Tunisian bakers strike over unpaid subsidies

Thousands of Tunisian bakers began an open-ended strike to demand fees the state owes them for producing subsidised bread as the country faces a grave economic crisis. The national bakery owners' union said some 3,200 of their businesses had closed, representing 95 percent of the North African country's state-backed bakeries. They are demanding payment of 14 months of overdue subsidies, adding up to around nearly $78 million, the union said. A further 1,200 bakeries that do not receive subsidies are functioning normally. - AFP