Rising food inflation sparked violence across the Middle East and South Asia over the weekend, as demonstrators protested the high cost of staple commodities like sugar, rice and milk.

The outbursts ignited fears that the world is due for a repeat of the 2008 food protests that rocked countries as far apart as Haiti, Senegal and Bangladesh.

Food prices are now at an all time high, and are trending higher, indicating that this may be only the beginning of the food riot problem.

Riots erupt in Algeria Thursday after prices spike for staples like sugar, milk and flour.
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© Associated PressYouth react in a street of the Bab el Oued district of Algiers, during the night, Thursday Jan. 6, 2011, as part of a protest over the rising cost of living.


Violence rages through the weekend as food riots spread beyond Algiers, the capital city.
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© Associated PressYouth face police forces in Annaba, eastern Algeria, Saturday Jan. 8, 2011.


Rioters torch tires in a stand off with Algerian security forces.
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© Associated PressYouth face police forces in Constantine, eastern Algeria, early Saturday Jan. 8, 2011.


Street protesters decry food price hikes and widespread unemployment in Tunisia.
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© Associated Press/Hassene DridiPeople chant during a demonstration in Tunis, Tunisia, against high prices and unemployment, Saturday Jan.8, 2011.


Demonstrators throw stones at police in Tunisia.
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© Associated PressDemonstrators throw stones at police officers in Sidi Bouzid, Tunisia, Monday Jan. 10, 2011. Tunisia's Interior Ministry said Monday that 14 people were killed in weekend rioting in three towns in the deadliest episodes in more than three weeks of unusual unrest in this popular tourist destination.


High food prices spark protests in India, where food inflation was 18.32 percent last month.
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© Associated Press/Mahesh Kumar ATelugu Desam Party (TDP) activists shout slogans as they hold portraits of India's ruling Congress party President Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a protest against hike in prices of essential commodities in Hyderabad, India, Monday, Jan. 10, 2011.


An Indian political party sells discounted onions after price hikes for the South Asian staple spark national outrage.
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© Associated Press/Rajanish KakadeIndian women struggle to grab onions being sold by a political party at cheap rates as a mark of protest against the rising prices in Mumbai, India, Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011.


Poor Bengalis clamor for subsidized rice, the Bangladeshi government's solution to rising food inflation.
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© Associated Press/Pavel RahmanBangladeshi poor people queue up to purchase rice being distributed by government at subsidized prices in Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011.


Quelling food inflation -- and related riots -- has become a top priority for the Chinese government.
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© Associated Press/Alexander F. YuanA vendor, left, eats her lunch while another vendor arranges food for sale at a market in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 7, 2011. "Stabilizing price levels will receive more prominent status," the People's Bank of China said in a report after an annual planning meeting.


In response to rising prices, the Indonesian government has urged people to grow their own food.
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© Associated Press/Dita AlangkaraA spice vendor waits for customer at a market in Jakarta, Indonesia, Friday, Jan. 7, 2011. Global food prices in December were the highest on records dating to 1990, raising fears that supply disruptions this year could spark a repeat of 2008's food shortages.