Year: 2017

Barcelona Attacks Turn Attention to Threat of Returning IS Jihadists across Gibraltar Strait- The Guardian

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As the search intensifies to arrest the terrorists involved in the Catalonia attacks, the residual danger posed by ISIS foreign fighters in North Africa and Europe comes to the fore, said the Guardian in an article entitled “Moroccan ISIS terrorists ‘pose a threat on Europe’s doorstep” “Up to 1,000 jihadists are thought to have been smuggled back to Morocco and Tunisia from the battlefields of Islamic State’s now crumbling caliphate. About 300 are thought to have returned to Morocco, from where six of the 12 terrorists who carried out the…

A new hope for women empowerment in Africa

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August 2017 marks a new journey towards women empowerment in Africa. From The Women Advancing Africa Forum in Tanzania, to the Women Empowerment Collaboration in South Africa, the continent shows strong signs of social reconstruction. Every year, people from different African nations gather on May 25th to celebrate Africa Day (formerly known as African Liberation Day), to commemorate the organisation of African Unity in 1963 (which changed to the African Union in 2002). Now the continent is working towards another liberation, the liberation from gender segregation. Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania,…

Students attend exchange program in Africa

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A group of Turkish students set off on a 10-day exchange program in Africa Friday. As part of the 2017 Africa Experience Sharing Program, some 200 students will have the opportunity to visit several countries in the continent, including Tunisia, Libya, Somalia, Kenya, Algeria, Chad, Sudan, Ghana and Niger between Aug. 5 and Aug. 30. The program is organized by Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TÄ°KA), in cooperation with Turkish Airlines, Anadolu Agency and Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). This second group of students will visit Kenya, Senegal, and…

Tunisia: growth rate has almost doubled compared to 2016

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Tunisia has recorded a growth rate of 1.9% in the first half of 2017, compared to 1% in the same period of 2016, Director General of the National Institute of Statistics (INS) Hedi Saidi announced on Tuesday. Speaking at a press conference in the Government Palace in Kasbah, he added the rate of growth in the second quarter of 2017 reached 1.8%, stating that the growth recorded is mainly due to the growth of the agricultural sector by 3.8%, market services by 4.2% and non-market services by 0.2%.   African…

Tunisia Split Along Religious Lines Over Bill Giving Women Equal Property Rights

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Tunisia’s consideration of a bill to grant equal property inheritance rights to women and men has divided the country over a larger question: whether it should be a secular state or one where Islam is the basis for its code of laws. The bill was proposed by Tunisia’s first democratically-elected president, Beji Caid Essebsi, a secular leader who ran on a platform of economic and social liberalization. Among the changes to inheritance that the bill would bring if it comes into law is permitting marriages between Muslim women and non-Muslim men in Tunisia. Essebsi, who announced the…

Barcelona a different kind of target

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Barcelona is a new kind of target. It is one of the top five city break destinations in Europe and the biggest that is not a national capital. Since it successfully reinvented itself with the 1992 Olympics, it is a byword as a chic and sophisticated party destination for young people, uniquely combining culture, beach and a nightlife in a way that is emulated by its competitors. Furthermore, it is an Irish favourite. Ireland has 39 weekly flights to Barcelona El Prat airport, 18 from Ryanair, 14 from Aer Lingus…

Moody’s downgrades Tunisia’s rating to B1, maintains negative outlook

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Moody’s Investors Service has today downgraded the long-term issuer rating of the government of Tunisia to B1 from Ba3 and maintained the negative outlook. Moody’s has also downgraded the foreign currency debt rating of the Central Bank of Tunisia to B1 from Ba3 and maintained the negative outlook, in addition to downgrading the shelf/MTN rating to (P)B1 from (P)Ba3. The Government of Tunisia is legally responsible for the payments on all of the central bank’s bonds. These debt instruments are issued on behalf of the government. The key drivers for…

In One Ear: Sahara power

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Huge solar farm project in the works for Sahara Desert Since we’re all so solar-oriented at the moment, it should be noted that the European Union wants to build a giant solar farm in the Sahara Desert that can power over 2 million European homes, Digital Trends reports (http://tinyurl.com/saharapower). The TuNur Project (www.nurenergie.com/tunur) is a massive undertaking, expected to produce 4.5 gigawatts of power to be transmitted via three submarine cables from Tunisia to Malta, central Italy, and the south of France. The image shown is courtesy of TuNur. “We…

AFRICA – A Legal Guide for Business Investment and Expansion: Tunisia

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1. What role does the government of Tunisia play in approving and regulating foreign direct investment? The Tunisian government places a priority on attracting foreign direct investment. The Tunisian government encourages export-oriented foreign direct investment in key industrial sectors such as electronics, aerospace, aeronautics, automotive parts and textile/apparel manufacturing. To minimize any possible negative impact on domestic competitors and employment, the Tunisian government screens foreign investment that targets the domestic market. In the spring of 2015, the government of Tunisia began consultations with various regional and national stakeholders to establish…

As Tunisia Weighs Women’s Rights Proposal, Some Of The Staunchest Opponents Are Women

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On National Women’s Day in Tunisia, celebrated last Sunday, President Beji Caid Essebsi announced the review of a law that demands that a man receive twice the share of an inheritance as a woman. Changing this would put Tunisia at the forefront of a progressive revolution on an issue that affects many Muslim-majority countries. But Essebsi’s announcement has been met with consternation — not least from many Tunisian women. Mona Ibrahim, the deputy leader of the country’s conservative Ennahdha political party, says she has been inundated with phone calls by female constituents…