Tunisia President Turns Over Power to Prime Minister

Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi assumed the duties of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali after a declaration of a state of emergency prompted by demonstrations aimed at forcing Ben Ali’s resignation.

Almost a month of protests culminated today in clashes in the capital, Tunis, where thousands of people gathered and some tried to storm the Interior Ministry. The demonstrations over unemployment, forecast at 13.1 percent this year, began in central Tunisia and escalated into a nationwide condemnation of government repression and corruption.