[ti:Tunisians Mourn Loses in Jasmine Revolution] [ar:Steve Ember] [al:IN THE NEWS] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]This is IN THE NEWS [00:05.12]in VOA Special English. [00:08.06]Tunisia is observing [00:10.62]three days of mourning [00:12.40]for people killed in the revolution [00:15.20]that ousted the president a week ago. [00:18.58]As many as one hundred people [00:21.47]may have died since the start [00:24.16]of the uprising in December. [00:26.89]The former president, [00:28.73]Zine el-Abidene Ben Ali, [00:30.92]held power for twenty-three years. [00:34.12]A temporary government [00:36.61]has offered a general pardon [00:38.80]to political prisoners and agreed to [00:42.03]recognize banned political parties. [00:45.17]The acting prime minister, [00:48.58]Mohammed Ghannouchi, has also [00:50.93]removed all restrictions on the media. [00:54.35]The interim government [00:56.80]promises to hold elections. [00:58.99]And it has arrested members [01:01.83]of Mr. Ben Ali's family [01:04.07]for investigation of corruption. [01:06.75]But protesters in Tunis and elsewhere [01:10.54]continued to demand the removal of [01:13.94]any officials from the old ruling party. [01:17.62](SOUND) [01:20.91]On Friday, the first day [01:22.70]of national mourning, protesters [01:24.95]in Tunis welcomed police officers [01:27.98]who joined them for the first time. [01:30.37]Still, the situation calmed enough [01:34.21]this week for the government [01:36.30]to announce that schools and [01:38.53]universities will reopen next week. [01:41.97]The protests grew out of anger [01:45.26]over high unemployment and food prices, [01:48.60]which are currently reaching [01:50.63]new highs on world markets. [01:53.42]The question now is how much [01:56.40]the events in Tunisia [01:58.35]will influence people [02:00.24]in other countries, [02:01.69]like this man in Algeria. [02:04.17]MAN (TRANSLATED): "Our problem [02:07.69]is not to do with cooking oil, [02:09.08]sugar or semolina. [02:10.23]Our problem is with the injustice, [02:12.32]the plundering of wealth and oppression." [02:14.94]Maha Azzam is a North Africa expert [02:18.03]at Chatham House, [02:19.42]a research organization in London. [02:21.82]MAHA AZZAM: "Over the next few months [02:23.56]leading up to the presidential elections, [02:25.45]if we see protests [02:27.84]on the streets in Egypt [02:29.14]then we are underway [02:30.88]to some very serious change [02:32.72]in a key country in the region." [02:34.91]In Cairo, a protester set himself [02:37.84]on fire outside the parliament building. [02:40.64]People have also burned themselves [02:43.43]in other countries [02:44.82]-- all reminders of the act [02:46.86]of resistance that started [02:48.90]the revolution in Tunisia. [02:50.79]Mohamed Bouazizi, a vegetable seller, [02:54.78]became so tired of abusive officials [02:58.16]that he set himself on fire and later died. [03:01.89]The events in Tunisia are being called [03:05.33]the Jasmine Revolution [03:07.42]after the national flower. [03:09.51]But Tunisia is in many ways [03:12.59]an exception in the Arab world. [03:15.02]It has a solid middle class [03:18.96]built by an economy [03:19.86]not tied to oil production. [03:22.20]It has a high level of education [03:25.27]and more equal rights [03:27.16]between men and women. [03:29.11]And it has a popular army [03:32.10]that has largely stayed out of politics. [03:35.43]One political expert says [03:38.77]even the corruption was different, [03:41.16]limited mainly to the former [03:43.56]president and his family. [03:45.34]This week, Arab leaders [03:48.58]held an economic summit meeting [03:50.82]in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. [03:52.96]Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak [03:55.80]called for investment in young people. [03:58.89](SOUND) [04:03.88]Employment is a major priority, [04:07.37]he said, along with education, [04:10.04]economic growth and social [04:12.83]and human development. [04:15.01]Arab League Secretary General [04:18.30]Amr Moussa told the leaders that [04:20.94]-- in his words [04:21.98]-- "the Arab soul is broken." [04:24.77]He warned them that [04:26.86]"the Tunisian revolution [04:28.26]is not far from us." [04:30.84]And that's IN THE NEWS [04:33.28]in VOA Special English. [04:36.17]You can share comments, [04:38.51]and read what other people are saying, [04:41.88]at 51voa.com [04:46.07]and on Facebook and Twitter [04:48.76]at VOA Learning English. [04:51.50]I'm Steve Ember.