in the final days of 2010, a series of anti—government protests begin in tunisia after a young graduate sets himself on fire when stopped from selling fruit and vegetables without a licence. they soon gain an unstoppable momentum. injust under a month, the demonstrations reach a scale rarely seen in the arab world. gunfire so far, more than 100 people have died in clashes with security forces amid a wave of arrests. the protesters are calling for an end to president ben ali's regime. tunisia, in january 2011, has stability but little freedom. president ben ali maintains strict control of society, shored up by a vast network of spies, informers and secret police. ben ali came to power in 1987, ousting his predecessor to become he promised reform, democracy, women's rights and education. but he had failed to deliver a more free and open society, the protests that began in december erupt quickly. people are taking to the streets, railing against poverty, unemployment and political repression. 0n the evening of january the 13th, the president appears on television to address the nation, urging calm. a commanding ben ali says he has understood the outrage on the street and promised widespread reforms, but will not step down. the bbc has obtained secret recordings of phone calls we believe to have been made by the president to some of his closest advisers. they have been forensically analysed by audio experts, who found no evidence of tampering or manipulation. we have also played these recordings to people who know the individuals heard in them. they believe the voices to be genuine, further supporting the authenticity of the recordings. however, this is strongly disputed by some of those who appear to be in them. in the first recording, the president opens up to a close confident, believed to be tarak ben ammar, an influential media tycoon. seemingly congratulated by one of tunisia's most influential media men that his speech was a success, president ben ali ends the day reassured and still in control. but, overnight, more than a dozen people die in clashes between demonstrators and the police. as day breaks, tens of thousands return to the streets across the country, calling for the resignation of the president and an end to the regime. a state of emergency was declared. later that day, the president is seen escorting his wife and children to a military airport just outside the capital. what he does next will change the course of history for his country, the middle east, and the world. ben ali joins his family on the plane. he decides to escort them to safety. while the plane is in the air, unconfirmed reports start to emerge of a missing president. uncertainty spreads across the country. the prime minister appears on television to announce that the president is temporarily unable to exercise his duties. however, he did not confirm or deny the reports that ben ali had left the country. from the plane, ben ali calls who we believe to be his defence minister, ridha grira, for news about the situation on the ground. president ben ali is one of the last tunisians to learn that an interim president has taken over. as night falls, the army and security forces have reclaim control of the streets, and a strict curfew is in place across the country. but one man goes out in defiance. this video becomes iconic across the arab world and signals the beginning of the end of the ben ali regime. on his plane, ben ali makes another call to a man we believe to be his close confidant kamel eltaief. the president then calls who we understand to be the head of the army, general rachid ammar. he wants to know if it is safe to return. as he nears saudi arabia, and having been told not to return immediately, he contacts his defence minister again, ridha grira, for further advice. just after midnight, president ben ali's plane lands in jeddah. he orders the pilot to prepare for their return trip but the pilot disobeys. he abandons president ben ali and flies back to tunisia. 15 january, 2011. it is a new dawn for tunisia. ben ali still hopes to return. but in this last call to his defence minister, he learns there is no way back. in under2li hours, one of the world's most fearsome and longest ruling dictatorships was toppled. the protesters had won. if, as our research suggests, the recordings are genuine, they reveal how president ben ali wanted to return immediately, but some of his aides did not support that. he remained in exile in saudi arabia until his death in 2019. good evening. it's a quiet weather story at the moment. we'll have clear skies over the next few hours across england, wales, and eastern scotland — that will allow those temperatures to fall away. but a bit more of a westerly feed driving in some cloud off the atlantic, bringing more moisture to the northwest of the great glen, maybe a spot or two of drizzle. that will hold temperatures up to around 4—6 celsius. further south, we've got clear skies, and so minus 2—3 not out of the question in rural parts as high pressure tends to build once again. so there will be some frost around, eventually as we go through the week, there'll be some patchy fog, as well. but generally, that quiet weather story with a good deal of dry weather is the one to cling onto. lots of sunshine across the bulk of the country for monday — we keep that cloud into the far north and west. temperatures, though, under light winds, dry and sunny after that chilly start, are likely to sit between 8—9 celsius. that's how it's looking, enjoy your week ahead. this is bbc news. the headlines at 7pm: the man who took four people hostage at a synagogue in texas is confirmed to be a british man named malik faisal akram — his family say they are devastated and do not condone his actions. novak djokovic has been deported from australia afterjudges rejected the unvaccinated tennis star's appeal to stay in the country on public health grounds. labour leader sir keir starmer says borisjohnson broke the law and should resign, over a series of parties at downing street during coronavirus restrictions. i think the facts speak for themselves. i think the prime minister broke the law, i think he then lied about what had happened. a british woman is missing in tonga after being washed away in the tsunami which hit the island. the amount of damage it's caused is still unclear.

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