The World Bank is pausing strategic partnership talks with the Tunisian government following President Kais Saied’s remarks about migrants in the country, World Bank President David Malpass told staff in an internal note on Sunday.
In the note, Mr Malpass said the bank was suspending Tunisia's Country Partnership Framework, which mapped out future programmes from 2023 to 2025, and would postpone until further notice a March 21 board meeting to review that new strategic engagement. Current work was continuing, he said.
Before the decision, Tunisia had a scheduled World Bank board meeting on March 21 to discuss the partnership framework.
Mr Malpass said in the same note that the meeting was postponed “until further notice”, with current work and projects with Tunisia remaining financed.
Mr Saied had said on February 21 that “urgent measures” were needed to tackle irregular migration and claimed, without providing evidence, that there was “a criminal plot” under way “to change Tunisia’s demographic composition”.
Hundreds of sub-Saharan African migrants in the country have reported being subjected to racially motivated attacks that have prompted some of them to ask for voluntary repatriation to their countries of origin.
“Public commentary that stokes discrimination, aggression and racist violence is completely unacceptable,” Mr Malpass told staff in his note.
The international lender also said that the aim of its projects was to create better living conditions for people — citizens and migrants alike.
“The safety and inclusion of migrants and minorities is part of our institutions’ core values of inclusion, respect and antiracism in all shapes and forms,” read the internal note that was leaked online.
Tunisia’s Foreign Minister Nabil Ammar denied at a press conference on Monday any racism allegations and said the Interior Ministry had been legally pursuing all documented attacks on migrants.
“Tunisia will not allow any violation targeting sub-Saharan Africans or any foreigner alike”, he said.
The ministry also announced on Tuesday that it has set up a hotline for foreign residents who wish to report crimes against them.
The World Bank said procedures enacted by the Tunisian government to protect migrants are “a positive step” but that it will carefully monitor the implementation of those measures.
On February 25, the African Union called Tunisia’s representative to the body for an urgent meeting to register “deep shock and concern at the form and substance of the statement targeting fellow Africans”.
Commission chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat strongly condemned Mr Saied's “shocking statement” which goes “against the purpose and the spirit of the organisation and its founding principles”.
International condemnation of the situation in Tunisia continued, with US State Department spokesman Ned Price saying on Monday that Washington “is deeply concerned” over Mr Saied’s remarks.
Mr Price urged Tunisian authorities to commit to their international refugees, asylum seekers and migrants rights’ obligations.
Tunisia continues to seek financial support from international lenders to overcome its ongoing economic crisis, with inflation reaching 10.4 per cent in February.
The African Union had also delayed a conference on combating illicit financial flows, which was scheduled to take place in Tunis this month.
The World Bank had previously approved a $130 million loan to Tunisia for wheat and barley imports in June 2022.
The internal World Bank note is only another tool in the box to apply gentle pressure on Tunisian authorities regarding the unfolding of the multilayered crisis in the country, said one Tunisian economist, who wished not to be named due to safety concerns.
“They [international financial institutions] are sending signals that 'we can make your life difficult'” the economist added.
“This only means more economic and political isolation in Tunisia.”
The World Bank’s work in Tunisia mainly focuses on major investment projects in sectors such as education, health and infrastructure.
Since the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the Tunisian government has been dependent on World Bank support to be able to buy essential wheat and food products as well as pay for necessary shipment costs and logistics to provide the market with basic commodities.
With an economic crisis and authorities unable to keep the food market stable, especially as Ramadan approaches, the economist told The National there is risk of civil unrest.
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
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EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Monster
Directed by: Anthony Mandler
Starring: Kelvin Harrison Jr., John David Washington
3/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
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Managing the separation process
- Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
- Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
- Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
- If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
- The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
- Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
- Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.
The five pillars of Islam
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
SERIES INFO
Afghanistan v Zimbabwe, Abu Dhabi Sunshine Series
All matches at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Test series
1st Test: Zimbabwe beat Afghanistan by 10 wickets
2nd Test: Wednesday, 10 March – Sunday, 14 March
Play starts at 9.30am
T20 series
1st T20I: Wednesday, 17 March
2nd T20I: Friday, 19 March
3rd T20I: Saturday, 20 March
TV
Supporters in the UAE can watch the matches on the Rabbithole channel on YouTube
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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