Thousands of Jordanians have taken to the streets of the capital Amman and other cities to protest against rising commodity prices, unemployment and poverty.
The protesters are calling on the government headed by Samir Rifai, the prime minister, to step down.
Demonstrators, including trade unionists and leftist party members, carried national flags and chanted anti-government slogans in downtown Amman.
They called Rifai a "coward" and demanded his resignation.
"Jordan is not only for the rich. Bread is a red line. Beware of our starvation and fury," read one of the banners carried after mid-day prayers, amid a heavy police presence, according to the AFP news agency.
"Down with Rifai's government. Unify yourselves because the government wants to eat your flesh. Raise fuel prices to fill your pocket with millions," the protesters chanted as they marched in Amman.
Similar demonstrations took place in the cities of Maan, Karak, Slat and Irbid, as well as other parts of the country.
"We are protesting the policies of the goernment, high prices and repeated taxation that made the Jordanian people revolt," Tawfiq al-Batoush, a former head of Karachi municipality, told the Reuters news agency at a protest outside Karak's Al Omari mosque.
