Tunisia probes letter with suspicious powder sent to president’s office

TUNIS - The office of Tunisia’s president received a letter containing suspicious powder and is investigating the matter, a source there told Reuters on Wednesday.

President Kais Saied did not open the letter and is in good health, the source said.

Some local websites reported that the lethal toxin ricin had been found in the envelope, and that it had been addressed to the presidency in the Carthage Palace.

The source in the office declined to comment on the reports.

Factional tensions have been growing within Tunisia's leadership amid protests against widespread unemployment and social inequality.

Saied, a political independent who won election in 2019, told a gathering of national security officials this week that there were conspiracies afoot aimed at thwarting his work at home and abroad. He did not elaborate.

Parliament on Tuesday approved a cabinet reshuffle that deepened conflict between the prime minister and president.