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EPACopyright: EPA

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is on an official visit to Morocco, aimed at mending ties following a deep diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

"The better the relations are between Morocco and Spain, the better it is for Spain, for Morocco, for Europe, for business, and for the citizens of both countries," Mr Sanchez said at an economic forum in Rabat.

He and a dozen Spanish ministers are set to meet top members of the Moroccan government on Thursday.

They are expected to sign some 24 deals including Spanish investments in the kingdom and on partnerships in areas from culture and education to desalination and rail transport, Spanish government sources said.

This visit comes amid disputes over migration and territory and after Madrid reversed decades of neutrality on the Western Sahara conflict to back Morocco's position.

Also Spain's North African enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta - which both border Morocco - have long been magnets for people fleeing violence and poverty across Africa, seeking refuge via the continent's only land frontiers with the European Union.

Tensions were strained last year after the deaths of at least 23 sub-Saharan migrants who were attempting to cross from Morocco to the Spanish enclave of Melilla.

Twitter/ Israeli PMCopyright: Twitter/ Israeli PM

Chad will on Thursday open its embassy in Israel after the two countries renewed diplomatic ties in 2019.

President Mahamat Deby is on a visit to Israel and met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday in Jerusalem.

Chad, which has a majority Muslim population, cut ties with Israel in 1972.

Mr Netanyahu's office said the two leaders will officiate the opening of the embassy but did not mention where it would be located, although most countries have kept embassies in Tel Aviv.

"We believe that our co-operation can help not only advance our relations and our co-operation but it is also part of Israel's coming back to Africa and Africa coming back to Israel. We have common goals of security, prosperity and stability," a statement from the prime minister's office said.

In recent years, Israel has made a big effort to improve diplomatic relations with several African countries.

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The United States has called on Tunisia to show greater democratic inclusion amid a low turnout at recent parliamentary elections.

Just 11% of voters took part in a second round of elections that ended on Sunday.

"The low voter turnout reflects the dire need for the government to engage in a more inclusive path going forward to further expand political participation," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

Opposition parties boycotted the poll, accusing the president of staging a coup after he shut down parliament in 2021 and gave himself almost unlimited executive powers.

Mr Saied has defended the low turnout as a sign of discontent with parliament.

GettCopyright: Gett

Tunisian President Kais Saied has issued a decree extending the state of emergency that has been in place in the country since November 2015.

The state of emergency was extended until the end of December this year, the state news agency TAP reported.

Mr Saied last extended the state of emergency on 30 December for a month.

Before that, it was extended for nearly a year from February to 31 December 2022.

The initial declaration of a state of emergency in November 2015, followed a bombing targeting a bus transporting presidential guard forces, which killed 12.

The country had been rocked earlier that year by two major attacks on foreign tourists in the capital Tunis and the resort town of Sousse.

The latest move comes as Tunisia's main opposition parties have accused Mr Saied of a power grab after he implemented a series of measures expanding his powers and curbing those of elected institutions.

Opposition leaders have called on the president to stand down after recent parliamentary elections saw a record low voter turnout.