Tunisian party suspends senior member

Tunisia's Initiative Party has suspended the membership of Mona Bin Nasr after she refused party orders to boycott parliamentary proceedings.   The opposition party had called on all members to snub the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) session on Tuesday, calling for the overthrow of the ruling Islamist regime, and the dissolution of parliament. However, Bin Nasr, who broke down during a speech against Prime Minister Ali Larayedh's government, urged opposition parties to end their strike and come together in the national interest. She said only national unity would allow Tunisia to overcome extremism. Bin Nasr told the chamber that Larayedh and Speaker of the parliament Mustapha Ben Jaafar do not have the authority to announce the election date. The Initiative Party held an emergency meeting on Tuesday morning to discuss sanctions against Bin Nasr.