N Ossetia Muslim leader shot dead

27 December 2012 Last updated at 09:40 GMT A Muslim spiritual leader has been shot dead in the Russian Caucasus republic of North Ossetia.

Deputy mufti Ibragim Dudarov was hit by several bullets fired at his car as he was driving home late on Wednesday, near the regional capital Vladikavkaz.

There have been similar attacks on Muslim leaders this year in the Russian republics of Dagestan and Tatarstan.

The motive in Dudarov's case is not clear. The mufti said his deputy "was not in conflict with anyone".

He called the attack "a stab in the back", linking it to Dudarov's work in a local Muslim spiritual organisation. But he said Islamist militants - blamed for many attacks in nearby Dagestan and Chechnya - were not active in North Ossetia.

North Ossetia is a mainly Christian republic which was ravaged by fighting between Christian Ossetians and Muslim Ingush in the early 1990s.

Dudarov, 38, lived in the village of Chmi near Vladikavkaz with his wife and four children, the youngest being a girl born just a month ago, Russia's Newsru.com website reports.

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Tomato protest for Tunisia leader

17 December 2012 Last updated at 16:44 GMT Protesters demanded the fall of the government Protesters have thrown tomatoes and stones at Tunisia's President Moncef Marzouki in Sidi Bouzid, where the Arab Spring started exactly two years ago.

Mr Marzouki was swiftly evacuated by security officers, disrupting his rally to mark the anniversary.

Vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself alight in Sidi Bouzid, starting the uprising that ousted the former regime.

The new government has faced a series of protests recently, as people accuse it of failing to improve their lives.

Protesters invaded the square where Mr Marzouki had addressed a crowd of about 5,000 people, AFP news agency reports.

They threw tomatoes and stones, forcing security officers to evacuate him and parliamentary Speaker Mustapha Ben Jaafar.

The protesters shouted "the people want the fall of the government" - one of the rallying cries of the revolution that overthrew long-serving ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.

The unrest then spread to Egypt, Libya and other countries in the Arab world.

In his speech, Mr Marzouki promised economic progress within six months to the residents of Sidi Bouzid, a poor town in central west Tunisia, AFP reports.

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