Photo: Associated Press2150 GMT: An 18-year-old, named as Lebza Azzedine by activists, has been killed by police fire in clashes in Msila in northern Algeria.
2033 GMT: The State Department summoned the Tunisian Ambassador today to raise concerns about the handling of political unrest and "interference" with the Internet (more on that in the morning); however, on Algeria, an official cautiously said, "It's frankly too soon to tell exactly what is happening there. We're also looking there about what's the most effective and immediate thing to say and do."
2030 GMT: And, in contrast to state television's coverage (see 1910 GMT), a video interviewing residents of an Algerian neighbourhood....
1910 GMT: State television's coverage of the protests, focusing on damage, critical comments, and remarks from the Minister of Trade.
UPDATE 1855 GMT: Muslim prayer leaders called for calm and football matches were cancelled today. Still, clashes were reported in Annaba, Oran, Bouira, and Bejaia as well as Msila (see 1825 GMT).
The working-class neighborhood of Bab el-Oued, which had witnessed days of violence, was reported to be calm. The Government finally issued a comment, albeit through a minor figure, Sports and Youth Minister Hachemi Djiar, who called on youths to avoid vandalism and to "dialogue in a peaceful, civilized way".
Minister of Commerce Mustapha Ben Bada announced a Cabinet meeting on Saturday to search for ways to limit the price hikes in staple foods.
Stone-throwing on Wednesday night
UPDATE 1840 GMT: The Algerian Free Officers Movement, an opposition group in exile, has issued a statement calling on the military to stand with the Algerian people: "The events now require us to be up to the expectations of citizens and force us to stand up as one man to save the country. Let us avoid falling into the trap of the instigators who do not skimp on the means to destroy the land and sow hatred between brothers.
UPDATE 1825 GMT: El Watan reports that hundreds of demonstrators gathered in Msila in northern Algeria, asking for the dissolution of Parliament and the resignation of the Minister of Trade.
Clashes began after Friday Prayers. The report claims more than 50 police were injured and more than 100 protesters were arrested. It adds, "The postal agency of the city, the national institute for vocational training, and cars and offices were ransacked." --- Al Jazeera English reports: Fresh unrest has taken place in Algeria as protests over rising costs and unemployment spread after a night of rioting in Algiers, the capital, in which youths attacked a police station and torched shops. Authorities rushed police reinforcements to several towns on Thursday, where hundreds of youths took to the streets. Youths blocked major regional roads around Boumerdes, about 60km east of Algiers, and Bejaia, 200km further east, the online edition of the El-Watan newspaper reported. Authorities sent in "a large number of convoys of anti-riot police," it said. Protests have been reported at the Martyrs' Square, Balkor, Bash Jarrah, Babal Wadi and Astawali, while both Jalfa in southern Algeria and Wahran in the west also witnessed violent rallies in protest over the deteriorating living conditions and rising prices. Neighbouring Tunisia was also struck by more protests in a wave of similar unrest. Shops in the Algerian capital shut early after rioting late on Wednesday in which dozens of youths hurled stones at a police station in the Bab el Oued area, set alight several shops and barricaded roads with flaming tyres. "They hurled stones at the anti-riot police in the area," a resident told the AFP news agency by telephone. A dealership for Renault, a carmaker from former colonial ruler France, was attacked and torched, and about a dozens of its vehicles destroyed, an AFP photographer said. A top-end shoe shop even cleared its shelves ahead of nightfall on Thursday. "We are closing to wait and see what will happen," an employee said. A similar demonstration was held on Wednesday in Oran, 430km west of the capital, where protesters burned tyres, blocked roads with tree trunks and hurled objects at drivers, the Oran Daily reported. Youths forced open a warehouse to steal sacks of flour, it said, with the cost of flour among those that have risen in recent days. Demonstrators blocked roads on Monday in Tipaza, west of the capital, in protest against food prices and difficult living conditions. There have been similar protests, some turning violent and resulting in injuries, across the country for months, focused on costs, employment, lack of social housing and allegations of corruption. Rising prices The General Union of Algerian Traders and Artisans said prices had risen between 20 and 30 per cent in recent days, with the costs of sugar and oil up sharply since the start of the month. In an attempt to calm the rising anger, Mustapha Benbada, the commerce minister, said on Wednesday that the food price rises were not unique to Algeria but part of a worldwide trend. "The state will continue to subsidise essential items," he said. About 75 per cent of Algerians are under the age of 30, and 20 per cent of the youth are unemployed, according to the International Monetary Fund. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the country's president, pledged in 2009 to build a million apartments not replaced since a 2003 earthquake, while growth of the population - which has tripled to 35.6 million since independence from France in 1962 - has added to strains on the availability of housing.