First Independent Mena Newspaper
Tunisia’s parliament on Tuesday adopted a law criminalizing racist speech, incitement to hatred and discrimination. The legislation was approved, after a lengthy debate, with 125 members of parliament voting for it, one against and five abstaining. The law was a response to the assault of an Ivorian on a Tunis street in July that triggered […]
Tunisia’s ruling Nidaa Tounes party suspended the Prime Minister Youssef Chahed, a decision that could impact the country’s frail economy. The decision could trigger an implosion in the Ruling party, as it comes after Chahed accused the President’s son, Hafedh Caid Essebsi, of undermining the Nidaa Tounes party. The party said Chahed will be heard […]
Frustration over lack of economic opportunities and social mobility has driven thousands of disenchanted Tunisians to undertake the perilous Mediterranean crossing in an attempt to reach Europe. Some 3,811 Tunisian migrants, now in an irregular situation, arrived by sea in Italy during the first eight months of 2018 compared to 1,721 recorded during the same […]
Chinese Car maker SAIC will turn Tunisia into one of its regional hubs outside China, under an agreement between the Chinese firm and Tunisia’s Meninx Holding. The signing of the agreement between the two firms took place on the sidelines of 3rd China-Africa Cooperation Forum, which was held September 3-4 in the Chinese capital, Beijing. […]
Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed dismissed his energy minister Khalid Kaddour who is facing a corruption probe, the Premier’s office said. Kaddour was dismissed less than a year after his appointment in September 2017 in a move that will trigger other sackings. Kaddour will stand before justice in November over allegations of “administrative and financial […]
The Tunisian government expects the economy to grow by 2.9% in 2018 and by 3.5% in 2019. In an interview with Reuters News Agency, Minister of Reforms Taoufik Rajhi said the government planned to reduce the budget deficit to 3.9 percent next year from the 4.9 percent forecast for 2018. According to data from the […]
Some 5.15 million tourists visited Tunisia from January to August, posting a 17.5% increase compared to the same period in 2017. The Tunisian tourism ministry said that tourism revenues during the same period surged by 44%. The recovery of the tourist sector will help ease the country’s financial crisis after the 2015 Sousse terrorist attacks […]
Authorities in Tunisia have confiscated the passport of a man suspected of being an Islamist militant who once served as Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard to prevent him from returning to Germany. The 42-year-old Tunisian man, Sami Aidoudi, applied for asylum in Germany in 2007. His application was rejected and he was deported last month. On […]
Tunisian President Béji Caid Essebsi on Monday announced the introduction of a draft bill on equal inheritance for men and women, making Tunisia the first country in the Maghreb to offer this right to women. Beji Caid Essebsi made the announcement in a televised address marking the National Women’s Day—the anniversary of the 1956 Personal […]
Tunisia’s General Directorate of Customs has ordered 300 custom officers to appear before a disciplinary council for “corruption” and other bribery charges,” the spokesman of the General Directorate of Customs, Colonel Major Haythem Zied said. The situation in the North African nation is becoming rampant in recent years. Throughout 2016, Tunisia’s Anti-Corruption Commission, an independent […]