Year: 2017

UNESCO declares Ahmedabad as India’s first world heritage city

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UNESCO, the UN cultural agency, has declared Ahmedabad as a world heritage city, the first city in India to make it to the list. The decision was taken on Saturday night by the World heritage Committee of UNESCO in Karlow, Poland. “Just inscribed as UNESCO world heritage site: Historic city of Ahmedabad #India”, UNESCO said in a tweet. With this, Ahmedabad has joined other heritage cities like Paris, Vienna, Cairo, Brussels, Rome and Edinburgh. “For over 600 years, Ahmedabad has stood for peace, as a landmark city where Mahatma Gandhi…

African Farmers Need To Bump Up Soybean Production

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Maize and soybean are the key ingredients of animal feed production around the world. In the recent past, the global production of these commodities increased drastically, driven to a large degree by growing demand from animal feed and biofuel industries. The growth in animal feed demand has been spurred on by an increase in demand for high protein food – especially within the growing middle class. Notable growth in the past few years has been in Africa and Asia. The International Grains Council forecasts 2017-18 global maize usage in the…

Mosul becomes ‘graveyard’ for foreign jihadists

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The decaying bodies of foreign jihadists are piling up among the ruins of Mosul where the last few dozen Islamic State group fighters are mounting a desperate last stand. More than three quarters of the remaining jihadists in Mosul are foreigners, according to Iraqi commanders who have reported a spike in suicide attacks as anti-IS forces close in on the Old City. “They never surrender,” said General Abdel Ghani al-Assadi, a commander in Iraq’s elite Counter-Terrorism Service. “Old Mosul will be their graveyard.” It was in Mosul in July 2014…

Muslim leaders begin European bus tour against terrorism in the name of Islam

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Muslim leaders launched a European bus tour in Paris on Saturday to express opposition to terrorism in the name of Islam. Under the banner “Muslims’ march against terrorism,” imams from around Europe and North Africa planned to visit sites of recent terrorist attacks, starting at the Champs Elysees and passing through Germany, Belgium and other parts of France over the next week. “Our message is clear: Islam cannot be associated with these barbarians and these murders,” who kill in the name of Allah, said Hassen Chalghoumi, the imam of Drancy,…

AFC to provide US$28mn subordinate loan facility to Tunisia’s Topic SA

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Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) announced that it will provide US$28mn subordinated loan facility to independent Tunisian energy company Topic SA’s to develop Halk El Menzel offshore oil concession block, also known as Helm Project, in northern Tunisia Topic said that the subordinated loan note has a 30 month tenor and the project is expected to start oil production in January 2018. Commenting on the investment, Andrew Alli, CEO and President of AFC, said, “AFC is delighted to be investing in Tunisia’s natural resources sector and supporting the creation of high…

Tunisia: 13 banks mobilize €250 million in favor of state budget

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The headquarters of the Ministry of Finance hosted on Thursday, July 6 the signing ceremony of a syndicated loan of €250 million for the state budget, a first in Tunisia. The loan, granted by a pool of 13 banks, is spread over 3 years at a rate of 2.25% (repayment at the end of three years) or 2% (annual repayment). Interim Finance Minister Fadhel Abdelkefi said this means of financing the state budget, the first of its kind in Tunisia, represents a life-size test that will enable the government to…

Tunisia, China ink 3 deals to boost commercial cooperation

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Tunisia and China signed on Friday three agreements to boost commercial cooperation between the two countries. The agreements were signed at the fifth edition of the forum “Tunisia-China: A Partnership for the Future” hosted by the Arab Institute for Business Leaders (IACE) in the capital Tunis. The agreements involve a mega-project to build a commercial complex worth 65 million U.S. dollars in Tunisia, which covers an area of 200,000 square meters. According to IACE President Ahmed Bouzguenda, the long-awaited agreements benefit from China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which aims to…

The lessons of Tunisia’s democratic experience

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By Youssef Chahed, Prime Minister of Tunisia Tunisia’s nascent democratic experience yields many useful lessons — some encouraging and some sobering — for advocates of democracy in the Middle East and North Africa. The encouraging lesson from Tunisia’s experiment is that it shows that democracy is an achievable objective in an Arab country. And if a small country like Tunisia, with limited natural resources, can pull it off, then others can, too. It must be said, however, that Tunisia’s young democracy was built on the country’s own legacy of reform…

Djerba: Tunisia’s most harmonious multicultural island

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Muslims and Jews celebrate the holiday of Lag B’Omer side by side on the Tunisian island that prizes peaceful coexistence above all else Tucked in the dark brown benches of the Ghriba Synagogue, people sip honey pepper Nemiroff vodka and Jim Beam whisky and nosh on nuts and dried fruit. Before long, the synagogue starts to smell like the aftermath of a lively party, all booze and sweat. A live band plays rousing Arabic music, sung with enthusiasm by a Jewish man in a yarmulke. With Israel recently moving to withdraw Arabic…

US laptop ban lifted on Qatar Airways

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From Thursday, customers of Qatar Airways leaving Hamad International Airport will be able to take their electronic devices on board with them when travelling to the United States. “Qatar Airways and Hamad International Airport have met with all requirements of the US Department of Homeland Security’s new security guidelines, and we would like to express our thanks to the US and local authorities for their support during this process,” the company said in a statement. “We would also like to thank our loyal passengers for their understanding and patience while…