Tuesday, July 27 2021

*) Tunisia PM: Will hand over responsibility to whomever the president chooses Dismissed Tunisian premier Hichem Mechichi has said he will hand over responsibility to whomever the president chooses. His comments came as clashes erupted outside the army-barricaded parliament after President Kais Saied dismissed Mechichi and suspended parliament for 30 days. Saied has now imposed a night curfew that will last for at least a month. The Tunisian president says he's acting within the constitution in suspending parliament but his opponents say it's a coup. *) Biden says US combat mission in Iraq to conclude by year-end President Joe Biden has said the US combat mission in Iraq will conclude by the end of the year but will continue to assist Baghdad in its fight against Daesh. The statement followed a strategic meeting between Biden and the Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi at the White House. The US has additional concerns about an increase in attacks on its bases and troops in Iraq, assaults that have been linked to Iranian backed militias. *) At least 57 migrants die in shipwreck off Libyan coast At least 57 people drowned after a boat capsized off the Libyan coast near Khums, the UN's International Organization for Migration has said. Survivors said at least 20 women and two children were among those who drowned, IOM spokesperson Safa Msehli said in a tweet. Hundreds of thousands of people have made the perilous crossing in the last years, many fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. *) Koreas restore cross border communications, seek improved ties North and South Korea said they have restored cross-border communications. The North cut off all official military and political links with the South last June after activists allegedly sent anti-Pyongyang leaflets over the border. The leaders of the two Koreas have exchanged letters since April to improve ties, the president’s office said, and agreed to restore the hotlines as the first step. And finally ... *) Britney Sp