
The Tunisian government held a ministerial council on April 25, 2026, chaired by Head of Government Sarrah Zaafrani Zenzri, to improve transport services and modernize administrative, digital, and customs services. This initiative aligns with President Kaïs Saïed's directives, aiming to enhance citizen mobility, simplify administrative procedures, and strengthen the digitalization of public services, with a goal to complete the digital transformation of the administration by 2026. The council emphasized improving air, sea, and land transport sectors, recognizing them as economic and social pillars. Special attention was given to preparing for the summer season and the return of Tunisians residing abroad. Measures for the diaspora include reduced fares and easier booking on Tunisair flights and CTN – Tunisian Navigation Company crossings. These provisions encompass preferential rate tickets, improved baggage allowances, flexible modification or cancellation options, and special offers for families and students, alongside reaffirmed early booking programs and reduced-price family packages. The council also focused on accelerating the digitalization of public services, with plans to generalize online procedures in consular, customs, and services for Tunisians abroad. Announced projects include the dematerialization of civil status records, generalized online consular appointments, digital platforms for customs and border police services, and the digitization of vehicle-related p
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Must ReadMoataz Raslan, president of the Egyptian Council for International Cooperation, announced the upcoming creation of a Tunisian-Egyptian Business Council during his visit to Tunisia. This new structure aims to invigorate trade between the two countries and enhance access to African markets for Tunisian and Egyptian businesses. Raslan's visit, at the invitation of the African Center of Excellence for Inclusive Markets, aligns with a memorandum of understanding to strengthen trade between Egypt and African nations. The objective is to foster new business opportunities, encourage investments, and promote partnerships among African economic operators. Raslan emphasized the need to improve communication between the Tunisian and Egyptian business communities to build more effective bridges and facilitate joint projects. He believes the current climate offers a favorable opportunity to revitalize economic cooperation, transforming historical and political ties into concrete, sustainable, and value-creating economic partnerships. The Business Council will serve as a permanent dialogue platform, facilitating investor contacts and identifying new cooperation avenues. Its ambition is to enable Tunisian and Egyptian companies to collaborate more effectively and develop a common strategy for accessing African markets. Raslan also extended an official invitation to a Tunisian minister and a delegation of Tunisian businesspeople for an upcoming economic mission to Egypt, aiming to explore inv
Must ReadResearchers at the University of Cambridge have announced a significant development in vaccine technology: for the first time, a vaccine with its main antigen entirely designed by artificial intelligence has been tested in humans. This innovation represents a departure from traditional vaccine design methods, which typically target a specific virus or one of its variants. The British team utilized AI to identify common characteristics across an entire family of coronaviruses, aiming to create an antigen capable of triggering a broad-spectrum immune response. The experimental vaccine targets sarbecoviruses, a family that includes SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2003 SARS virus, and several coronaviruses found in bats that scientists consider potential future threats. Initial results from a clinical trial involving 39 volunteers are encouraging, with researchers indicating the vaccine was well-tolerated and induced an immune response against several different coronaviruses. This first phase primarily aimed to verify the product's safety before evaluating its efficacy on a larger scale. Scientists believe this technology could pave the way for a new generation of vaccines offering protection against viruses not yet present in humans or those that have not yet emerged. A second phase of clinical trials is planned with approximately 200 participants to confirm these results and more precisely measure the vaccine's performance. If successful, this a

Houcine Rhili, a water resources expert, has criticized the Tunisian government's recently announced measures to secure drinking water supply for the summer and accelerate the 2050 national water strategy. Speaking on Express FM on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, Rhili stated that many of the decisions are late and merely rehashes of previously announced measures. He noted that while the goal of ensuring continuous water distribution is legitimate, its implementation is compromised by delays. Rhili suggested such a council meeting should have occurred in February or March, leaving little time for significant impact this summer. He also pointed out that some presented "new" provisions, like mandatory rainwater harvesting in new developments, already exist in earlier texts, citing a 2018 agreement between the Ministries of Equipment and Agriculture. Rhili emphasized that the core issue is not new announcements but effective implementation. He highlighted persistent administrative and institutional blockages in the water sector, questioning the accountability for delays, particularly regarding the reuse of treated wastewater. Rhili noted that despite this issue being on ministerial agendas for over two decades, more than 300 million cubic meters of treated water are annually discharged, a waste incompatible with Tunisia's increasing water stress. These criticisms follow the government's announcement of a 58 million dinar emergency program with 81 projects and an ambitious 74.5 billion