Tunisia's President Suspends Parliament

Tunisian troops blocked the head of parliament from entering the building early Monday, hours after President Kais Saied announced he had fired Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi and suspended parliament for 30 days.  

Saied, a political independent, said he was acting in response to the country's economic woes and political deadlock and added that the country's constitution gave him that authority.   The move follows weeks of political turbulence in the country – fueled in part by public anger over the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Rached Ghannouchi, the parliament speaker and head of the dominant Ennahdha party, called the president's actions a "coup" and said the legislature would continue its work.