DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Tunisians Emigrate in Record Numbers as Hopes Fade for Its Economy, Democracy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Chao Deng | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

A rescue operation to help people in a boat off the coast of Tunisia in August last year. Many Tunisians are making the dangerous journey by boat from their home country to the European Union. TUNIS, Tunisia—Record numbers of Tunisians are leaving the country after a decade of economic turmoil and the government’s turn toward authoritarianism, dimming hopes that a younger generation can build a future in the nation that sparked the Arab Spring. The flood of Tunisian émigrés spans socioeconomic classes, with professionals, the working class and the destitute represented among those fleeing, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushes up the price of food and gas, and the government pulls back from subsidizing basic items such as sugar and rice. Inflation has reached nearly 10% this year, and economists say a $1.9 billion International Monetary Fund loan secured by President Kais Saied isn’t enough to pull the country of 12 million people back from the brink.

☆ Africa’s World Cup: how a continent that usually underperforms finally got it right
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Alasdair Howorth | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —After the first round of games at the World Cup, an all too familiar script looked to be playing out for African football fans. Zaire was the first sub-Saharan nation to participate at the World Cup. But not only is this the most affordable World Cup for Africans, it is also the most accessible. It was a very big challenge for Brazil [in 2014].”Mohamed Kudus was the breakout star of Ghana's World Cup, scoring a brace against South Korea. That investment, along with a crop of stellar talent and Africa’s best coach, has catapulted Morocco to the World Cup semifinals.

☆ The US may have lost in the World Cup, but soccer is more popular than ever in America
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Harry Enten | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +36 min

The Atlas Lions made history as the first African team to reach a World Cup semifinal. They made history as the first all-female refereeing crew for a men's World Cup match. It was Morocco's first World Cup win since 1998 — and its third-ever at the tournament. Less spoken about is that they also rate better on television than the men do in the World Cup. We’ll just have to wait and see, though with the US, Canada and Mexico hosting the 2026 World Cup, soccer isn’t going away anytime soon.

☆ AI-designed face paint inspired by Juggalos could potentially fool the 15,000 facial recognition cameras at the Qatar World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

A team at Camoflags wanted to see if face paint designs could outsmart facial recognition cameras. The design, which uses concepts from Juggalo makeup, was designed by an AI program. A team known as Camoflags sought to answer that question with AI-generated, Juggalo-inspired face paint designs that could be used to evade facial recognition cameras. The experiment is uniquely suited to the World Cup, as face paint is a common feature at soccer matches for fans showing support for their teams. Face paint of the Tunisian flag stylized as Juggalo make up Courtesy of CamoflagsThe idea of using face makeup to try to fool facial recognition algorithms is not new.

☆ Croatia beats Japan on penalties to reach World Cup quarterfinals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Ben Church | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +28 min

CNN —Goalkeeper Dominik Livaković made himself a national hero as Croatia beat Japan on penalties 1-1 (3-1) to reach the World Cup quarterfinals. Marko Djurica/ReutersJapan’s heartbreakDespite its defeat, Japan can look back at an impressive World Cup campaign. They made history Thursday as the first all-female refereeing crew for a men's World Cup match. Mbappé was one of the leading stars of the team's World Cup triumph four years ago. He also became just the third goalkeeper to save three penalties in a single World Cup shootout.

☆ Japan vs. Croatia: Samurai Blue aiming to reach World Cup quarterfinals for first time
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Aimee Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +31 min

CNN —In a World Cup of surprises, Japan has played a leading role in headline-making shock results. Croatia is a team undefeated in nine of its last 10 World Cup matches. They made history Thursday as the first all-female refereeing crew for a men's World Cup match. Frappert became the first woman to referee a men's World Cup match. It was Morocco's first World Cup win since 1998 — and its third-ever at the tournament.

☆ USMNT’s youth and talent at Qatar 2022 bodes well for 2026 World Cup
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Issy Ronald | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +31 min

The Netherlands knocked the USMNT out of the Qatar World Cup on Saturday. They made history Thursday as the first all-female refereeing crew for a men's World Cup match. Frappert became the first woman to referee a men's World Cup match. It was Morocco's first World Cup win since 1998 — and its third-ever at the tournament. Qatar is the first Islamic country to host a World Cup.

