Year: 2017

Second round of Libyan Political Agreement amendment starts Saturday in Tunisia

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The United Nations’ envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame has announced that the second round of the Tunisia meetings for the amendment joint committee for House of Representatives (HoR) and High Council of State (HCS) will start next Saturday. On October 01, the committee ended the talks in Tunis after one week of give and take regarding amending the Libyan political Agreement (LPA) The talks saw the HoR and the HCS sit together on a dialogue table for the first time to discuss the first stage of the action plan devised…

EU to begin training Libyan coastguard in Tunisia

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A two-month training program for Libya’s coast guard begins in Tunisia, and will subsequently move to Italy. Italy has recently witnessed a decline in migrant arrivals, which fell 85% in August from the previous year. This drop has been attributed to local militias working to keep migrants from departing Libya’s shores, rather than Italian efforts to police the Mediterranean. Some have accused Rome of paying the militias to do so, an accusation the government vehemently denies. In either case, Libya’s fluid political situation leaves local militias vulnerable to losing power.…

Arab coalition on blacklist of countries that commit abuses against children is UN unfair and biased assessment

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Many people are persuaded that the United Nations has a key role to play in maintaining peace and in making the world less bad and less shaken, especially in the hot beds of tension that have shed so much blood. But this conviction does not hide the weakness of the role or position of the United Nations organization in many hot spots or in some decisions making such as  the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that even the nuclear countries did not take part. The issues that have emerged from the…

Merkel agrees to curb migration, upsets Greens

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Germany will take in no more than 200,000 asylum seekers a year under a new centre-right deal that threatens to make coalition talks more difficult. The decision was enshrined in a joint policy document, agreed by chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU party and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU, on Sunday (8 October). “We want to achieve a total number of people taken in for humanitarian reasons (refugees and asylum seekers, those entitled to subsidiary protection, family members, relocation and resettlement minus deportations and voluntary departures of future refugees) that does…

African Sun Powering Europe: North Africa Expanding Energy Sales Across the Med

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Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco will soon be selling power to Europe. All four North African economies have invested tens of billions of dollars in green energy projects – particularly solar power – as a springboard to drive their energy ambitions. By taking advantage of the Saharan sun, the four countries are hoping to reduce the cost of solar technology, create cleaner environments, and support the creation of new business and investment opportunities. Tunisia’s biggest solar energy project – TuNur – will become a new intercontinental corridor between North Africa…

EU approves €200 million disbursement in Macro-Financial Assistance to Tunisia

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The European Commission, on behalf of the EU, has approved the disbursement of a €200 million loan to Tunisia. This disbursement marks the launch of the second Macro-Financial Assistance (MFA-II) programme to Tunisia. A total of €500 million will be disbursed in three instalments in 2017 and 2018. Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, said: “Today’s disbursement to Tunisia is proof of our strong commitment to support the successful economic recovery of one of our closest neighbours. With a renewed sense of urgency, Tunisia has reaffirmed its dedication…

Migration agency says 8 people dead, 20 missing off Tunisia

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MILAN (AP) – Eight Tunisian migrants have died and a further 20 are believed to be missing after a Tunisian naval ship collided with a wooden boat packed with migrants, the U.N. migration agency said Monday. Tunisian authorities said 38 people were rescued. The Tunisian defense department said in a statement that the collision happened Sunday about 54 kilometers (30 miles) off the coast of El Ataya, on the island of Kerkennah. The circumstances remain unclear. Maltese authorities coordinated the rescue with the assistance of the Italian and Tunisian navies.…

Tunisian tourism forum to begin on October 19

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The Arab Tunisian Tourism and Investment Forum (ATTIF) will start in Tunis on October 19. The forum is organised by the Tunisian Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts  in cooperation with the Arab Organisation for Tourism and Seerabeece for Exhibition. The forum will present a number of projects, lands and important sites in Tunisia to investors and a package of facilities to highlight investment opportunities. It will also highlight the investment law and will discuss mechanisms of advanced cooperation. Muscatdaily  

Runners hit the desert for Tunisia’s first ultra-marathon

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Dozens of runners headed into Tunisia’s desert at dawn on Saturday for the North African country’s first ever ultra-marathon. The 100-kilometre (60-mile) Ultra Mirage El Djerid race, with a course skirting the Sahara desert’s biggest salt lake, attracted 58 competitors including eight women and25 foreign runners. Morocco’s Mohamed el Morabity battled his way over dunes, rocky hills and a salt plain to win the race in 8 hours, 48 minutes and 49 seconds. He and his brother Rachid both competed this year at the Marathon des Sables, a famed endurance…

Tunisia’s tourism rebounds despite high terror alert

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Holiday-makers lie on sun loungers at a Tunisian luxury hotel where everything from the swimming pool to the wall paint, furniture at the shiny reception hall, police post at its gate and even its name is new. Nothing reminds holiday-makers of the day in June 2015 when an Islamist militant shot dead 39 foreigners in this beach resort, triggering an exodus of tourists from the North African country and severely damaging its economy. Thanks to a massive security presence and advertising abroad some tourists have returned, helping boost revenues from…