Latest in Tag: Tunisia Highlight
Latest in Tag: Tunisia
Cracks deepen in Tunisia’s coalition leadership over resignation
Finance Minister Hussein Dimassi cites Ennahda nepotism as reason for resignation
Political Impasse in Tunisia
In Tunisia, a new political challenge faces Tunisian lawmakers but the people may get to have the final say in the matter.
Tunisian artists lament lack of support after Islamist riots
Even before the recent clashes, artists say they have regularly been the target of religious hardliners in post- revolution Tunisia. And they are surprised that the more moderate regime that replaced Ben Ali has not defended the nation’s artists.
Tunisia Islamists set to elect leader
The Ennahda or Renaissance Islamist party is likely to re-elect current leader Rashid Al-Ghannushi
Resolving the niqab issue in Tunisian universities
By Lotfi Radhouane Chebil TUNIS: Recently at a university in Tunis, a female student approached her professor after class and told him that she had decided to wear the niqab, which covers the female body, face and head, to class. After some discussion on the topic, the professor said that he respected her decision and …
Tunisia Islamist leader rules out normal ties with Israel
By AFP TUNIS: The head of Tunisia’s governing Islamist party has said the country cannot normalize ties with Israel, the official TAP news agency reported Sunday. Rached Ghannouchi said that “Tunisians’ problem is with Zionism, not with Judaism”, but TAP said “the president of Ennahda stressed … there can be no normalization with Israel.” The …
Tunisia’s youth and their fight for the freedom of expression
By Jillian C. York In Tunisia, a new debate is taking shape. Long suppressed by the authoritarian regime of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia’s free expression movement for many years existed on the fringe, comprised of bloggers, software developers, media aficionados and expats whose frustration at Tunisia’s Internet censorship and surveillance regime – …
Tunisia to elect post-uprising parliament by March
By Tarek Amara / Reuters TUNIS: Tunisians are likely to vote for their first full post-revolutionary parliament in just under a year’s time, a government official told Reuters on Saturday. Since elections that followed the overthrow of the autocrat Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali, an uprising that sparked revolutions across the region, Tunisia has been governed by …
Tunisia, Egypt, Libya urge Arab solution to Syria crisis
By AFP TUNIS: Foreign ministers from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, meeting in Tunis said Friday the Syrian crisis should be resolved in an “Arab framework” and opposed foreign military intervention in the country. “We are all against military intervention in Syria, and we want the problem to be resolved in an Arab framework,” Tunisian Foreign …
Neighbors want Libya to stay united: Tunisia
By AFP TRIPOLI: Tunisia and Egypt want a united Libya and reject calls for federalism for their neighbor, the Tunisian foreign minister was quoted as saying on Sunday. “Tunisia and Egypt share the goal of preserving national unity, security and stability in Libya,” the official LANA new agency quoted Rafik Abdessalem as saying. At a …
Tunisian Islamists spark fear of culture war
By Paul Schemm / AP TUNIS: Every Friday, bearded men in shin-length robes demonstrate in Tunisia’s capital against perceived insults to Islam in a country once known for its aggressive secularism. They have occasionally turned violent, attacking secular intellectuals and harassing women for their style of dress. This emerging movement of believers known as Salafis has …
No quick revival seen for Egypt, Tunisia tourism
By Victoria Bryan and Maria Sheahan / Reuters BERLIN: Egypt and Tunisia are unlikely to see tourism — a vital prop for their battered economies — revive anytime soon as holidaymakers continue to shun North African destinations a year after the “Arab Spring” revolutions. Bookings to the two countries collapsed last year after popular uprisings across …
Tunisia cuts 2012 growth forecast to 3.5 pct
By Tarek Amara / Reuters TUNIS: Tunisia has cut its economic growth forecast for this year to 3.5 percent, down from a previous forecast of 4.5 percent due to declines in foreign investment and tourism, a finance ministry official said on Tuesday. “In the supplementary budget, we have changed the outlook to 3.5 percent,” junior minister …
Tunisia, Egypt Islamists signal bigger religion role
By Tom Heneghan / Reuters PARIS: After months of reassuring secularist critics, Islamist politicians in Tunisia and Egypt have begun to lay down markers about how Muslim their states should be — and first signs show they want more religion than previously admitted. Islamist parties swept the first free elections in both countries in recent months …
Arab Spring ushers in bright future despite worry
The euphoria sparked by the Arab Spring is giving way to disquiet over political instability and the growing influence of Islamists, but the democratic process still looks unstoppable, experts believe. In 12 months, the Arab world has gone through more changes than it saw in decades, with Tunisia and Egypt staging historic elections. A popular …
