Year: 2017

Tunisia’s Tourism Minister Salma Elloumi: Tunisia loves Chinese Visitors

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Tunisia would love more Chinese Tourists. Salma Elloumi, Tunisian Minister of Tourism, said Tunisia received around 16,000 Chinese tourists until Nov 10 this year, an increase of 190 percent compared with the same period last year. Chinese tourist market would be a significant factor to revive Tunisian tourism industry, Tunisian Minister of Tourism said Thursday during a session of parliamentary hearing. While in 2016, the total number of Chinese tourists in Tunisia only reached around 7,300. The data shows a significant increase of Chinese emerging market. China is known as…

Algeria picks up 286 boat migrants en route to Europe

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Algeria’s coastguard has picked up 286 illegal migrants heading across the Mediterranean to Europe by boat, the Defence Ministry has said. The migrants were detained on several boats between Thursday and Saturday, according to a ministry statement carried on Sunday by the state news agency, APS. Algeria has so far seen relatively few attempts to cross to Europe by boat, compared to the hundreds of thousands of mostly African would-be migrants who have set off in search of prosperity or security from elsewhere along the north African coast, mostly from…

Supermodel leads mourning for fashion’s ‘King of Cling’

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Supermodel Naomi Campbell and Tunisia’s president led mourners in a final tribute Monday to French-Tunisian fashion designer Azzedine Alaia, who died this month aged 77 after winning a worldwide following. Campbell and fellow fashion icon Farida Khelfa, close friends of Alaia, accompanied his remains from France to Tunisia, French Ambassador Olivier Poivre d’Arvor told AFP. Tunisian mourners carry the coffin of late French-Tunisian fashion designer Azzedine Alaia, who died this month aged 77, during his funeral in the Sidi Bou Said cemetery in the capital Tunis on November 20, 2017…

2 Tunisians learn of software, America

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Dawn Hammond, an academic adviser at Ivy Tech Community College, hoped to share Thanksgiving with two students unfamiliar with the holiday: Raki Glaii and Seif Edinne Chouaya. The men are from Tunisia, a country in northern Africa between Algeria and Libya, but for this academic year, Fort Wayne is their home. They are attending Ivy Tech through the Tunisia Community College Scholarship Program, which allows students to explore American culture and build Tunisia’s workforce. It is part of the U.S. State Department’s Thomas Jefferson Scholarships. Participants must be proficient in…

South Africa shows signs of bouncing back in governance index

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Despite current controversy over state capture and financial instability‚ governance in South Africa is showing signs of bouncing back from a decade of decline. This is according to the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG)‚ a monitor of overall governance performance in African countries which was released on Monday. The Seychelles‚ Namibia and Tunisia occupied the top tier positions in terms of overall performance while South Africa remains in the top ten most deteriorated countries over the past decade along with Libya‚ Madagascar‚ Mali and the Central African Republic.…

US official meets UN-backed prime minister in Tunisia

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U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan met Fayez al-Sarraj, head of Libya’s UN-backed unity government on Saturday in the Tunisian capital. According to Sarraj’s press office, he met Sullivan, who is in Tunisia as part of his official visits, in the country’s capital, Tunis. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations, political development in the country, economic cooperation and investments in petroleum sector, the prime minister’s office statement added. It also said Sarraj demanded Sullivan support the state’s anti-terror organs by arming them “sufficiently.” Noting the U.S. support…

Spain saves 500 migrants crossing Mediterranean in 46 boats

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Spanish authorities say around 500 migrants have been saved by rescue boats as they attempted the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea from Africa. Francisco Bernabe, the Spanish representative in the region of Murcia, says 461 migrants have arrived at the southern port of Cartagena on Saturday after being pulled off of 44 different boats in the previous hours. The boats were reportedly launched from Algeria. The Red Cross deployed to the port to attend to the migrants. Another 40 migrants were intercepted in two boats in the Strait of…

Kuwait signs $80m contracts for five healthcare projects in Tunisia

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Five Tunisian healthcare projects, with a combined value of approximately $79.7m (KWD24.3m), have been approved for funding by Kuwait.  Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has signed a loan agreement worth $79.4m (KWD24m) to build four hospitals across Tunisia. Funding for the four hospitals will be provided at an interest rate of 1.5%, to be repaid within 20 years, with a four-year grace period. Construction, as well as equipment sourcing, for the four hospitals will be completed through the sum. Each hospital will be constructed with a capacity for 105 beds,…

Tunisian fashion adds glamour to Taiwan’s exhibition

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Being half Taiwanese and half Tunisian, Dean feels the urge to foster exchanges of fashion industries between the two countries.  Many Taiwanese people may not be familiar with Tunisia, let alone Tunisian fashion, but people who are interested in the North African country can visit the booth of FFDesigner Magazine, which represents five Tunisian brands at Taipei IN Style this year. Being half Taiwanese and half Tunisian, Dean, editor of the magazine, feels the urge to foster exchanges of fashion industries between the two countries. Noting that this is the third…

U.S. will continue its support to Tunisia in economic and security fields says US Deputy Secretary of State

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US Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan paid a visit on Friday in Tunis, for official talks, as part of a regional tour. After a meeting with Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, Sullivanttplf reporters that the U.S. will continue its support to Tunisia in economic and security fields. “The US has increased its military aid to Tunisia by 30 percent to $205 million dollars, compared to 2016,” he said. Washington will support investments of American businessmen in Tunisia, Sullivan underlined in reference to the economic reform applied by the Tunisian government.…