Ben Ali loyalists threaten coup if Tunisian Islamists take power


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TUNIS // Loyalists of the deposed leader Zine el Abidine Ben Ali will mount a coup if Islamists take power in elections, the country's former interior minister warned yesterday.

Tunisia's main Islamist group, Ennahda, led by the moderate Muslim scholar Rachid Ghannouchi and banned under Mr Ben Ali, says it will contest an election scheduled for July after 23 years of one-man rule.

Experts say it could poll well, particularly in the conservative south, where there is deep frustration over poverty and unemployment.

Farhat Rajhi, who took over as Tunisian interior minister soon after the revolution, said in a video shared on Facebook: "If Ennahda takes power, there will be a coup d'etat.

"The people of the coast are not disposed to give up power and, if the elections go against them, there will be a coup d'etat."

"People of the coast" is a reference to Ben Ali loyalists who have their power base in and around his hometown, the coastal city of Sousse. Mr Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia in January.

His overthrow in January in the first of the uprisings to rock the Arab world has awoken tensions between pro- and anti-Islamists.

A common thread running through the revolts has been unease among secularists and in the West about whether democracy will open the door to Islamic rule. Egypt, where the popular Muslim Brotherhood will contest elections in September, will be watching developments in Tunisia closely.

Mr Rajhi is considered relatively independent, and a shrewd observer of Tunisian politics. But Ennahda officials said they did not believe a coup was likely.

"We do not yet have an official position on the declaration by Mr Rajhi, but I can tell you that we have faith in all the elements of the state and in the people to respect the will of the people," said Nourdine Bhiri, a senior Ennahda official.

The July 23 vote is for an assembly that will draft a new constitution.

Mr Rajhi was made interior minister soon after the revolution and replaced in March in the latest shake-up of a caretaker government struggling to keep Tunisia's shaky transition to democracy on track.

An ominous sign has been a string of mass prison breaks, the latest late on Wednesday when 58 prisoners escaped in Tunisia's second city of Sfax and were met by accomplices armed with metal bars and knives, the official TAP news agency reported.

Tunisian security officials have said in the past they believe the prison breaks to be the work of Ben Ali loyalists trying to sow chaos and undermine the transition.

Algeria plunged into chaos in 1992 when the military-backed government scrapped a legislative election that a radical Islamist party was poised to win. According to independent estimates, 200,000 people were killed in the violence that ensued.

The Details

Kabir Singh

Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series

Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa

Rating: 2.5/5 

Forced%20Deportations
%3Cp%3EWhile%20the%20Lebanese%20government%20has%20deported%20a%20number%20of%20refugees%20back%20to%20Syria%20since%202011%2C%20the%20latest%20round%20is%20the%20first%20en-mass%20campaign%20of%20its%20kind%2C%20say%20the%20Access%20Center%20for%20Human%20Rights%2C%20a%20non-governmental%20organization%20which%20monitors%20the%20conditions%20of%20Syrian%20refugees%20in%20Lebanon.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%9CIn%20the%20past%2C%20the%20Lebanese%20General%20Security%20was%20responsible%20for%20the%20forced%20deportation%20operations%20of%20refugees%2C%20after%20forcing%20them%20to%20sign%20papers%20stating%20that%20they%20wished%20to%20return%20to%20Syria%20of%20their%20own%20free%20will.%20Now%2C%20the%20Lebanese%20army%2C%20specifically%20military%20intelligence%2C%20is%20responsible%20for%20the%20security%20operation%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20Mohammad%20Hasan%2C%20head%20of%20ACHR.%3Cbr%3EIn%20just%20the%20first%20four%20months%20of%202023%20the%20number%20of%20forced%20deportations%20is%20nearly%20double%20that%20of%20the%20entirety%20of%202022.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESince%20the%20beginning%20of%202023%2C%20ACHR%20has%20reported%20407%20forced%20deportations%20%E2%80%93%20200%20of%20which%20occurred%20in%20April%20alone.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20comparison%2C%20just%20154%20people%20were%20forcfully%20deported%20in%202022.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Violence%20
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GAC GS8 Specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

The Gentlemen

Director: Guy Ritchie

Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant 

Three out of five stars

UAE%20PREMIERSHIP
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Richard Jewell

Director: Clint Eastwood

Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley

Two-and-a-half out of five stars 

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

Rocketman

Director: Dexter Fletcher

Starring: Taron Egerton, Richard Madden, Jamie Bell

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars 

Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series

All matches at the Harare Sports Club:

1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10

2nd ODI, Friday, April 12

3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14

4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16

UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed

Where to buy

Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com

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Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Babumoshai Bandookbaaz

Director: Kushan Nandy

Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami

Three stars

What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
 
  • Grade 9 = above an A*
  • Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
  • Grade 7 = grade A
  • Grade 6 = just above a grade B
  • Grade 5 = between grades B and C
  • Grade 4 = grade C
  • Grade 3 = between grades D and E
  • Grade 2 = between grades E and F
  • Grade 1 = between grades F and G
HEADLINE HERE
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