Tunisia: Election date is set for July

Tunisia will hold an election on 24 July to choose a constituent assembly that will rewrite the constitution and chart the country's transition after the ousting of its veteran leader. In a speech last night, the interim president Fouad Mebazza, who has been in charge since Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali was toppled on 14 January, said he and a caretaker government would stay in power until the election was held.

"We are proclaiming today that we are entering a new era... and a new political system which definitively breaks with the ousted regime," Mr Mebazza said. People greeted the announcement by waving flags and making "V-for-victory" signs.