The final act of the kleptocracy by the Ben Ali family was to steal one and a half tonnes of gold, with the president's wife personally collecting the bullion from an initially reluctant but eventually browbeaten president of the country's central bank, reports the UK Independent. Within hours the allegations – denied by the central bank – had been turned into slogans on the streets of Tunis in another demonstration, as protesters vented their fury at the former first family.

Tunisia's Zine El Abidine Ben Ali flees at the site of popular protest.

Basel Saleh

Bernard Founou Tchuiguoua

Salim Ahmed Salim

The Arab Commission for Human Rights, SHERPA and Transparence International France (TI France) has filed a complaint with the French public prosecutor (Procureur de la République) against several members of Ben Ali and Trabelsi families. The objective is the opening of a judiciary inquiry into the assets they own in France, which could have come from the embezzlement of public funds. Corruption inside Ben Ali’s regime has been revealed with the recent revelation by Wikileaks of a diplomatic cable from the US embassy in Tunis.

A US Embassy cable from 2006 discussed the possible replacement of Tunisia's Dictator Zine El-Abedine Ben Ali. It left little faith in the opposition but in many ways foresaw PM Mohammed Ghannouchi's attempt to consolidate the ruling party's power and who will attempt to gain power.

The Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten released a series of US diplomatic cables from 2006 on massive and pervasive corruption and nepotism in Tunisia and its effect on economic development and social problems. The cables show that the United States government was fully aware of the dangerous and debilitating level of corruption in Tunisia, and its anti-democratic implications.

The European Union has offered to help organise elections in Tunisia following its democratic uprising that culminated in the flight of leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali to Saudi Arabia. However, asked whether this 'solidarity' extended to other democracy movements across north Africa, the commission refused to be drawn regarding other regimes in the region.'We cannot speculate on situations that are not ongoing,' said foreign affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic.

Like many of its neighbours in the region, Tunisia has long approached the internet as a force to be censored. Tunisians are barred from accessing a wide variety of sites, from the seemingly innocuous YouTube to sites providing information on human rights in their country. Yet, in a surprising speech in which Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the Tunisian president, announced that he will not run again for office, he also promised something long hoped-for by Tunisian netizens: Internet freedom.

A four-part series of US diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks shows that the US knew about the extent of corruption and discontent in Tunisia, and chose to support Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the now deposed Tunisian president, regardless. Written in June of 2006 by William Hudson, the US ambassador to Tunisia, the memos were composed just four months after Donald Rumsfeld, the then-US secretary of defence, visited Tunisia to discuss expanding military ties between the two countries.

Tunisia is trying to restore order following the 'Jasmine Revolution' that led former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali to leave the country on Friday. Until new presidential elections are held within the next two months, Chamber of Deputies Speaker Foued Mebazza will be Tunisia's president. Ben Ali is now in Jeddah, the Saudi Royal Palace confirmed Saturday.

A jobless man who set himself on fire in a northeast Algerian town bordering strife-torn Tunisia to protest the mayor's refusal to meet him over jobs and housing died of his injuries on Sunday, his family said. It was the one of four attempted public suicides in Algeria this past week in apparent copycat replays of last month's self-immolation of a 26-year-old graduate in Tunisia which triggered a popular revolt that led to the ouster of that country's ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has welcomed the pledge from Tunisian President Ben Ali to allow press freedom and to end internet censorship, saying the move vindicates the long-running campaign for independence by journalists led by the Syndicat national des journalistes tunisiens (SNJT), an IFJ affiliate. 'We welcome this commitment to press freedom by President Ben Ali,' said Jim Boumelha, IFJ President. 'It is long overdue and now he must make good on his promises.'

Tunisian netizens are working around the clock to show the rest of the world the ongoing carnage in their country. Despite the fact that protesters on the ground are facing a heavy-handed response from the authorities, and cyber-activists are facing the same dilemma, photographs, testimonies and videos showing the daily mayhem are appearing online. Visit this Global Voices page to see a video of a protest in which shots are fired and photographs of the situation.

Reporters Without Borders has condemned the arrests and disappearances of bloggers and online activists across a number of Tunisian cities. The worldwide press freedom organisation has monitored at least five such cases but the list could well be longer. Police arrested the bloggers to question them about hacking into government websites by the militant group Anonymous, several sources told the organisation.

In the midst of recent protests in Sidi Bouzid, the Tunisian public discovered a new source of information which enabled them to get the latest developments as soon as they took place. Social media sites such as Facebook now compete with professional news organisations, which some observers have criticised for not reporting on the demonstrations.

Even though freedom of conscience is enshrined in Article 5 of the Tunisian constitution, which 'protects the free exercise of beliefs with reservation that they do not disturb the public order', a growing number of women experience coercion in religious practices. Rabiaa, in her 30s, is one of them. She admits to wearing Islamic garments out of fear of her husband's violence. 'He threatened to divorce me and to prevent me from seeing my kids if I insisted on my rejection of the veil and cloak,' she told Magharebia.

Confronted with corruption and high unemployment, the Tunisian people have taken to the streets in protest. In this article from the

Tunisian lawyers have been making a stand throughout protests in that country - and paying the price for it. The lawyers have been protesting regularly to denounce what happened in Sidi Bouzid and the social situation in Tunisia. This is why the government has decided to ‘punish’ them. Every day, news of the kidnapping, arrest, or assault of lawyers is surfacing on social networking sites, report bloggers via Global Voices.

Online activists have attacked and at least momentarily disabled several Tunisian government websites in the latest act of protest against the country's embattled leadership. As of Monday afternoon, local time, at least eight websites had been affected, including those for the president, prime minister, ministry of industry, ministry of foreign affairs, and the stock exchange. The attack, which began on Sunday night, coincided with a national strike, planned to take place on Monday, that organisers said would be the biggest popular event of its size since Zine El Abidine Ben Ali assumed the presidency.

Tunisian activists pounced on the latest Wikileaks US Embassy Cables, dedicating a new website to republish and discuss the revelations related to their country, reports Global Voices. Tunileaks, was launched by Nawaat one hour after the whistle-blowing site unleashed the cables on 28 November. The first release contained 17 cables issued from the US Embassy in Tunisia. They mainly dealt with the neglect of human rights in Tunisia and the restrictions on freedom of expression.