TUNIS // Tunisia's toppled dictator and his wife are facing charges of inciting violence in connection with a crackdown after his overthrow in January, the official TAP news agency has reported.
The report cited a justice ministry statement on Wednesday that Zine el Abidine Ben Ali and the former first lady Leila Trabelsi were wanted on charges including "plotting against the interior security of the state" and "inciting disorder, murder or pillaging on Tunisian soil."
The latest charges come on top of 18 others already filed against Mr Ben Ali, who fled along with much of his family to Saudi Arabia on January 14 amid a popular uprising.
The charges stem from an incident in the town of Ouardanin the day after his deposition, when four youths were killed as a crowd tried to prevent Mr Ben Ali's nephew, Kais Ben Ali, from fleeing the country. The victims' families allege the former president ordered the security forces to open fire on the youths.
A United Nations mission has said at least 219 people were killed in the protests that rocked the nation for weeks. A women's group has also alleged that security forces raped, tortured and robbed during the upheaval.
The Ben Ali and Trabelsi extended families were notoriously corrupt, with business interests in nearly every sector of the Tunisian economy, and the target of much public outrage after the regime fell.
Tunisia has asked Saudi Arabia to extradite Mr Ben Ali, but the request has gone unanswered. Tunisian authorities also asked the Saudis for details on the deposed president's health after rumours surfaced he had been ill or possibly died.
The country's tourism-dependent economy has struggled in the wake of the upheaval. The revolution in Egypt and continued fighting in Libya, which has occasionally spilled over into Tunisia, have only made matters worse.
The World Bank president, Robert Zoellick, on Wednesday announced the bank had granted Tunisia $500 million in "urgent budgetary aid". Speaking at a conference that capped a two-day visit to Tunis, he said the African Development Bank had agreed to provide marching funds.
The money is aimed at supporting "reforms to improve governance, transparency, laws on freedom of association, and on efforts to create jobs and promote poor regions," Mr Zoellick said. He added that he considered the country's transitional period a "really historical moment for Tunisia and for the entire region."
Tunisia's revolution, the first of many revolts that have spread throughout the Arab world this year, began in late December.
Building boom turning to bust as Turkey's economy slows
Deep in a provincial region of northwestern Turkey, it looks like a mirage - hundreds of luxury houses built in neat rows, their pointed towers somewhere between French chateau and Disney castle.
Meant to provide luxurious accommodations for foreign buyers, the houses are however standing empty in what is anything but a fairytale for their investors.
The ambitious development has been hit by regional turmoil as well as the slump in the Turkish construction industry - a key sector - as the country's economy heads towards what could be a hard landing in an intensifying downturn.
After a long period of solid growth, Turkey's economy contracted 1.1 per cent in the third quarter, and many economists expect it will enter into recession this year.
The country has been hit by high inflation and a currency crisis in August. The lira lost 28 per cent of its value against the dollar in 2018 and markets are still unconvinced by the readiness of the government under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to tackle underlying economic issues.
The villas close to the town centre of Mudurnu in the Bolu region are intended to resemble European architecture and are part of the Sarot Group's Burj Al Babas project.
But the development of 732 villas and a shopping centre - which began in 2014 - is now in limbo as Sarot Group has sought bankruptcy protection.
It is one of hundreds of Turkish companies that have done so as they seek cover from creditors and to restructure their debts.
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
