Tunisia News · Sunday, 18 October 2026

Tunisia

Central bank triples banks' reserve requirement to 3%, from November 1, to curb liquidity

The Banque Centrale de Tunisie raised the reserve requirement rate for banks from 1% to 3% in a circular dated October 9, effective November 1: for every billion dinars in sight deposits, banks must now set aside 30 million dinars instead of 10 million. Economic analyst Bassem Ennaïfer told TAP on October 17 that the move aims to control liquidity, since cash in circulation reached about 29.3 billion dinars on October 14, and to strengthen financial stability, but warned the frozen funds earn banks little interest and could reduce lending to small and medium-sized businesses.

Source: Business News · Saturday, 17 October 2026

Appeals court upholds four-year sentence against opposition figure Khayam Turki

The Tunis Court of Appeal upheld on October 17 a four-year prison sentence and fines against opposition political figure Khayam Turki, confirming the July 3 ruling of the specialised financial-crimes chamber at the Tunis court of first instance in a case covering four tax files, Business News and Kapitalis reported. Turki, a former Ettakatol official, is already in prison over a separate 2023 case known as the conspiracy against state security, in which he was handed a far longer sentence.

Source: Business News · Saturday, 17 October 2026

Tunisia's food exports jump 19.9% as date exports hit a record

Tunisia's food exports rose 19.9% in the first nine months of 2026, Commerce and Export Development Minister Samir Abid said at a joint information day with the banking and financial council on October 16, leaving a food-trade surplus of 919.8 million dinars and import coverage at 116.3%; olive oil accounted for 61% of that nine-month total and dates for 9.4%. Over the separate, full 2025-2026 season, olive oil output reached over 399,400 tonnes worth about 5.016 billion dinars, up 48.7% in volume, while dates passed 1 billion dinars in value for the first time, at 1.011 billion dinars across 159,400 tonnes sold to about 86 countries.

Source: Kapitalis · Saturday, 17 October 2026

Government projects 3.1% growth, slower inflation and lower unemployment for 2027

Tunisia's draft economic budget for 2027, submitted to parliament and the regional councils, projects GDP growth of 3.1% next year, up from an expected 2.7% in 2026, with inflation easing to 5.2% from 5.3% and unemployment falling to 14.5% from 14.9%, Business News reported on October 17 citing TAP.

Source: Business News · Saturday, 17 October 2026

Geopolitics

Israeli settlers attack European diplomatic delegation in West Bank, assault French mayor

Masked Israeli settlers attacked a diplomatic delegation from France, Belgium and Poland touring the occupied West Bank on October 18, assaulting a French mayor travelling with the group and damaging their vehicles, Al Jazeera reported. The attack came amid a surge in settler violence during the olive harvest season, which has included assaults on Palestinian farmers and foreign journalists in recent days.

Source: Al Jazeera · Sunday, 18 October 2026

Two tankers catch fire in Strait of Hormuz and Sea of Oman amid Iran war

Iran's navy said an oil tanker caught fire in the Sea of Oman on October 17, and the Revolutionary Guards said a second supertanker struck a naval mine and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz the same day, Al Jazeera reported. No casualties were reported in either incident, part of a string of attacks on shipping through the strait since the Iran war began.

Source: Al Jazeera · Sunday, 18 October 2026

Former DRC president Kabila joins rebel coalition against Tshisekedi

Former Congolese president Joseph Kabila has joined the Front pour la Refondation de la Nation, a new political-military coalition announced in Goma that puts the AFC-M23 alliance, which has controlled Goma, North Kivu's main city, since early 2025, under new political leadership, and accuses President Félix Tshisekedi of tyranny, Al Jazeera reported on October 18. The coalition says it will honour commitments made in Doha talks, but critics doubt it will lead to a ceasefire; Kabila was sentenced to death in absentia in 2025 on treason and war crimes charges.

Source: Al Jazeera · Sunday, 18 October 2026

Europe

Nationwide protests over cost of living turn violent across France, Macron vows prosecutions

Demonstrations against inflation and the rising cost of living, swelled by weeks of student protests, drew about 550,000 people nationwide on October 17 according to the interior ministry, or 800,000 by the CGT union's count, with roughly 400 arrests. Rioters set a tourist office ablaze in Lyon, stormed town halls in Marseille and Limoges, and looted shops in Paris, Marseille, Nice, Bordeaux and Lille. President Macron said there is no room for violence in the Republic and vowed that those who attacked prefectures, businesses and town halls would be prosecuted.

Source: Euronews · Saturday, 17 October 2026

Trump waives new Russia sanctions package, Zelenskyy warns gas deals could follow

President Trump signed an executive order on October 17 waiving a new package of sanctions and tariffs on Russia that was due to take effect under the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act he himself signed in September; he cited the national interest and set no end date for the waiver. The law targets Russian banks, officials and shadow-fleet tankers, and places duties on countries still buying Russian oil. The move comes days after Italy's Meloni called Trump's diesel deal with Moscow very risky; in Brussels, President Zelenskyy warned Ukraine cannot accept diesel deals, because gas deals will come next.

Source: Euronews · Saturday, 17 October 2026

Student-led protests against Albanian PM Rama enter fifth day, defying rubber bullets

What began as student protests over university fees, poor facilities and limited jobs has grown, after months of separate rallies against a Kushner-linked luxury resort project, into a movement demanding Prime Minister Edi Rama's resignation. Police fired rubber bullets as clashes ran for a fifth consecutive day on October 17; one student, Sinan Billa, said protesters want their rights, their future and a better country. Rama has refused to resign, pledging to protect the right to protest while blaming his conservative opponents for encouraging the violence.

Source: Al Jazeera · Saturday, 17 October 2026

Romanian F-16s shoot down two Russia-linked drones over the Black Sea

Two Romanian F-16s on air-policing duty shot down two jet-powered Geran-type attack drones on Saturday, October 17, Defence Minister Radu Miruta said: the first entered Romanian airspace around 17:59 and was downed within two minutes about 25 km southeast of Sulina, the second about 20 km east of Sulina six minutes later. The ministry did not name an operator but pointed to Romania's exposure to Russia's war in Ukraine and a rise in drone incidents it believes are linked to the conflict. The jets were scrambled from the 86th air base at Borcea after radar detected several aerial targets.

Source: Euronews · Saturday, 17 October 2026