Tunisia’s president fires PM and suspends parliament

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Tunisia
Tunisia’s president Kais Saied fired the county’s prime minister and suspended parliament on Sunday, sparking a crisis for the young democracy. Critics say Saied, who has taken over power, was staging a coup, as troops surrounded Tunisia’s parliament building, blocking entry for the speaker.

The move follows nationwide protests over the government’s mishandling of its pandemic response, leading to a spike in COVID-19 cases, along with ongoing economic troubles in the North African country, where the Arab uprising began more than a decade ago. Saied’s decision, which was celebrated in the streets by demonstrations, prompted warnings and concern from overseas allies.

Europe protests
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of France over the weekend, protesting measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. Despite the fury, France’s parliament on Monday passed a law that will require virus passes for people to patron restaurants or travel domestically. The new law also mandates that health care workers get vaccinated. Italians, and others elsewhere in Europe, joined the French in protesting their respective governments’ newly announced restrictions, designed in an effort to halt the fourth wave of the pandemic.

US-China
China accused the US of “demonizing” Beijing, as top officials from the two countries met on Monday in frank high-level talks. According to an official summary of the meeting between China’s Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng and US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, China blamed the US for a stalemate in bilateral relations, while the US raised concerns over human rights and other issues. Sherman is the highest-ranking US official to visit China since the Biden administration took office.

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