EU removes Tunisia from tax-haven blacklist

Tunisia has been removed from the European Union’s list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, announced the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (EcoFin) as it convened on Tuesday in Brussels. “Eight jurisdictions have been removed from the EU’s list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, following commitments made at a high political level to remedy EU concerns. Tunisia, Barbados, Grenada, the Republic of Korea, Macao SAR, Mongolia, Panama, and the United Arab Emirates are moved to a separate category of jurisdictions subject to close monitoring,” the EcoFin said. These eight jurisdictions…

Why you should follow the Mediterranean ‘diet’ – and how to do it

Leslie Beck, a Toronto-based private-practice dietitian, is director of Food and Nutrition at Medcan. No doubt you’ve heard about the Mediterranean diet. It’s long been reported to be the optimal eating plan for preventing a wide range of diseases including heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. If you’re wondering, though, if trendy new diets such as the keto diet, for instance, are a newer, better option than the Mediterranean diet, the answer is a definitive no. The latest resounding endorsement for the well-researched Mediterranean diet came…

Tunisian Government opens forex market to spark economic growth

Tunisia faced great economic challenges in the post-Arab Spring era. Now, the country is ready to open up the foreign exchange market to retailers The Tunisian Revolution triggered the Arab Spring that spread into other North African and Middle Eastern countries in 2010-11. Seven years on from the uprisings, Tunisia has made great progress in its political transition to democracy, but its economy still faces challenges in the economic field. The current Tunisian Government is working to boost the country’s economic growth and develop its financial market. One of the…

“It would be a mistake if economic reform process underway in MENA were to be thrown into reverse” (IMF)

« It would be a mistake if the economic reform process underway in the Middle East and North Africa were to be thrown into reverse,” said Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In an article entitled: “Economic Growth and Fairness in the Middle East and North Africa” published on the IMF blogs site, the official said rising social tensions and protests in several countries across the region “are a clear indication that the aspirations of the people of the region—for…

The ‘new’ Tunisia: in search of Carthage and lesser known Roman ruins

After the attacks of 2015 Tunisia is back in business — but forsake the beach for its heritage, says Nick Redmayne. “Carthago delenda est” — or “Carthage must be destroyed” — was a favourite phrase of Roman orator Cato the Elder. It took until 146BC and an emphatic victory in the Third Punic War for his punchline to be delivered. Rome’s vengeful legions levelled the city and sold its population into slavery. Today, Tunisia is again reeling in the wake of violence, namely 2015’s two terrorist outrages, at the Bardo National…

Saudi Arabia deposits $2 billion in Central Bank of Yemen to support currency

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia ordered a deposit of $2 billion to be paid into Central Bank of Yemen to strengthen the weak Yemeni currency, the Saudi government said. King Salman issued the order to help support the rial, which has plummeted amid a lingering conflict between the government and the houthis. The $2 billion is a deposit, the legitimate Yemeni government will not have to pay it back. Yemen’s currency, the rial, has lost more than half its value against  U.S. dollar and soaring prices have…

Emel Mathlouthi and some music without frontiers

A DIVERSE double bill concert celebrating music without frontiers brought a Sydney Festival audience to its feet in the formal setting of the City Recital Hall Angel Place. Top of the bill was Tunisian star Emel Mathlouthi, whose song Kelmti Horra (My Word Is Free) became an anthem for the Arab Spring activists seven years ago, while the opening half featured two respected musicians, both with strong ties to Iraq but from different cultural traditions in oud master Rahim Alhaj and Egyptian born cellist and former conductor of the Iraqi…

5+5 Dialogue: 14th Conference of Foreign Ministers opens in Algiers

The 14th Foreign Ministers’ Conference of the 5 + 5 Dialogue began Sunday in Algiers, TAP reports. The meeting is co-chaired by Algerian Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel and his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian. Tunisia is represented by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Khemaies Jhinaoui. The Conference held under the theme: ” Western Mediterranean: consolidation of overall, shared and sustainable socio-economic development to meet the region’s common challenges” will focus on economic and social development and strengthening co-operation in the security field in management of regional crises, particularly in Libya and…

The Middle East is still building towards the right start-up culture

Entrepreneurs face the same key issues they did a decade ago Almost eight years ago, I was involved in the development of Wamda, a website commissioned by Abraaj Capital to inspire and connect the region’s burgeoning start-up scene, which was taking root among enthusiastic youngsters in places like Lebanon, Jordan, Tunisia and the UAE. Packed with case studies, profiles and video interviews, it was celebratory in tone and perhaps painted a picture of entrepreneurship as a career in itself; a way of working – laptops, coffee shops, hoodies, pizza –…

Flights resume in Mitiga airport in Libya capital after five days of closure

Flights of the state-owned Libyan Airlines have been resumed in Mitiga Airport in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, on Saturday morning as the first flights flew to Tunisia’s Carthage Airport, Libyan Express reports. According to local media citing the airliner, the flights will continue to take off from Mitiga airport as per Saturday schedule, which will include evening flights to Alexandria in Egypt and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Flights were suspended last Monday flowing deadly clashes between two armed groups loyal to Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, leading to the killing…