Tens of thousands of Egyptians have gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to mark one year since the start of an uprising that toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak.
Many of those who attended Wednesday’s rally called it a celebration of the downfall of an autocratic leadership, but others said they want a new revolution against the military rulers who took over when Mubarak was ousted.
<!–AV–>
Officials of Egypt’s main Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, were among those cheering in the Cairo square. The party has been one of the main beneficiaries of last year’s revolution, winning the largest share of parliamentary seats in free elections organized in recent months by Egypt’s ruling military council.
The Brotherhood was officially banned during Mubarak’s near 30-year rule, but its popular social services for the poor helped it to become the country’s best-organized political movement. The Islamists have rejected calls for a new uprising against the military.
Liberal youth groups who led the 2011 revolt had a different message, chanting “down with military rule” as they marched to Tahrir Square. They accuse the military council of behaving like the Mubarak government by violently suppressing pro-democracy protests and trying civilians in military courts.
Egypt’s military rulers have promised to hand over power after holding a presidential election by June. The military council led by Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi has made several apparent concessions to reformists in recent days.
It has pardoned about 2,000 prisoners and promised to partially lift the country’s 30-year-long state of emergency beginning Wednesday. But, the ruling military said authorities will continue to apply the widely-disliked law in fighting acts of “thuggery.” It did not elaborate.
New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch says the exception to the lifting of the law is an “invitation to continued abuse” and an “insult” to Egyptians calling for a return to the rule of law. It says Egypt’s military rulers frequently have described “peaceful” demonstrators as “thugs” and put them on trial in military courts for the offense.
Tahrir Square was a focal point for the anti-Mubarak activists who began a series of mass protests for political and economic reforms on January 25, 2011. The activists continued protesting in central Cairo for 18 days, defying a deadly police crackdown until Mubarak ceded control of the government to the military council.
Mubarak is on trial for a variety of charges of corruption and involvement in the deaths of hundreds of anti-government protesters during the uprising. He has pleaded not guilty, and could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.
The former leader’s two sons are also on trial, along with Egypt’s former interior minister and senior police officers.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
| Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices. Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. |
Tens of thousands of Egyptians have gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to mark one year since the start of an uprising that toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak.
Many of those who attended Wednesday’s rally called it a celebration of the downfall of an autocratic leadership, but others said they want a new revolution against the military rulers who took over when Mubarak was ousted.
<!–AV–>
Officials of Egypt’s main Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, were among those cheering in the Cairo square. The party has been one of the main beneficiaries of last year’s revolution, winning the largest share of parliamentary seats in free elections organized in recent months by Egypt’s ruling military council.
The Brotherhood was officially banned during Mubarak’s near 30-year rule, but its popular social services for the poor helped it to become the country’s best-organized political movement. The Islamists have rejected calls for a new uprising against the military.
Liberal youth groups who led the 2011 revolt had a different message, chanting “down with military rule” as they marched to Tahrir Square. They accuse the military council of behaving like the Mubarak government by violently suppressing pro-democracy protests and trying civilians in military courts.
Egypt’s military rulers have promised to hand over power after holding a presidential election by June. The military council led by Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi has made several apparent concessions to reformists in recent days.
It has pardoned about 2,000 prisoners and promised to partially lift the country’s 30-year-long state of emergency beginning Wednesday. But, the ruling military said authorities will continue to apply the widely-disliked law in fighting acts of “thuggery.” It did not elaborate.
New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch says the exception to the lifting of the law is an “invitation to continued abuse” and an “insult” to Egyptians calling for a return to the rule of law. It says Egypt’s military rulers frequently have described “peaceful” demonstrators as “thugs” and put them on trial in military courts for the offense.
Tahrir Square was a focal point for the anti-Mubarak activists who began a series of mass protests for political and economic reforms on January 25, 2011. The activists continued protesting in central Cairo for 18 days, defying a deadly police crackdown until Mubarak ceded control of the government to the military council.
Mubarak is on trial for a variety of charges of corruption and involvement in the deaths of hundreds of anti-government protesters during the uprising. He has pleaded not guilty, and could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.
The former leader’s two sons are also on trial, along with Egypt’s former interior minister and senior police officers.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
| Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices. Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. |
Tens of thousands of Egyptians have gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square to mark one year since the start of an uprising that toppled long-time president Hosni Mubarak.
Many of those who attended Wednesday’s rally called it a celebration of the downfall of an autocratic leadership, but others said they want a new revolution against the military rulers who took over when Mubarak was ousted.
<!–AV–>
Officials of Egypt’s main Islamist group, the Muslim Brotherhood, were among those cheering in the Cairo square. The party has been one of the main beneficiaries of last year’s revolution, winning the largest share of parliamentary seats in free elections organized in recent months by Egypt’s ruling military council.
The Brotherhood was officially banned during Mubarak’s near 30-year rule, but its popular social services for the poor helped it to become the country’s best-organized political movement. The Islamists have rejected calls for a new uprising against the military.
Liberal youth groups who led the 2011 revolt had a different message, chanting “down with military rule” as they marched to Tahrir Square. They accuse the military council of behaving like the Mubarak government by violently suppressing pro-democracy protests and trying civilians in military courts.
Egypt’s military rulers have promised to hand over power after holding a presidential election by June. The military council led by Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi has made several apparent concessions to reformists in recent days.
