Month: February 2017

Migrant children endure horrors in Libya and Italy

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The UN’s children’s fund, Unicef, has said minors face shocking abuse in Libya and risk vanishing into crime and prostitution in Europe. The Unicef report, out on Tuesday (28 February), said more and more children are arriving in Italy alone and required better protection to prevent them falling into the hands of criminals. In one harrowing case, Unicef’s regional director Afshan Khan told reporters ahead of the report’s release that a 14-year old girl was forced to work as a prostitute in Libya for two years. She then tried to…

Tunisia’s security improvements remain relative, says senior military figure

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Tunisia’s security situation has significantly improved, but such gains remain relative, a former Tunisian brigadier-general has told The New Arab. The north African nation extended its state of emergency for another three-month period on February 16, with President Beji Caid Essebsi signing the extension amid persistent threats from armed groups. The renewal flies in the face of government assurances of improved security across the country. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed on Wednesday that the state of emergency would “definitely” be lifted in three months’ time. Mohamed Meddeb is a former brigadier-general in the Tunisian army…

First flight for Tunisia’s Express Air Cargo

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New Tunisian freighter operator Express Air Cargo has completed its first commercial flight, operating a Boeing 737-300F between Tunis and Paris Charles de Gaulle on February 25. The airline took delivery of the aircraft in mid-January after it went through a series of inspections and said it would be taking delivery of a second aircraft in the coming weeks. The company eventually aims to offer daily connections between 15 countries in north and west Africa and Europe. Its eventual fleet will consist of B737-300Fs, B737-400Fs, ATR-72s and Cessna-208B. As well…

Al-Swehly: Does Haftar influence the HoR

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In the last two days, the head of the State Council, Abdul-Rahman Al-Swehly, convened different meetings, indicating that the important changes are about to lead the new Libyan scene. Al-Araby Al-Jadeed website interviewed Al-Swehly, after his meeting with the Tunisian President, Baji Caid Essibssi, the Tunisian Parliament President, Mohamed Nasser, and the Tunisian Foreign Minister Khamis Jhainawy, as well as the Russian, the American, the Chinese, the Spanish, and the South Korean ambassadors. Al-Swehly said that the Tunisian initiative is faithfully sincere in resolving the Libyan crisis, Tunisia has the…

Why German minister rejects Austria’s idea of mass migrant camps?

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As a follower of the controversial issue of building shelters of foreign refugees in Tunisia, I was surprised as many Tunisians by what  German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said after a Monday meeting with his Austrian counterpart Sebastian Kurz, that a refugee-reception arrangement “was unrealistic, because of unstable conditions in countries like Libya and Tunisia”. For his part, Sebastian Kurz referred that” reception centers should be set up outside the European Union’s borders”. I was surprised because the truth was absent while selfishness was present. We may understand such position…

UK experts deliver week of communications training to support Tunisian Government

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From 9-15 February UK Government communications experts delivered two training programmes to reinforce the role and importance of government communications, to share best-practice strategic communications tools and to support Government of Tunisia communicators to develop their expertise in crisis communications. British Ambassador to Tunisia, Louise De Sousa, hosted the five days of training attended by more than 30 officials from eight ministries across the Government of Tunisia. The training was part of an on-going bilateral project to support Tunisia’s strategic communications work and was delivered in partnership with the UK…

Improving the business environment in Tunisia

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In order to achieve legal and regulatory stability, the Tunisian government has created a solid legal framework consisting of a set of laws and policies that also aims to improve the business environment in Tunisia. Indeed, the Law on investment is part of the new generation of economic reforms under the policy of diversification of the economy adopted by the Tunisian government. It regulates the framework for foreign direct investment in order to adapt it to the place foreign capital has in the national economy. The Law provides an efficient…

Dairy Farmers to Benefit from Solar-powered Coolers

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Small dairy farms, which form the bulk of milk producers, are suffering from low production as a result of lack of cooling systems and animal feeds. Now, researchers at Germany’s University of Hohenheim have developed solar-powered milk cooling refrigerators for small dairy farmers. The university is carrying out trials of the new cooling system with optimised animal feeding at Sam Malanga Co-operative Society in Siaya County in western Kenya and the Sidi Bouzid region in central Tunisia, to adapt it to local conditions. The University of Hohenheim said the goal…

Heidelberg Police Charge 35-Year-Old German Driver With Murder

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The man who drove a car into pedestrians in Heidelberg, killing one of them, is to be kept in custody, accused of murder and attempted murder. Police have released more details on the case. The man who drove his rental car into a pedestrian zone in Heidelberg in southwestern Germany,will not be released from police custody anytime soon. On Sunday, an arrest warrant was issued against the 35-year-old German, charging him with one case of murder and three cases of attempted murder. A 73-year old man suffered fatal injuries when…

Tunisia Pins Hopes on Second IMF Loan Tranche

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The Tunisian government is pinning its expectations for the release of a second International Monetary Fund loan tranche on a delegation visit in late March or early April. “We hope the upcoming visit will be positive and the second tranche of the loan will be disbursed soon,” Ridha Saidi, the prime minister’s economic adviser, said in a telephone interview in Tunis. Tunisia secured a $2.88 billion loan last May, when $319 million were disbursed. The IMF didn’t release $321 million in December. During its last visit earlier this month, the Washington-based lender…