Middle East rulers make concessions to unrest, Posted by Meosha Eaton

As reported by Reuters:


Feb 2 (Reuters) - Protests that are spreading around the Arab world began in Tunisia after a young man set himself on fire in mid-December because police seized his grocery cart.

The death of Mohamed Bouazizi, who became a martyr to Tunisian crowds who drove authoritarian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali from power, set off other protests that have triggered a political earthquake in the Middle East.

Here are details of political changes in the region:


* TUNISIA -- Having made empty promises of reforms and elections, Tunisia's Ben Ali fled to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in charge of a police state. Days of clashes -- during which the United Nations said 147 people were killed -- led to his ouster on Jan. 14. Mohamed Ghannouchi, prime minister under Ben Ali since 1999, now heads an interim government.

-- Ghannouchi appointed opposition figures to a national unity coalition but after more violent protests, he purged the new cabinet of most of the remnants of Ben Ali's regime.

-- Major street protests have dried up in recent days, after the reshuffle appeased public opinion.

-- Tunisia's interior ministry also replaced 34 senior security officials, to overhaul the network of police, security forces and spies built up by Ben Ali over two decades.

* EGYPT -- Protesters demonstrating for and against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak clashed in Cairo on Wednesday in the central Tahrir Square, scene of mass protests that have shaken Mubarak's rule.

-- A million people throughout Egypt called on Tuesday for Mubarak to go. In a television broadcast, he announced he would not stand again when his term ends in September and would work to change clauses in the constitution that make it almost impossible to mount a realistic challenge to the presidential candidate nominated by his ruling party.

-- The parliament speaker also said on Wednesday he wanted the promised constitutional reforms completed in less than 10 weeks. But opposition leaders said Mubarak must go immediately.

-- Mubarak has alredy appointed a new government and a vice-president -- a post not occupied since he was catapulted to the presidency after the 1981 assassination of Anwar Sadat.


* YEMEN -- Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key U.S. ally against al Qaeda, said on Wednesday he would not seek to extend his presidency in a move that would end his three-decade rule when his current term expires in 2013.

-- Eyeing the protests sweeping the region, Saleh also vowed not to pass on the reins of government to his son. He appealed to the opposition to call off new protests.

-- Saleh promised direct election of provincial governors and also agreed to re-open voter registration for elections due in April after opposition complaints that around 1.5 million Yemenis were unable to sign up. -- Last week, anti-government protests drew around 16,000 people. Some called for Saleh to leave. A new opposition rally will go ahead on Thursday in the capital Sanaa.


* JORDAN -- King Abdullah of Jordan, a close U.S. ally, replaced his prime minister on Tuesday after protests, but the Islamist opposition dismissed the move as insufficient.

-- The King asked Marouf Bakhit, a conservative former prime minister to head a new government after accepting the resignation of Samir Rifai, whose dismissal was demanded in a series of protests across the country. He also asked the new government for practical, speedy and tangible steps to launch a path of political reform.

-- Islamists, leftists and trade unionists had demonstrated in Amman on Jan. 28 to demand wider freedoms. A crowd of at least 3,000 chanted: "We want change."

-- Banners showed a wider range of grievances than the high food prices that fuelled earlier protests two weeks ago, and included demands for free elections and the dismissal of Rifai's government and a representative parliament.

-- Jordan has already announced a $225 million package of cuts in the prices of some types of fuel and staples including sugar and rice. Rifai had also announced wage increases to civil servants and the military in an attempt to restore calm.

* ALGERIA -- Several Algerian towns including the capital experienced days of rioting in January, provoked by a jump in food prices. Two people died and hundreds were injured during the clashes, officials said. At least four men set themselves on fire in provincial towns.

-- To calm the situation, Algeria cut the cost of some basic foodstuffs and to increase by 18 percent the amount of soft wheat it supplies to the local market each month.