TUNISIA

Weeks of unrest in Tunisia will hit economic growth, frighten away tourists and discourage foreign direct investment which could fall by up to a third this year, Fitch Ratings said on Thursday.

Libya has set up a $24-billion fund for investment and local development that will focus on providing housing for its rapidly growing population, the online Oea newspaper reported on Thursday.

Protesters stormed police barricades in the Tunisian capital on Thursday and the government prepared to dismiss key loyalists of ousted leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in the face of widespread public anger.

Egyptian police fought protesters in two cities in eastern Egypt on Thursday and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mohamed ElBaradei headed back to the country to join demonstrators trying to oust President Hosni Mubarak.

The family of Egypt’s embattled President Hosni Mubarak has not fled the country, according to a source in the U.S. Embassy in Cairo who spoke to CBS News.

Algeria must urgently create jobs for its young unemployed, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in a report published on Wednesday, highlighting a problem that has fuelled unrest throughout the region.

Algeria confirmed it bought almost a million tonnes of wheat on Wednesday and ordered an urgent speeding up of grain imports, a move seen heading off unrest over food prices as protests swept north Africa.

Nervous investors may begin liquidating some of their substantial positions in Egyptian equities and securities if the unprecedented political protests that thrashed the market on Wednesday gain momentum.

Gabon disbanded the main opposition party on Wednesday after one of its leaders declared himself president, claiming inspiration from power struggles in Tunisia and Ivory Coast.

Tunisia has asked Interpol to help arrest ousted president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family so they can be tried for theft and currency offences, the justice minister said on Wednesday.

Thousands of Egyptians defied a ban on protests by returning to Egypt's streets on Wednesday and calling for President Hosni Mubarak to leave office, and some scuffled with police.

Facebook CEO and Time's Person of the Year Mark Zuckerberg received some private financial consultation on How to raise funds? -- courtesy, a hacker who infiltrated the CEO's fan page.

The Egyptian government, besieged by a wave of public demonstrations against the rule of President Hosni Mubarak, said it will get tough and arrest and prosecute anyone participating in street riots. At least four people, including a police officer, have already died in widespread protests.

The Egyptian government should be responsive to its people's aspirations, the White House has said in measured but unusually strong comments about the raging anti-government protests in Egypt which forced the reported fleeing of the president’s son to Britain.

Calm returned to the streets of Cairo on Wednesday after demonstrations demanding an end to President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, as protest leaders asked followers to regroup for a second day of action.

Egypt said on Wednesday it would ban demonstrations and detain protesters, seeking to draw a line under unprecedented protests against President Hosni Mubarak's rule.

The future of the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak hinges on the ability of the country leaders to understand the reasons behind unprecedented protests, a Saudi royal family member said.

Tunisia's justice minister said on Wednesday an arrest warrant has been issued against deposed President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his family.

Thousands of Egyptians across the nation staged protests on the streets against Hosni Mubarak’s regime demanding political concessions including ending emergency laws, freedom for political activity and a limit on the president’s tenure in office.

Embattled Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son, who has been widely seen as his successor, has fled the country, according to US-based Arabic website Akhbar al-Arab.

Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son who is considered as his successor has fled to Britain along with his family, US-based Arabic website Akhbar al-Arab reported.