mr. ben ali was forced out. they hope the swift resolution of the corrupt -- corruption trial will be roundly welcomed across the country. bbc news. >> in australia, the ash from a volcano in july is causing problems for travelers. -- in chile is causing problems for travelers. the services have been disrupted as wind has carried the ash thousands of miles into the country's airspace. joining us from sydney is nick bryant. the ash clouds hover turned, canceling flights and stranding thousands of people's -- of people. >> it has done a lot of the world. last week, it affected 100,000 passengers and 700 flights. this could be worse. we are talking about flights being grounded not only in adelaide, a major airport, canberra, the nation's capital, mel bourne, the second-biggest airport in the country, and crucially, sydney. sydney flights have been grounded. that is australia's biggest airport domestically and internationally. that affects the eastern seaboard and australia as a whole. it is huge. >> do we know when

ben ali took less than a day. there were charged for theft and illegal possession of cash and jewelry. outside the court, protesters called for mr. ben ali to be brought back to tunisia to face the charges in person. he is in exile in saudi arabia. earlier this year, protests by young and unemployed tunisians forced out after 20 years in office. now, as well as the prison sentence, he has been ordered to pay more than $65 million in fines. but his lawyer, speaking from lebanon, where he is unable to obtain a visa, said it was politically motivated. >> there is a cfact that any fair trial should be pared without defense, what defense might be issued at the end of this process, in my opinion, does not meet the requirement for australia. >a trial. >> he defended his time in office. meanwhile, the caretaker administration is facing rising anger at the slow pace of change since ben ali was forced out. they hope that the swift resolution of this corruption trial would be roundly welcomed across the country. will grant, "bbc news." >> 44 people have been killed after a plane crashed in northwestern russia. it came down on the highway n