Tunisia
President Kais Saied said Thursday that “premeditated acts,” not ordinary breakdowns, lie behind weeks of water and power cuts lasting more than ten hours in several regions, including the capital, without naming anyone responsible. The same night, hundreds protested in downtown Tunis, called by the opposition movement Nafas, holding signs about “thirst” and “darkness,” against what they call one-man rule and for the release of jailed opposition figures.
An inmate at Gafsa's civil prison died of cardiac arrest, according to the regional section of the Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH) in Gafsa, which cites overcrowding, poor access to healthcare and conditions worsened by extreme heat. The death follows two other inmates' deaths under suspicious circumstances in Ben Arous and Gabès in July, and a heat-related death in Borj El Amri the same month; the LTDH is demanding urgent access to healthcare in the prisons.
Source:
Réalités · Thursday, 27 August 2026
A decree published in Tunisia's official gazette promotes 127 judges, 54 from the second to third grade and 73 from the first to second, effective 16 September. A parallel decree from the defence ministry restructures military justice, moving 13 magistrates into key posts. Since President Saied dissolved the independent judicial council, the CSM, in February 2022 and replaced it with a temporary council he appoints himself, promotions like this one now proceed by presidential decree rather than through an independent body.
Tunisia's ministry of commerce and export development said Friday it is releasing more than 9 million bottles of mineral water, mostly in 1.5 and 2 litre family sizes, across Greater Tunis's four governorates to meet a surge in demand during the heatwave. The plan also targets stockpiling networks, steering the new supply toward large retailers and licensed wholesalers under inspectors' supervision.
More than 1,500 soldiers and about 250 vehicles have been mobilised to deliver drinking water by tanker and keep wells pumping during power cuts, according to a tally of the operation ordered by President Kais Saied that national television reported Friday. Over a million litres have been distributed to roughly 4,000 families so far, though the tally did not say which regions received the water.
Source:
Webdo · Friday, 28 August 2026
Geopolitics
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran is drawing up a list of conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, closed since February. Iran demands the United States lift its blockade of Iranian ports, pay compensation for war damage and remove sanctions, Rezaei said, adding that Iran has agreed with Oman on a transit corridor through the strait.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled “Operation Economic Outcast” this week, a wave of secondary sanctions on Iran's oil, shipping and gold trade that hit dozens of Chinese and Hong Kong-based firms. The sanctions stopped short of the major Chinese banks that handle most of China's purchases of Iranian oil; Bessent said “no one is above the reach” of US sanctions if banks take part. China's foreign ministry said it would “take all necessary measures” to protect itself.
Chad's military accused the Sudanese army of an air strike near the shared border that killed at least twelve people and wounded seven, targeting a fuel market Chadian security sources said was used by the paramilitary RSF. Chad has raised its alert level to the highest and deployed armoured vehicles toward the eastern border; Sudan's foreign ministry rejected the accusation, saying no independent investigation had confirmed it. It is the second border incident in a week, after a drone strike on 23 August more than 100km inside Chadian territory.
