First Independent Mena Newspaper
At least forty migrants, among them infants, died after a boat bound for Europe capsized off the coast of Mahdia in central Tunisia on Wednesday, October 22. According to Mahdia court spokesman Walid Charbi, Tunisian naval units rescued around thirty survivors from the vessel, which was carrying migrants largely from sub-Saharan Africa. Authorities have launched […]
The Tunisian government plans to seek $3.7 billion in direct financing from the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) in 2026, after borrowing $2.3 billion this year to cover urgent debt repayments. Total financing needs are projected at 27 billion dinars, with plans for a 7 billion dinar sukuk issuance, a first for the country. Public […]
Professor Riadh Gouider, a distinguished Tunisian neurologist, has been elected First Vice-President of the World Federation of Neurology (WFN) at the World Congress of Neurology held in Seoul October 12 to 15. His victory, achieved against an Australian contender, marks a groundbreaking moment for both Africa and the Arab world, as he becomes the first […]
The 2025 ranking of African banks by Tier 1 capital confirms a well-established continental hierarchy, with South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Nigeria dominating the top positions. Tunisia was absent. According to the latest data, the threshold for inclusion in the Top 20 now stands at approximately $2 billion in Tier 1 capital. Tunisia’s largest […]
Tunisia’s latest defense agreement with Algeria, signed on October 7 in Algiers, has sparked renewed debate over whether the country is still a sovereign state, or simply a well-behaved vassal of the Algerian military regime. The pact, signed by Algerian Army Chief of Staff General Saïd Chengriha and Tunisian Defense Minister Khaled Sehili, is said […]
Tunisia’s economic credibility is eroding rapidly, with the country now absent from key international benchmarking reports and struggling to attract foreign investment. Once hailed by the World Bank as a model of sound governance in Africa and the Middle East, Tunisia has become a cautionary tale of missed opportunities, political drift, and economic mismanagement in […]
Tunisia’s industrial sector experienced a significant widening of its trade deficit during the first half of 2025. According to data from Tunisia’s Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APII), while the country’s exports showed modest growth of 1.9%, reaching 29.48 billion dinars, imports surged by 8% to 32.03 billion dinars. This imbalance caused […]
Israeli TV station i24NEWS has reported secret negotiations between Tel Aviv and Washington and third party countries including Iran on the transfer of Hamas leaders from Gaza to Tunisia. The bombshell announcement, made by security analyst Matthias Inbar, is raising serious concerns in Tunisia about the security fallout of hosting the most radical militants of […]
Within a week two leading French papers shed light on the authoritarian drift suffered by Tunisia under the rule of Kais Saied. Both Jeune Afrique and Le Point listed facets of democratic backpedaling under a president who has also undermined Tunisia’s economic outlook Tunisia, once hailed as an Arab Spring’s democratic success story, is now […]
Tunisia’s textile exports grew by 2.61 percent in the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024, reaching 3.94 billion dinars (€1.18 billion), according to Economy and Planning Minister Samir Abdelhafidh. Speaking at a seminar held in Monastir on Wednesday, August 27, he projected that exports could total 9.36 billion dinars […]