Curfew lifted in Tunisia

TUNIS - The Tunisian authorities have lifted the night-time curfew, but the state of emergency which has been in force since Jan 14 will be maintained until further notice, state-run TAP news agency said.

The curfew was imposed Jan 13, a day before president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia following weeks of unrest over corruption, inflation and unemployment in the country.

According to Xinhua, life in Tunisia has largely returned to normal as the caretaker government tries to stabilise the country ahead of the elections, due to take place later this year.

Ben Ali’s ouster inspired similar protest movements across the Middle East and north Africa.

An 18-day mass uprising which began in Egypt Jan 25 led to the exit of president Hosni Mubarak who ruled the country for 30 years. Iran, Algeria, Yemen and Jordan have also witnessed anti-government protests in the past few weeks.