Author: BGMN

Around 800 migrants rescued in Mediterranean, two bodies recovered

BGMN

Around 800 migrants were rescued in the Mediterranean on Saturday as they tried to reach Europe and two bodies were recovered, Italy’s coast guard, which coordinated the rescues, said in a statement. No details about the nationalities of those rescued were given, nor was there further information about the deaths. The migrants were picked up from two barges, two rubber dinghies and one small boat in five separate rescue operations. During one of the rescues, two helicopters from the Italian navy were used to pick-up seven children with water in…

Women’s inheritance next on Tunisia’s rights agenda?

BGMN

Women in Tunisia may be able to pass their family name on to their children and have equal inheritance with men if proposals, due to be finalized in February, are adopted in a country regarded as a leader for women’s rights in the Arab world. The Committee on Individual Freedoms and Equality, set up in August, will present its recommendations on Feb. 20 to the president. “Tunisia is once again pioneering and irreversibly moving toward advancement,” the committee’s Chairwoman Bochra Belhaj Hmida told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in emailed comments.…

USGC to establish Tunisian center for feed manufacturing

BGMN

In dual efforts to expand export opportunities and help local feed producers improve the quality of their products, the U.S. Grains Council (USGC) plans to utilize a grant provided by the U.S. State Department to create a Center for Feed Manufacturing in Tunisia, world-grain.com reports. “Centered in North Africa, U.S. suppliers face increasing competition in the Tunisian market from competitors in Europe, the Black Sea and South America,” said Ramy Hadj Taieb, USGC regional director for the Middle East and North Africa. “As a result, the council’s work in Tunisia is…

Tunisia, most innovative country in Africa and Arab world

BGMN

Tunisia confirms and strengthens its status as the most innovative country in Africa and the Arab world. This is apparent from the Bloomberg Innovation Index released on Tuesday 23 January. According to this Index in its 6th edition, Tunisia has moved up two spots compared to the last edition and ranked 43rd in the world ahead of Morocco, last in the top 50. The U.S. dropped out of the top 10 in the 2018 Bloomberg Innovation Index for the first time in the six years the gauge has been compiled.…

Filmmaking helps refugee girls learn English

BGMN

With the guidance of a team of filmmakers, the girls come up with their own idea before jotting them down on a script and acting out the different characters.  “From filmmaking, I learned to never give up on my dreams no matter how tough the path gets.” Alaa Mustafa, 13, is among the estimated 11 million Syrians who have fled their homes since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011. Living in the UAE for the past six years, she was also among the 33 girls between 10 and…

Tunisian classrooms to learn the Fun Academy way

BGMN

Finnish company Fun Academy and Tunisia’s Ministry of Women, Family and Childhood have entered into a partnership to further the development of early-childhood education in Tunisia. The agreement seeks to enhance the capabilities of local education institutions to provide high-quality and non-discriminatory early-childhood education services. “We are so excited to be part of this important collaboration with the ministry to co-create and provide quality pre-school for children in Tunisia,” says Sanna Lukander, the CEO of Fun Academy. “We are here to learn, to share and to co-create the best start in life for…

Tunisia expected to be admitted as COMESA member state in April summit

BGMN

Tunisia is expected to be admitted to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) as its 20th member state in a COMESA summit to be held from April 18 to 19 in Burundi, a COMESA’s senior official said Wednesday, xinhuanet reports “The forthcoming summit is very important because Tunisia will be admitted as the 20th member state of COMESA. Besides, Somalia will come back to COMESA,” said COMESA Secretary General Sindiso Ngwenya in Burundian capital Bujumbura. The summit of the heads of state and government of COMESA will be…

Incentive and state policy to internationalise Tunisian companies required (President of CONECT)

BGMN

The Confederation of Tunisian Citizen Entrprises (CONECT) International presented its action plan for the year 2018 which focuses on two main axes, namely the development of export and investment, at its annual conference held on Wednesday in Tunis. Adnen Bouassida, Vice President of CONECT International in charge of the French-speaking Africa and Maghreb Pole, said that CONECT International has scheduled for the year 2018 five regional actions and three missions of foreign delegations in Tunisian regions. Besides, three studies will be finalised in 2018. They include a study and report recommendations…

Foreign investments Flow up 12.8% (FIPA)

BGMN

The flow of foreign investments jumped by 12.8% at the end of 2017, reaching 2244.4 million dinars (MD) shared out by means of 2128.2MD (+11.9%) in foreign direct investment (FDI) and 116.2MD (+32.3%) in portfolio, according to the foreign investment balance sheet published by the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA). According to the sector-based distribution of foreign investments, the industry sector increased by 21.6%, reaching 974.3MD in 2017, up by 72.2% and 114.5% compared to 2015 and 2014, respectively, FIPA revealed. Foreign investments in the services sector climbed by 13%…

Tunisia’s foreign currency reserves fall to 15-year low

BGMN

A worsening trade deficit has further eroded Tunisia’s foreign currency reserves, which are now worth just 89 days of imports, the lowest level in 15 years, central bank figures showed on Wednesday. Tunisia’s trade deficit widened in December 2017 to a record $6.25 billion. The central bank said on its website that foreign currency reserves had fallen to 12.306 billion Tunisian dinars by Jan. 23, enough to cover 89 days of imports, compared with 106 days in the same period a year earlier.  The country has been praised as the…