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Regional partners and allies are going to be crucial for success in Libya, especially with the lack of one stable government and infighting between the various factions. Tunisia is becoming crucial in not only the fight against ISIS in Libya but also to the success of the Libyan government. This article looks at Tunisia allowing for the training of Libyan military forces by the Germans, inside of Tunisia, effectively giving the Libyan military forces a safe place to train.

Southern Tunisia lives largely off illegal cross-border trade. A strike has been staged following deadly clashes between police and demonstrators after the seizure of contraband fuel. Unions are demanding job creation schemes, the lifting of an export tax imposed on goods imposed in October. It is estimated that about 328,000 tonnes of contraband products pass through Ras Jedir annually. Smuggling was costing the Tunisian exchequer at least $675m a year.

Tunisia will take delivery of eight Black Hawk attack helicopters from the United States to help it in the fight against al-Qaeda. There are going to be useful to carry troops and launch attacks. The rise in Islamist has reached an extreme since the revolution that ousted veteran strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011.

Tunisian troops captured a large arms cache near the border of Libya, that had rifles, rockets, and landmines. Tunisia is waging a campaign against hardline Islamist groups who emerged after their dictator stepped down. Tunisia is worried that the violence will spill over from neighboring Libya, where the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria has expanded.

Tunisian authorities arrested a comedian and a TV show host for offending President Beji Caid Essebsi. He was arrested for committing an offence against the head of state, a fraud by inappropriately representing themselves as someone else. Tunisia just adopted a new constitution last year that guarantees the right to freedom of conscience and expression. But the statement from Essebisi's office said "freedom of the press and expression are acquisitions the president... is committed to defending, he being its principal guarantor."

Tunisia cut its economic growth forecast for this year to 3.5 percent, down from a previous forecast of 4.5 percent due to declines in foreign investment and tourism. Tunisia's government said in December the economy would grow 4.5 percent in 2012, but ongoing strikes have put off foreign investment, forcing it to cut its forecast. In 2011 the leaving of Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali sparked the "Arab Spring". This caused revolts, which shrank the economy to 1.8 percent in 2011. The supplementary budget also increased in spending of 1 billion dinars.

A man was shot dead on Sunday during a protest over the economy in Tunisia. Protests have been over taxes imposed on local traders, with residents demanding more opportunities and jobs. Witnesses said police fired bullets and tear gas to disperse crowds.

Tunisia forces arrest 32 terrorists that were planning to attack targets in Tunis and other cities. Essid (prime minister) stated they are strengthening measures to combat extremism and strengthen security capabilities to confront terrorism and the protection of the democratic transition.

Earlier this month, the residents of Ben Gardane declared a strike that led to the closure of the border crossing to demand lifting a 30 dinar tax imposed on foreigners crossing into Tunisia from Libya. Saturday Libyan vehicles crossed into Tunisia's border for the first time after the three week protest. According to the Tunisian security officials the protest was ended "swiftly" and "peacefully".

After the attack on the National Bardo Museum the president of Tunisia has signed several agreements to strengthen economic and security cooperation with France. Essebsi addressed the Senate in the French capital calling for further cooperation in other areas such as the fight against extremism.

He is now famous throughout Tunisia and the Arab world - a legend, in fact. But Mohammed Bouazizi never set out to be a byword. His aunt Radia Bouazizi says his dream was to save enough money to be able to rent or buy a pickup truck.

International Monetary Fund operatives are in Tunisia discussing a new line of credit for Tunisia, a nation still suffering from a destabilized government after the autocrat Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was overthrown five years ago.

Tunisia has recently completed simple border improvements that they believe will stop or dramatically reduce the amount of militants from spreading into Tunisia from Libya. It consists of sand banks and water filled trenches. Perhaps they should look to the US border as an example to see how that actually works.

Women after the Arab Spring are still awaiting their rights. This article presents what has happened with women's rights in various countries including Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Libya, and Syria.

Women after the Arab Spring are still awaiting their rights. This article presents what has happened with women's rights in various countries including Egypt, Yemen, Tunisia, Libya, and Syria.

The Council on Foreign Relations published an article about democratization in the middle east and the major obstacles that are present in the process. While most assume Islamists and Islamic embedded institutions are the root of the delayed democratic transition, the problems are much bigger than that. While Islamist regimes do indeed stunt the growth of democratic progress in terms of creating a stable government, Arab countries struggle with economic and social factors as well. The Arab Spring Revolutions have caused economic and social degradation across the region, resulting in a road block of political leadership. Without a reliable and capable government structure, the states are unable to progress economically. However, in order to have a stable government, social and economic institutions must be in place to create this capitalist economy that they strive for. Because most wealth resides in oil, the revenue that the states bring in isn't distributed properly throughout society and is concentrated within few business elites. The article stresses that instead of foreign aid going into the hands of an unstable leader or regime, it should be invested in institutions in order to spur economic growth and eliminate corruption. Rather than focusing on the Islamist-secularist divide, the world should be working towards the strengthening of institutions to create a stable foundation for governance. 

Where summary goes

There was a lot of controversy over the age of the new president of Tunisia. A lot of people thought that the potential new president could be way too young to be ready to be the president of their nation.

The majority of the youth argue that whether they vote or not Tunisia will not see progress. The youth are choosing to not participate in the election.

In 2012 there were signs of rebound from the recession in 2011. The GDP increased by 4.8 percent, tourism and FDI started picking up in the first quarter. Exporting for Tunisia would not be as strong because of the recession in Europe. Achieving higher growth will reduce high unemployment. Directors saw a need to support economic activity while safeguarding macroeconomic stability. Directors considered that structural reforms are needed to reorient the Tunisian economy and harness its potential for higher and more inclusive growth.