THE TIMES OF INDIA: SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Arab League chief Amr Mussa warned Arab leaders on Wednesday that the hardships of ordinary Tunisians that sparked a popular uprising were linked to "unprecedented anger" in the region.
Mussa was addressing an economic summit of Arab leaders in Egypt's resort of Sharm el-Sheikh that closed with a vow to "move forward in the development of our societies in terms of human development, technology, economy and society."
"The developmental challenges are no less important than the political challenges facing the region," the leaders said in a final statement after their one-day summit.
It was the first gathering of Arab leaders since Tunisian president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was forced to step down and fled his country on Friday after 23 years in power.
"The revolution that happened in Tunisia is not far from the subject of this summit," Mussa said, amid fears of a spillover.
"The Arab soul is broken by poverty, unemployment and general recession ... The political problems, the majority of which have not been fixed ... have driven the Arab citizen to a state of unprecedented anger and frustration." >>> AFP | Wednesday, January 19, 2011
