Egypt: New ministers were sworn in today after the ceremony had been postponed for several days due to controversy over the cabinet reshuffle. The ministers were sworn in by Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council for the Armed Forces. However, demonstrators remain unsatisfied with the reshuffle as they continue to rally in Tahrir Square and prepare for the "Friday of Stability." Their top demand is to accelerate the trials of former regime officials. This Friday will reflect the people's persistence in protecting their revolution but also the increasing divide among the public and among Islamic movements about what is best for Egypt in this new phase.

Syria: The government has initiated a broad security and military campaign in Homs province under the pretext of easing conflicts initiated by "armed terrorist groups." Managing Editor of Levant News, Mohamed Fatouh, however, says that the government purposefully incites sectarian strife in areas, "in order to be able to say that the regime is the only hope and solution.”

Yemen: Deputy Information Minister Abdo al-Janadi said the US recently offered logistic support to forces allied to President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Al-Janadi clarified that Washington brought the forces food when they were besieged in the city of Zinjibar. He added that US forces are also supporting Saleh's regime financially in southern Yemen.

Each year, Oxfam estimates that more than 500,000 people are killed due to armed violence with countless more left devastated, displaced, traumatized, and angry.  Armed violence destroys lives, drains government resources, undermines development efforts, and fosters a culture of violence, fear, and corruption. It is big business with huge ramifications. 
   
At the moment, there is no global arms trade treaty regulating the transfer of arms. Too often, cheap yet highly destructive weapons land in the hands of those who use them to assert power insidiously and further continue a vicious cycle of violence. For developing countries, particularly those in conflict or post-conflict situations, the low-cost accessibility of weapons wreaks havoc on efforts to achieve reconciliation and development. While decades of tensions slowly settle, an arsenal of cheap, available weapons remains—stunting efforts to move forward peacefully.  Families are left displaced and devastated by the loss or injury of a family member; their home may be destroyed or no longer safe to live in, and they may be left virtually income-less with no able-bodied workers or farmland. Already struggling health care systems are overburdened; schools are forced to closed or get by with meager support; access to food becomes limited. Anger, hopelessness, and fear grow. Any tensions that may arise or continue in communities—ethnic or religious conflicts, neighbor or land disputes—are resolved through violence. And when you are angry and disempowered with no job or education opportunities—no potentials to grow or support your family, when an AK-47 or grenade is as cheap and accessible as a pint of beer, as is the case in Burundi, it is easy to see how violence remains the preferred medium for conflict resolution. Violence infiltrates every aspect of the culture; it becomes a daily part of life.
   
“Weapons call out to other weapons,” says Teddy Mazina, a journalist in the documentary film Bang for your Buck. The huge supply of cheap weapons leftover from Burundi’s civil war has contaminated his country, he says, causing an intractable cycle of violence and corrupt power that undermines all development efforts. Underlying issues such as why violence is so easily resorted to are obscured by the sheer supply and availability of cheap grenades and Ak-47s. There needs to be regulation: a path towards disarmament.
   
Bang for Your Buck beautifully illustrates this need. As winner of Oxfam’s "Shooting Poverty” contest, the film was made to galvanize the Control Arms Campaign, a global civil society alliance, of which Oxfam is a part of, calling for a universal Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) would outline universal standards for arms exporters and importers, eradicating any loopholes or variance in regulation that could be used to evade responsibility and further fuel armed conflict, poverty, and human rights violations. The Campaign calls on members of the United Nations to secure this urgent treaty—one round of negotiation is underway this week in New York with the final conference scheduled for July 2010.  You can join the campaign and help ensure the government takes this opportunity to comprehensively regulate the deadly weapons trade.
   
A universal Arms Trade Treaty is an important step towards ending irresponsible arms transfers that promote corrupt agendas and violate human rights, drain resources, and hinder development efforts in countries striving to rebuild, particularly in the aftermath of civil war. Much more needs to be done, however, in order to start over. To learn more about the struggle for new beginnings check out ViewChange.org’s new episode, Starting Over, where Bang for Your Buck is featured along with two other powerful films. In the episode you will meet Teddy Mazina as he walks you through the realities of daily grenade attacks in Burundi, learn about Rwanda’s Gacaca justice tribunals, and witness one ex-patriot’s dream to promote economic development through tourism in Sierra Leone. 

