Year: 2017

Silver Composition in Coins Confirms the Story of the Rise of Rome

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Lead isotopes in Roman coins reveal the defeat of Carthage financed Rome’s expansion throughout the Mediterranean Archaeologists love coins. Not only are they a great way to date a dig site, they also show the extent and influence of an ancient culture and empire. Now, reports Maev Kennedy at The Guardian the chemical signatures of the metal the coins are made of can also add more layers to those stories as well. Coins from the Second Punic War, an 18 year conflict waged between Rome and Carthage, show how Rome’s military victory ramped it up from…

China poised to take on more responsibility with new peace initiative for Middle East

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China as a rising power is poised to shoulder more responsibilities in helping resolve hotspot issues around the world, especially in the chaotic Middle East. By launching a new peace initiative to push forward the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, China has sent out a signal that it is ready to play a bigger role in the Middle East peace process. Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a four-point proposal on the Palestine issue during Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ visit to Beijing in July. In the proposal, Xi reiterated that China supports a…

Africa offers mainland tourists cool vacation

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Africa has become a new hot destination for Chinese tourists this summer, as the continent’s cooler weather and more relaxed visa policies have boosted local tourism. This summer, Chinese tourists who went to Kenya to watch the great migration of animals surged more than 100 percent over last summer, and those who traveled to Morocco soared more than 500 percent. On average, Chinese tourists spend about 24,000 yuan ($3,597) on trips to South Africa and East Africa, and spend 15,000 yuan in North Africa, according to Ctrip.com, China’s largest online…

Tunisia promotes investment and organics

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In the absence of their main export market in war-torn Libya, Tunisia’s exporters are seeking alternative markets, with many pointing to the potential of the organic sector he role of Tunisia’s Agricultural Investments Promotion Agency (APIA), to promote investment in Tunisian agriculture, is perhaps more crucial now than ever. Neighbouring Libya’s descent into unruly chaos has resulted in a marked decline in overall exports from Tunisia, according to the ministry of agriculture. Exports fell by 25 per cent during the 2016/17 season compared with the year before, although revenues still…

Not Even Wheat Is Safe From the Bears of the Agriculture Markets

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The agriculture markets are turning bearish, and there’s no exception for wheat, the darling of traders earlier this summer.  The U.S. government surprised the market last week by boosting its outlook for global inventories to a record, amid bigger-than-expected harvests in Russia and neighboring nations. The prospect of another season of ample supply has sent prices plunging. Soft red winter wheat futures for December delivery slumped to $4.56 a bushel on Tuesday on the Chicago Board of Trade. That’s down 21 percent from a recent closing high on July 5,…

Tunisia Foils Daesh Plan to Seize Country’s Southern Territories

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Tunisian authorities foiled a terrorist plot to seize territory in the country’s south. Tunisian authorities foiled a terrorist plot of the Islamic State (Daesh) terrorist group, targeting police and military in order to seize territory in the country’s south, media reported Tuesday, citing the country’s Interior Ministry.According to the Europe 1 radio, the Tunisian Interior Ministry uncovered a terrorist plot aimed at attacking police and army units located on the country’s southern territories in order to take control over them, as it was in 2016, when militants attempted to seize the city of Ben Gardane but were repelled by the army. This year’s plan was reportedly…

Tunisia: Derbal expects economy to growth between 3 and 3.5% in 2018

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Prime Minister’s adviser in charge of tax reform Faisal Derbal told ExpressFm he expected growth to stand at 2.2% this year and between 3 and 3.5% in the next year. He also assured that it is necessary to support companies in good standing with the tax authorities, while revealing that there will be a real hunt for fraudsters at the same time as the establishment of a line of financing for the restructuring of companies and encouraging exporting enterprises. Derbal also said that there will be a package of tax…

Two years after Sousse attack, British tourists return to Tunisia

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Alistair Burt, the British minister of state for the Middle East and North Africa, announced July 26 that his country is no longer advising its citizens against flying to Tunisia, including the capital and most resorts. In June 2015, Britain warned its nationals against traveling to Tunisia following the terrorist attack on a beach resort in Sousse, east of Tunis. British travel companies resumed their flights to Tunisia July 28. On June 26, 2015, Tunisian national and Islamic State member Seifeddine Rezgui attacked a hotel on the beach in Sousse, killing…

‘Now this dream comes true’

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Four foreign students made their maiden voyage into Dickinson this past weekend as they embark on an expedition unlike anything they’ve yet to experience. Rija Nazir, Maryam Zahid and Arslan Khowaja, of Pakistan, and Geritt Koelling, of Germany, are four of the 11 students who were selected through various foreign exchange student programs to attend Dickinson State University during the fall. Other countries participating in the foreign exchange student program come from South Korea, Japan and Tunisia. Each entering the United States for the very first time, some students rode…

The Risk from Britain

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Political unrest on the eastern Mediterranean hasn’t dented German tour operators’ profits. But Brexit has, writes Handelsblatt’s companies and markets editor Christoph Schlautmann. Anyone booking a vacation to Spain, Greece or Croatia this summer was in for a shock. Much beach accommodation had sold out, and what was left seemed to cost 50 percent more than last year. The law of supply and demand became starkly apparent. In fact, there was a plentiful supply of places to stay – just not areas where tourists felt safe. In the first half of 2017,…