<p>A column of smoke rises from buildings during clashes between protesters and police in Tunis, Friday. Tunisia's president declared a state of emergency and announced that he would fire his government as violent protests escalated Friday, with gunfire echoing in the North African country's usually calm capital and police lobbing tear gas at protesters.</p>
January 15, 2011
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January 15, 2011 8 p.m.
Tunisians riot, force leader from power
TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) - After 23 years of iron-fisted rule, the president of Tunisia was driven from power Friday by violent protests over soaring unemployment and corruption. Virtually unprecedented in modern Arab history, the populist uprising sent an ominous message to authoritarian governments that dominate the region.