Thousands of Jordanians took to the streets inspired by the protests in Tunisia and Egypt [GALLO/GETTY]
King Abdullah II of Jordan has sacked his government in the wake of street protests and has asked an ex-army general to form a new cabinet, Jordan's Royal Palace has announced.
King Abdullah's move on Tuesday comes after thousands of Jordanians took to the streets, inspired by anti-government protests in Tunisia and Egypt. Jordanians had been calling for the resignation of prime minister Samir Rifai who is blamed for a rise in fuel and food prices and slowed political reforms.
A Jordanian official said the monarch officially accepted the resignation of Rifai, a wealthy politician and former court adviser, and asked Marouf Bakhit to form a new cabinet.
"[Bakhit] is a former general and briefly ambassador to Israel who has been prime minister before. He's someone who would be seen as a safe pair of hands," Rosemary Hollis, professor of Middle East policy studies at London's City University, said.
"I wouldn't see it as a sign of liberalisation. With his previous premiership, he talked the talk of reform but little actually happened," she said.
Protests have spread across Jordan in the last few weeks, with demonstrators blaming corruption spawned by free-market reforms for the plight of the country's poor.
Many Jordanians hold successive governments responsible for a prolonged recession and rising public debt that hit a record $15bn this year in one of the Arab world's smallest economies, heavily dependent on foreign aid.
Egypt Effect: Activists have called for protests to demand political, social and economic reforms [Reuters]
Ahead of protests planned to take place in Bahrain next week, the nation's king has said he will give 1,000 dinars ($2,650) to each Bahraini family.
Friday's announcement on state media came as the latest step that Sunni rulers have taken to appease the majority Shia public.
Activists have called for protests in Bahrain, starting from Monday, to demand political, social and economic reforms. The demonstrations will coincide with the tenth anniversary of Bahrain's constitution.
Although most analysts do not see any immediate risk of revolt after popular uprisings toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, the small island nation is considered the most vulnerable to unrest among Gulf Arab countries.
The Bahraini government has made several concessions in recent weeks, such as higher social spending and offering to release some minors arrested during a security crackdown against some Shi'ite groups last August. 'Sign of appreciation'
The Bahraini News Agency (BNA) reported that the financial concessions were to mark the anniversary of a national charter for reforms.
"On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the National Action Charter and as a sign of appreciation for the people of Bahrain who have approved it, King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa has ordered 1,000 dinars to be paid to every Bahraini family," Friday's report on BNA said.
Bahrain is one of the few Arab countries where the majority practices Shia Islam.
Tensions between the ruling family and the Shia majority population are usually at a low boil, although there were some clashes ahead of election last October.
It is not yet clear how widespread next week's protests will be, but analysts and diplomats say the Shia opposition group Wefaq will be waiting to see how many concessions the government is prepared to make.
Although Bahrain has a parliamentary system, many Shias feel elections have only served to co-opt them into the political system and did not improve their access to government jobs and services.
The president's announcement comes ahead of mass protests in Yemen, inspired by events in Tunisia and Egypt [EPA]
Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president, has backed down on a plan to rule his impoverished Arab country for life after mass protests demanding his ouster.
In an announcement on Wednesday, Saleh said he plans for elections in April had been scrapped along with constitutional amendments that would have seen him become president for life.
"I will not extend my mandate and I am against hereditary rule," he said.
The move would bring an end to a three-decade rule when his current term expires in 2013.
Eyeing protests that brought down Tunisia's leader and threaten to topple Egypt's president, Saleh vowed not to pass on the reins of power to his son.
"No extension, no inheritance, no resetting the clock," Saleh said during an emergency session of parliament and the consultative council ahead of a "day of rage" organised by civil society groups and opposition leaders for Thursday in all provinces.
'Day of rage'
Activists and opposition supporters have staged several protests in Sanaa, the capital, boldly asking for Saleh's removal and decrying reports he plans to install his son in power.
Yemen's biggest opposition party described the package of concessions by president Saleh as positive but said a large opposition rally would go on as planned.
"Thursday's demonstration will continue as scheduled," Mohammed al-Saadi, undersecretary of the religious political party, al-Islah (Reform), said.
"We consider this initiative positive and we await the next concrete steps. As for our plan for a rally tomorrow, the plan stands and it will be organised and orderly," he said.
"This is a peaceful struggle through which the people can make their voices heard and express their aspirations."
Mohammed al-Sabri, of the Common Forum opposition alliance, added that Saleh's call to halt protests was "unacceptable".
Tensions soared in Yemen after parliament, dominated by the president's General People's Congress, endorsed the draft constitutional amendment that, if approved, would have enabled Saleh to stay in office for life.
