Tunisia's president makes plea to end rioting

Tunisia's president went on television Thursday night to pledge lower prices on food staples and offer other concessions in a bid to end three weeks of deadly rioting in the North African country.

In addition to price cuts on sugar, milk and bread, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali promised to end internet censorship and suggested he will not try to remain in power when his term expires in 2014.

He said the constitution's 75-year age limit on presidential candidates should remain untouched. That would mean Ben Ali, who is 74 and has ruled Tunisia with an iron fist for 23 years, would not be able to run again.

Calling for a "ceasefire," Ben Ali told Tunisians, "I have understood you."

"I won't accept that another drop of blood of a Tunisian be spilled," he said. Ben Ali said he had issued orders to the interior minister that no bullets be fired on protesters unless security forces are under threat.

After his speech, the capital's main street, filled with police during the day, was full of horn-honking vehicles and crowds despite a curfew imposed because of the violence. It was unclear whether it was an officially organized display.

Tunisia's main opposition leader welcomed Ben Ali's decision not to seek re-election, as well the announcement of measures to ease tensions in the country.

"This speech is important politically and corresponds to the expectations of civil society and the opposition," Najib Chebbi, founder of the PDP party, told Reuters.

"This is something we have asked for, for a long time, and it is very good that he has promised not to put himself forward for the election," he said.

"The president has touched on the heart of the issue, demands for reform. That is very important and I salute that. Frankly, I did not expect that, that he would touch on all these problems," Chebbi said.

Protester killed, U.S. journalist wounded

Earlier Thursday, rioters hurled stones at trams and government buildings in Tunisia's capital in defiance of increasingly tough government attempts to quash more than three weeks of rioting by youths angry about joblessness.

A protester was fatally shot and a U.S. journalist was hit in the leg by police gunfire as rioting youths clashed with authorities in Tunisia's capital for the second day, witnesses said.

Overnight, Tunis police opened fire and killed four people who defied a government curfew in several towns, opposition members said, driving up a death toll already in the dozens. Looters in the Bizerte region raided a supermarket, pharmacy, clothing shops and a bookstore amid chaos, said union leader and human rights advocate Souad Ghousami, a member of the opposition PDP party.

Security forces appeared unable or unwilling to intervene, and the military appeared to focus its efforts on public buildings, she said. Many youths were taken into custody.

The unprecedented violence has revealed deep anger against Ben Ali, who has clamped down on civil liberties, jailed opponents and tightly controlled the media during his rule in the Mediterranean tourist haven where unrest had been rare.

The government's death toll stands at 23, while opposition figures and witnesses say it is more than 50, including the deaths overnight near Tunis and in the northern region of Bizerte. French and Swiss citizens visiting their native country were among those killed, the two European governments said.

In the capital, which until this week had been spared the violence erupting in provincial towns, rioters threw stones at Metro trains, forcing them to return to their depot. The Interior Ministry building and a municipal services building were among targets of protesters' anger.

Near the French Embassy, hundreds of protesters, some throwing rocks, clashed with undercover officers and riot police who fired tear gas in an effort to disperse them, a witness said.

Police were deployed on major thoroughfares in the capital, and stores were shuttered, as was the central souk, or market.

The European Union has complained about the disproportionate use of force in a country that is considered an oasis of calm compared to its neighbours, Algeria and Libya.

Ben Ali had gone on national TV previously in an appeal for calm and to pledge job creation, but his efforts have not done much to stop the unrest.

Ben Ali has maintained an iron grip on Tunisia since grabbing power in 1987 in a bloodless coup, repressing any challenge to a government many see as corrupt and intolerant.

The image of stability and religious moderation helps draw millions of mostly European visitors a year to the Mediterranean beaches of this small North African nation, making tourism the mainstay of the economy. The economy's weak point is unemployment — officially nearly 14 per cent, but higher for youths.