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Light Sabers

9 die in battle for Mogadishu


Press TV
Sun, 16 Jan 2011 06:39 UTC
Image
© UnknownMembers of al-Shabab group
At least nine people have been killed in clashes between Somali government troops and al-Shabab fighters in Mogadishu.

Three people lost their lives after a fierce gun battle broke out between al-Shabab fighters and transitional government troops in Mogadishu's northern district of Hodan late on Friday.

The skirmishes continued till the crack of dawn, a Press TV correspondent reported on Saturday.

In addition, six civilians were killed and ten others were wounded when mortar shells landed in and around Bakara Market -- the biggest and busiest market in southern Mogadishu.

"I saw the dead bodies of three civilians including a young child in Bakara Market," said an eyewitness, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.
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People

Deposed Tunisian President Ben Ali's close relative slain in Tunis


Press TV
Sun, 16 Jan 2011 06:26 UTC
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© UnknownOusted Tunisian ruler Zine El Abidin Ben Ali and his wife Leila
Imed Trabelsi, nephew of the powerful Tunisia's former first lady Leila Ben Ali, died on Sunday night in a military hospital in the capital city of Tunis, AFP reported.

In May, former Tunisian president appointed Trabelsi as mayor of the commune of La Goulette north of Tunis.

His appointment was criticized by the opposition since he had gained a bad reputation for corrupt practices.

Trabelsi is the first confirmed victim in the former president's family, known for their corruption.

In 2007, France ordered his arrest after the theft of a swish yacht belonging to Lazard Bank executive Bruno Roger, who is close to President Nicolas Sarkozy and former President Jacques Chirac. His country refused to extradite him.

In the past weeks, there have been massive street protests across Tunisia against what has been described as the theft of Tunisian wealth and lack of opportunities for the average citizen.
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Che Guevara

Degage! Tunisian protesters say PM must go too


Press TV
Sat, 15 Jan 2011 06:21 UTC
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© Unknown
Tunisian demonstrators have called on Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi to step down and leave the country, shortly after he announced that he had taken over as interim president.

Ghannouchi announced that he was assuming power on Friday, promising to enact social and political reforms. But tensions remain high and protesters in the capital are now reportedly demanding that Ghannouchi resign and leave the country.

The Tunisian army took control of the North African nation when President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali left the country due to a groundswell of public discontent shortly after sacking his cabinet members, AFP reported.

Tunisian military units have surrounded the international airport on the outskirts of Tunis after another day of unrest on the streets of the capital.

There are reports that Ghannouchi plans to hand over power to the leader of the Tunisian parliament, Fouad Mbazaa.

Meanwhile, there are conflicting reports about where Ben Ali is headed. Some reports say the president is heading for Qatar but Maltese air traffic controllers said that he is on his way to Paris via Malta.
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People

Egyptians call for Tunisian-style demos - which of the Arab dictatorships will fall next?


Press TV
Sat, 15 Jan 2011 06:10 UTC
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© UnknownTunisian youths throw stones at police forces in Tunis on Friday, Jan. 14, 2011.
Hundreds of Egyptians have gathered outside the Tunisian Embassy in Cairo to show their solidarity with Tunisians and have called for protests similar to those in Tunisia.

Egyptian activists opposed to President Hosni Mubarak's three-decade regime also looked to Friday's events in Tunisia with hope.

Activists are out on the streets to celebrate the overthrow of Tunisian President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who has fled the country. Anti-government demonstrations drove Ben Ali from power on Friday after 23 years in office.

The celebrating Egyptians congratulated the Tunisian people over their victory against their government, AFP reported.

"Ben Ali, tell Mubarak a plane is waiting for him too!" and "We are next, we are next, listen to the Tunisians, it's your turn Egyptians!" chanted the demonstrators, surrounded by heavy security. Reports say that Egyptian police have fanned out across the capital.
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Che Guevara

Palestinians hail Tunisia uprising


Press TV
Sat, 15 Jan 2011 06:06 UTC
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© Unknown
Palestinian resistance groups have hailed Tunisia uprising which led to the ouster of President Zine El Abidin Ben Ali, saying it could inspire the Arab world to reject "tyranny and injustice."

"We congratulate the Tunisian people for their uprising against the tyrannical regime," Daoud Shihab, a spokesman for the Islamic Jihad group, said on Saturday.

