Tunisia prepares to join COMESA

Tunisia is making preparations to join Africa’s largest trading bloc, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the bloc said on Monday. Tunisia is preparing to sign the COMESA Treaty during the next summit scheduled for October this year, which will herald its admission into the regional bloc as the 20th member, according to a statement released by the secretariat based in Lusaka, the Zambian capital. According to the statement, Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed told a COMESA delegation that his country was ready to conclude the negotiations…

The cost of a polluted environment: 1.7 million child deaths a year, says WHO

More than 1 in 4 deaths of children under 5 years of age are attributable to unhealthy environments. Every year, environmental risks – such as indoor and outdoor air pollution, second-hand smoke, unsafe water, lack of sanitation, and inadequate hygiene – take the lives of 1.7 million children under 5 years, say two new WHO reports. The first report, Inheriting a Sustainable World: Atlas on Children’s Health and the Environment reveals that a large portion of the most common causes of death among children aged 1 month to 5 years…

No hate, no fear: This is what democracy looks like

Terrorism has succeeded in feeding fear and anger into Americans, not only harming the Arab world’s transition into democracy, but also shaking the core principles of the American democracy, which was once a leading model of freedom and inclusivity to the rest of the world. The uprising of multiple countries in the Arab world against dictatorship in 2011 has awed the world. These “Muslim majority countries,” as they are usually referred to by the U.S. government and foreign affairs agencies, have struck people with their passion for freedom, their will…

What It’s Like to Save Tortoises From the Illegal Wildlife Trade in Tunisia and Europe

Tortoises’ best protection against predators is that they can hide in their shells. This makes them easy to ship around the world, as they tend to get tossed into sacks and boxes like mere rocks. Statistics derived from the Italian and French cities of Genoa and Marseille — apparently favored destinations in an illegal trade from the nation of Tunisia — indicate the confiscation of approximately 1,500 live tortoises from Tunisian smugglers each year. The numbers could be precipitously higher, given there are many shipments that go undetected. The bulk…

Tunisia hopes on second IMF loan

The authority in Tunisia is expecting the release of the second International Monetary Fund loan tranche late March or early April. The country’s prime minister’s economic adviser, Ridha Saidi said they hope the upcoming visit of the IMF will be positive adding that the loan will be disbursed soon. Tunisia secured a $2.88 billion loan last May, when $319 million were disbursed. However, the IMF didn’t release $321 million in December. According to Saidi, during its last visit earlier this month, the Washington-based lender expressed concern over the pace of…

Seven Tunisians arrested on dinghy heading to Italy

Suspects apprehended in El Hoauria on Cap Bon peninsula  The Tunisian authorities on Monday arrested seven Tunisian nationals for trying to make the illegal sea crossing to Italy, the interior ministry has said. The suspects were apprehended on board a dinghy in El Hoauria on the Cap Bon peninsula. One of the suspects was reportedly wanted by police. The suspects said they had paid approximately 500 Tunisian dinars (less than 250 euros) per head for the failed crossing. (ANSAmed).

Algeria, Tunisia pledge to boost Libyan peace process

Algeria and Tunisia on Sunday reaffirmed in Algiers their commitment to help neighboring war-torn Libya reach a political and consensual solution. “Algeria and Tunisia believe that the solution for the Libyan crisis must be consensual and not military,” visiting Tunisian Foreign Minister, Khemaies Jhinaoui told a joint press conference with Algerian Minister for Maghreb Affairs, African Union, and Arab League, Abdelkader Messahel, following the 19th session of the Algerian-Tunisian Monitoring Committee. Jhinaoui added that the UN Security Council should assume responsibility and work for reaching a peaceful resolution in Libya.…