ELECTIONS

At least three more Tunisian government ministers have quit their posts following the resignation of the interim Prime Minister on Sunday, according to the state news agency, Tunis Afrique Presse.

Egypt's military leaders will hold a referendum on constitutional change on March 19, a parliamentary election in June and a presidential poll six weeks later, a youth activist said on Monday after meeting them.

ICE cocoa prices hit a fresh 32-year high of $3,706 a tonne in early trading on Tuesday, as fighting intensified in top producer Ivory Coast.

Boosted by the soccer World Cup, South Africa saw a record 15.1 percent increase in tourist arrivals in 2010 although the total of more than 8 million was not an all time-high, the tourism minister said on Tuesday.

Internet campaigns calling for protests against the 31-year rule of President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday did not lead to any mass gatherings in Zimbabwe, where police have threatened to crush any Egypt-style protests.

International Business Times spoke to Dilshod A. Achilov, a professor of political science at East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, and an expert on the Middle East and Islam about the feasibility of Arab nations emulating the models found in Turkey and Indonesia. Here is part 2 of the interview:

International Business Times spoke to Dilshod A. Achilov, a professor of political science at East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, and an expert on the Middle East and Islam about the feasibility of Arab nations emulating the models found in Turkey and Indonesia. Here is part 1 of the interview:

The political stalemate in Ivory Coast following the disputed presidential elections is escalating as gun battles have broken out once again between rival camps.

Stung soundly by the turn of events in Egypt, where it lost one of a few friendly governments in the region, Israel has swung back into action by calling for the banning of Muslim Brotherhood.

India's budget belied expectations of cuts in fuel taxes on Monday, denying any relief to state-run oil firms but boosting chances of a planned ministerial meeting taking up the issue of raising prices soon.

Irrespective of whether the new government will be able to renegotiate a better bailout deal, the outlook for the country remains grim owing to looming fiscal squeeze and waning consumer confidence.Irish outlook to remain grim even if Fine Gael wins better bailout deal

Sudanese riot police and security agents surrounded organisers of a protest against alleged election fraud on Sunday, witnesses said, in the latest sign of a clampdown following uprisings across the Arab world.

Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi resigned on Sunday after violent protests over his ties to the North African state's toppled former leader, triggering street celebrations in central Tunis.

Veteran Egyptian diplomat Amr Moussa said on Sunday he intends to run for president, a post held for three decades by Hosni Mubarak until he was toppled from power by a mass uprising this month.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced on Monday a food security bill for 2011/12, a budget measure that would provide cheap grains for millions of India's poor but which has sparked worries over its huge cost.

The finance minister announced on Monday a food security bill for 2011/12, a measure that would provide cheap grains for millions of poor but which has sparked worries of a huge fiscal cost.

The interim Prime Minister of Tunisia, Mohammed Ghannouchi, has resigned amidst demands by protesters for the removal of all figures associated with the ousted regime of former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.

Unrest in the Middle East has now apparently reached the Persian Gulf kingdom of Oman where two people are reported to have died following clashes between state security officers and anti-government protesters. Another ten people were wounded by police firing rubber bullets and tear gas, according to reports.

Tunisian government troops have fired tear gas and warning shots into a crowd of hundreds of protesters staging a rally outside the interior ministry in the capital Tunis.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, mired in a prostitution scandal, faces a tax fraud trial on Monday, the first of four court cases that will bring his legal woes back into the spotlight over coming months.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's embattled government will likely boost spending on social programmes in a populist budget on Monday, even as India is threatened with a potentially ballooning subsidy bill for food and fuel.