Day: August 8, 2017

Tourism bounces back in the Middle East

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Six years since the Arab Spring started in Tunisia, causing turmoil in the Middle East, the tourism map of the world has been redrawn several times – and there are signs that it is shifting again. Spain has long been Britain’s top holiday destination, but global events have seen its popularity soar to record levels in recent years. Arrivals peaked at an all time high of over 10.1 million in August 2016 with numbers up again this year, responding to a perceived threat of terrorism elsewhere in the world. Holidays cancelled…

Tunisia tells ports to deny anti-migrant ship entry

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A port director in Tunisia says authorities have instructed commercial ports in the North African nation to deny access to a ship rented by European identity groups and sailing the Mediterranean Sea with an anti-migrant message. Fishermen and human rights activists in the Tunisian city of Zarzis unfurled a banner reading “No Racism” as the C Star, the flagship of operation Defend Europe, sailed in international waters off Tunisia’s coast over the weekend. Zarzis port director Karim Nouira told The Associated Press the ship never asked to dock at Zarzis…

Cutting Tunisia’s public sector wage costs ‘paramount’, says IMF

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Tunisia’s growth is slowly improving, but strong consumption is fuelling inflation and the public sector wage bill is among the world’s highest by proportion of GDP, the International Monetary Fund has warned. It said the country’s exchange rate flexibility, tighter monetary policy and fuel price increases had started to address the imbalances, and the recent launch of a campaign against corruption had improved confidence. Reducing the fiscal deficit was still critically important and would require additional adjustment, including to the cost of public wages. Björn Rother, who led a recent…

Tunisia End-of-Term Report 2014-2016

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In early 2017, the Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) published the end of term report for Tunisia’s first action plan. The report covers the full action plan implementation period of September 2014 through September 2016. Jazem Halioui, an indepdendent researcher, wrote this report. His findings are summarized below: The Tunisian government made significant improvements in budget transparency by launching an open budget portal. However, the majority of the action plan saw limited completion. The Joint Commission could enhance its monitoring efforts to improve implementation of the next action plan. The version…

Tunisian actor reportedly in talks to star in Aladdin as the villain Jafar

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Dutch-Tunisian actor Marwan Kenzari is reportedly in negotiations for a potential role as Jafar in Disney’s live-action remake of Aladdin. News of his potential role has been going viral in the Arab world, with many excited for the adaptation of the much beloved animated film already confirming the lead role of Aladdin being played by Egyptian-Canadian actor Mena Massoud. Kenzari speaks Arabic, Dutch, French and English and won a Golden Calf for Best Actor at the Netherlands Film Festival for his role in the feature film Wolf in 2013. Will Smith…