Tunisian Salafist movement Ansar al-Sharia called on its supporters to gather in a Tunis suburb on Sunday, after the government banned it from holding its annual congress in the central city of Kairouan. "We call on our brothers to gather in large numbers in the Ettadhamen district of the capital," the hardline Islamist group said on its official Facebook page. Ansar al-Sharia official, Sami Essid, confirmed that the movement's congress would now be held in the Tunis suburb. "Our congress is being held in Ettadhamen," he told AFP.

When Dexter the cocker spaniel tore a ligament in his hind leg a few weeks ago, he didn't suffer in silence. Instead, his owner wrote a blog post. "The vet told me my dog needed surgery, and I thought, 'You know, there's got to be something else'," said Carol Bryant, who writes a "canine-centric online magazine" called A Fidose of Reality. Responding to her blog entries, readers told Bryant that Dexter didn't have to go under the knife. He had options, like laser therapy and a leg brace he'll be wearing for the next six months.

When Dexter the cocker spaniel tore a ligament in his hind leg a few weeks ago, he didn't suffer in silence. Instead, his owner wrote a blog post. "The vet told me my dog needed surgery, and I thought, 'You know, there's got to be something else'," said Carol Bryant, who writes a "canine-centric online magazine" called A Fidose of Reality. Responding to her blog entries, readers told Bryant that Dexter didn't have to go under the knife. He had options, like laser therapy and a leg brace he'll be wearing for the next six months.

Tunisian security forces deployed in strength on Saturday after Salafist movement Ansar al-Sharia called on its hardline Islamist supporters to defy a government ban on its annual congress. There was a heavy police presence at tollbooths along the main highway from the capital to the central city of Kairouan where the Salafists have vowed to hold Sunday's gathering, AFP correspondents reported. Police were singling out for checks the private minibuses that ply between Tunisian towns, with special attention paid to men with beards, as sported by Salafists.