Breaking News Alert The New York Times Fri, January 14, 2011 -- 1:22 PM ET ----- President of Tunisia Leaves Country Amid Growing Chaos President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia has left the country, French diplomats say, and the Associated Press reported that the prime minister has gone on state television to say he is in charge. A French Foreign Ministry official said authorities did not know where the president had gone, and Tunisian authorities were not immediately available to confirm the report.