Author: Web Desk

The Routard Guide's listing of southern Tunisia in the world's TOP 10 destinations will help boost tourism in 2024 compared with the previous year. said Local Tourism Cmmissioner in Tozeur and Gafsa Adel Sbita. This is the fruit of efforts of all public and private stakeholders working to diversify the tourist offer and develop alternative tourism, he told TAP. Sbita indicated that southern Tunisia saw positive tourism indicators in 2023, especially in Tataouine, Djebel Dahar, Nefzaoua and Djerid, pointing out that Tozeur has posted a 26.7% rise in the number of visitors and +22.5% in terms of overnight stays, compared to 2022. "This increase is expected to last in 2024 with the implementation of a promotional programme by the Tunisian National Tourist Office (French: ONTT) in a bid to conquer new Asian markets", he added. The official further said that the air route linking Orly airport (Paris) to Tozeur has helped to boost the number of promotional campaigns between late December 2023 and early 2024. S ource: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse KORGOHO: Namibia senior men's football team coach, Collin Benjamin, said despite being placed in a tough group at the African Nations Cup (AFCON), they are optimistic about upsetting a team or two at this championship. The 2023 Ivory Coast AFCON is underway in four different cities across the country and will come to an end on 11 February 2024. During a media briefing held on Monday, Benjamin said that although they are aware of their opponents, his team has worked very hard to compete in the championship and they are ready to give it their best in the opening match. 'Tunisia and Mali have players whose development happens in Europe, while Namibia and South African players are groomed at home. Nevertheless, we are humbled to step into the field of play and give it our all,' he said. Benjamin added that despite being in a difficult group with South Africa, Mali and Tunisia, they have a dream of upsetting one or two of the competition favourites. 'Namibians want to create history for their country. They ar e hungry and angry. We have analysed our weaknesses from our last preparation game against Ghana and we will now focus on improving them in order to perform better and make our country proud,' Benjamin said. He further added that their opening opponents Tunisia play offensive football, but they are prepared for them. Namibia's opening match will be against Tunisia on Tuesday at Amadou Con Coulibaly Stadium in Korhogo at 19h00 (Central African Time). Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Bilateral cooperation between Tunisia and Jordan in the fields of higher education and scientific research took centre stage in a meeting between Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Moncef Boukthir and Jordanian Ambassador in Tunis Abdullah Abu Rumman. Both parties underscored the significance of expanding the scope of cooperation between Tunisia and Jordan to encompass partnerships between academic institutions and the development of research programmes in areas of common interest. They stressed the need to leverage competitive international funding in the higher education and research sectors, notably from the European Union, said a Ministry press release. The meeting also highlighted the satisfactory outcomes in the exchange of students between Tunisia and Jordan. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The proposals tabled by thousands of participants in the national consultation on education reform are under study so as to submit them to the President of the Republic to announce the results," Education Minister Mohamed Ali Boughdiri said on Monday. The reform will take as long as necessary so as to guarantee good results, he said at a ceremony held at the Sijoumi 3 elementary school, which will henceforth bear the name of martyr Omar Amri. He further indicated that the project to create a Higher Education Council is being finalised, indicating that this new structure will be in charge of devising the national strategy for educational reform in line with the results of the national consultation launched online from September 15 to December 15, in which 580,620 people participated. The Sijoumi 3 elementary school will bear the name of martyr Omar Amri is a token of gratitude and loyalty to the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for their country. At the ceremony organised on this occasion in the presenc e of Fida Foundation President Ahmed JSafar and the martyr's family, Boughdiri commended the efforts exerted by the security and military institutions in protecting the country from all terrorist operations. Staff Sergeant Omar Amri, a native of Sijoumi in Tunis, was killed on November 24, 2015 along with 12 other martyrs in a terrorist attack that targeted the presidential guard bus on Avenue Mohamed 5 in the capital. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse

The Tunisian Space Association (TUNSA) was awarded pound 1.057 million as part of the Horizon Europe Space funding by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) to support them when formulating urban development strategies and to help them access similar experiments and solutions implemented by other cities facing similar challenges. The aim of this project is to use Copernicus data for urban development in Europe and North Africa. The project further aims at designing and developing space-based applications in collaboration with international partners and developing innovative solutions targeting the living conditions in urban areas, TUNSA President Ahmed El Fadhel told Space in Africa. "The project was inspired by the challenges related to city conditions, particularly in Europe and Africa, where the rapidly increasing population concentration has impacted urban environments," he pointed out. To address these challenges, the objective is to create a virtual laboratory that acts as a test ing ground for urban planners. "This laboratory enables urban planners to explore and assess developmental ideas visually using multi-dimensional models," he added. El Fadhel further indicated that the proposed solution heavily relies on earth observation (EO) data, sourced primarily from Copernicus satellites and complemented by local data sources. The data is organised in a "data cube" format to facilitate rapid access to newly acquired data. By utilising this approach, the project aims to leverage satellite data alongside local data to create a platform supporting urban planners in testing and refining urban development ideas for improved city livability. Through this software, urban planners gain access to a wealth of data and the capability to test novel ideas and strategies for urban development. These strategies consider various factors such as climate change and risks associated with natural disasters like earthquakes, pollution, and heat rays due to climate change, he underlined. This tool will facilitate learning from the experiences and strategies implemented by other similar cities, providing a platform for gaining insight through shared experiences, TUNSA official added. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse