BBC News with Nick Kelly

There's been further rioting in Algeria over food price increases and unemployment, the latest outbreak in several days of unrest. Police have been deployed in force close to mosques and other potential focal points. The government has blamed importers for the cost of some food stuffs and has urged traders to reduce prices. The BBC's North Africa correspondent Rana Jawad reports.

The mainly young Algerians are protesting against the price hikes which saw the cost of

staple

goods like cooking oil, sugar and flour double in recent months. Algeria's state news agency has also reported on what it described as the

ransack

ing of government buildings, bank branches and post offices in other cities to the east of the country. Meanwhile, the Algerian sports minister has cancelled all football matches scheduled for the day.

The Tunisian ambassador to Washington has been summoned to the State Department and told of American concern at the handling of protests in his country. The official urged the Tunisian government to protect civil liberties and called for restraint by all sides. Clashes erupted last month between police and demonstrators protesting about unemployment and restrictions on public freedoms.

President Barack Obama has said a fall in the number of unemployed Americans indicates a more optimistic outlook for the US economy, although more than 9% remain jobless. Referring to new employment figures for the month of December, Mr Obama said the pace of job growth was beginning to pick up.