China and Colombia are planning to build a railway linking the South American country's Atlantic and Pacific coasts, President Juan Manuel Santos announced Feb. 14. Chinese ambassador Gao Zhengyue said his government sees Colombia as its chief port of entry to Latin America. The planned 138-mile long rail line will run from the port of Cupica on the Pacific to the Gulf of Urabá on the Caribbean, then continuing along the coast to a new port to be built near Cartagena.

Hundreds of protesters clashed with police and government supporters the night of Feb. 15 in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, after human rights lawyer Fathi Tarbel was arrested. Police used water cannon and teargas against what began as a protest begun by relatives of prisoners killed in a 1996 massacre who were demanding the release of the lawyer. Opposition supporters have called for a nationwide "day of rage" on Feb. 17. Several journalists and longtime dissident Idris al-Mismari are reported detained. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube were all briefly blocked, as were AlJazeera and al-Arabiya television. State TV showed crowds of pro-government supporters shouting slogans in Tripoli's Green Square. Reports of two killed in the street fighting could not be confirmed. (The Guardian, Feb. 16)

Tunisia's government harshly condemned a suggestion by Rome that Italian security forces could be sent to the North African country to stem the flow of undocumented migrants. An estimated 5,000 Tunisians have landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa in recent days, fleeing unrest and repression. Rome has requested emergency aid from the European Union to deal with influx. (RTE News, Feb. 15; AFP, Feb. 14)

A 26-year-old man died in central Morocco Feb. 13 after setting himself on fire in despair at his economic situation since being dismissed from the army. "He poured five litres of petrol over himself and set himself alight in the weekly market at Benguerir," said Mohammed Hanofi of the Moroccan Human Rights Association. It was the first reported death in the country from self-immolation, which has also occurred in neighboring Algeria and sparked the revolution in Tunisia. (Middle East Online, Feb. 13)

In the Yemeni capital Sana'a, protesters marched for a fourth consecutive day Feb. 14, demanding the removal of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. They faced attacks by government supporters wielding broken bottles, daggers and rocks. Police were unable to control the crowds in Taiz, where thousands of protesters had held an all-night rally. (The Guardian, Feb. 14)

Security forces in Bahrain fired tear gas and bird shot Feb. 15 on mourners gathered for a funeral procession for a man killed in the first Egypt-inspired protests to reach the Gulf, killing at least one more and leaving many injured. Witnesses said the attack on the funeral march was "completely unprovoked." Bahrain's ruling monarchy is a strategic Western ally and home to the US Navy's 5th Fleet. (AP, BBC World Service, Feb. 15)

Tens of thousands of protesters battled security forces in Tehran Feb. 14, leaving at least one dead. Amid clouds of tear gas fired by police and pro-government militiamen, the protesters marched down a central boulevard shouting "Death to the dictator," "We are all together," and "Down with Taliban, in Cairo and Tehran!" Dozens were arrested for participating in the banned rally. Similar protests and clashes are reported from Isfahan and Shiraz. (WP, Feb. 15)

Thousands of Egyptians were still singing and waving flags in Cairo's Tahrir Square Feb. 13, two days after an 18-day uprising forced president Hosni Mubarak from power. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said the military will oversee a peaceful transition to "an elected civil authority to build a free democratic state." Headed by longtime Mubarak-loyalist Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, the Supreme Council issued a "Communique Number 4," read on state TV. It said Egypt would "remain committed to all its regional and international treaties," implicitly confirming the 1979 peace treaty with Israel will remain intact. A "Communique Number 5" said the military will "run the affairs of the country on a temporary basis for six months or until the end of parliamentary and presidential elections."