Man sets himself on fire in Jordan

A JORDANIAN man set himself on fire outside the prime minister's office yesterday, in the first such act since political unrest hit the country in January.

Mohammed Abdul-Karim was in critical condition in hospital with third-degree burns.

An act of self-immolation by a vegetable seller in Tunisia in December ignited the wave of protest that brought down rulers there and in Egypt and is threatening others across the Arab world. Protests calling for reform in Jordan have generally been smaller and more peaceful than in other nations.