The events in Tunisia "demonstrate that the Arab masses are able to bring change for freedom and rejection of tyranny and injustice," he added.

Ben Ali, who had earlier fired his government and announced early elections, fled the country on Friday after a month of popular revolt that claimed dozens of lives.
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People

Lebanese observer: only a matter of time before Tunisian revolution sweeps through Arab world


Press TV
Sun, 16 Jan 2011 05:57 UTC
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© UnknownPeople celebrate in their vehicles in front of the Tunisian Interior Ministry after Tunisian President Ben Ali's address to the nation in Tunis
The Tunisia crisis could highly spread throughout the Arab world and threaten the "authoritarian" Arab governments, says a former ambassador to the UN.

In an interview with Press TV, Clovis Maksoud, Lebanon's former ambassador and permanent observer of the League of Arab States at the United Nations added that Tunisia uprising is a wake-up call for the Arab world.

"It's going to be infectious in several other areas in a manner that might not necessarily lead to bloodshed but [could] weaken the authority [in many Arab countries]," Maksoud told Press TV.

Tunisian President Zine El Abidin Ben Ali fled the country on Friday after a month of popular revolt that claimed dozens of lives. He had earlier fired his government and announced early elections.
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Che Guevara

Tunisia to hold polls in 60 days after President flees revolution


Press TV
Sun, 16 Jan 2011 05:49 UTC
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Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali addresses the nation in this still image taken from state TV. He then fled to Saudi Arabia
The council, Tunisia's highest legal authority on constitutional issues, decided to formally oust president Zine El Abidin Ben Ali and put Speaker Fouad Mebazaa in charge based on Article 57 of the Constitution.

Premier Mohammad Ghannouchi had earlier taken over from Ben Ali.

Tunisian airports were reopened after Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia.

Ben Ali ruled Tunisia for more than two decades. His era was marred by repeated human rights violations and torture.

Meanwhile, unrest continues in the capital Tunis where the central railway station and a market were set on fire. Witnesses have reported lootings in shopping centers.

Police have arrested several people in central Tunis during the overnight curfew.

Analysts believe the ouster of the Tunisian president is a warning to authoritarian regimes across the Arab world.
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Footprints

European tourists flee Tunisia as new interim president sworn in


Press TV
Sat, 15 Jan 2011 05:31 UTC
Image
© UnknownMilitary armored vehicles guard the center of Tunis on Jan. 15, 2011
Violence continues to rage in various parts of Tunisia one-day after a historic revolution ousted president Zine El Abidin Ben Ali from power.

Parliament speaker Fouad Mebazaa was sworn in as the interim president on Saturday.

In a televised address, Mebazaa said all political parties including the opposition would be consulted in the country's new political atmosphere.

"All Tunisians without exception and exclusion must be associated in the political process," he said after taking the oath. Under the constitution a new presidential election must be held within 60 days.

Soon after taking office, Mebazaa called on Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi to form a unity government.
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Light Sabers

Russia puts blame on Poland for crash


Press TV
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 05:11 UTC
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© Unknown
A report released by Russian investigators blames Poland for of the April plane crash which killed Polish President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others.

The report released on Wednesday said that Russian air traffic controllers were not to blame for the April 10 plane crash. It said pressure exerted on the pilot by officials on board led to the disaster.

The investigation focuses on the commander of Polish air force, General Andrzei Blasik, who reportedly had a high level of alcohol in his blood when entering the cockpit before the crash.

Tatyana Anodina, the head of Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee -- a regulatory body overseeing aviation in several former Soviet countries -- said that psychologists, including those from Poland, found Blasik's presence behind the pilot's decision to take a fatal risk.
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Heart - Black

French man in debt kills family, himself


Press TV
Thu, 13 Jan 2011 04:55 UTC
A retired elderly French man under severe financial debt pressure has killed himself after ending the lives of his wife, daughter, and mother.

The 62-year-old killed his family with a knife before ending his own life, leaving a suicide note, which explained his cause of his actions citing thousands of euros of consumption debts, local media reported on Wednesday.

According to France 24, the man's body was found hanging in his residential yard shortly after the discovery of the three bodies. The body of his 90-year-old mother was also found in her flat in Amiens.

The mayor of Pont-de-Metz Gerard Arlacon, an usher, and a policeman discovered the bodies after they went into the house to make an inventory of equipment before a referral.
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