the visual media (Other than Al jazeera) seriously in the need of more deep sights into our being.

Rather than Al Jazeera, BBC is not just a news channel, it's an media insider and a talent explorer, I remember how they had always promoted photography especially for the Eid or Ramadan Photo challenge a great event to show Arabic amateur photographers in action.

I'm looking forward to see nice shows and warm debates, and as I know BBC, they're gonna do it in their special way gathering artistic style and open mind criticism.

Go read about the new [BBC Arabic TV]

Tunisia shares 'Star Wars' set

One of the most items related to Tunisie, is not camels or dates or olive oil or sunny beaches, but a totally geek stuff: star wars, Tatouine (Aka tatooine ) is the main American attraction of the country so far a temple to all those who seeks in Lucas the genius of creating their wonderful world:

MATMATA, Tunisia — I have never been a "Star Wars" aficionado, to tell you the truth. The closest I ever came to appreciating the movie was singing along to the "Star Wars" ring tone on my colleague's cell phone.

That is, until I took a trip to the planet Tatooine itself — a real place in the middle of the north African desert, a well-kept secret of Tunisia.

While ruthless Hollywood knocks over the set of each movie as soon as the director shouts his final "Cut!," Tunisia, where George Lucas shot most of the "Star Wars" scenes, still keeps the original set from the '70s, protecting it from the burning sun and the evil winds of the Sahara.

The wonders of stars are easily reachable in Tunisia other than many other attractions as Roman monuments (We got the second biggest coliseum in the world) and those cinema made decors are attractions more people than any civilizations, what can we, fiction is a good seller. Go check more photos on flickr.

al-Qaida: 2 Austrian Tourists Kidnapped

Al-Qaida in Islamic North Africa claimed responsibility for kidnapping two Austrian tourists last month in Tunisia in an audio recording aired Monday on Al-Jazeera television.

A man who identified himself as Salah Abu Mohammed said in the recording that the terrorist group kidnapped the two Austrians on Feb. 22 in retribution for Western cooperation with Israel, but said the hostages were in good health.

"We tell Western tourists that at the same time they are flowing into Tunisian lands seeking joy, our brothers are being slain in Gaza by the Jews with the collaboration of the Western states," said Abu Mohammed.

"The mujahideen have previously warned and alerted them that the apostate Tunisian state cannot and will not be able to protect you, and the hands of the mujahideen can reach you wherever you are on the Tunisian soil."

Via [Associated Press]

What the hell is going on? Why do they want to make our life seems harder? why do they need to spoil every little thing about our great nation? Those people are mental psycho morons directed by more foolish dirty hands in the only goal to take down everything around.

Tunisian games Championship

5000 players , 4 days of celebrations, music and video games.

Competition in Tunsia Championship video games around the CTJV 2008 promises to be even bigger and better than the previous ones. It will be held from 20 to 23 March 2008 in the "city des Sciences" of Tunis.

Register now, cheeks and got to defend the colors of Tunisia at the World Cup games ESWC 2008 to be held in San Jose - USA late August.

Better than Football, the electronic games have gained Tunisian people since a while and thus the edge led to a national event once a year where the gamers come to plat face to face in an adorable atmosphere around the best games ever (at least the most poppular inTunisia): Counter strike, PES 2008, D.O.T.A., Track mania, unfortunately -for may be not enough players- War craft 2 is not on the list this year.

The event will be held from to 23 march in "Cite des sciences" - Tunis, which is an excellent timing: National Holidays from of 20-21 march and the beginning of the summer holidays for the kids, I'm myself willing to get there with little brother Khaled get some fun and take some pictures, too old to play, too nervous to compete so I prefer to be on the crowd.

Go to [CTJV]

The Green oil Affair

Some 23 people were arrested in raids across Italy yesterday (6 March), and 85 farms and 23 oil processing plants seized, in an operation that exposed the scale of trade in fraudulent olive oil, local reports said.

The raids followed an investigation into the thriving illegal business in which reportedly lower-quality olives are being imported from Tunisia, Greece and Spain, and then crushed in Italy with the resulting product sold off as olive oil made in Italy.

Via [Just Food]

When I first heard about it, it just passed through like any usual news, but since that every single media was talking about, it seems that the Romans don't joke with oil, they were hit in the back neck and they can't get it.

The new says that the precious Italian oil was faked Spanish and Tunisian oil, two international high quality olive lands, it seems even that the olive was imported to Rome from the shores of Tunisia thanks to the Punic civilization therefore the root is always better than the trunks.

Therefore how can any fake oil spoil such a great flavor with an over sunny non royal green beans, let me just that I'm really disgusted. Even the lowest quality of the Tunisian oil is fairly is an international high standard.