Tunisian prime minister names new government

Tunisian President Kais Saied, right, meets Najla Bouden, who was named as the country’s first ever female prime minister. (Tunisian Presidency via AFP)
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Updated 11 October 2021
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Tunisian prime minister names new government

  • Appointment of a government has long been demanded by both domestic political players and foreign donors

TUNIS: Tunisia named a new government on Monday, 11 weeks after President Kais Saied ousted the prime minister and suspended parliament to assume near total control in moves that his critics call a coup.

Prime Minister Najla Bouden, appointed by Saied last month, said the government’s main priority would be tackling corruption but though Tunisia faces a looming fiscal crisis, she did not mention any program of economic reforms.

“I am confident we will move from frustration to hope... I warn all who will threaten the state,” said Saied at the ceremony.

Bouden kept the interim finance and foreign ministers Saied had already installed, while naming Taoufik Charfeddine as interior minister.

The appointment of a government has long been demanded by both domestic political players and foreign donors, along with a clear declaration by Saied of a timeline to exit the crisis.

Saied’s moves have cast doubt on Tunisia’s democratic gains since its 2011 revolution that inspired the Arab spring, and have also delayed efforts to seek a financial rescue package from the International Monetary Fund.

Tunisia faces a rapidly looming crisis in public finances, and the IMF has previously indicated it will negotiate only on the basis of government proposals for credible reforms.

Bouden’s appointment prompted the biggest single-day gains for Tunisian bonds after Saied’s intervention, which had prompted a significant sell-off and added to the cost of insuring its debt.

Last month, Saied moved to cement his position, brushing aside most of the constitution to say he could rule by decree and make the government responsible to himself, rather than to parliament.

He had already installed several members of the new cabinet as acting ministers soon after his July intervention, as he purged numerous senior officials from the government, regional positions and the security forces.


Israel military says Iran fires new wave of missiles at country

Updated 11 March 2026
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Israel military says Iran fires new wave of missiles at country

  • Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported several injuries from the Iranian strikes near Tel Aviv

JERUSALEM: Israel’s military said Wednesday that it detected missiles heading toward the country from Iran and had activated air defenses, as it pressed a “wave” of strikes against Iran and Lebanon.
“A short while ago, the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the State of Israel. Defensive systems are operating to intercept the threat,” the military said on its official Telegram account.
AFP journalists heard air raid sirens sounding in Jerusalem and the sound of explosions in the distance.
A short time later, Israel’s military said it was permitted to leave shelters.
Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency services reported no immediate injuries following the missile fire, but said its teams were treating “a small number of people who were injured on their way to protected areas.”
Israeli broadcaster Channel 12 reported several injuries from the Iranian strikes near Tel Aviv.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they targeted a satellite communications center in Haifa, along with military bases in Israel, and US targets elsewhere in the Middle East including Iraqi Kurdistan and the US Fifth Fleet naval base in Bahrain.
“We will continue our sustained attacks with purpose and power, and in this war, we contemplate nothing but the enemy’s complete surrender,” the Guards said on their website Sepah News.