Year: 2018

Spotlight on the experience of international students in Tunisia

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Students from Tunisia part of the Al-Jisir Exchange Program talk to UA students at the Daily Wildcat about the different practices of journalism in Tunisia and the U.S. Manal Issa (Center right) gives examples of how reporting is different in her hometown. Last week, four students studying in Tunisia visited the UA School of Journalism and the Daily Wildcat newsroom as a part of the Aljisr Exchange Program. While Basheer Aldhorai focuses more on the contrast of cultures, Manall Issa gives a recap of her favorite moments and memories here…

In Tunisia, Jews gather at Africa’s oldest synagogue under tight security

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Under tight security at Africa’s oldest synagogue, Jewish pilgrims on Wednesday staged their biggest religious ceremony in Tunisia since a 2011 revolution undermined security in the North African country. Mainly Muslim Tunisia is home to one of North Africa’s largest Jewish communities. Though they now number less than 2,000 people, Jews have lived in Tunisia since Roman times. In 2011, after the uprising that toppled former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali the annual celebration was canceled, and in following years only a few hundred attended, fearing attacks by hardline…

Tunisia explores new Silk Road to revive its economy

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Tunisia is exploring the new Silk Road, which is expected to make it an investment hub in the region after officials revealed that the government is moving towards a strategic partnership with China before the end of current year. Tunisia’s rush to snatch a share of China’s investment in its new Silk Road strategy have accelerated in a move that experts say will boost the economic sectors in the country. Officials have unveiled plans for a clear strategy to link new partnerships with Beijing before the end of the year…

Libya and US sign agreements on policing, prisons and justice

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Libya and the US signed a number of agreements in Tunis last week. Libya’s Under Secretary for Political Affairs, Lutfi Almughrabi and the US Charge d’Affairs, Stephanie Williams, signed a Memorandum of Intent on Friday for airport security, and a Letter of Agreement to support Libyan policing, prisons and justice sector development, Libya’s Foreign Minister Mohamed Siala was present at the signing ceremony and hosted by Ambassador Maaloul at the Libyan Embassy to Tunisia. Siala and Williams reaffirmed their commitment to the UN Action Plan for Libya. Today’s signings demonstrate…

Tunisia’s Democratic Experiment Enters New Phase with Local Elections

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Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution in 2011 that ousted then-President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali set off the Arab Spring, a series of popular uprisings throughout the Middle East and North Africa that resulted in the overthrow of sclerotic governments. But the early optimism of the Arab Spring has since dimmed, as the revolutionary protests led to chronic instability in places like Yemen and Libya, the rise of a new authoritarian regime in Egypt and a bloodbath in Syria. Except in Tunisia. The country has clung to its initial hopes to enact reforms…

Africa’s largest cancer drug production unit opens in Tunisia

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The largest cancer drug production unit in Africa and the Middle East opened Monday in Tunisia, Tunisian government announced on Monday. This unit, located in the governorate of Nabeul in northeast Tunisia, costs an investment of over 50 million Tunisian dinars ( 20.47 million U.S. dollars). It will hire 100 employees including doctors and pharmacists. According to Lassaad Boujebal, the founder of this project, this unit is a pharmaceutical laboratory specialized in the manufacture of cancer and biological drugs. Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said in a brief statement that…

Doctors’ brain drain saps $2b from Africa – report

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A new report on good governance released by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has revealed that Africa loses about $2 billion a year due to doctors and health practitioners leaving the continent.Only three countries in Africa, namely Libya, Mauritius and Tunisia, have at least one doctor per thousand people, says the document entitled ‘Ibrahim Forum Report 2018: The Public Service in Africa’ seen by APA on Sunday. The report presented on Sunday in the Rwandan capital Kigali on the sidelines of the ‘Mo Ibrahim Governance Weekend’, indicates that in sub-Saharan Africa…

EU Mission to Observe Tunisia’s First Municipal Elections since 2011 Uprising

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The European Union has sent a delegation of electoral observers to Tunisia’s upcoming municipal elections, the first of their kind in over seven years following the mass popular uprising that ousted the North African country’s authoritarian president. The unique nature of these elections has brought them under the watchful eye of Fabio Massimo Castaldo, head of the EU election observation mission (EUEOM) in Tunisia, who sat down with EFE for an exclusive interview Sunday, a week before voting is to get underway in the historic ballot. “It’s a unique mission…

Ansaldo Energia lands Tunisia gas-fired power project

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Ansaldo Energia has signed an EPC contract with Société Tunisienne de l’Élecriticité et du Gaz (STEG) to build a gas-fired power plant in Tunisia. The plant, with an installed power of 625 MW, is located in Mornaguia, south west of Tunis, and a long-term service agreement contract covering maintenance and assistance work has been allocated to the Italian business. The plant will be equipped with two AE94.3A model gas turbines, plus the relative generators and auxiliary systems, built in Ansaldo Energia’s Genoa production facilities. Work will take 22 months from receipt of the Notice to Proceed.…

Feature: Sahara desert in Tunisia becomes attractive destination for Chinese tourists

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The vast Sahara desert area in Tunisia, which is regarded as one of the North African country’s most important tourism resources, has gradually attracted more and more Chinese tourists. “DESERT-STYLE” TENTS CAMP After nearly four hours’ bumpy drive from the small town of Douz in southern Tunisia, a row of white tents appeared among the golden sand. To Nouael Kamel, a 52-year-old local guide, the famous tents camp is one of the must-have ways of experiencing the Sahara tour. “This year, the tourism business is better than last year,” Nouael…