☆ France reaches World Cup quarterfinals with 3-1 victory over Poland as Kylian Mbappé breaks Pelé’s record
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +30 min

CNN —France was made to work hard for its place in the World Cup quarterfinals, overcoming an improved Poland side 3-1 thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappé. That is Mbappé’s fifth goal of Qatar 2022 and already his ninth World Cup goal overall, breaking Pelé’s record of seven World Cup goals scored before the age of 24. They made history Thursday as the first all-female refereeing crew for a men's World Cup match. Issei Kato/Reuters Kylian Mbappé scores his second goal on November 26, leading France to a 2-1 victory over Denmark. Mbappé was one of the leading stars of the team's World Cup triumph four years ago.

"There is a big solidarity between us, Morocco, Tunisia, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. "Look at what Saudi Arabia and Morocco have done. We hope that it will be crowned with a Tunisian and Saudi victory today," he said. "It's a good feeling, the first time (a World Cup is hosted) in an Arabian country," said Ali Abbas Moussa, a 30-year-old pharmacist from Iraq. Some Arab leaders attending the World Cup have echoed the sense of pan-Arab solidarity during matches.

☆ France file complaint to FIFA after Griezmann goal disallowed
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Julien Pretot | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

AL RAYYAN, Qatar, Nov 30 (Reuters) - France are filing a complaint to FIFA after a last-gasp equaliser by Antoine Griezmann was disallowed following a video review after the final whistle of their World Cup match against Tunisia, the French federation said on Wednesday. "We are writing a complaint after Antoine Griezmann's goal was, in our opinion, wrongly disallowed. This complaint has to be filed within 24 hours after the final whistle," the FFF said in a statement. Tunisia were eliminated from the tournament while France advanced top of Group D into the last 16 and they will face Poland on Sunday. The FFF did not specify whether the complaint was over the goal itself or the fact it was ruled out after the final whistle.

☆ Tunisia fail to advance despite 1-0 win over much-changed France
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber | Daniel Wiessner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Tunisia needed not only to beat the already-qualified France but to hope for Denmark to avoid defeat against Australia in the other Group D game to advance. Tunisia thus keep their unwanted record of not progressing from the group stage in six World Cup appearances. Tunisia's win also ended France's six-match winning streak at the World Cup. Khazri said Tunisia were ending their World Cup journey with a "bittersweet feeling" - delighted to have beaten France but heartbroken by the outcome of the other group game. Mbappe and Griezmann energised the French, who were aided by Tunisia sitting back in the hope of preserving their win.

☆ Colonial history adds edge to France clash with Tunisia
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Mark Gleeson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Ten of the Tunisia squad at this World Cup are French-born, some of them youth internationals for France before switching allegiance. Another two have lived in France since a young age and are also dual nationals, adding a familiarity to the clash. Experienced Tunisia striker Wahbi Khazri was born on the French island of Corsica and on the books of Ligue 1 club Montpellier. "I try to represent Tunisia in France every weekend by performing well and I like to represent Corsica too, because I was born there. "It’s insulting for France, it’s insulting for the players of the French team, it should not be tolerated," Prime Minister Francois Fillon said at the time.

Pro-Palestinian sympathies among fans have also spilt into stadiums as four Arab teams compete. Qatari players have worn pro-Palestinian arm-bands, even as Qatar has allowed Israeli fans to fly in directly for the first time. The first Middle Eastern nation to host the World Cup, Qatar has often seemed a regional maverick: it hosts the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas but has also previously had some trade relations with Israel. Arab fans have shunned Israeli journalists reporting from Qatar. Omar Barakat, a soccer coach for the Palestinian national team who was in Doha for the World Cup, said he had carried his flag into matches without being stopped.

☆ Analysis: Aussie grit blunts Tunisia's attack in vital win
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

With world champions France and Denmark favourites to progress from the group, Tunisia and Australia had targeted their clash in the Al Janoub Stadium as a must-win game. But Australia's first World Cup victory in 12 years was not simply the result of a dogged rearguard action. In their last 10 games Tunisia's defence had only been breached by Brazil, but unless goal-scoring opportunities can be converted, any side's World Cup campaign is doomed to failure. The 32-year-old striker Youssef Msakni, who has waited so long for his World Cup chance, will wonder how he did not score just before the break, steering a close-range shot wide. By that stage Tunisia were desperately seeking a way through the massed Australian ranks, even lumping long balls forward.

☆ Reality ends some Qatari dreams of World Cup rental bonanza
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Andrew Mills | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"We were in contact with half of the city, all the big real estate companies ... A week before the World Cup began on Nov. 20, the rate was $250 a night, the broker said. Eleven days before kick-off, organisers had said there were at least 25,000 rooms available for every night of the World Cup. "Never ever, at no World Cup, have I heard anything like this," said Bauer of the last-minute charges. His Khaya agency has block-booked accommodation and sold rooms to fans, FIFA sponsors and other officials at three previous World Cups.

☆ Denmark held by fired-up Tunisia in World Cup opener
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Nick Said | Michael Church | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Denmark thought they should have had a penalty in stoppage time for handball that was checked at the VAR screen by referee Cesar Arturo Ramos, but he instead gave a free kick to Tunisia. We are underway with the tournament, but our heads would have been a little higher with a better result." Tunisia, who this week had spoken of their pride at qualifying for World Cup in an Arab country, were fired up from the first whistle, celebrating each tackle like a goal, and had two excellent chances to open the scoring. "This is the World Cup, it's the most important competition in the world. Hjulmand will be sweating on a knee injury to midfielder Thomas Delaney that forced him off in the first half.

Prince Mohammed was not seen at the match but had been front and centre at the tournament opening on Sunday. It was also a sweet moment for host Qatar, facing intense criticism over human rights in the conservative Muslim country. "The fact that the World Cup is in Qatar and we're Arabs - it gives us a lot of energy and excitement." TOLERANCEBefore the match kicked off, the issue of tolerance arose at a news conference between Qatar's foreign minister and his American counterpart. The Gulf Arab state, which denies discrimination and points to labour reforms enacted, welcomes everyone, its Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said.

☆ Diego Maradona: How the 'world's most famous football' became a 'gift from God' for former referee Ali Bin Nasser
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( George Ramsay | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It comes as little surprise, then, that the match ball from that day in Mexico City – now deflated and faded in places – is expected to fetch up to $3.3 million at auction on Wednesday. “Without a doubt, it’s the world’s most famous football,” Terry Butcher, who captained England during the 2-1 defeat against Argentina at the 1986 World Cup, tells CNN Sport. It’s a reminder of how he remonstrated with Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser after Maradona’s first goal, and of how he tried in vain to stop the second with an outstretched leg. The match ball from the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal is expected to sell for up to $3.3 million. Unable to see what had happened in the aerial contest between Maradona and Shilton, Nasser instead turned to his linesman, Bulgarian Bogdan Dochev.

For more than 70 days this summer, a marine heatwave cooked the waters of the western Mediterranean. "We've been witnessing marine heatwaves during the last 20 years," said Garrabou, who's also coordinator of the T-MEDNet marine monitoring network. A 2016 marine heatwave along Chile's southern coast caused huge algae blooms that wiped out fish farms and cost the aquaculture industry some $800 million, said scientist Kathryn Smith with the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. As the world warms, marine heatwaves are expected to become more frequent, according to the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Though economists have yet to account fully for the impacts of marine heatwaves, recent experience has many concerned.

☆ Djerba: The Ancient Tunisian Island Where Contemporary Art Is King
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Abbie Kozolchyk | Photographs Chedly Ben Ibrahim For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

JUST OFF TUNISIA’S southeastern coast sits a spot with a long history of intriguing names, from the Odyssean Land of the Lotus-Eaters to the Flaubertian Island of Golden Sand. But a decidedly modern moniker turned out to be the one I couldn’t resist: Djerbahood. It’s a new handle for an ancient village on the island of Djerba, where street art has transformed the weather-beaten walls into a sprawling open-air gallery. I’d long been meaning to visit, drawn to the singular coexistence between Djerba’s ancient Jewish and Muslim communities—and tempted by the occasional sand-and-sea postcard from a Parisian friend (one of the legions of Europeans and North Africans who retreat regularly to the island’s beach resorts). When I started seeing news of a fresh wave of art installations this year, I finally booked my trip.

☆ Sakkari wins group to reach semis of WTA Finals, Sabalenka also advances
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Sakkari broke twice for a 5-1 cushion en route to capturing the first set, which meant Tunisian world number two Jabeur had no mathematical chance of advancing even if she had rallied back to victory. By winning her group, Sakkari will face either Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia or Russian Daria Kasatkina in the semis while Sabalenka will face world number one Iga Swiatek. In the day's first match, Belarusian world number seven Sabalenka eliminated Jessica Pegula from the WTA Finals with a 6-3 7-5 victory to improve to 2-1. Sabalenka made a blistering start, breaking Pegula to open the match and again for a 5-2 lead. World number three Pegula then fought off four set points to break straight back but Sabalenka broke to love in the next game to wrap up the set.

☆ Swiatek poised for picture-perfect finish to 2022 at WTA Finals
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 29 (Reuters) - World number one Iga Swiatek is the hot favourite when the season-ending WTA Finals kick off on Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, as she looks to put the cherry on top of a blockbuster 2022. The 21-year-old Pole collected her second Roland Garros title and won four WTA 1000 tournaments amid a staggering 37-match unbeaten streak before hoisting the trophy at the U.S. Open this year. Tunisian fan favourite Ons Jabeur will feature for the first time with revenge on the agenda after losing in back-to-back Grand Slam finals, most recently in Flushing Meadows against Swiatek. Like Sakkari, U.S. Open semi-finalists Caroline Garcia and Aryna Sabalenka will also be making their second appearances at the finals, which are played in a round-robin format. The WTA Finals run from Oct. 31 through Nov. 7.

☆ Climate Change Is Real. Markets, Not Governments, Offer the Cure. - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Bret Stephens | Mr. Stephens Is An Opinion Columnist. Mr. Winter Is A Staff Photographer On Assignment In Opinion. | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +32 min

worse-case, highest-carbon-emission scenario.” (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the U.N. body that assesses climate change.) How do we weigh the risks of underreacting to climate change against the risks of overreacting to it? While he’s not an expert on climate change, he has spent decades thinking deeply about every manner of risk. That’s particularly true if climate change is akin to cancer — manageable or curable in its earlier stages, disastrous in its later ones. Maybe, I realized, in assessing my newfound concerns about climate change, my long-held beliefs might provide a solution — look to the market.

☆ Protests paralyse Tunisian town after migrant deaths
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TUNIS, Oct 18 (Reuters) - A southern Tunisian coastal town was paralysed by protests on Tuesday amid growing anger over the fate of people who drowned in a migrant shipwreck last month, with some buried in unmarked graves. Images showed the streets of Zarzis packed with protesters chanting anti-authority slogans with shops and government institutions closed. Nothing," he said, adding that Walid felt he had no future in Tunisia despite being an excellent student. Protests began in Zarzis this month after a boat believed to be carrying 18 migrants disappeared. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Tarek Amara, writing by Angus McDowall, editing by Ed OsmondOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The agreement is also seen as critical to unlock bilateral aid from country donors that wanted the reassurance of an IMF programme that Tunisia would carry out reforms to put its finances on a more sustainable footing. "The agreement is an important step for Tunisia's public finances and will allow Tunisia to borrow from some bilateral sources," a senior Tunisian official said on condition of anonymity. It is subject to the approval of the IMF board, which is scheduled to discuss Tunisia's programme request in December, the fund said. The IMF warned that in the near term growth would likely slow with more pressure on inflation and on the external and fiscal balances. The government negotiated for months with the IMF and had to also to sign an agreement with the UGTT to limit public sector wage increases over the next three years.

Search resuls for: "tunisian"

25 mentions found