Kais Saied

Thousands marched in Iran on Thursday on the final day of funeral rites for president Ebrahim Raisi, who will be laid to rest in his hometown days after dying in a helicopter crash.

Raisi, 63, died on Sunday alongside his foreign minister and six others when their helicopter crashed in the country's mountainous northwest while returning from a dam inauguration.

Workers in nine out of 10 countries have seen their right to strike violated over the past year as they battle the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) warned on June 30.

A decade after launching its first annual Global Rights Index, the ITUC said the results for 2023 provided "a sobering confirmation of its founding purpose."

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said the International Monetary Fund should take a "pragmatic" approach to a bailout for Tunisia, in comments to other G7 leadersin Japan.

The North African country reached a deal in principle with the IMF in October for nearly $2 billion to shore up its troubled economy, but discussions have since stalled.

At least 25 migrants from Africa have died and 15 others are missing after a boat carrying them to Europe sank in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tunisia, authorities said.

The World Bank is pausing talks over its future engagement with Tunisia following anti-immigrant comments made by the country's president, Kais Saied, according to an internal message to staff seen by AFP.

Hundreds of Tunisians marched Saturday after opponents of President Kais Saied called for protests over a worsening economic crisis.    

"The people want what you don't want. Down with Saied," chanted the activists, including supporters of the Islamist-inspired Ennahdha party.    

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Tunisian government have reached a tentative agreement to unblock a $1.9 billion loan as the North African country faces grave economic and political challenges.

A Tunisian court has imposed a travel ban on the speaker of the country's now-dissolved parliament, a court spokeswoman said.

The interdiction against Rached Ghannouchi is part of an inquiry into alleged obstruction of justice in connection with the assassination in 2013 of two left-wing figures, the court spokesman said on Friday.

Tunisian President Kais Saied has announced plans to amend the constitution and form a new government months after he dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament in moves his critics called a coup.

Speaking to his Tunisian counterpart on Aug. 2, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed the importance of peace and stability in the country, said Turkish diplomatic sources.

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