Starting Over airs on Direct TV Channel 375 and DISH Network Channel 9410 on:

Friday, July 15th 4 pm PST
Sunday, July 17th 12am PST
Tuesday, July 19th 8pm PST
Wednesday, July 20th 3am and 10am PST
Friday, July 22nd  5am PST
Saturday, July 23rd 11:30pm PST.

And can also be viewed online at LinkTV.org.

(Press TV London: 0252 PT, May 4, 2011) British voters will go to the polls on Thursday to decide whether to change their voting system. Opponents of the "first past the post" system say it ensures only the big parties dominate British politics, while supporters say it delivers clear election results and strong governments. Roshan Muhammed Salih reports from London.

Dubai TV reports that rival protests have split Yemen on a day called the “Friday of Persistence” by the opposition, and the “Friday of dialogue” by the regime's loyalists. A group of prominent religious and tribal leaders have declared their support for the protest movement, including the chief of the Hashed Tribe of which Saleh is a member. The opposition has rejected the Gulf’s new proposal to attend mediation talks in Riyadh, because it omitted the article which called for the ouster of President Saleh. Instead, the new initiative calls for Saleh to transfer power to his deputy.  

The “Syrian Revolution” Facebook page called on Syrians to take to the streets today in a demonstration that is also called the “Friday of Persistence.” The BBC reports that protests took place in Damascus, Deraa, Banias, Deir ez-Zor, Homs, al-Qamish, and Latakia. This comes a day after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced the formation of a new government and the release of hundreds of detainees. Human Rights Watch has accused Syrian security and intelligence institutions of torturing hundreds of protestors detained during demonstrations throughout the country.

A doctor in the western Libyan city of Misurata said that eight civilians, including children, were killed this morning in a missile attack by Gaddafi’s battalions. Residents say that about 120 missiles hit the besieged city. Al-Jazeera reports that Gaddafi’s forces are using Grad Rockets, which is a kind of rocket that lacks accuracy and causes wide-range destruction. While these kinds of rockets are usually only used in battlefields where there are no civilians, Gaddafi’s forces have been targeting densely populated areas like Misurata, turning the city into a “large graveyard,” where the death toll continues to rise.

Al Alam reports that Bahrainis in Manama are still trying to break through the intense checkpoints around Sulaimaniya Hospital in Manama to allow access to injured people. Meanwhile, Zainab al-Khawaja, the daughter of the detained Bahraini human rights activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, has been on a hunger strike for days and said the authorities are not allowing the families of the detained to contact them. She added that she has sent a letter to US President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, holding them responsible for the blatant human rights violations in Bahrain.

Tonight, al-Iraqiya features a report on the 1988 massacre in Halabja. What is known as the al-Anfal Campaign was a genocidal campaign against the Kurdish people in northern Iraq led by Saddam Hussein and the Ba’ath regime. Al-Iraqiya’s report commemorates the anniversary of the massacre in which over 182,000 Kurds were killed and over 4,000 Iraqi villages were destroyed.

Thanks to everyone who supported our Women in the Congo campaign during the month of February! With your help, we were able to reach our goal of donating $500 to Women for Women International's Run for Congo Women project. In addition to being able to donate to this very worthy cause, we were able to increase our Facebook fanbase by over 1,000 new members, expanding the impact of Link TV's unique programming and related calls for action around important worldwide causes like the war in Congo.

While this particular campaign may be over, there is no shortage of ways you can help. Please continue to visit our website for action ideas surrounding International Women's Day coming up on March 8th.

For example, on this important day in our home base of San Francisco, women will be gathering on the Golden Gate bridge, an action simultaneously being taken by women in Congo and all over the world, to demonstrate that women can build the bridges of peace and hope. Watch this video for more information or click here:

During this month, where women are often celebrated in the U.S., we are talking about violence against women, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Recently, we were inspired by a heart-wrenchingly honest opinion piece written by Nick Kristof in the New York Times that shed some much-needed light on the vicious injustices taking place against the women of the Congo, which Kristof says is on par with (or even exceeds) the devastation that hit Haiti last month --only not as sudden.  5.4 million people, mainly women and children, have been tortured, raped, and killed as a result of the conflict that began in the DRC over a decade ago.

Join us in spreading the word about this important and under-reported issue in the Congo – where violence against women has become an act of war.  Please visit our page linktv.org/womenincongo to learn more, and then tell your friends about it.  Through the rest of February, for every 10 new Facebook fans Link TV will donate $5 (up to $500) to Women for Women International's Run for Congo Women campaign. With your help, Link TV continues to disseminate the untold stories of the world.