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27 Feb 2011 11:11

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World: Middle East: Tunisia’s prime minister exits right behind Ben Ali

Ben Ali wasn’t the end of the unrest in Tunisia by a long shot. Now, Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi has left under the wave of popular unrest. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Feb 2011 16:50

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World: Tunisia doesn’t know if Ben Ali is dead. A little help, Saudis?

  • issue For quite obvious reasons, Tunisia wants to extradite former president  Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from Saudi Arabia to force him to stand trial. Many protesters are out in the streets asking for the same thing.
  • complication Tunisia doesn’t know whether Ben Ali is dead or not, so it had to send a note to Saudi Arabia asking about “the possibility of his death” or possible illness, and for his return if he’s healthy. Odd. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Feb 2011 19:47

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World: Tunisia: Police conflict with protesters escalates, turns deadly

  • 2+ killed by police near a Tunisian police station in Kef; two other reported deaths were unconfirmed
  • 17+ more injured in the conflict, caused after a large crowd attacked and burned a police station source
  • » What happened: In one of the most volatile conflicts since the ouster of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, hundreds of protesters were outside of a police station in Kef where they claimed that the chief was abusing his power. As things have a tendency to do, they deteriorated after the chief, Khaled Ghazouani, reportedly slapped a woman in the crowd. “The police fired to prevent the protesters from breaking into the station,” an official said. The police chief was arrested.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 21:00

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World: Democracy in Tunisia doesn’t come without understandable fears

  • freedom In the wake of the ouster of Ben Ali, certain ousted groups have come out of the woodwork in Tunisia, including long-exiled Islamist sheik Rachid Ghannouchi.
  • worry Some are wary of what might come in the new democracy from the Islamists, some sects of which want to impose Sharia, or Islamic law, on the country. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Jan 2011 12:11

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World: Exiled Tunisian opposition leader Rachid Ghannouchi comes home

  • Here’s how quickly things in Tunisia have changed: This guy, Rachid Ghannouchi, a leader in the country’s Islamist Ennahda movement, has returned to the country he was exiled from 22 years ago. His party, which did well in the 1989 elections, was banned by Zine al-Abdine Ben Ali, who was likely nervous about the party’s popularity. While the party plans to take part in the upcoming parliamentary (but not presidential) elections, Ghannouchi is done with public office, saying that there are younger generations that would do a better job. But he’s back in the country which pushed him aside two decades ago – an even bigger victory. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jan 2011 10:44

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World: Yemen gets in on the mass-revolt bandwagon; good for them

Today in the Arab world’s collective realization that they don’t have to put up with this *#(& anymore: Yemen. Hotbed of al-Qaeda. Coldbed of jobs. Home of fresh protests. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Jan 2011 10:14

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World: Ousted Tunisian leader Ben Ali now a marked man

Why so glum, Ben Ali? Is it because you know the Tunisian government just sicced INTERPOL’s dogs after you? If so, we completely understand. source
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23 Jan 2011 10:33

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World: Tunisia violence: Two differing death toll estimates

  • 100+ the United Nations estimate of the death toll in Tunisia in the wake of the extended protests
  • 78 the estimate from the country’s interior minister, Ahmed Friaa … so which estimate is right? source
  • » Currently under house arrest (reportedly): Two of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali’s strongest confidantes, Abdelaziz Ben Dhia and Abdallah Kallel, are in custody of the new government. Meanwhile, a third adviser, Abdelwaheb Abdallah, is on the run. The info comes from the country’s state-run Agence Tunis Afrique Presse, which didn’t reveal a source. Oh yeah, in case you’re wondering, those police officers from yesterday want to make it clear they weren’t responsible for the death toll above.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Jan 2011 11:04

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World: Tunisian police officers: Screw it, we want to protest, too!

Police officers are standing in solidarity with other protesters today. Why? According to al-Jazeera, “They no longer want to be persecuted” for helping defend the government. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jan 2011 10:52

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World: Some more quick numbers from Tunisia’s volatile situation

  • eight ministers loyal to Ben Ali are out, and a powerful central committee that included them has disbanded
  • 33 members of Ben Ali’s family, have been charged with “crimes against Tunisia” for their gaudy lives
  • 1,800 political prisoners have been released from jail, and those with short sentences should be released, too source
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