NewsTracker Answers for week of Jan. 17, 2011

Q: President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali quit and fled Tunisia after ruling it for 23 years. Where is Tunisia?

Circle the area on this map

Q: Ben Ali's fall came after a college-educated street vendor burned himself to death in protest of his dismal prospects and set off violent protests that spread to the capital . . .

A. Tunis

B. Tripoli

C. Casablanca

D. Khartoum

A. Also the largest city in the country, Tunis is an ancient city that was rebuilt after the Romans destroyed in 149 BC during a war against nearby Carthage. The country derived its name from Tunis.

Q: Tunisian demonstrators protested over unemployment, rising prices, corruption and disparities between rich and poor. According to the CIA World Factbook, which nation has greater income inequality than Tunisia?

A. Egypt

B. India

C. Yemen

D. U.S.

D. Wealth distribution is more unequal in the United Sates, but there is more wealth to distribute. Gross Domestic Product per person in the United States is $47,400 a year compared with $9,500 in Tunisia.

Q: Tunisia is formally a democracy with a multi-party system, but one party has controlled the country since 1956, when it gained independence from . . .

A. Algeria

B. Britain

C. France

D. Ottoman Empire

C. France began ruling the country 1881, after it invaded on the pretext of a Tunisian incursion into French-controlled Algeria. Arabic is the official language of the nation, but French is widely spoken. The Tunisian legal system is based on the French civil code.

Q: Algeria borders Tunisia on the west. Which country borders it on the southeast?

A. Morocco

B. Libya

C. Egypt

D. Sudan

B. Much smaller than its neighbors, Tunisia is the northernmost country in Africa. Despite its current problems, Tunisia is more prosperous than its neighbors and has strong trade links with Europe.