Tunisian President Kais Saied can lay claim to causing more trouble for European leaders from Carthage than any figure since Hannibal crossed the Alps almost 2,500 years ago.
A controversial deal struck this summer between the European Union and Tunisia to address migration has caused simmering tensions to boil over between the bloc’s two most senior public figures: Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen.
As President of the EU Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, Ms von der Leyen is the more prominent face on the international stage and was the official who signed the agreement in July with Mr Saied at Carthage Palace in Tunis.
But Mr Michel presides over the powerful EU Council, where national leaders meet to decide on major decisions, and also travels the world speaking in the name of the union.
Their dispute undermines the EU’s ability to effectively implement the deal, which has been weakened by Mr Saied recently saying he is no longer interested.
Prominent European legislators such as Manfred Weber have ridiculed the situation, telling news website Politico: “If doubts are now being sown both on the European side with Charles Michel’s statements and on the Tunisian side, then it is of course extremely dangerous.”
Migration is a deeply controversial topic in the EU, which since 2020 has been negotiating a new migration and asylum deal and has recently turned to non-EU countries such as Tunisia to help stem arrivals, while remaining divided on how to handle migrants once they land on European soil.
In a recent interview with German news outlet Der Spiegel, Mr Michel said the council had been excluded from the commission’s agreement with Tunisia, in which it promised €1 billion ($1.05 billion) in aid and investment in exchange for Tunisian border guards stopping an increasing number of migrants making the dangerous trip to the EU.
“The EU is based on treaties and it would be wise to stick to them,” Mr Michel said.
In rare criticism of the EU Council, a representative for the EU Commission on Wednesday said Mr Michel's comment was “partially inaccurate and in no way strengthens the EU’s ability to act effectively in dealing with the difficult issue of migration“.
Tensions between the two European officials have often spilt into the public realm. In a famous incident known as “sofagate”, in 2021 during a trip to Turkey, Mr Michel sat in the only chair available near Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, forcing a visibly shocked Ms von der Leyen to sit on a sofa – a breach of protocol.
Meanwhile, there has been additional confusion around the implementation of the agreement, with contradictory statements coming out of Brussels and Tunis.
One week after Ms von der Leyen visited Lampedusa in a show of public support to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni as the number of migrant arrivals surged, the EU Commission on September 22 announced it would send a first tranche of €127 million ($133 million) to Tunisia.
But on Monday, Mr Saied said he rejected the EU’s financial support, describing it as mere charity. The announcement puzzled officials in Brussels, with one saying that Mr Saied had probably expected more than €127 million as a first disbursement of the €1 billion package.
Questioned on Wednesday, an EU Commission representative said Tunis had requested a disbursement of €60 million in budgetary support on August 31 and that Brussels had sent the money “earlier this week”.
Yet, on the same day, the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded that it had not agreed to this disbursement and referred to Mr Saied’s earlier statement.
Tunisia is free to wire the money back, said the EU's commissioner for neighbourhood and enlargement Oliver Varhelyi, who clarified the €60 million was not linked to the agreement.
"Tunisia is free to cancel its formal disbursement request & wire back the money to the EU budget," wrote Mr Varhelyi on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.
"Implementation of the MoU [memorandum of understanding] should continue once Tunisia returns to the spirit of our strategic & comprehensive partnership based on mutual respect."
Tunis also denied entry last month to a European Parliament delegation after several MEPs criticised the country’s human rights record and its treatment of sub-Saharan migrants.
The EU Commission had high hopes the agreement with Tunisia could be replicated with other countries in the region, such as Egypt.
The bickering on display so far seems to indicate that such hopes may have been premature.
U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
New schools in Dubai
Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?
Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.
They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.
“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.
He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