It has pardoned about 2,000 prisoners and promised to partially lift the country’s 30-year-long state of emergency beginning Wednesday. But, the ruling military said authorities will continue to apply the widely-disliked law in fighting acts of “thuggery.” It did not elaborate.
New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch says the exception to the lifting of the law is an “invitation to continued abuse” and an “insult” to Egyptians calling for a return to the rule of law. It says Egypt’s military rulers frequently have described “peaceful” demonstrators as “thugs” and put them on trial in military courts for the offense.
Tahrir Square was a focal point for the anti-Mubarak activists who began a series of mass protests for political and economic reforms on January 25, 2011. The activists continued protesting in central Cairo for 18 days, defying a deadly police crackdown until Mubarak ceded control of the government to the military council.
Mubarak is on trial for a variety of charges of corruption and involvement in the deaths of hundreds of anti-government protesters during the uprising. He has pleaded not guilty, and could face the death penalty if convicted of murder.
The former leader’s two sons are also on trial, along with Egypt’s former interior minister and senior police officers.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
| Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices. Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. |
The U.S. Defense Department says American Jessica Buchanan, one of two hostages rescued in Somalia by U.S. special operations troops, is being cared for at a military hospital. It would not say where.
<!–IMAGE-RIGHT–>
The U.S. Defense Department says American Jessica Buchanan, one of two hostages rescued in Somalia by U.S. special operations troops, is being cared for at a military hospital. It would not say where.
Buchanan, and fellow aid worker Poul Hagen Thisted, a Dane, had been held for three months by gunmen in central Somalia. Wednesday night, several U.S. helicopters carried out a daring raid, and troops fought a gunbattle, killing at least nine kidnappers.
In announcing the rescue, President Barack Obama said the United States will “spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens” and bring to justice those who take them seek to harm them.
On a Wednesday morning news program, Vice President Joseph Biden praised the troops who carried out the mission.
He says the timing of the operation was based in part on the health of the hostages.
“They said it was the time, the opportunity, Jessica’s health was, was at a word, failing. They concluded they should go at this time. The president gave the go,” Biden stated.
Buchanan and Thisted worked for the Danish Demining Group, a unit of the Danish Refugee Council that helps clear landmines and other explosives in conflict zones in Africa and the Middle East. They were kidnapped in October in the central Somali city of Galkayo.
The raid took place just hours before President Obama gave his State of the Union address in Washington. Before speaking, President Obama could be heard by television microphones congratulating Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, apparently for the success of the rescue operation.
The Department of Defense is not identifying the unit that carried out the rescue. However, many news organizations, quoting unnamed U.S. government officials, say it was a Navy Seal team.
Officials say armed criminals, or pirates, appear to be responsible for the kidnapping. Somali pirates have increasingly carried out land-based kidnappings as foreign governments have boosted security on the high seas.
Several abductions for ransom have been carried out in Somalia and northern Kenya during the past several months. An American man was kidnapped near the Galkayo airport last week.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Russia’s protest movement grew and got organized with speed that startled many in the political establishment. Russia’s uncensored Internet allows people to communicate, coordinate and raise money for rallies, all through their computers.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is running for president in elections March 4. His campaign website photos show him skiing, skating and fighting in a judo match.
But on the Internet, one satire rips off the latest Sasha Baron Cohen’s comedy, The Dictator. It has Russia’s leader winning a running presidential race by shooting his opponents with a starting pistol.
Another video is a takeoff on the movie Titanic.
It places Prime Minister Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev at the bow of the boat, as their Russia political project heads straight toward an iceberg.
In another video, psychiatrists in white coats dance in a chorus line singing, “Our Madhouse Vote for Putin.” Watched by over one-million people, this won a recent YouTube music video contest in Russia.
Online videos like these are shaping the generation that protests Mr. Putin’s plan to rule Russia for another decade. With 50 million Russians now online, many Russians have stopped watching news programs on state-controlled TV.
Sam Greene, an American political scientist in Moscow, says Russia’s Internet is forcing TV news coverage to change — or die.
“They then had to cover the December 24 as an anti-Putin protest,” said Greene. “That has not been on television ever. And it was the combination of the fact that the Internet would have put the information out there, and did put that information out there. And there were 80, 100, 120,000 people on the streets, which is hard to miss. That forced television into this corner.”
In cyberspace, Putin’s backers counterattacked with his interactive campaign website. But, once again, his opponents proved to be quicker on the web.
They immediately posted suggestions like this one from Andrei Antonenko, “Please leave politics. It is obvious that power is a narcotic.”
Anti-Putin comments like these immediately rose to the top of the online voting ranking. Campaign workers took them down. But screen grabs went viral.
Greene, who also directs a New Media program in the Russian capital, says:
“They should have seen it coming. They did not see it coming,” added Greene.
Oddly, Putin’s party, United Russia, appears nowhere on his campaign website. That is because Internet blogger Alexey Navalny ruined the party brand, by saddling it online with an unshakeable label, “the party of swindlers and thieves.”
While Russia’s government loses the Internet information war, the opposition now uses the Internet to raise money for rallies. Alexei Kozlov raised $130,000 in online contributions from about 5,000 contributors. He says Yandex Money, the payment system, limits payments to $500, which means no one can charge that one or two oligarchs are bankrolling the protests.
Also, Yandex Money only works inside Russia. He says no one can accuse the movement of being funded by the United States.
