Despite criticism for the use of potentially harmful chemicals, companies are still selling the products around the world

It was just before Christmas, and eight-year-old Gloria Moraa sat holding a mirror as her aunt painted her curls with chemicals that would straighten every strand. “All the young girls would get matching hairstyles for the holidays, and relaxers were fashionable back then,’’ says Moraa, now 28, who lives in Nairobi, Kenya.

She no longer straightens her hair because she thought it was starting to thin. But over the years, Moraa used almost every relaxer on the market , with one goal: making her coily hair silky. The ingredients didn’t matter.

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Members of justice committee say €150m in EU funding went straight to country’s president, Kais Saied

The European Commission has been accused of “bankrolling dictators” by senior MEPs, who have claimed that the €150m it gave to Tunisia last year in a migration and development deal has ended up directly in the president’s hands.

A group of MEPs on the human rights, justice and foreign affairs committees at the European parliament launched a scathing attack on the executive in Brussels, expressing fears that the commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, was about to seal a similar deal with Egypt .

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Almost 1,500 unaccompanied children are stuck in the country, where many report being separated from parents, while globally the number of minors making journeys alone is rising

Adam* was just 14 when he left his home in Sierra Leone with his father and younger brother, now aged six, in February 2022. Two years later, the brothers are living on their own and begging for food in the town of Al Amra in Tunisia.

Their father had been the one to persuade Adam and his brother to come with him to find work and an education in Europe. Their family fortunes had plummeted after their mother had a car accident and their father, who had been working as a driver, didn’t have enough money to replace the vehicle.

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With millions set to vote in 2024, the continent’s future is in the hands of a younger generation disillusioned by the apparent failure of their elected leaders and stagnant economies

Djbril Camara remembers thinking it was the wildest demonstration yet, the thunderclap of teargas almost constant. Then a shocking new sound: the crack of a live bullet. Djbril scrambled to the roof of his apartment block.

Below, the protest had descended into pandemonium. People shrieking as they ran. Plumes of teargas billowed across the Niary Tally district of Dakar, Senegal’s capital.

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The sentence, passed in absentia, is part of the country’s crackdown on opponents of president Kais Saied

A court in Tunisia sentenced former president Moncef Marzouki to eight years in prison in absentia as part of the country’s crackdown on opponents of president Kais Saied.

The judgment came as prominent opposition figure Jaouhar Ben Mbarek was sentenced to six months in prison.

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As the battle against pirate IPTV services continues, beIN Media Group today announced early success in new legal action.

The sports broadcaster says that after filing an application for an emergency injunction in Tunisia, local electronics retailer MyTek is no longer allowed to sell IPTV products carrying pirated beIN channels. The injunction is temporary, pending a full hearing on the merits of the case.

According to beIN, more than 80% of consumers in Tunisia use pirate IPTV services to watch live sports and other TV channels. Given the extraordinary deals available, it’s not difficult to see why.

IPTV Subscriptions on Open Sale

At the time of writing, subscription listings on MyTek’s website are yet to be suspended. The website team probably needs a little more time to make the changes so, in the meantime, we did a little virtual shopping to see why beIN sees this retailer as a threat.

As far as 12-month packages go, MyTek offers at least two , branded as Global IPTV and TIVOSAT. The price listed for the former is 25,000 TND, which initially sounds like a lot.

However, the Tunisian dinar uses a comma to indicate the decimal place, so the last three digits can be discarded. In short, a full subscription package costs 25 dinars and that converts to less than $8.00 – for a 12-month subscription.

People without a compatible device can buy an Android set-top box for 89 dinars and MyTek will throw in a 12-month IPTV package free of charge. Grand total: $27.80.

People who pay $5 or $10 per month in the United States usually recognize a good deal when they see one, but this is on a whole new level of cheap that seems barely believable. When compared to an official beIN subscription, it’s easy to see why beIN wants this stopped and why users on this local Arabic forum think it should continue.

MyTek Also Offers beIN Packages – But Does Anybody Buy Them?

For those who prefer not to go down the illegal route, official beIN subscription packages are also available via the MyTek website. For 189 dinars – just short of $59.00 – Tunisians can watch beIN for three uninterrupted months.

If that’s not long enough, 359 dinars ($112) buys six months of beIN service and 699 dinars ($217) buys a whole year. To counter this deal, MyTek offers a Max IPTV subscription that costs less than 30 dinars (just over $9.00) but lasts 18 months .

These listings will probably disappear in the coming hours or days but MyTek has work to do. When the company sells a Samsung Galaxy M52, it also throws in a free IPTV subscription . The same holds true for this 50″ Smart TV and many other similar products.

From: TF , for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.