Tunisia

This is not a place for a book review, but Shadi Hamid's "Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a new Middle East" (Brookings Institute Book, 2014, Oxford University Press) needs to be mentioned, even if briefly, since Islamism and the Middle East never cease to be hot topics.

The 2015 Africa Cup of Nations won by Ivory Coast in Equatorial Guinea Feb. 8 was full of controversy with disputed penalties and rioting supporters.

Pictures of a jagged broken mirror used as a missile by a rioter and players attempting to assault a referee in another knockout match involving the host nation were beamed around the world on television.

Tunisia Feb. 2 presented its new coalition government, dominated by the secular Nidaa Tounes party but also including its Islamist rivals, as it prepares to tackle security problems and a faltering economy.
     

The production price of Turkish olive oil has reached 12 Turkish Liras ($5) per kilogram, but there remains a shortage in the sector.

Security black holes around Turkey are getting bigger, yet the government is not vocalizing the threat is becoming more serious, warns an analyst. 'Being Muslim will not protect Turkey from radicalism,' says security expert Mete Yarar.

The five-member crew of a Maltese tanker vessel, including two Bulgarian nationals, has been arrested in Libya for alleged smuggling of oil products.

The Moldova-flagged ship, Sunoil I, and its crew were detained in Tripoli on 3 January, Bulgaria's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Swiss legend Roger Federer said there was nothing to read into his earliest exit from the Australian Open in 14 years after he was dumped out by Italian Andreas Seppi Friday.
 
The 46th-ranked Seppi mastered Federer for the first time in 11 meetings, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) in almost three hours, to reach the fourth round for only the fourth time at the slams.
 

Turkey and Egypt should come together and discuss ways to find a mutual understanding on their different points of view, the Turkish prime minister has said, describing the importance of the Arab country as "the backbone of the Middle East."

The captain of the St. Vincent-flagged cargo ship Mare on Tuesday ordered his crew to abandon ship amid strong winds and choppy seas off the coast of the southern Aegean island of Crete, the state-run Athens Macedonia News Agency reported.

DOHA - Serbia's Novak Djokovic started off with a victory at the ATP tournament in Doha on Tuesday, easily beating compatriot Dusan Lajovic 6-2 6-1.

World number one needed only an hour in his first official match against Lajovic, hinting that he was in great form ahead of the first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open.