Finally, the opposition uses Facebook and other social network sites to inform people about protests. Two weeks before a mass march is to go through central Moscow, the city has no political graffiti, and no political posters. But if protest planners hit their targets, the February 4 march will be another Internet-driven flash mob of 100,000 people.
Heads of state at this year’s African Union summit in Addis Ababa will be voting to elect new leaders to the continental body. While the AU typically promotes regional diversity in its leadership, one observer group says it would be better to favor countries that have best adhered to AU protocols.
Each year, heads of African states select a new chairperson to head the African Union for a one-year term.
The new chair is usually selected on a rotating regional schedule, with leaders from north, south, east and west Africa getting a fair shot at the top seat.
But some observers say this process is unnecessarily arbitrary and that it would be better to choose candidates based on their country’s merit.
Michael Orwa, projector coordinator for the State of the Union Coalition that monitors the AU, says few of the previous chairs have come from countries that had ratified AU agreements.
“Of the last five, from Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Malawi, Ghana, Tanzania for example, only Libya had done 26 ratifications of the 36 instruments that we were looking at. So, still maybe good by general standards and patterns in the continent, but I would say still not good enough,” said Orwa. “What we want to see is how people in leadership will show by example in action as far as ratification and implementation at a country level is concerned.”
The African Union held a workshop in South Africa to outline to member nations the importance of quickly ratifying AU treaties and implementing the doctrines at home.
The AU said of the 42 treaties adopted since the formation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in 1963, only 25 have entered into force.
Critics have often accused the African Union of being too weak, and especially soft on human rights violations in member states. Defenders argue that the body does not have the capacity or manpower to be a more effective force.
Orwa of State of the Union says political will to change could make up for a lack of resources.
“And we acknowledge those limitations we acknowledge the limitations in capacity, we acknowledge limitations in resources even human, financial, but we believe at the same time a great political will is perhaps more important than even the most amazing amount of resources that we can have,” he said.
In addition to the election of a new AU chair, African leaders will also select a new chairperson to the African Union Commission – the AU’s main decision-making body.
Incumbent chairman Jean Ping of Gabon, running for a second four-year term, is facing a strong challenge from South African Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
The election is scheduled to take place Monday, and will be conducted electronically, with the results available immediately.
Russia says it will not support United Nations actions on Syria that may include sanctions or military intervention.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday moves by the U.N. Security Council against Syria, a long-time Russian ally, would be “unfair and counterproductive.”
U.N. diplomats say France, Britain and Germany have been working with Arab nations on a new Security Council resolution outlining a democratic transition from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s 11-year autocratic rule.
Moscow is a veto-wielding member of the Council. It joined China last October in vetoing a Western-backed resolution that would have condemned the Syrian government’s violent crackdown on the revolt.
Lavrov said Russia is open to what he called a “constructive” resolution on Syria that explicitly rules out any interpretation that could justify foreign military action.
Arab League foreign ministers agreed to the transition plan on Sunday and authorized the regional bloc’s chief to seek support for it at the United Nations.
Arab League members led by Gulf nations have become increasingly supportive of international action against Syria in recent weeks, as pro-Assad forces have continued attacking peaceful protesters and fighting deadly battles with army defectors.
In the latest violence, Syrian rights activists say government forces fired heavy weapons at the opposition hub of Hama late Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least two people in the central Syrian city. They say security forces also killed at least five other civilians on Wednesday in attacks on centers of protest in Homs and Damascus.
U.S. President Barack Obama said Tuesday he has “no doubt” that Syria’s government will soon find that the “forces of change can’t be reversed.” Speaking in his annual State of the Union national address, Obama said that while it is up to the people of the Middle East to decide their own fate, the United States will oppose “violence and intimidation” and stand for the “rights and dignity of all human beings.”
“We will stand against violence and intimidation,” said Obama. “We will stand for the rights and dignity of all human beings – men and women; Christians, Muslims, and Jews. We will support policies that lead to strong and stable democracies and open markets, because tyranny is no match for liberty. And we will safeguard America’s own security against those who threaten our citizens, our friends, and our interests.”
The United Nations says violence linked to the uprising has killed more than 5,400 people. Syrian authorities say terrorists have killed about 2,000 security force members since the unrest began.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
Italian rescuers suspended their search Friday for at least 21 people missing for a week after their wrecked cruise ship began shifting off Italy’s northwestern coast.
Officials had been worried that bad weather might shake the Costa Concordia, causing the partially-submerged 114,000-ton ship to move off its rocky resting place and slide into deeper water.
Reuters has described the waters around the ship as being choppy with bad weather expected later Friday.
Inclement weather might also delay work to remove thousands of tons of fuel from the ship, an effort to prevent leaks that might cause an environmental disaster along the Tuscan coast.
The vessel, which is owned by U.S.-based Carnival Corporation, ran aground last Friday and flipped on its side.
Official say at least 11 people died in the accident. On Thursday, Italian authorities identified two of the bodies found as French nationals.
<!–IMAGE-RIGHT–>Carnival said late Thursday it will conduct a comprehensive audit of all ten of its cruise lines to review safety standards and procedures following the Concordia accident.
The world’s largest cruise line says it will consult with a panel of emergency response experts to review the circumstances of accident.
The $450 million Costa Concordia cruise ship was carrying more than 4,200 passengers and crew when it ran aground.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Burma’s president says there is no turning back on democratic reforms, and is urging the West to lift sanctions on his country.
