Tunisia
Tunisia’s President Kais Saie is being accused of carrying out a coup after, as mentioned in yesterday’s newsletter, sacking the country’s prime minister and suspending parliament. Parliament was today surrounded by the military and the speaker was prevented from entering. Police raided the offices of Al Jazeera and ordered them shut down in a move that fuelled claims of an autocratic power grab.
Al Jazeera is running a live blog here. And Middle East Eye is doing the same here.
Libya
It rarely makes the headlines but it still happens all the time. At least 57 people died when their boat capsized off Libya as they attempted to reach European shores. Eighteen of the migrants, who were from Nigeria, Ghana and Gambia, were rescued and said the boat got into trouble due to inclement weather. Attempted crossings traditionally surge in the summer months due to more favorable conditions.
More from the Associated Press here.
Afghanistan
A record number of civilians were killed or wounded in Afghanistan in the first half of 2021, according to UN figures released today. The UN said more than 1,600 civilians were killed as violence surged ahead of the final withdrawal of US and NATO troops.
More from BBC here.