First Independent Mena Newspaper
Credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded Tunisia’s credit rating to B2 against the backdrop of deteriorating fiscal situation, complicating the government’s plans to borrow from international lenders. Moody’s cut Tunisia’s rating by one notch to B2– five levels below investment grade and on a par with Argentina, Nigeria, Cameroon and Kenya. Moody’s rating downgrade will complicate […]
More than 1000 women marched in the streets in Tunis Saturday to demand equal inheritance rights for both sexes following a debate that left the Tunisian society divided. The current Tunisian inheritance law is based on Islamic jurisprudence, which grants women half of what it gives men in inheritance, while making men financially responsible for […]
Tunisia’s economic indicators are “frightening” as the country is unable to defend its currency “even if it wanted to,” and must instead focus on narrowing its trade deficit to revive the economy, Central Bank Governor Marouane El Abassi said. The statement reflects the depth of the country’s economic and financial crisis after the Central Bank […]
Due to a crisis that has hit vital sectors of the Tunisian economy, Tunis continues to eat into its foreign exchange reserves, which have dwindled to $4.6 billion covering 80 days of exports, the central bank said. The bank attributed the decline to the country’s need to use foreign exchange funds at the beginning of […]
Tunisia will invest about $ 5 billion (12 billion dinars) in electricity and energy projects, between 2018 and 2020. According to a statement released by the government, the electrical projects include the construction of a submarine power- transmission line, with a transmission capacity of 600 MW. The infrastructure to link the country to Italy is […]
The European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) has provided the Tunisian banking and insurance software developer Vermeg a €25 million loan for the acquisition of Lombard Risk, a leading global provider of integrated regulatory reporting and collateral management solutions. Founded in 2002, Vermeg counts major internationally-renowned financial institutions and central banks in more than […]
Saudi Arabia has requested Tunisia to close the Tunis office of the Qatar-created Union of Muslim Scholars, which has been added to the anti-Doha quartet’s terror list. Riyadh instructed a visiting delegation of Tunisian officials, led by interior minister Lotfi Brahem, to close the office, Tunisia media Al Soutour reported. The Syndicate founded in […]
Algerian officials continue to issue statements calling for reviving the paralyzed Maghreb Union, a five-member regional grouping also comprising Morocco, Mauritania, Tunisia and Libya. Recently, President Abdelaziz Boutefika sent messages on the 29th anniversary of the Union to Maghreb leaders urging collective efforts to reinvigorate the union. Few days later, Algeria’s Foreign Minister said, during […]
Tunisia’s Islamist party has chosen Simon Salama, a Tunisian Jew, as its candidate for the municipal elections in Monastir, south of Tunis. Salama said that Ennahda is a civilian party open to modernity, adding that all Jews in Tunisia could participate in civic, social and political life as Tunisian citizens. Salama, who was raised in […]
Several political parties and groups from the civil society Sunday staged a protest march in capital Tunis, calling for the adoption of a bill criminalizing normalization of ties with Israel. The protest was organized by the National Coordination Committee for the Criminalization of Normalization with the Israeli Occupation. According to Middle East Monitor (MEMO), some […]