Tunisia announces second govt

Tunisia's prime minister-designate on Tuesday unveiled the country's second government in six months, which must now seek approval from lawmakers incensed by how the administration was formed. 

Hichem Mechichi had previously declared his intention to form a cabinet dominated by independent technocrats able to "present urgent solutions" for a country where a sluggish economy has been further battered by the coronavirus pandemic. 

The former interior minister's decision to bypass consultations with political factions had angered, among others, the powerful Islamist party Ennahdha. 

But Ennahdha and other parties have also spoken of the need to approve the government to avoid dragging the already crisis-hit country into disruptive early elections.

AFP