Sudan arrests opposition leader Turabi, eight others

Sudanese security forces on Tuesday arrested opposition leader Hassan al-Turabi and eight other party officials after they called for a "popular revolution" if Khartoum did not reverse price rises. Turabi's arrest comes at a politically sensitive time for the government of President Omar Hassan al Bashir, who stands to lose control over the oil-producing south which last week voted in an independence referendum.
It also comes as Tunisia grapples with fallout from the ouster of its long-time president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, who fled the country on Friday after three weeks of violent unrest sparked by social grievances. Sudan's opposition threatened on Sunday to take to the streets if the government did not remove its finance minister and dismantle parliament over the decision to raise prices on a range of goods.