Tunisia Latest: Universities Closed as President Says Protests Are "Terrorist Act"

2255 GMT: Police have dispersed protesters in Ettadamen, 15 kilometres (9 miles) from the centre of Tunis.

Youths, chanting "We are not afraid, we are not afraid, we are afraid only of God," threw stones at police and vandalised shops, cars, and a government office. Security forces responded by firing tear gas canisters and shots into the air.

2120 GMT: Minister of Information Samir Abidi has said this evening that 19 demonstrators were killed (other reports say 21) on Saturday and Sunday in Thala and Kasserine. Abidi claimed more than 30 police were injured.

2105 GMT: Residents in Kassarine, where more than 20 people died this weekend, said demonstrators had been fired on from rooftops. They added that a curfew was been imposed, with snipers stationed on roofs.

The Government, which had limited itself to saying "at least 14" people died this weekend, said today that seven more had been killed. Activists and human rights groups say at least 50 people died on Saturday and Sunday.

1630 GMT: The Tunisian stock market index has fallen to its lowest level in eight months.

The Tunindex lost 3.7% today, and 6.2% in two days, to reach its lowest point since 5 May. The index had gained 8.7% in the past 12 months.

1625 GMT: Police in Tunis have dispersed a demonstration by actors, musicians, and artists in Tunis.

Stage director Fadhel Jaibi said the protest, in front of the municipal theatre, by about 100 artists and intellectuals was "violently broken up" by a large number of uniformed and plainclothes officers.

1620 GMT: Radio Kalima journalist Ben Nissar Hassan has been detained at his home in Chebba . He had just posted a video on Facebook on events in Chebba and was editing another video on violence in Mahdia He was taken to an unknown location.

1345 GMT: Pictures of Day. Tunisian police, one pointing a rifle, face down protesters:

1230 GMT: The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights say it has a list of the names of 35 people killed this weekend. 

Souhayr Belhassen, the President of the IFHR, said, "The total figure is higher. It's somewhere around 50, but that's an estimate."

The Tunisian Government has only admitted to 14 deaths. Some news media had cited "at least 20" fatalities, but one Tunisian organisation was claiming on Sunday that the death toll was 51.

0730 GMT: Media are still taking in the significance of Government statements and actions on Monday, with a marked difference in coverage of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali's speech.

The New York Times wakes up to the weeks of protests --- as late as Sunday, its only notice of Tunisia was the listing of Tozeur as one of "41 Places to Go" in 2011 with its "camel racing, souks, and eco-lodging in a Saharan oasis" --- by highlighting Ben Ali's denunciation of foreign-supported subversives: “The events were the work of masked gangs that attacked at night government buildings and even civilians inside their homes in a terrorist act that cannot be overlooked."

Al Jazeera goes for the positive side, "Tunisian Leader Promises New Jobs", with attention to Ben Ali's declaration that an additional 300,000 people will be employed.

The key issue, of course, will be the response to Ben Ali's statement. Al Jazeera focuses on the reaction from Ahmed Najib Chebbi, leader of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party. He criticised both Ben Ali's presentation of the terrorism scenario --- "the demonstrations were non-violent and the youths were claiming their rights to jobs" --- and the 300,000 declaration: ""The people do not believe in promises," he said. "What does this mean? How will these jobs be created?"

There is no mention, however, of the response beyond the establishment parties. Just before Ben Ali's speech, the Government --- while insisting that protest had been "contained" --- was trying to forestall any resistance by shutting down universities and schools indefinitely. But as the President was speaking, standing "as if ready to dash out of the room at a moment's notice", footage was circulating of demonstrators burning his poster (see yesterday's updates).

Protests continued on Monday in Kassarine, south of Tunis, where more than 20 people died at the weekend. Sadok Mahmoudi from the UGTT workers union. claimed security forces fired into a crowd, killing 12 more people: "The funeral processions [for those killed on Sunday] turned into demonstrations, and the police fired [at] the youths who were at these...processions."

There were also protests in Gassrine in southwest Tunisia and in Rgeb, and army trucks were sent to reinforce police in several cities. Students also marched in the capital Tunis, although business in the capital proceeded without disruption.