Who says what · Tunisia's second-quarter figures
Tunisia's statistics institute published two quarterly releases on 15 August: GDP up 2.3 percent over a year, unemployment down from 15 percent to 14.9, and 58,200 fewer people in work. Nobody disputes those figures. One reading makes the quarter a real but fragile recovery, another calls the fall in unemployment fictitious because 77,500 people also left the labour force, and manufacturers in a survey by the same institute report their highest investment intentions in six years.
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Tunisia
The council meets for the first time on Monday 17 August, in line with article 3 of the decree that governs it. By presidential decree Mohamed Ali Boughdiri has been made its secretary general, and the head of state has also named the council's high body, which includes Tijani Gmati, Youssef Ben Othman, Chiraz Stambouli, Rim Laribi, Kamel Henid, Mohamed Habib Allani and Mohamed Seifallah Ben Abderrazak. Boughdiri is a former education minister who came up through the union movement, where he served as deputy secretary general of the UGTT.
In the Legatum Prosperity Index 2026 Tunisia comes 75th of 161 countries, ahead of Morocco (76th), Algeria (83rd), Libya (115th), Egypt (120th) and Sudan (152nd). The country's best placing so far is 66th in 2017, and it has slipped since. The index, published annually since 2007, describes the Tunisian economy as moderately industrialised with a nominal GDP above 51 billion dollars, with olive oil, dates, electrical machinery and textiles among its main exports and wheat, refined petroleum products, natural gas and vehicles among its imports.
A broad economic inspection campaign against traders selling mineral water in Tabarka, in the governorate of Jendouba, produced the seizure, the official responsible told the TAP news agency. The campaign followed complaints from residents that mineral water had run short in the town. He said it falls in the middle of the tourist season, when some traders try to use the drop in supply to sell the water at excessive prices.
Distribution of this year's subsidised exercise books begins on Monday 17 August, according to Samir Moulhi, vice-president of the chamber concerned. The 24-page book sells at 430 millimes, the 48-page book at 950 millimes and the 72-page book at 1.400 dinars. He dismissed any risk of shortage, saying about 30 percent of the quantities produced last year are still on the market, and that this year's production and distribution cover between 20 and 21 million exercise books of various kinds.
Geopolitics
The agreement was signed on 17 June by Donald Trump and Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian after talks hosted by Pakistan, and was meant to end more than three months of war. It expires on Monday 17 August with each side accusing the other of breaching it. Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on Telegram on Saturday that Iran has not yet decided to restart negotiations with the United States, while mediators from Qatar and Pakistan keep exchanging messages. The text allowed a maximum of 60 days to reach a final deal, required Washington to end its naval blockade within 30 days and promised a reconstruction package of at least 300 billion dollars; on 7 July Trump declared the agreement "over".
The foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan, Indonesia, Pakistan, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt say in a joint statement that Israel's rejection of a fifteen-point roadmap "amounts to a direct repudiation of the Comprehensive Plan" and that responsibility for obstructing the peace effort now rests with Israel. The roadmap comes from the Board of Peace, the body Donald Trump chairs, and had according to the statement already been accepted by Palestinian factions. Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the rejection to his cabinet and has said Israeli forces will not leave Gaza until Hamas is fully disarmed. The eight specified no consequences.
The Arab League's spokesperson Gamal Roshdy calls the attacks on Nabatieh and the surrounding villages and towns, under way since the morning of 15 August, "a clear violation of Lebanon's sovereignty" and an escalation that could derail efforts to resolve the conflict. Israeli air strikes on the southern towns of Deir al-Zahrani and Ansar killed eleven people, among them children, and wounded nineteen, despite the ceasefire. The Israeli prime minister's office acknowledged that civilians were killed and claimed Hezbollah had placed civilians in the area. The ceasefire took effect on 17 April and has been extended several times; Lebanon's health ministry says strikes since 2 March have killed 4,335 people.
In a post on Truth Social on Sunday, Donald Trump wrote that the exercises are costly and send a signal that is "totally inappropriate and hostile" to North Korea, which he described as respectful during his time in the White House. He said it was too late to cancel them and that he had therefore instructed defence secretary Pete Hegseth to "substantially reduce" them. The Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise is due to run for eleven days from 17 to 27 August with 18,000 South Korean soldiers, and South Korea's defence ministry said it would proceed as scheduled.
Europe
A drone that entered Romanian airspace from Moldova was detected at 04:44 about 24 kilometres north of Galați and shot down at 05:01 by a Spanish F-18 flying a NATO air policing mission from Mihail Kogălniceanu air base. The wreckage is believed to have fallen on unpopulated land between the villages of Băleni and Cudalbi. It was the fourth drone destroyed over Romania this year, after Romanian F-16s brought down three in July, the first time the country itself had destroyed such aircraft following dozens of incursions.
The fire in eastern Belgium doubled in size over twenty-four hours to Sunday morning and is the largest in the country's recorded history. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism was activated on Saturday, and three helicopters and two water-bombing aircraft arrived from Sweden, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. Fires were burning at the same time in several other European countries, among them Greece and Croatia, where thousands of people have been forced from their homes.
Source:
Euronews · Sunday, 16 August 2026
Moroccan security forces on Saturday dispersed hundreds of people who had been hiding in hill country outside Fnideq, south-west of the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. Moroccan media report that 294 people were arrested, 46 of them Moroccan and the rest from countries south of the Sahara. The operation answered a call on social media for a fresh mass crossing, after tens of thousands of people crossed on foot and by swimming on 30 and 31 July, in an episode in which humanitarian organisations count at least 141 dead.
Source:
Euronews · Sunday, 16 August 2026