In an interview with The Washington Post newspaper, President Thein Sein said his government has already complied with several Western demands, including freeing most political prisoners, scheduling elections in April and allowing opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to potentially join the government.
The Burmese leader did not rule out the possibility that the Nobel peace laureate might even join the cabinet someday.
Thein Sein used the interview to appeal to the U.S. and other nations to drop sanctions that he said hurt Burma’s 54 million people and threaten to hold back economic progress.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP.
Police say two bombs exploded in different locations in the Northern Ireland city of Londonderry Thursday night but there are no reports of injuries.
As police investigate, some politicians are accusing dissidents of the Irish Republican Army of making the attacks in a predominantly Catholic area of west Londonderry.
Dissidents have been linked to similar attacks as a rejection of the IRA’s anti violence truce with British officials.
Police say they got a telephone warning 30 minutes before the first blast outside a tourist office.
The second blast occurred as officers were evacuating people, including dozens of seniors from a nearby nursing home.
Police Superintendent Stephen Martin described the bombings as “cowardly and callous.”
The French Press Agency says Thursday’s bombings occurred on the eve of a court ruling of two IRA dissidents charged with killing two off duty British soldiers in 2009.
An angry Newt Gingrich, during Thursday night’s Republican presidential debate in South Carolina, faced tough opening questions about his former marital status, denying he asked his ex-wife to allow him to have an “open marriage” while he had an affair with a staff member in 1999.
Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, told debate moderator John King that he was “appalled” King would begin the debate on such a topic.
Gingrich also attacked what he described as the “elite” news media, calling it destructive, vicious and negative. He said the story about his troubled second marriage is false and he said ABC news, which reported the allegations, refused to talk to Gingrich associates.
Only four Republican candidates remain in the race to defeat President Barack Obama in November. Texas Governor Rick Perry dropped out hours before the debate after poor showings in the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary, leaving Gingrich, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum.
Romney defended himself from accusations that he cut jobs when he headed an investment firm that bought other companies. He said he actually helped companies create jobs, and said he would not apologize for being a successful businessman.
Santorum and Romney criticized Paul for his plans to cut military spending, while all the candidates criticized President Obama’s health care plan and called for a crackdown on illegal immigration.
South Carolina holds its primary Saturday. The latest polls show Romney as the front runner, but with Gingrich surging.
Gingrich’s second wife, Marianne, told ABC News that he asked her to “accept the fact” that he had another woman in his life. She said she refused his request for them to have an “open marriage.” When he was speaker of the House of Representatives, Gingrich helped lead the movement in Congress to impeach then-President Bill Clinton for lying about an affair with a White House intern.
Also Thursday, Rick Santorum’s candidacy got a boost when Republican officials in the state of Iowa said he won the most votes in the state’s January 3 caucuses, not Romney. Initially, Iowa Republican officials said Romney won the caucuses by eight votes, and Santorum, a social conservative, came in second.
Military officials in Bangladesh say they have uncovered a plot by religious extremists to overthrow the government.
Brigadier General Muhammad Masud Razzaq shared details of the attempted coup with reporters Thursday, calling it a “heinous conspiracy” to topple Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Razzaq said the coup had been planned abroad and that two retired military officers have already been arrested. A third man, Army Major Ziaul Haq, is on the run.
Razzaq said a total of 16 current and former military officers had been involved.
Bangladeshi intelligence officials say the military uncovered the coup plot last month and that the plotters planned to introduce strict Islamic Sharia law.
Prime Minister Hasina has cracked down on Islamic militant groups since taking office in early 2009. She has repeatedly warned such groups were plotting against her government.
This is not the first time Hasina has confronted military unrest. In 2009, shortly after she took office, some of the country’s border guards mutinied, resulting in the deaths of more than 70 people.
Bangladesh has a history of bitter political rivalries, coups and counter-coups since gaining its independence.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
Despite a 10-month crackdown on anti-government protests, Syrians in the town of Douma have kept up their defiance of a government many want overthrown.
By day, people in the town on the outskirts of Damascus try to go about their business. But nighttime, they say, holds a different story. This reporter was allowed into Douma by the Syrian government, but only in the presence of an official escort.
The southern entrance to Douma is flanked by checkpoints. Security personnel search cars and trucks as they approach the town, while others stay behind sandbagged positions, manning their guns.
Tensions have run high here for months; the town is a continuing source of unrest on the edge of the capital, but people still must live their lives. Not far from the checkpoint, children walk past a long wall covered in graffiti, hastily painted over to obscure any possible anti-government slogans. Shops are open, though some are riddled with bullet holes.
One shopkeeper looks around with dark resignation:
“You can see for yourself,” he says. There is “as much madness as you want.”
His friend, Mohammed, explains, disregarding the government minder at his side.
He says demonstrators come out during evening prayers, and security forces soon follow. Mohammed says they “just shoot at random,” without trying to avoid targeting elderly men, children or women.
The demonstrators’ fear of what happens when darkness falls is shared by the other side.
At the checkpoint, a young guard stands in the bright sunshine of a cold winter day.
Daytime, he says, is calm, but when the sun starts to set, the “terrorists,” as he and the Syrian government calls them” start to shoot.
To this guard and the government he serves, the opponents are extremists, and the uprising is a conspiracy fueled from abroad. For good measure, the guard says, drunks and drug dealers are also taking part. Officials say the town is dominated by Salafists.
