TUNISIA

Four ministers of the day-old new national unity government have quit, as the streets of Tunis again witness a fresh round of protests.

Tunisia's prime minister appointed opposition figures to a new unity government on Monday, trying to establish political stability after violent street protests brought down the president last Friday.

Algeria bought 600,000 tonnes of wheat, traders said on Monday, snapping up grain at a time of high prices and tight supply even as neighbouring countries take measures to head off Tunisia-style unrest over food inflation.

Tunisian state-owned Tunisie Telecom may not be able to go ahead with an investor roadshow for its planned listing in Paris and Tunis due to the political situation, investment and banking sources said on Monday.

Saudi Arabia has taken in Tunisia's fallen strong man, but the oil wealth of the kingdom and its neighbours should ensure the poverty-driven unrest which ousted Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali does not follow him to the Gulf.

Mohamed Bouazizi, the unemployed 26-year-old Tunisian whose self-immolation sparked the riots in that country and ultimately toppled the president, has apparently inspired a series of copycat across North Africa, according to media reports.

Just hours after more street violence in Tunis and days after the former President was ousted, a new national unity government has been formed in Tunisia, according to a report in BBC News.

The collapse of the Tunisian government in the face of unrest could mean an opportunity for technology companies that had previously shied away from the country.

Tunisia's prime minister promised to announce a new coalition government on Monday, hoping to maintain the momentum of political progress to ward off fresh protests and also undercut gunmen loyal to the ousted president.

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The death of Mohamed Bouazizi sparked a wave of massive protests that culminated in the ousting of Tunisian President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali.

Food price protests sweeping across North Africa and the Middle East reached Jordan on Friday, when hundreds of protesters chanted slogans against Prime Minister Samir al-Rifai in the southern city of Karak.

Police fired tear gas grenades on Friday outside the interior ministry building in the Tunisian capital and gunshots were heard from nearby, prompting hundreds of protesters to flee, a Reuters reporter at the scene said.

Holiday operator Thomas Cook is evacuating around 1,800 British and Irish tourists and 2,000 Germans from Tunisia in light of political unrest there, the company said.

Tunisian President Zine al-Abedine Ben Ali stepped aside on Friday after failing to quell the worst anti-government unrest in his two decades in power.

Fitch Ratings on Friday put Tunisia's long-term foreign currency credit rating of BBB on watch for a potential downgrade, citing the upsurge in deadly violence in the north African nation in recent weeks.

The besieged president of Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, has fled the country, according to various media reports, amidst the worst civil disturbances the North African country has witnessed in decades.

The president of Tunisia has dismissed his government and called for early elections, according to a report from the country's state TV network.

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the U.K. has issued an advisory recommending that British citizens avoid travel to Tunisia due to the surge in civil disturbances in the country. The US and France have also advised against non-essential travel to Tunisia.

China dumped plans to import several million tonnes of expensive corn and South Korea unveiled cuts in import tariffs on some products, underscoring the dilemma over how to tackle rising food prices.

At least five people suffered gunshot wounds in clashes with police in the centre of Tunisia's capital on Wednesday in a sharp escalation of the worst unrest in decades.