Year: 2017

Smugglers Offer New Routes to Europe for Jobless Tunisians

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Tunisian smugglers are offering migrants seeking a fresh start in Europe a new route from Africa to Italy. Thousands have made the dangerous 300 km journey between Libya and the Italian island of Lampedusa this year and hundreds more are thought to have died trying to crossing the Mediterranean Sea to reach European shores. A crackdown by the Libyan coastguard in August has forced migrants and smugglers to find alternatives, giving Tunisians an opportunity to sell spots on overcrowded boats between the Gulf of Tunis and Sicily. The number of…

UNSMIL provides suggestions to dialogue committees

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A source in Tunisia said that the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) provided some suggestions and thoughts, on Wednesday, to the two heads of the two committees of the House of Representative (HoR) and the State Council. The source stated that the committee of the HoR would discuss the proposals of the head of the UNSMIL, Ghassan Salame, in a closed meeting. It is worth mentioning that the UNSMIL suspended the meeting of Monday when the HoR delegation withdrew from the meeting accusing the members of the State…

European investigations into Schengen visa fraud

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The European Union investigating potential irregularities in the Schengen visa process, in particular regarding its award of such visas to nationals of Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. Investigators are trying to uncover a network of intermediaries with intertwined relations within the embassies and consulates of European countries in the three Maghreb countries. Media reports said that the European investigation will examine Schengen visas granted to Moroccan nationals over a period of one year to ensure the compliance with strict conditions, especially with regard to bank statements. The investigation also includes the…

Foreign tourist numbers up 24 percent in Tunisia so far in 2017

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The number of foreign tourists in Tunisia has risen by 24 percent so far this year, official data showed, indicating that a vital industry crippled two years ago by Islamist attacks on holidaymakers is recovering. Tourism accounts for about 8 percent of Tunisia’s gross domestic product, provides thousands of jobs and is a key source of foreign currency, but has struggled since two deadly militant attacks in 2015. A total of 5.55 million foreign tourists visited the North African country between Jan. 1 and Oct. 10, compared with 4.49 million…

South Africa: SA Cements Relations With Tunisia

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South Africa has reaffirmed its commitment to building strong ties with Tunisia at a business forum hosted in Tunis on Monday. SA Ambassador to Tunisia, Harold Hoyana, South Africa has made a concerted effort to promote trade and stimulate investment between the two countries. The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) is leading a business delegation comprising 22 companies to the North African country. Monday’s forum was attended by businesspeople from South Africa and Tunisia. Hoyana said the primary goal of the forum was to encourage business-to-business interactions, which will…

Disputes in Tunis on selecting PC and Prime Minister

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The first deputy head of the State Council, Mohamed Emazzeb, said that the controversial point in the Unified Drafting Committee of the Political Agreement amendment is the mechanism of selecting the members of the Presidential Council (PC) and the Prime Minister. Emazzeb told a TV channel, on Monday, that the House of Representatives (HoR) proposed to select the head of the PC and his first deputy and to let the State Council choose the second deputy of the PC. Emazzeb pointed that the State Council had suggested the new PC…

MPBS becomes first Tunisian company to go live on Demand Solutions DSX

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Demand Management, Inc., a leading global resource for cloud-based supply chain management solutions, says that Manufacture de Panneaux Bois du Sud (MPBS), a leading paper and forest products company, has become the first company in Tunisia to go live on the Demand Solutions DSX supply chain planning platform. MPBS’s Demand Solutions implementation has been supporting the company’s forecasting and demand planning activities since January 2016. Founded in 1980 and located in Sfax, Tunisia, MPBS provides plywood, melamine panels, and plated panels, as well as machining and contract works, security doors,…

11 more migrant bodies recovered after collision off Tunisia

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Tunisian authorities say 11 more bodies have been recovered from the Mediterranean after a Tunisian naval ship collided with a wooden boat packed with migrants off the country’s coast. The death toll after the October 8 collision off the island of Kerkennah is now 19. The defense ministry said on Monday in a statement that Navy divers spotted the wreck of the makeshift craft at the bottom of the sea the day before. Tunisian authorities have said 38 people were rescued. Eight bodies were recovered earlier.  An unknown number of…

Second round of Libyan dialogue begins with dispute over methods of choosing Presidential Council

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The second round of talks between the dialogue committees of the House of Representatives of Tobruk (HoR) and the High Council of State of Tripoli began on Sunday in Tunis to define draft changes to the Libyan political agreement forged in Skhirat, Morocco, in December 2015. The initiative takes place as part of the first phase of the action plan for Libya recently defined at th…e United Nations by its special envoy for Libya, Ghassan Salamé, who coordinated the agenda of talks together with representatives of the two committees of…

Tunisia to raise taxes, lay off 3,000 public sector workers

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Tunisia will raise VAT and other taxes and lay off about 3,000 public sector workers next year in a bid to cut the budget deficit, an economic adviser to the prime minister said on Monday.  Tunisia will also seek to raise 7.4 billion Tunisian dinars ($3 billion) from foreign loans including 1.4 billion dinars from the sale of bonds, Ridha Saidi told Reuters, without giving a timeframe. Tunisia has been praised for its democratic progress since its 2011 uprising against autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, but successive governments have failed…