curfew
to celebrate in the streets.
The events in Tunisia are being watched closely by countries throughout North Africa and the Arab world, as Jon Leyne reports from Cairo.
As news of President Ben Ali's departure emerged, Egyptian state television moved quickly to live coverage. They've been watching events unfold, so far with no comment.
Countries across the region have also been suffering from the spiralling food prices and tough economic conditions that were the immediate spark for events in Tunisia.
And like Tunisia, most have only the thinnest
veneer
of democracy and little way for the people to express their frustration. But so far, there have been only limited protests elsewhere - none at all reported from Egypt, some demonstrations in Algeria which ended when the government gave
reassurance
over food price subsidies.
At least 60 pilgrims have been killed in a stampede after a religious festival in the southern Indian state of Kerala. A state minister said 75 others are being treated for injuries. The pilgrims were returning from the Hindu shrine of Sabarimala. Ailsa Auchnie reports.
A police officer in the state of Kerala told the Associated Press news agency that the stampede began when a jeep filled with pilgrims lost control and
smash
ed into a crowd of other worshippers. They'd been returning from offering prayers at a shrine in a remote, mountainous, densely-forested area. Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered at the shrine for an annual Hindu religious festival.