Tunisian Prime Minister Resigns
BBC reports:
Tunisian Prime Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi has announced on state TV that he is resigning - a key demand of demonstrators.
He was speaking at a news conference in Tunis, after making a lengthy speech defending his record in government.
Mr Ghannouchi is seen as being too close to former President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, who was toppled in an uprising last month.
Mr Ghannouchi, 69, had served under Mr Ben Ali since 1989.
"After having taken more than one week of thinking, I became convinced, and my family shared my conviction, and decided to resign. It is not fleeing my responsibilities; I have been shouldering my responsibilities since 14 January [when Mr Ben Ali fled]," he said.
"I am not ready to be the person who takes decisions that would end up causing casualties," he added.
"This resignation will serve Tunisia, and the revolution and the future of Tunisia," he added.
Within hours a replacement was named for Mr Ghannouchi - Beji Caid-Essebsi, 84, who served as foreign minister in the government of the late President Habib Bourguiba.