There are no outward signs of Islamic fundamentalists. But Douma does appear conservative, at least when compared to the capital. Many women are covered completely in black cloth – even their eyes.
One young veiled woman declines to be interviewed, saying she cannot talk to a reporter even though her face is fully obscured. She offers only a passing comment: “The situation is disgusting.”
Farther down the street, a man passing by in a truck opens the window to tell of the funeral of a “martyr” – a townsman killed in the unrest, that will get under way soon.
Mohammed predicts this will trigger more gunfire from the security forces.
Syria’s uprising has been a conflict of attrition that neither side seems willing to concede. As for what happens next, Mohammed says he doesn’t know.
As he has been speaking, a crowd has gathered. Some people call out what they think should happen next.
A “no-fly zone,” says one.
Another suggests a safe haven for the wounded.
The crowd continues to grow. And nearby, security forces get ready for another night.
| Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices. Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. |
Qatar has proposed sending Arab troops to Syria to halt the bloodshed in that country, where violence has raged despite the presence of Arab League observers sent to monitor the situation.
In an interview to be broadcast on the U.S. television network CBS Sunday, the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, said some Arab troops should go to Syria to “stop the killing” that the United Nations says has claimed more than 5,000 lives since the uprising began last March.
Syrian authorities say 2,000 members of the security forces have been killed by “armed terrorists.”
The emir is the first Arab leader to publicly support Arab military intervention in Syria, where protesters are demanding President Bashar al-Assad’s resignation. He said the Arab League observer mission, sent to Syria on December 26, has made mistakes, and that U.N. assistance is needed to improve the monitoring of the Damascus government.
Meanwhile, violent clashes continued Saturday. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several people were killed in different parts of the country, including a 13-year-old boy and a 27-year-old man in the flashpoint city of Homs.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.
| Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices. Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. |
Arab leaders and top officials are in Tunisia to share in celebrations marking the North African country’s one-year anniversary of the ousting of strong-arm President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Tunisia’s revolution sparked popular protests across the Arab world that also toppled leaders in Egypt and Libya.
A year ago – on January 14, 2011 – Habib Bourguiba Boulevard in downtown Tunis was a sea of humanity. People young and old, professors and farmers, demonstrated for reforms and for long-time President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali to step down. Within hours, Ben Ali was gone, fleeing by airplane to Saudi Arabia where he and his wife now live in exile.
Tunisia’s historic revolution inspired similar “Arab Spring” uprisings across the region. Many were bloody – like the one in Syria, which continues today.
Tunisia’s revolt was largely peaceful. Still, there were weeks of clashes pitting youths against police – or shadowy remnants of the old regime – and unrest continues.
In October, Tunisia held its first truly democratic elections – a vote hailed by international election observers – that ushered in the current coalition government led by the moderate Islamist Ennahda party.
But Tunisia marks the first anniversary of its revolution with as much worry as pride. Tunis-based economist Mahmoud Ben Romdhane says that on some level things have not improved.
“The youth made this revolution in order to have their problems solved. They wanted dignity, they wanted jobs. [But compared] to the situation [a year ago], the economic and social situation has worsened,” he said.
Today, Tunisia’s unemployment rate is 19 percent nationally – soaring to 50 percent in some areas. Growth is dismal, foreign investment is down and the country’s key tourism industry is still struggling.
Marking the anniversary, hundreds of Tunisians gathered in the capital Saturday demanding jobs.
Romdhane says the dominant Ennahda party is not providing realistic solutions to the crisis.
“Since they have taken power, they haven’t presented any economic perspective, any budgetary perspective,” he said. “They have only taken the documents presented by the previous government.”
Ben Ali is gone, but not forgotten. He is reportedly planning legal action to recover millions of dollars of seized assets after he fled. The widespread corruption under his tenure – one of the reasons he was ousted – remains.
Rights advocates also worry about hardline Islamists, who remain a small but increasingly vocal group in this generally Western-oriented nation.
Ahlem Belhadj, president of the Tunisian Association of Democratic Women says women’s rights are also under threat.
Interviewed by France 24 TV, Belhadj said that after half a century of progress for Tunisian women, some are now calling for a return to polygamy among other rollbacks. But she says those calls remain limited – and that the Ennahda-dominated government does not have a free hand to change progressive laws.
Analyst Romdhane is also concerned about rising extremism.
“They are threatening our way of life. What they want to do is to change the Tunisian way of life,” he said. “But the civil society is really a vibrant one and is opposing their threats.”
Despite his worries, Romdhane will join this weekend’s celebrations. While he believes it will take years for Tunisia to emerge from its difficulties, he says he is looking ahead with joy and with hope.
| Join the conversation on our social journalism site – Middle East Voices. Follow our Middle East reports on Twitter and discuss them on our Facebook page. |
Firefighters have reached two survivors trapped in a cabin on the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia in the Tiranian Sea.
The firefighters had made voice contact with the couple Saturday and found them in a cabin. At least three people were killed when the ship ran aground Friday evening off the northern Italian coast and flipped on its side with a breach in its hull. More than 30 others were injured.
Three bodies were recovered from the sea, and authorities say at least 40 people remain missing nearly 24 hours after the incident. Officials quoted by ANSA news agency said two Frenchmen died in the incident as well as one Peruvian crew member.
On Saturday, the ship’s captain, Italian Francesco Schettino, was taken into custody after several hours of questioning. Italian news agency ANSA says he could be facing several charges, including homicide and abandonment of the ship.
