Tunisia, Senegal, Israel-Palestine.

Today's three stories you should know.

May 10, 2023

Tunisia

Six people have been shot dead at a synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba in an attack the country’s president blamed on "criminals" trying to hurt the tourism industry. The gunman, a National Guard member, killed a colleague at a naval base before driving to the synagogue, where an annual pilgrimage was taking place, and opening fire on visitors and police. "The goal was to sow the seeds of discord and to hit the tourist season and the state," President Kais Saied said. Security has been tight around the pilgrimage since al-Qaeda attacked it in 2002 with a truck bomb, killing 21 Western tourists. Saied did not describe the attack as antisemitic or call it terrorism.

Senegal

An opposition coalition in Senegal says it is planning protests over the conviction of its main leader Ousmane Sonko. Sonko was convicted of defaming Tourism Minister Mame Mbaye Niangtou and on Monday an appeals court increased his sentence from a two- to six-month suspended term. He is to be tried separately later this month, though, on the much more serious charges of raping a woman and making death threats against her. His supporters say all of the charges against the 48-year-old are spurious and aimed at stopping him from running in presidential elections set for February 2024. At least 12 people were killed in riots last year after the rape charges were issued. The government denies the cases are politically motivated.

Israel-Palestine

Western media outlets have been criticised for allegedly downplaying the killing of civilians - including four children - in an Israeli air raid that also killed three members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) group. News organizations were taken to task for headlines that focused on the PIJ members without any mention of the dead civilians, who were reported to be neighbors and family members of the PIJ commanders.