LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's The Times newspaper on Wednesday named as person of the year Mohamed Bouazizi, a Tunisian whose self immolation inspired uprisings that toppled dictators across the Arab world and shook the region's remaining autocracies.
Bouazizi set himself alight last year after officials confiscated the unemployed 26-year-old's unlicensed grocery cart, reportedly slapping and insulting him. His desperate act struck a chord with millions of Arabs living with few job prospects or avenues for change under entrenched autocracies.
"The Times today names Mohamed Bouazizi, the street vendor who became the inspiration for the Arab Spring, as its person of the year," the paper said on its front page. "Bouazizi was no revolutionary, yet his lonely protest served as the catalyst for a wave of revolts that have transformed the Middle East."
via news.yahoo.com
