Year: 2018

Son of Tunisian immigrant wins best French baguette

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Second-generation baker, Mahmoud M’seddi, will now supply the French president with bread for an entire year. The baguette is one of the great treasures of French culinary heritage, emblematic of pride in tradition and craftsmanship, and important enough (in the eye of the French people and their president Emmanuel Macron) to be put forward to UNESCO as a heritage-listed food item. If you’re inclined to try your hand at making one of these crusty, pillowy sticks from scratch, know that there’s a decree in place codifying the difference between a French…

Tunisia tourism revenues jump as Europeans return

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Tunisia’s tourism revenues grew by 40 percent in the first half of 2018 compared to the same period last year, the government said Thursday, driven by a strong return of European tourists three years after they were targeted in militant attacks. Officials predict a record season with eight million tourists expected for the first time. Some 3.229 million tourists visited Tunisia from Jan. 1 through to June 30, up 26 percent from the same period last year, official figures report. Tourist revenues climbed 40 percent to reach $522 million. European…

NGOs report ongoing violations at Lampedusa hotspot

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Human and civil rights activists have reported ongoing violations and discrimination at the migrant hotspot on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, targeting Tunisian nationals in particular. The reports raise concern also in view of the possible creation of further migrant centres in Europe and in countries of origin and transit. Migrants at the Lampedusa hotspot continue to suffer arbitrary restriction of their personal freedom, being confined to the centre or the island even in the absence of specific norms, according to ‘In Limine’, a pilot project of Cild, Asgi, IndieWatch…

“Tunisia is on right track, courage is needed to accomplish reforms” (IMF Mission Chief)

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(TAP) – “Tunisia is currently halfway, courage is needed to accomplish the reforms and succeed in boosting growth,” said Bjoern Rother International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission chief for Tunisia, adding that the country “is on the right track”. Speaking at a press conference held Wednesday at the headquarters of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT), on the conclusion of the third review of the agreement in favour of Tunisia under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) the official said he was “optimistic”, saying that our country has finally started to leave…

Tunisia: Vodafone and Tunisie Telecom Announce Partnership Agreement

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Vodafone and Tunisie Telecom jointly announced on Wednesday a new Partner Market agreement for Tunisia. This will be Vodafone’s first such partnership in North Africa. Under the non-equity agreement, which has come into force since July 10, Vodafone will provide strategic and operational support in a range of areas, including enterprise, consumer, technology, and procurement. The three-year partnership will include roaming and carrier services agreements and will see the businesses collaborate on further potential opportunities to benefit customers as well as the two companies. TunisianMonitorOnline

Tunisia: Chinese project to produce train cars, locomotives

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Chinese company Batou, specialized in assembling train cars and locomotives, intends to set up a production unit in Tunisia, which will be used to export products in Africa, its representative in Tunisia, Habib Laouini, told a press conference. The press conference was organized to mark the arrival of 60 train cars from China, built to transport cereals in Tunisia. Laouini added that the Chinese firm presented a request in June to Tunisian authorities to create the unit. The project, he said, is part of a public-private partnership that provides for…

Tunisia and Libya bet on new partnership model

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The model of the Tunisian-Libyan partnership, to which the two countries’ officials aspire, will not be completed only by activating the previous joint 80 agreements. Politicians in Tunisia and Libya have understood late that there is no longer time to save the remaining economies of their battered countries, in the dark political conditions, to seize the opportunity to move to the stage of reviving their historic trade partnership in all fields on a sustainable basis to help them end the crisis. While the obstacles are numerous and troubling, the two…

National UN Volunteers kick start decentralization in Tunisia

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Arriving in Beja, a city in North-West Tunisia, UN Volunteer Economics Officer Sarah Fekih thought nothing of cycling or jogging to get to work – she used to jog back in Tunis, where she is from. However, she soon discovered that she is the only woman in Beja who cycles or jogs. “So good that a woman is running! Keep running Sarah!” her neighbor told her a few days ago. And the schoolgirls from the local school clap at her, as she passes by. Sarah, a 26-year-old Tunisian, runs every…

Sussex participates in discussions between UK and Tunisian government representatives

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Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Planning and Resources) Professor Stephen Shute joined 15 senior UK university representatives in Tunisia as part of a British Council initiative. They were joined by officials from the British Council, the British Embassy, Universities UK International and the UK Foreign Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Alistair Burt. The UK delegation met with representatives from the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Talks centred on opportunities for collaboration between UK universities and Tunisia, including supporting Tunisian students to study in the UK.…

Tunisia: Nearly 6 Million Quintals of Grain Collected Up to July 5

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The volume of grain production collected till July 5, reached 5,806 million quintals on a harvested area of nearly 507,000 ha, that is 70% of the fields to be harvested. According to the General Directorate of Agricultural Production at the Agriculture and Fisheries Ministry, the grain fields affected by fires are estimated at 305 hectares, including 77 ha in Jendouba, 50 ha in Siliana, 40 ha in Beja and 30 ha in Bizerte. The Ministry forecasts for the season 2017-2018, a grain harvest of more than 14.3 million quintals (1.4…