Tunisia parliament approves 2016 budget law

Tunisia's parliament has approved a 29.2 billion dinar ($14.5 billion) national budget for next year forecasting economic growth of 2.5 percent and a narrowing in the budget deficit to 3.9 percent. The bill was passed late on Thursday night even though most opposition parties walked out of the budget discussions to protest at what they said were unconstitutional parts of the proposed law.
Tunisia is struggling with the impact of three major Islamist militant attacks this year, two of them on its vital tourism industry. Growth this year is expected to be only 0.5 percent and the budget deficit 4.4 percent. The 2016 budget sees an increase in security spending through the defence and interior ministry. The government has said it will hire more troops and police.