Platts feature: Unrest in Middle East & North Africa: Key oil region in the spotlight

On January 5 this year, a young Tunisian jobless graduate called Mohamed Bouazizi doused himself with gasoline and set himself alight after police took away the fruit and vegetables he was selling illegally. In doing so, he lit the flame under an unprecedented wave of political protest across North Africa and the Middle East that has brought down the governments of Tunisia and Egypt.