Video of survivors
<!–AV–>
Emergency operations halted as night fell on Saturday, after divers spent the day scouring the half submerged cruise liner and the coast guard searched the surrounding waters.
Rescuers using lifeboats and helicopters evacuated the more than 4,000 passengers and crew members to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland early Saturday.
Passengers who made it safely to land recounted the chaotic and terrifying evacuation. One of them was an American tourist from Arkansas, Mike Plath, who said some people had to swim to the shore.
“We were all standing there, and as the boat started going a little quicker, turning, I saw one of the cranes… It popped the life raft, and it exploded and it went boom! And it just crashed. There were two people on it, they got off I think… we saw like five people jump in the water and start swimming,” said Plath.
Passengers were sitting down to dinner at the time of the incident Friday night and were told the ship was having electrical problems.
There is no word yet on why the ship ran aground. When it hit the rocks, officials say, passengers were instructed to put on life jackets and to take to life rafts.
The Costa Concordia is 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It had 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Firefighters have reached two survivors trapped in a cabin on the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia in the Tiranian Sea.
The firefighters had made voice contact with the couple Saturday and found them in a cabin. At least three people were killed when the ship ran aground Friday evening off the northern Italian coast and flipped on its side with a breach in its hull. More than 30 others were injured.
Three bodies were recovered from the sea, and authorities say at least 40 people remain missing nearly 24 hours after the incident. Officials quoted by ANSA news agency said two Frenchmen died in the incident as well as one Peruvian crew member.
On Saturday, the ship’s captain, Italian Francesco Schettino, was taken into custody after several hours of questioning. Italian news agency ANSA says he could be facing several charges, including homicide and abandonment of the ship.
Video of survivors
<!–AV–>
Emergency operations halted as night fell on Saturday, after divers spent the day scouring the half submerged cruise liner and the coast guard searched the surrounding waters.
Rescuers using lifeboats and helicopters evacuated the more than 4,000 passengers and crew members to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland early Saturday.
Passengers who made it safely to land recounted the chaotic and terrifying evacuation. One of them was an American tourist from Arkansas, Mike Plath, who said some people had to swim to the shore.
“We were all standing there, and as the boat started going a little quicker, turning, I saw one of the cranes… It popped the life raft, and it exploded and it went boom! And it just crashed. There were two people on it, they got off I think… we saw like five people jump in the water and start swimming,” said Plath.
Passengers were sitting down to dinner at the time of the incident Friday night and were told the ship was having electrical problems.
There is no word yet on why the ship ran aground. When it hit the rocks, officials say, passengers were instructed to put on life jackets and to take to life rafts.
The Costa Concordia is 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It had 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Firefighters have reached two survivors trapped in a cabin on the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia in the Tiranian Sea.
The firefighters had made voice contact with the couple Saturday and found them in a cabin. At least three people were killed when the ship ran aground Friday evening off the northern Italian coast and flipped on its side with a breach in its hull. More than 30 others were injured.
Three bodies were recovered from the sea, and authorities say at least 40 people remain missing nearly 24 hours after the incident. Officials quoted by ANSA news agency said two Frenchmen died in the incident as well as one Peruvian crew member.
On Saturday, the ship’s captain, Italian Francesco Schettino, was taken into custody after several hours of questioning. Italian news agency ANSA says he could be facing several charges, including homicide and abandonment of the ship.
Video of survivors
<!–AV–>
Emergency operations halted as night fell on Saturday, after divers spent the day scouring the half submerged cruise liner and the coast guard searched the surrounding waters.
Rescuers using lifeboats and helicopters evacuated the more than 4,000 passengers and crew members to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland early Saturday.
Passengers who made it safely to land recounted the chaotic and terrifying evacuation. One of them was an American tourist from Arkansas, Mike Plath, who said some people had to swim to the shore.
“We were all standing there, and as the boat started going a little quicker, turning, I saw one of the cranes… It popped the life raft, and it exploded and it went boom! And it just crashed. There were two people on it, they got off I think… we saw like five people jump in the water and start swimming,” said Plath.
Passengers were sitting down to dinner at the time of the incident Friday night and were told the ship was having electrical problems.
There is no word yet on why the ship ran aground. When it hit the rocks, officials say, passengers were instructed to put on life jackets and to take to life rafts.
The Costa Concordia is 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It had 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Firefighters have reached two survivors trapped in a cabin on the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia in the Tiranian Sea.
The firefighters had made voice contact with the couple Saturday and found them in a cabin. At least three people were killed when the ship ran aground Friday evening off the northern Italian coast and flipped on its side with a breach in its hull. More than 30 others were injured.
Three bodies were recovered from the sea, and authorities say at least 40 people remain missing nearly 24 hours after the incident. Officials quoted by ANSA news agency said two Frenchmen died in the incident as well as one Peruvian crew member.
On Saturday, the ship’s captain, Italian Francesco Schettino, was taken into custody after several hours of questioning. Italian news agency ANSA says he could be facing several charges, including homicide and abandonment of the ship.
Video of survivors
<!–AV–>
Emergency operations halted as night fell on Saturday, after divers spent the day scouring the half submerged cruise liner and the coast guard searched the surrounding waters.
Rescuers using lifeboats and helicopters evacuated the more than 4,000 passengers and crew members to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland early Saturday.
