April 22, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 15, 1429

ANGER over high food and fuel costs in recent months has sparked protests in several countries.Surging food prices have posed a particular risk to poor economies. Here are some details of recent price rise protests and disturbances:

CAMEROON: At least 24 people were killed in protests that erupted in February and were linked partly to rising living costs. Human rights activists put the death toll at 100. The government raised state salaries and suspended customs duties on basic foodstuffs.

IVORY COAST: Police in Ivory Coast fired teargas at the end of March to disperse demonstrators protesting against steep price rises in the commercial capital, Abidjan.

MAURITANIA: Violent protests against the sharp rise in grain prices in Mauritania spread last November to the capital Nouakchott.

MOZAMBIQUE: At least six people were killed in Mozambique in protests that erupted in February over high fuel prices and living costs. The government agreed to cut the price of diesel fuel for minibus taxis.

SENEGAL: Riots erupted in Senegal's capital last November over rising prices and unemployment. President Abdoulaye Wade announced an ambitious crop expansion plan this month to make Senegal self-sufficient in staples.

SOUTH AFRICA: Thousands of members of South Africa's powerful labour federation marched through Johannesburg this month to protest against higher food and electricity prices.

HAITI: Protests in Haiti over high prices for rice brought down the government. At least six people were killed in two weeks of riots and demonstrations in the poorest country in the Americas.

ARGENTINA: Argentine farmers went on strike for three weeks until early April over tax policies and other government measures, including export bans, aimed at taming food price inflation.

PERU: Peruvian farmers upset by rising fertilizer costs and seeking debt relief blocked key rail and road links in February. They said a free trade deal with the United States would flood markets with subsidised agricultural imports.

BANGLADESH: Factory workers rampaged at Fatullah, 12 km east of, Dhaka, in protests against rising food prices, leaving at least 50 people injured. Retail prices of wheat, edible oil and pulses have doubled over the last 12 months.

INDONESIA: Soaring soybean prices have cut into the earnings of makers and vendors of tempeh, Indonesia's traditional soybean cake, sparking protests in parts of Indonesia in recent months.—Reuters