Tunisia calm after day of violent clashes

The Tunisian capital appears to be calm after a night curfew was put in place following clashes and rapid political developments during the day.

Anti-government protests had continued throughout the day, as demands grew for President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to quit.

Ben Ali later stepped aside, as Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi took over as interim president.

The president has ruled with an iron fist for 23 years, but anger over soaring unemployment and corruption finally spilled into the streets and led to him fleeing the country.

Thousands of demonstrators from all walks of life mobbed the capital of Tunis to demand Ben Ali's ouster, the culmination of weeks of protests that have swept the country.

The shakeup is certain to have repercussions in the Arab world and beyond - as a sign that massive public outrage could bring down a leader as entrenched and powerful as Ben Ali.

The president tried vainly to hold onto power amid Friday's riots, declaring a state of emergency, dissolving the government and promising new legislative elections within six months.

A day earlier he had promised not to run for re-election in 2014 and also slashed prices on key foods such as sugar, bread and milk.

The 74-year-old leader came to power in a bloodless coup in 1987, taking over from a man called formally President-for-Life.

Ben Ali seized power from Habib Bourguiba, the founder of modern-day Tunisia who set the Muslim country on a pro-Western course after independence from France in 1956.

Ben Ali removed Bourguiba from office for "incompetence," saying he had become too old, senile and sick to rule. He promised then that his leadership would "open the horizons to a truly democratic and evolved political life." But after a brief period of reforms early on, Tunisia's political evolution stopped.