Category: National

The head of the Dialogue Committee representing the House of Representatives (HoR), Abdel Salam Nassia, stated after a HoR session yesterday, that the HoR examined the results of the Dialogue Committee during the first round of the Tunis dialogue within three days. Nassia added that the HoR had come to an agreement that the duties of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces should be under the responsibility of the Presidential Council. He also stressed that this should be under the condition that any decisions could only be made with…

A two-month training program for Libya’s coast guard begins in Tunisia, and will subsequently move to Italy. Italy has recently witnessed a decline in migrant arrivals, which fell 85% in August from the previous year. This drop has been attributed to local militias working to keep migrants from departing Libya’s shores, rather than Italian efforts to police the Mediterranean. Some have accused Rome of paying the militias to do so, an accusation the government vehemently denies. In either case, Libya’s fluid political situation leaves local militias vulnerable to losing power.…

MILAN (AP) – Eight Tunisian migrants have died and a further 20 are believed to be missing after a Tunisian naval ship collided with a wooden boat packed with migrants, the U.N. migration agency said Monday. Tunisian authorities said 38 people were rescued. The Tunisian defense department said in a statement that the collision happened Sunday about 54 kilometers (30 miles) off the coast of El Ataya, on the island of Kerkennah. The circumstances remain unclear. Maltese authorities coordinated the rescue with the assistance of the Italian and Tunisian navies.…

Dozens of runners headed into Tunisia’s desert at dawn on Saturday for the North African country’s first ever ultra-marathon. The 100-kilometre (60-mile) Ultra Mirage El Djerid race, with a course skirting the Sahara desert’s biggest salt lake, attracted 58 competitors including eight women and25 foreign runners. Morocco’s Mohamed el Morabity battled his way over dunes, rocky hills and a salt plain to win the race in 8 hours, 48 minutes and 49 seconds. He and his brother Rachid both competed this year at the Marathon des Sables, a famed endurance…

he IMF has urged Tunisia to take action on tax reform and its public sector wage bill to help bring the country’s finances under control. A team from the Washington-based lender met with Tunisian authorities to discuss the country’s recent economic developments under the reform programme supported by the four-year IMF extended fund facility (EFF). “Better managing the public-sector wage bill, which is among the highest in the world and absorbs half of total expenditure, will be indispensable,” said Bjoern Rother, the leader of the IMF’s team, who acknowledged the…

Indonesia and Tunisia agreed to increase bilateral cooperation across several areas, including in economy, counterterrorism and capacity-building when Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi met her Tunisian counterpart, Khemaies Jhinaoui, on Tuesday (02/10) in Tunis. “Strong political relations between Indonesia and Tunisia serve as a strong foundation to develop economic cooperation between the two countries,” Retno said in a statement released by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Retno and Jhinaoui met during the former’s visit to the North African country, where discussing opportunities to increase bilateral cooperation was the main agenda. According to…

Tunisia’s prime minister said his government has no evidence that the Tunisian who stabbed two women to death in Marseille had links to any extremist group. Meeting with his French counterpart in Tunis, Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed condemned Sunday’s attack, saying “there is no justification for such barbaric acts.” French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said the two countries agreed to work more closely together on security and responding to terror attacks and radicalization. Chahed said they would notably focus on “preventing the risks inherent in the return of terrorists…

 Tunisia’s first post-revolt municipal elections originally due to take place in December will be held in March, the authorities said Thursday, after they were postponed at the request of political parties. The decision to hold the elections on March 25 was taken after a closed-door meetingof the Independent High Authority for Elections with representatives of the government, parties and civil society. The long-delayed polls had been seen as the final stage in Tunisia’s transition to democracy following its 2011 uprising which sparked the Arab Spring revolutions. The postponement had come at…

Since the 2011 revolution, civil society associations in Tunisia are believed to have the capacity to build a social capital and social trust. But there is a tremendous gap between legislation and practice. However, Tunisian activists are faced with significant legitimate demands of a marginalised and daunted population, especially in the regions of the western part of the country. Suffering from alienation and exclusion, they still claim their economic, social and political rights. The Union of Tunisian Humanitarian Associations (UAHT) is a young association which endeavoured to lend a hand to this…