Tunis - Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on Wednesday announced that he would again stand for election in 2009.

The 72-year-old Ben Ali, who has been Tunisia's head of state since November 1987, made the announcement at the opening of the congress of his RDC party.

Ben Ali is not expected to meet serious opposition in next year's poll, primarily because of a law adopted last week stipulating that all candidates for the Tunisian presidency must have been the head of a political party for at least two years.

Copenhagen - Two Tunisian nationals held on suspicion of planning to murder a Danish newspaper cartoonist were to appeal to the Supreme Court, a lawyer said Tuesday.

Lawyer Henrik Stagetorn, who represents one of the two held since February, wanted the Supreme Court to hear the evidence presented by the Danish security and intelligence service PET, Danish news agency Ritzau reported.

A special panel has to rule if the Supreme Court should hear the case or not.

Last week an appeal court upheld a lower court ruling that the two should remain in custody pending possible deportation to Tunisia.

Paris/Tunis  - His proposed Union for the Mediterranean will create prosperity and peace for everyone involved in it, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told Tunisian students on Wednesday.