Tunisia (and Beyond) LiveBlog: In Control?

2105 GMT: In Egypt, Al Masry Al Youm grasps the nettle on the recent wave of self-immolations: "Desperate Egyptians setting themselves on fire like their Tunisian counterparts are unlikely to spur wide-ranging protests, but they might serve to pressure the government into providing economic concessions ahead of a pivotal presidential election in September."

And there are two more cases to consider: a pair of workers at a textile factory in Menufia set themselves on fire to protest transfers to other sections.

2045 GMT: Back from a break to find that the Tunisian Cabinet has agreed to lift the ban on all political groups as well as granting an amnesty to all political prisoners.

The parties who can now freely operate include the al-Nadha movement, usually identified as "Islamist".

In other decisions, the Cabinet withdrew university police from campuses, stripped the former ruling party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally of all public assets, and separated senior government employees from the RCD.

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Tunisia Analysis: The Significance of the Revolution (Bamyeh)

At the moment it is abundantly easy to sense everywhere in the Arab World elation at what appears to be one of greatest events in modern Arab history. A genuine popular revolution, spontaneous and apparently leaderless, yet sustained and remarkably determined, overthrew a system that by all accounts had been the most entrenched and secure in the whole region. The wider implications beyond Tunisia are hard to miss. Just as in the case of the Iranian revolution more than three decades ago, what is now happening in Tunisia is watched by all in the Arab world --- as either a likely model of the transformation to come in their respective countries, or at least as a badly needed source of revolutionary inspiration.

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Latest Tunisia Video: Wednesday's Protests

Reuters summary, via The Guardian, of interviews and protest in Tunis today:

Claimed footage of last image of Imed Trabelsi, nephew of wife of ex-President Ben Ali. Trabelsi died from a stab wound on Saturday:

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Tunisia (and Beyond) LiveBlog: Righting the Government Ship

2135 GMT: Elaph reports that about 50 people are continuing a sit-in protest on Habib Bourguiba Avenue in Tunis, breaking the 8 p.m. curfew.

2105 GMT: President Fuad Mbazaa, addressing the nation on television, promised "a complete break with the past" with a "revolution of dignity and freedom" honouring "all the legitimate aspirations of the uprising".

Mbazaa's address followed the first meeting of the Cabinet, which proceeded despite reports that it would be delayed until Thursday.

2050 GMT: The Democratic Forum for Work and Liberty, after a meeting of the leadership, has confirmed that the withdrawal of its head Mustafa Ben Jaafar as Minister of Health is "final".

A spokesman said,"We have decided to withdraw from the current government and non-participation....[The party will] call to start new negotiations to form a new government."

Jaafar had resigned, in what the party called a "suspension" of participation, as a minister on Tuesday.

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Tunisia Analysis: Will the New Government Survive?

Perhaps the most striking political development, given the symbolism of resistance and Government, was was the Minister who did not resign. Blogger Slim Amamou, an iconic figure inside and outside Tunisia because of his challenge to Ben Ali through social media, the man who had been arrested a week before Ben Ali fell and whose release symbolised the "new" Tunisia, refused to step down as Minister of Youth and Sport. 

Amamou said he would resign when he decided, not when others did. But that only brought further - questions.

What should he decide? And what will others, in the meeting rooms and on the streets, now decide?

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Tunisia Video: Claimed Footage of Tuesday Protests

Return of opposition leader Moncef Marzouki to Tunisia

Protest in El Kef in northwestern Tunisia:

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Tunisia and the Real Net Effect: How Facebookers Changed Politics and Newsrooms (Ruiz-Goiriena)

When thousands took to the World Wide Web from Tehran to protest the result of the presidential elections the summer of 2009, traditional western media's first instinct was to turn a blind eye. It wasn't until days later when massive networks of activists and students were operating strictly through Twitter that outlets like CNN finally figured out covering this phenomenon was probably worth their while. Unfortunately after everything was said and done, many of my fellow journalists in newsrooms across the world concluded the Tehran Twitter protests were an isolated occurrence --- until now. After weeks of unrest in Tunisia seen only through videos uploaded on Facebook, it seems as our psychological apprehension to rely on social networks as a news source will finally come to an end.

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Tunisia Latest Video: Monday's Protest in Tunis; Interrogation of Ben Ali Relative

Claimed video of interrogation of Mourad Trabelsi, brother-in-law of deposed President Ben Ali, who was arrested yesterday:

Reuters footage, via The Guardian, of protest:

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Tunisia and the Real Net Effect: A First-Hand Account of Why Social Media Matters (Kosina and "S")

"Without the Internet there would be no flow of information, neither within the country nor to the outside world. Without the Internet it would have been possible for the massacre to happen in silence for us and for the outside world. President Ben Ali had censored all the media and especially the Internet (everything except for Al-Jazeera TV)."

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Tunisia Analysis: Battles on the Street, Bigger Battles for A Government

There is a much larger battle going on, away from the clashes on the streets. On Sunday, Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi declared, "Tomorrow we will announce the new government which will open a new page in the history of Tunisia." 

The practical steps behind that flourish are that a coalition has been agreed, with former opposition factions such as the Democratic Progressive Party and the Democratic Forum for Labour and Freedoms each getting one post. "Technocrats" are likely to retain their posts, and there will be representatives from trade unions and lawyers' groups.

Is that enough for legitimacy? Two immediate issues emerge.

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