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Tunisia

August 17, 2024

Tunis 3:56 am

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Migrants from Tunisia and Lybia arrive onboard of an Italian Guardia Costiera (Coast Guard) boat in the Italian Pelagie Island of Lampedusa on Aug. 1, 2020.

Analysis

As Europe's far right surges, North Africa immigration takes center stage

The election of far-right politicians in power across Europe will impact EU policy toward North Africa, which has proven to be an invaluable energy partner since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

(L-R) Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi wave hands during the group photo session, a head of the Dialogue of Emerging Market and Developing Countries, on the sideline of the 2017 BRICS Summit in Xiamen, southeastern China's Fujian Province on Sept. 5, 2017.

Al-Monitor/Premise poll finds Biden's unpopularity in Mideast makes room for China, Russia to outshine US

Washington’s influence remains potent despite its perceived disengagement from the Middle East, but Russia and China are eagerly finding gaps to fill.

A picture taken on Sept. 17, 2021, shows people queuing to cross into Tunisia through the Libyan Ras Jdeir border crossing.

What’s behind Libya-Tunisia border closure?

Tunisia closed the troubled Ras Jdir crossing following a security incident. Tunisia and Libya are facing a crisis over migrants seeking to reach Europe.

A picture taken on April 14, 2015 shows a view of a plant processing phosphates in the port of the Tunisian southern city of Sfax. / AFP / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia’s phosphate industry still not ready to help country navigate economic crisis

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Latest News

Tunisia's Ons Jabeur reps Saudi fitness brand Kayanee at Australian Open

Ons Kayanee

Migrants face 'daily institutional violence' in Tunisia: NGO

Migrants of African origin trying to flee to Europe, disembark in Sfax from a ship owned by the Tunisian coast guards, after being intercepted by them at sea on August 10, 2023.

Agence France-Presse

Tunisia-EU economic links to prevail over political tensions

Cargo ships unload imported goods in the Tunisian port city of Rades on November 12, 2014. The World Bank said in a report published last September that Tunisia's economic model of manufacturing for exports and protecting the domestic market was valid in the 1970s but since then had hindered progress. AFP PHOTO / FETHI BELAID (Photo credit should read FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tourism tipping point: Middle East travel boom delivering economic boost as Israel-Hamas war threatens recovery

TABA, EGYPT: Beach resorts close to the Egyptian Taba Hilton (background-R) remain empty 11 October 2004, four days after three attacks targeted this well-known hotel in the Sinai peninsula next to the Israeli border and another two minor resorts, killing at least 32 people and causing the exodus of thousands of Israeli tourists from the area called the Egyptian Riviera. Israel's resort of Eilat, close to the border with Egypt, is set for a boom as thousands of Israelis who regularly holiday in Sinai look e

Tunisia’s Jews on edge after crowd torches synagogue amid Gaza protests

A Jewish man and a child walk through the Hara Kebira, the main Jewish quarter in the resort island of Djerba, near the Ghriba synagogue following a shooting spree by a police officer on the southern Tunisian island on May 10, 2023. Tunisian authorities were investigating the shootings that claimed five lives and sparked mass panic during a Jewish pilgrimage at Africa's oldest synagogue today. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP) (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Francisco Serrano

In Lisbon, reporting on North Africa business

Noor Ouarzazate III

Analysis

Tunisia-Italy cable project part of effort to connect energy grids with Europe: World Bank

Other North African countries are also interested in connecting grids with Europe.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

A Moroccan farmer walks past solar panels that are connected to a generator which feeds a pump extracting water from underground in Tafoughalt, a little village deep in the mountains of Morocco's eastern Berkane province, on October 31, 2016. As the Cop22 gets underway in Marrakesh, negotiators are thrashing out the details of a landmark global agreement designed to stave off disastrous climate change, but in Tafoughalt that impact is being felt already. Rising temperatures are among the factors making the

How North Africa’s renewable energy regulations can boost FDI

Foreign investors and institutions are showing serious interest in North Africa’s renewable energy industry, but regulations remain key.

People are seen picking out sheep at a livestock market, in Tunis' Ariana region, ahead of the Muslim festival Eid al-Adha, amid an increase in livestock prices, June 21, 2023.

Eid's price tag: Tunisia’s inflation leaves sheep out of reach for many Muslims

With soaring prices, Tunisian families are struggling to afford the cherished tradition of buying a sheep for the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Kais Saeid, Ursula von der Leyen

Analysis

European aid, pressure on Tunisia’s IMF deal unlikely to allay migration concerns

European leaders visited the North African country over the weekend, hoping to work with Kais Saied's populist government to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund while reducing migration in the Mediterranean.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Tunisian President Kais Saied meets with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

US lawmakers urge aid for Tunisia's civil society as crackdown intensifies

The Biden administration’s proposal to slash economic assistance while largely sustaining military aid to Tunisia has drawn concern in Congress.

Women gather oustide a house at the Hara Kebira, the main Jewish quarter in the resort island of Djerba, after attending a ceremony at the Ghriba synagogue following a shooting spree by a police officer on the southern Tunisian island on May 10, 2023. Tunisian authorities were investigating the shootings that claimed five lives and sparked mass panic during a Jewish pilgrimage at Africa's oldest synagogue today. (Photo by FETHI BELAID / AFP) (Photo by FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images)

Tunisia: Attack on Djerba synagogue was premeditated by national guard member

Tunisia’s interior minister identified the assailant and revealed details of the attack at an ancient synagogue on the island of Djerba that killed at least five people.

The head of Tunisia's Islamist movement Ennahdha Rached Ghannouchi greets supporters upon arrival to a police station in Tunis on Feb. 21, 2023, in compliance to the summons of an investigating judge.

US warns of 'troubling escalation' in Tunisia after Ghannouchi arrest

The State Department expressed alarm over the stifling of political activity under Tunisia's increasingly authoritarian president, Kais Saied.

A Tunisian shepherd herds his sheep near the dry reservoir bed of El-Haouareb dam, located near Kairouan, some 100 miles south of Tunis, Tunisia, July 13, 2017.

Tunisia faces water cuts amid severe drought, public frustration

The drought-hit North African country is imposing water rationing at night for the first time in its fourth dry year, which may increase social tension as Tunisians struggle with high inflation and a weak economy.

Tunisian President Kais Saied meets with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during the U.S. - Africa Leaders Summit on December 14, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Summit brings together heads of state, government officials, business leaders, and civil society to strengthen ties between the U.S. and Africa. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Timeline: Kais Saied's crackdown in Tunisia, from suspending parliament to arresting Ghannouchi

Tunisian President Kais Saied has been steadily consolidating power since 2021 when he dismissed parliament in a move widely described as a coup. He is now cracking down further on his Islamist political opponents.

Vacher

Analysis

Ball now in Tunisia's court regarding $1.9bn IMF bailout

Officials from the IMF, the World Bank and Italy have all commented on the proposed bailout package this week as a Tunisian delegation joins the spring meeting of the multilateral institutions in Washington.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Analysis

Experts pour cold water on Tunisia BRICS ‘bid,’ as country rejects IMF

Experts say economic reforms and stronger anti-Western credentials are needed before the North African country could be seriously considered to join the five-member bloc.

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Cairo peddler

Egypt raises interest rates again as inflation continues to creep up

The Central Bank of Egypt’s rate hikes have so far been unable to curb inflation.