THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: As Tunisia's President Ben Ali is granted leave to remain in Saudi Arabia, the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by the president and his family is coming into the spotlight.
Their preferred title was "Tunisia's First Family". To the people they ruled over, though, president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali and his clan were known as "The Mafia" - a ruling clique whose greed and nepotism ultimately caused their downfall.
Following in the footsteps of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin and numerous other deposed dictators, Mr Ben Ali was granted refuge in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, starting what will likely be a comfortable, if less than dignified, political retirement.
But as millions of Tunisians celebrated the end of his 23-year-long authoritarian rule, it was not just the 74-year-old president they were glad to see the back of.
Far more reviled, it seems, was his second wife Laila, a feisty brunette more than 20 years his junior, who was dubbed "The Regent of Carthage" for her power behind the throne.
A former hairdresser from a humble background, she stands accused of using her marriage to Mr Ben Ali to turn her family, the Trabelsis, into the desert nation's most powerful business clique.
As of Saturday night, the former first couple were keeping a low profile. Mr Ben Ali was reported to have flown into the Saudi Arabian port city of Jeddah, where Idi Amin spent his final years.
Meanwhile rumours circulated that his wife, who is thought to have fled the country separately and beforehand, had headed for Dubai - a destination with which she is said to be well acquainted through shopping trips. >>> Colin Freeman | Sunday, January 16, 2011
FOREIGN POLICY: Greed Is Global: A world of corruption revealed by WikiLeaks. – TUNISIA >>> Elizabeth Dickinson, Joshua E. Keating | Saturday, December 18, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: WikiLeaks cables: Tunisia blocks site reporting 'hatred' of first lady: US embassy warns Tunisian anger over corruption and unemployment, as well as 'intense dislike' for president's wife, threaten country's stability >>> Ian Black, Middle East editor | Tuesday, December 07, 2011