His critics had also suspected him of grooming his eldest son Ahmed Saleh, who commands the Republican Guard, an elite unit of the Yemeni army, to succeed him.
Demonstrations in the country had taken place on a nearly daily basis until last weekend.
Poverty is widespread in Yemen, with 45 per cent of its 21.1 million people living on less than $2 a day, according the UN Development Programme.
Algerian security forces and pro-democracy protesters have clashed in the capital, Algiers, amid demonstrations inspired by the revolution in Egypt.
Heavily outnumbered by riot police, at least 2,000 protesters were able to overcome a security cordon enforced around the city's May First Square on Saturday, joining other demonstrators calling for reform.
Earlier, thousands of police in riot gear were in position to stop the demonstrations that could mimic the uprising which forced out Hosni Mubarak, Egypt's long-serving president.
Security forces closed all entrances to Algiers and arrested hundreds of protesters, sources told Al Jazeera.
Elias Filali, an Algerian blogger and activist, said human rights activists and syndicate members were among those arrested at the scene of the protests.
"I'm right in the middle of the march," he told Al Jazeera. "People are being arrested and are heavily guarded by the police."
Officials banned Saturday's opposition march but protesters were determined to see it through.
Peaceful protests
Filali said the demonstrators were determined to remain peaceful, but he claimed that the police "want the crowd to go violent and then get them portrayed as a violent crowd".
Protesters are demanding greater democratic freedoms, a change of government and more jobs.
Many demonstrators in Algeria have been inspired by the events unfolding in Egypt and Tunisia [AFP]
Earlier, police also charged at demonstrators and arrested 10 people outside the Algiers offices of the opposition Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), as they celebrated Mubarak's downfall, Said Sadi, RCD leader, told the AFP news agency.
"It wasn't even an organised demonstration. It was spontaneous. It was an explosion of joy," he said.
Mubarak's resignation on Friday, and last month's overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia's president for 23 years, have electrified the Arab world.
Many are left wondering which country could be next in a region where a flammable mix of authoritarian rule and popular anger are the norm.
"The timing is absolutely perfect. [Mubarak's departure] couldn't have come at a better time," Filali told Al Jazeera in the run-up to the protests.
"This is a police state, just like the Egyptian regime [was]."
Filali said Algeria's government was "corrupt to the bone, based on electoral fraud, and repression".
"There is a lot of discontent among young people ... the country is badly managed by a corrupt regime that does not want to listen".
Police on alert
Said Sadi, the RCD leader, had said earlier that he expected around 10,000 more police officers to reinforce the 20,000 who blocked the last demonstration on January 22, when five people were killed and more than 800 others hurt.
Police presence is routine in Algeria to counter the threat of attacks by al-Qaeda fighters. But Filali called the heavy police presence in the capital on Saturday "unbelievable".
At May First Square, the starting point for the planned march, there were around 40 police vans, jeeps and buses lined up, Filali said.
At several road junctions, the police had parked small military-style armoured vehicles which are rarely seen in the city. Police standing outside a fuel station, about 2km from the square, were wearing anti-riot body armour.
The latest rally is being organised by the National Co-ordination for Change and Democracy (CNCD), a three-week-old umbrella group of opposition parties, civil society movements and unofficial unions inspired by the mass protests in Tunisia and Egypt.
Demonstrators have been protesting over the last few months against unemployment, high food costs, poor housing and corruption - similar issues that fuelled uprisings in other north African nations.
Earlier this month, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algeria's president, said he would lift emergency powers, address unemployment and allow democratic marches to take place in the country, in a bid to stave off unrest.
"The regime is frightened," Filali said. "And the presence of 30,000 police officers in the capital gives you an idea of how frightened the regime [is] of its people."
Wider implications
Widespread unrest in Algeria could have implications for the world economy because it is a major oil and gas exporter, but many analysts say an Egypt-style revolt is unlikely as the government can use its energy wealth to placate most grievances.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Amnesty International, the London-based rights group, said "Algerians must be allowed to express themselves freely and hold peaceful protests in Algiers and elsewhere".
"We urge the Algerian authorities not to respond to these demands by using excessive force".
The government said it refused permission for the rally for public order reasons, not because it is trying to stifle dissent. It said it is working hard to create jobs, build new homes and improve public services.
Other Arab countries have also felt the ripples from the revolts in Egypt and Tunisia. Jordan's King Abdullah replaced his prime minister after protests.
In Yemen, Ali Abdullah Saleh promised opponents he would not seek a new term as president.
The Bahraini government has also made several concessions in recent weeks, including promising higher social spending. Activists there have called for protests on February 14, the tenth anniversary of Bahrain's constitution.