Passengers who made it safely to land recounted the chaotic and terrifying evacuation. One of them was an American tourist from Arkansas, Mike Plath, who said some people had to swim to the shore.
“We were all standing there, and as the boat started going a little quicker, turning, I saw one of the cranes… It popped the life raft, and it exploded and it went boom! And it just crashed. There were two people on it, they got off I think… we saw like five people jump in the water and start swimming,” said Plath.
Passengers were sitting down to dinner at the time of the incident Friday night and were told the ship was having electrical problems.
There is no word yet on why the ship ran aground. When it hit the rocks, officials say, passengers were instructed to put on life jackets and to take to life rafts.
The Costa Concordia is 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It had 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Firefighters have reached two survivors trapped in a cabin on the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia in the Tiranian Sea.
The firefighters had made voice contact with the couple Saturday and found them in a cabin. At least three people were killed when the ship ran aground Friday evening off the northern Italian coast and flipped on its side with a breach in its hull. More than 30 others were injured.
Three bodies were recovered from the sea, and authorities say at least 40 people remain missing nearly 24 hours after the incident. Officials quoted by ANSA news agency said two Frenchmen died in the incident as well as one Peruvian crew member.
On Saturday, the ship’s captain, Italian Francesco Schettino, was taken into custody after several hours of questioning. Italian news agency ANSA says he could be facing several charges, including homicide and abandonment of the ship.
Video of survivors
<!–AV–>
Emergency operations halted as night fell on Saturday, after divers spent the day scouring the half submerged cruise liner and the coast guard searched the surrounding waters.
Rescuers using lifeboats and helicopters evacuated the more than 4,000 passengers and crew members to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland early Saturday.
Passengers who made it safely to land recounted the chaotic and terrifying evacuation. One of them was an American tourist from Arkansas, Mike Plath, who said some people had to swim to the shore.
“We were all standing there, and as the boat started going a little quicker, turning, I saw one of the cranes… It popped the life raft, and it exploded and it went boom! And it just crashed. There were two people on it, they got off I think… we saw like five people jump in the water and start swimming,” said Plath.
Passengers were sitting down to dinner at the time of the incident Friday night and were told the ship was having electrical problems.
There is no word yet on why the ship ran aground. When it hit the rocks, officials say, passengers were instructed to put on life jackets and to take to life rafts.
The Costa Concordia is 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It had 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Firefighters have reached two survivors trapped in a cabin on the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia in the Tiranian Sea.
The firefighters had made voice contact with the couple Saturday and found them in a cabin. At least three people were killed when the ship ran aground Friday evening off the northern Italian coast and flipped on its side with a breach in its hull. More than 30 others were injured.
Three bodies were recovered from the sea, and authorities say at least 40 people remain missing nearly 24 hours after the incident. Officials quoted by ANSA news agency said two Frenchmen died in the incident as well as one Peruvian crew member.
On Saturday, the ship’s captain, Italian Francesco Schettino, was taken into custody after several hours of questioning. Italian news agency ANSA says he could be facing several charges, including homicide and abandonment of the ship.
Video of survivors
<!–AV–>
Emergency operations halted as night fell on Saturday, after divers spent the day scouring the half submerged cruise liner and the coast guard searched the surrounding waters.
Rescuers using lifeboats and helicopters evacuated the more than 4,000 passengers and crew members to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland early Saturday.
Passengers who made it safely to land recounted the chaotic and terrifying evacuation. One of them was an American tourist from Arkansas, Mike Plath, who said some people had to swim to the shore.
“We were all standing there, and as the boat started going a little quicker, turning, I saw one of the cranes… It popped the life raft, and it exploded and it went boom! And it just crashed. There were two people on it, they got off I think… we saw like five people jump in the water and start swimming,” said Plath.
Passengers were sitting down to dinner at the time of the incident Friday night and were told the ship was having electrical problems.
There is no word yet on why the ship ran aground. When it hit the rocks, officials say, passengers were instructed to put on life jackets and to take to life rafts.
The Costa Concordia is 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It had 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Firefighters have reached two survivors trapped in a cabin on the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia in the Tiranian Sea.
The firefighters had made voice contact with the couple Saturday and found them in a cabin. At least three people were killed when the ship ran aground Friday evening off the northern Italian coast and flipped on its side with a breach in its hull. More than 30 others were injured.
Three bodies were recovered from the sea, and authorities say at least 40 people remain missing nearly 24 hours after the incident. Officials quoted by ANSA news agency said two Frenchmen died in the incident as well as one Peruvian crew member.
On Saturday, the ship’s captain, Italian Francesco Schettino, was taken into custody after several hours of questioning. Italian news agency ANSA says he could be facing several charges, including homicide and abandonment of the ship.
Video of survivors
<!–AV–>
Emergency operations halted as night fell on Saturday, after divers spent the day scouring the half submerged cruise liner and the coast guard searched the surrounding waters.
Rescuers using lifeboats and helicopters evacuated the more than 4,000 passengers and crew members to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland early Saturday.
Passengers who made it safely to land recounted the chaotic and terrifying evacuation. One of them was an American tourist from Arkansas, Mike Plath, who said some people had to swim to the shore.
“We were all standing there, and as the boat started going a little quicker, turning, I saw one of the cranes… It popped the life raft, and it exploded and it went boom! And it just crashed. There were two people on it, they got off I think… we saw like five people jump in the water and start swimming,” said Plath.
Passengers were sitting down to dinner at the time of the incident Friday night and were told the ship was having electrical problems.
