First Independent Mena Newspaper
Despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, French researcher Victor Dupont, who was arrested on October 19 in Tunisia, remains in custody, and his friends and colleagues at Aix-Marseille University have now launched a petition demanding his release. Three weeks after his arrest, negotiations with Tunisian authorities have yet to yield results, and frustration is mounting among Dupont’s […]
Tunisian President Kais Saied has sapped five years in office without initiating reforms that could boost the competitiveness of the Tunisian economy, due to his focus on political survival, said a new study published by Carnegei Middle East Center. “Although Saied antagonized large private enterprises with an anti-business and anti-elite populist narrative, he refrained from […]
Fifteen bodies were found washed ashore on the beaches of Mahdia, on October 26 and 27, with discoveries concentrated along the coastlines of Salakta, Chebba, and Malloulech. This tragic incident has raised immediate concerns and prompted an official investigation. Ferid Ben Jha, the spokesperson for the courts of Monastir and Mahdia, confirmed that the Mahdia […]
Abdel Sattar Al-Massoudi, a lawyer representing former presidential candidate Ayachi Zammel, has confirmed that the Kairouan Court of First Instance sentenced his client to 5 years and 4 months in prison on charges related to three cases of falsified recommendations. Al-Massoudi disclosed that the cumulative prison sentences handed down to Zammel across multiple cases now […]
A Tunisian customs official has confirmed that trade activities between Tunisia and Libya have resumed at Ras Jdir border crossing, accompanied by new facilities designed to streamline operations. Issam Zureiq, the regional director of customs in Medenine, stated that commercial movement has recommenced without the imposition of new administrative procedures. This improvement was possible thanks […]
Customs officers from the Passenger Inspection Brigade, in collaboration with the X-ray detection team at the port of La Goulette, made a significant seizure of hunting rifles concealed within the trailer of a vehicle driven by a Tunisian citizen returning from Italy. The Tunisian General Directorate of Customs said in a statement that the vehicle’s […]
The thirteenth general census of the population and housing in Tunisia is on the verge of entering its operational phase, with dates officially established by ministerial decree. The reference day for this significant census is set for Wednesday, November 6, 2024, and the operations will run until December 31, 2024. This timeline allows for a […]
Tunisian lawmakers are preparing a law that would remove the exclusivity of the central bank in setting the benchmark interest rate, thus ending the bank’s monetary policy independence. The bill suggests that the central bank should set the interest rate after the approval of the government. President Kais Saied has often taken aim at the […]
The World Bank has revised Tunisia’s 2024 economic growth forecast downward to 1.2%, compared to the 2.4% projected in April 2024. In its October 16, 2024 report, “Growth in the Middle East and North Africa,” the Bank expects Tunisia’s growth to stabilize at 2.2% in 2025. The report cites weak growth across the MENA region, […]
Since he took power in 2019, President Kais Saied has followed an Algerian blueprint to destroy checks and balances, backtracking on Arab Spring assets that once made Tunisia a democratic country. Nothing depicts the vassalization of Tunisia by Algeria than the recent election, won by Kais Saied with 90.7% of the votes, with his main […]