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Tunisia Leader Picks Romdhane as Prime Minister

Tunisian President Kais Saied. (Getty Images)
Tunisian President Kais Saied. (Getty Images)
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Tunisia Leader Picks Romdhane as Prime Minister

Tunisian President Kais Saied. (Getty Images)
Tunisian President Kais Saied. (Getty Images)

Tunisian President Kais Saied has named Najla Bouden Romdhane, a little-known university engineer who worked with the World Bank, as prime minister on Wednesday nearly two months after he seized most powers in a move his foes call a coup.

Romdhane, Tunisia's first woman prime minister, will take office at a moment of national crisis, with the democratic gains won in a 2011 revolution in doubt and as a major threat looms to public finances.

Saied dismissed the previous prime minister, suspended parliament and assumed wide executive powers in July and has been under growing domestic and international pressure to form a new government.

Last week he brushed aside much of the constitution to say he could rule largely by decree.

He has named Romdhane under the provisions he announced last week and has asked her to quickly form a new government, the presidency said on social media.

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Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms Smuggling

Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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Israeli Jets Attack Syria-Lebanon Border Crossings to Stop Arms Smuggling

Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)
Lebanese army members stand near rubble at a damaged site after the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, in the Lebanese village of Khiam, December 23, 2024. (Reuters)

Israeli jets struck seven crossing points along the Syria-Lebanon border on Friday, aiming to cut the flow of weapons to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in southern Lebanon.

Israeli troops also seized a truck mounted with a 40-barrel rocket launcher in southern Lebanon, part of a haul from various areas that included explosives, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and AK-47 automatic rifles, the military said.

The commander of the Israeli Air Force, Major General Tomer Bar, said Hezbollah was trying to smuggle weapons into Lebanon to test Israel's ability to stop them.

"This must not be tolerated," he said in a statement.

Under the terms of a Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement, Israel is supposed to withdraw its troops from southern Lebanon in phases while unauthorized Hezbollah military facilities south of the Litani River are to be dismantled.

However, each side has accused the other of violating the agreement, intended to end more than a year of fighting that began with Hezbollah missile strikes on Israel in the aftermath of the Hamas-led attack of Oct. 7, 2023, from Gaza.

On Thursday, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon called for Israeli forces to withdraw, citing what it said were repeated violations of the deal.

Israel, which destroyed large parts of Hezbollah's missile stocks during weeks of operations in southern Lebanon, has said it will not permit weapons to be smuggled to Hezbollah through Syria.

Israel has also conducted attacks against the Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen in recent days and pledged to continue its campaign against Iranian-backed militant groups across the region.