There is no word yet on why the ship ran aground. When it hit the rocks, officials say, passengers were instructed to put on life jackets and to take to life rafts.
The Costa Concordia is 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It had 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Firefighters have reached two survivors trapped in a cabin on the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia in the Tiranian Sea.
The firefighters had made voice contact with the couple Saturday and found them in a cabin. At least three people were killed when the ship ran aground Friday evening off the northern Italian coast and flipped on its side with a breach in its hull. More than 30 others were injured.
Three bodies were recovered from the sea, and authorities say at least 40 people remain missing nearly 24 hours after the incident. Officials quoted by ANSA news agency said two Frenchmen died in the incident as well as one Peruvian crew member.
On Saturday, the ship’s captain, Italian Francesco Schettino, was taken into custody after several hours of questioning. Italian news agency ANSA says he could be facing several charges, including homicide and abandonment of the ship.
Video of survivors
<!–AV–>
Emergency operations halted as night fell on Saturday, after divers spent the day scouring the half submerged cruise liner and the coast guard searched the surrounding waters.
Rescuers using lifeboats and helicopters evacuated the more than 4,000 passengers and crew members to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland early Saturday.
Passengers who made it safely to land recounted the chaotic and terrifying evacuation. One of them was an American tourist from Arkansas, Mike Plath, who said some people had to swim to the shore.
“We were all standing there, and as the boat started going a little quicker, turning, I saw one of the cranes… It popped the life raft, and it exploded and it went boom! And it just crashed. There were two people on it, they got off I think… we saw like five people jump in the water and start swimming,” said Plath.
Passengers were sitting down to dinner at the time of the incident Friday night and were told the ship was having electrical problems.
There is no word yet on why the ship ran aground. When it hit the rocks, officials say, passengers were instructed to put on life jackets and to take to life rafts.
The Costa Concordia is 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It had 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Firefighters have reached two survivors trapped in a cabin on the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia in the Tiranian Sea.
The firefighters had made voice contact with the couple Saturday and found them in a cabin. At least three people were killed when the ship ran aground Friday evening off the northern Italian coast and flipped on its side with a breach in its hull. More than 30 others were injured.
Three bodies were recovered from the sea, and authorities say at least 40 people remain missing nearly 24 hours after the incident. Officials quoted by ANSA news agency said two Frenchmen died in the incident as well as one Peruvian crew member.
On Saturday, the ship’s captain, Italian Francesco Schettino, was taken into custody after several hours of questioning. Italian news agency ANSA says he could be facing several charges, including homicide and abandonment of the ship.
Video of survivors
<!–AV–>
Emergency operations halted as night fell on Saturday, after divers spent the day scouring the half submerged cruise liner and the coast guard searched the surrounding waters.
Rescuers using lifeboats and helicopters evacuated the more than 4,000 passengers and crew members to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland early Saturday.
Passengers who made it safely to land recounted the chaotic and terrifying evacuation. One of them was an American tourist from Arkansas, Mike Plath, who said some people had to swim to the shore.
“We were all standing there, and as the boat started going a little quicker, turning, I saw one of the cranes… It popped the life raft, and it exploded and it went boom! And it just crashed. There were two people on it, they got off I think… we saw like five people jump in the water and start swimming,” said Plath.
Passengers were sitting down to dinner at the time of the incident Friday night and were told the ship was having electrical problems.
There is no word yet on why the ship ran aground. When it hit the rocks, officials say, passengers were instructed to put on life jackets and to take to life rafts.
The Costa Concordia is 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It had 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
Firefighters have reached two survivors trapped in a cabin on the stricken Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia in the Tiranian Sea.
The firefighters had made voice contact with the couple Saturday and found them in a cabin. At least three people were killed when the ship ran aground Friday evening off the northern Italian coast and flipped on its side with a breach in its hull. More than 30 others were injured.
Three bodies were recovered from the sea, and authorities say at least 40 people remain missing nearly 24 hours after the incident. Officials quoted by ANSA news agency said two Frenchmen died in the incident as well as one Peruvian crew member.
On Saturday, the ship’s captain, Italian Francesco Schettino, was taken into custody after several hours of questioning. Italian news agency ANSA says he could be facing several charges, including homicide and abandonment of the ship.
Video of survivors
<!–AV–>
Emergency operations halted as night fell on Saturday, after divers spent the day scouring the half submerged cruise liner and the coast guard searched the surrounding waters.
Rescuers using lifeboats and helicopters evacuated the more than 4,000 passengers and crew members to the island of Giglio and to Porto Santo Stefano on the mainland early Saturday.
Passengers who made it safely to land recounted the chaotic and terrifying evacuation. One of them was an American tourist from Arkansas, Mike Plath, who said some people had to swim to the shore.
“We were all standing there, and as the boat started going a little quicker, turning, I saw one of the cranes… It popped the life raft, and it exploded and it went boom! And it just crashed. There were two people on it, they got off I think… we saw like five people jump in the water and start swimming,” said Plath.
Passengers were sitting down to dinner at the time of the incident Friday night and were told the ship was having electrical problems.
There is no word yet on why the ship ran aground. When it hit the rocks, officials say, passengers were instructed to put on life jackets and to take to life rafts.
The Costa Concordia is 290 meters long, with 13 decks. It had 13 bars, five restaurants, four swimming pools and 500 balconied staterooms.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
