MIDDLE EAST

Protests have turned violent in Jordan, where thousands have taken to the streets to demand more political freedom and lower food prices.

Eight people have been injured so far, and this past Friday was the seventh Friday in a row that protesters rallied. The king of Jordan has almost absolute power. While he does have a parliament, he has the power to dismiss them at any time. Jordanians are calling for immediate dismissal of the current government and free and fair elections.

There are also reports of violence at protest in Iran. Facebook and Twitter are abuzz with reports of government backlash against protesters, including an account of a man being shot and killed in Tehran, which the government denies.

Source: Al Jazeera

At least seven have been killed and hundreds injured since Feb. 14 in Bahrain. Protests are not uncommon in this country, as pro-democracy protesters have been taking to the streets since the 90s.

Protesters are demanding the abolishment of the monarchy’s ability to appoint all key political posts. They are also demanding an end to the discrimination against Shiites, who represent about 70 percent of Bahrain’s population. The Bahraini government now seems desperate to open dialogue, as they face increasing criticism from western allies.

Source: Associated Press

AFRICA

Doctors are reporting that at least 200 people in Libya have died in a recent crackdown by police on protesters in Benghazi and more than 900 are reportedly injured. The event is now being called the “Benghazi Massacre.” Funeral processions that were gunned down were among the bloodiest.

Sayf al-Islam, Muammar Gaddafi’s son, admitted on state-run television that they had made mistakes with the protesters, saying that troops had opened fire because they were not trained in civil unrest.

He also said that opposition and Islamists were trying to break up the country. He also said “some” protesters had been killed but accused foreign media of overstating the violence, saying that reports of high numbers were “imaginary.”

Source: BBC

NORTH AMERICA

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed $60 billion in spending cuts. The vote was passed just before dawn after an all night session where congressmen debated literally hundreds of amendments. The vote came down at 235-189. While the process was largely civil, the vote was split down party lines and received no votes from Democrats. The cuts will greatly impact Obama’s plans for both the U.S. and abroad. Foreign aid and State Department operations are cut $10 billion from Obama’s request; School Turnaround Grants cut by almost two-thirds; and Pell Grants for low-income college students are reduced.

Source: Politico

EUROPE

Two German journalists have been released from prison in Iran. The two were arrested after interviewing the son of a woman sentenced to death by stoning for committing adultery.

Guido Westerwelle, Germany’s foreign minister, paid Tehran a rare top-level visit in order to bring the reporters home. An Iranian court tossed the 20-month prison sentence, commuting it to a fine of $50,000 each and allowed them to be released.

Source: The Guardian

LATIN AMERICA

Cuba has set free Ivan Hernandez, a political dissident who refused to go into exile as a condition for release in 2003 when the Roman Catholic Church brokered his, and 75 others’, release from prison. Hernandez said that, even though he was told to go home and stay quiet, he plans to continue working as an independent journalist.

The Columbian Farc has released two hostages that they had been holding for more than two years.

The hostages were a police major and an army corporal, and were handed over to a humanitarian delegation located in a rural area of southwestern Colombia. After they were handed over, they were taken to Bogata where they reunited with their families. These are the latest in a succession of releases taking place over the past two weeks.

Source: BBC

ASIA

In China, police are being dispersed to major cities to quell potential protests after an online call for a “jasmine revolution.”

First posted on a Chinese-language website in the United States, Chinese microblogs circulated calls for people to chant “we want food, we want work, we want housing, we want fairness.”

Police broke up small crowds in two cities, and so far no protests are reported in any of the other 11 cities where protests were encouraged.