By Firas Al-Atraqchi In what could be a sign of how social media is reshaping politics in the Middle East and North Africa, Tunisian protesters turned to Twitter to broadcast information on their popular revolt against the government’s economic and media policies. Videos of street clashes in Tunisian towns were broadcast on YouTube before some …
By Lamine Chikhi/ Reuters ALGIERS: A man has died after setting himself on fire at a government building in Algeria, state radio reported on Sunday, echoing the self-immolation that triggered the protests that toppled the leader of neighboring Tunisia. Mohsen Bouterfif doused himself in gasoline and set himself on fire on Thursday after a meeting …
By Dario Thuburn /AFP TUNIS: Tunisia was on edge Saturday after President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali ended his 23 years of iron-fisted rule by fleeing a wave of deadly social protests in the first such departure for an Arab leader. The Constitutional council declared the head of state had “definitively” left power and appointed …
By Mohamed Hasni and Hamida Ben Salah / AFP TUNIS: Tunisian President Zein El Abidine Ben Ali fired his government and declared a state of emergency Friday as escalating protests against his rule forced the evacuation of thousands of European tourists. Only hours after Ben Ali vowed on state television that he would stand down …
By Mohamed Hasni and Hamida Ben Salah/AFP TUNIS: Thousands of protesters demanded President Zein El Abidine Ben Ali resign in marches across the country Friday, emboldened by his dramatic pledge to step down in 2014 in a bid to quell weeks of unrest. “No to Ben Ali, the uprising continues,” hundreds shouted in a march …
TUNIS: Tunisian interior minister Rafik Belhaj Kacem was sacked Wendesday as police and protesters clashed in the center of the capital Wednesday, bringing unrest to the government’s doorstep after nearly a month of violent protests that pose the most serious challenge to the autocratic president’s two decades of iron-fisted rule. Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi said …
TUNIS: At least four people were shot dead and six seriously wounded late Saturday when security forces clashed with demonstrators in central Tunisia, witnesses said. Teacher and union activist Belgacem Sayhi said security forces opened fire on the protestors in Tala, in the centre-west region of Kasserine. The victims were between 17 and 30 years …
By Herve Rouach/ AFP PARIS: Violent protests that have erupted in Algeria and Tunisia expose frustrations over the economy and a moribund political elite that have in particular angered young graduates, analysts say. The spreading of the unrest to Algeria after weeks of protests in Tunisia could also be due to widespread use of the Internet …
