The United Nations called for an immediate ceasefire in the besieged Libyan city of Misurata. At a press conference in Benghazi, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs aValerie Amos expressed her deep concern for the situation in Misurata and other regions in Libya. After Amos’ visit to Tripoli, the Libyan government agreed to allow the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to distribute humanitarian aid there. The BBC reports that the humanitarian crisis in Misurata is quickly deteriorating as fighting continues between the revolutionaries and Gaddafi’s forces and the city’s hospitals suffer from a shortage of medical staff and supplies.

The Gulf Cooperation Council met yesterday in Riyadh for a third meeting about Yemen. Yemeni opposition leaders have rejected the GCC’s second initiative and reiterated their commitment to the first initiative as a platform for ending the Yemeni crisis. Both initiatives call for the removal of Ali Abdullah Saleh from office, but in the second initiative, Saleh is to hand power over to his deputy. Meanwhile, violence has broken out in several Yemeni cities. Dubai TV reports that over 28 Yemenis were injured yesterday when security forces and gunmen disguised as civilians opened fire on protestors in Sana'a. Nearly 500 Yemenis sustained injuries from rocks thrown by people being described as "pro-regime thugs."

Al-Jazeera reports that 14 people were killed and about 50 were injured yesterday in protests in the Syrian city of Homs. About 50,000 Homs residents participated in the victims' funeral and chanted slogans calling for freedom, but were once again subjected to heavy gunfire. Even though President Bashar al-Assad announced the formation of a new government, protestors remain unsatisfied and say they will continue to protest until their demands for freedom and reform are met.

Bahrain's February 14th Youth Coalition launched a week-long program yesterday, dubbed the “Week of Steadfastness.” Today, demonstrators will call for a hunger strike in protest of the ongoing actions of Saudi forces and the al-Khalifa regime, including the murder of civilians and the burning the Quran. Protestors will also call for the immediate release of prisoners held captive in the regimes' jails, and reiterate their rejection of the country's emergency law.

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.

Today, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced the formation of a new government to be headed by Adel Safar. Current Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem and Minister of Defense Ali Habib will remain in their posts. The change will mostly affect the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Information, and the Ministry of Finance. According to the BBC, Syrian TV reported that President al-Assad also decided to release all those detained in connection to the latest events with the exception of those who committed crimes “against the homeland and the citizen.”

Al-Jazeera reports on the latest developments in Libya, where Gaddafi forces killed 23 people in the western city of Misurata. A spokesman for the revolutionaries said that most of the victims were killed while they were in line at a bakery to buy bread. The revolutionaries warned of a “massacre” in Misurata if NATO does not intervene by force to protect civilians from more shelling by Gaddafi’s battalions. 

The Bahraini Ministry of Justice has filed lawsuits to disband the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society and the Islamic Action Association, the two main opposition groups in Bahrain. Al-Alam reports that the February 14th Revolutionary Youth Coalition has called for protests in an attempt to break the siege imposed on the Suliamaniyah medical center. The coalition also called for massive sit-ins in front of the local mosques after Friday prayer. Meanwhile, joint Saudi-Bahraini forces have stormed the villages of Karizakan and Beni Jamra, fired tear gas at residents, and cut off the villages’ major roads.

Syria TV reports that a five-year-old girl in occupied Palestine was wounded when an Israeli settler hit her with his car in the West Bank town of Hebron. She was hit while playing near her home and was immediately taken to the hospital.

Today marks the 36th anniversary of the attack on a bus in Ain el-Remmaneh, considered to be the first spark of the Lebanese civil war. To commemorate the day, a group of youths are running a free bus service from Dawra to Hamra. One organizer told New TV that the free transportation service was to “allow people to tell us about their experiences and memories of the war,” so that the violent war may be “remembered but never repeated.”

Violence in Libya continues today, coinciding with a heated political confrontation between Muammar Gaddafi’s regime and the rebel leadership, the Libyan Transitional National Council. The Council has rejected the Libyan regime’s proposal that one of Gaddafi’s sons assume power during a transitional phase. They received an additional boost as Italy announced that it officially recognizes the Transitional National Council as the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people. Al-Jazeera reports that Gaddafi’s regime seems to be looking for an exit strategy after being isolated by the international community and experiencing increasing internal pressure from the revolutionaries. 

The BBC reports that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is attempting to implement immediate reforms in light of ongoing protests and the dozens of deaths resulting from the security forces' crackdown on demonstrators. President Assad said he would appoint a new governor of Dara'a, the southern state where tensions have been the highest. Prime Minister Adel Safar has been told to form a new government, following the resignation of Naji al-Otari's administration. Safar is affiliated with the ruling Baath Party and his appointment spawned large-scale protests.

Dubai TV is reporting from Yemen, where ongoing clashes between the Yemeni authorities and protestors have left several dead and many injured. As the violence in Yemen escalates, the US, which has long supported President Ali Abdullah Saleh, has quietly shifted its position and said Saleh should be eased out of office.

The Gulf Cooperation Council has decided to hold talks with the Yemeni government and opposition leaders in an attempt to solve the escalating crisis in the country. Nile TV reports that the Council's foreign ministers have accused Iran of conspiring against the region’s countries and of interfering in their affairs by fueling sedition and religious division among their citizens.

New TV features a profile on Ali Shariati, a “philosopher and teacher of the Islamic Revolution.” While he inspired revolutionaries across Iran, he spent much of his life either in exile or in prison and was considered an infidel in Iran because of his criticisms of the authority of religious leaders and their distortion of holy texts.

Al-Alam reports on developments in Libya, where international coalition forces continue to launch strikes against Gaddafi’s battalions in various areas of the country. Gaddafi forces have confirmed their control of Libya’s third largest city, Misurata. In London, leaders from over 40 nations have formed a contact group that will meet to discuss the situation in Libya. US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, who participated in the meeting, announced that military strikes launched by coalition forces must continue until Gaddafi completely submits to UN demands. Russia has stated it will not participate in the meeting and condemns NATO’s air raids, warning they could lead to a civil war in Libya.

Al-Jazeera reports that the Syrian government has resigned due to ongoing unrest and protests. Syrian TV said that President Bashar al-Assad accepted the mass resignation. Meanwhile, thousands of Syrians poured into the streets of Damascus and Halab in a demonstration to support President Assad, carrying the Syrian flag and pictures of the president. The demonstrators chanted slogans demanding stability for Syria and supporting the country's plan for reform. Assad has said he will abolish the emergency law that has been in place for nearly forty years.

In Dubai TV’s report, Yemeni medical sources say that the death toll from the explosion at the Abyan weapons factory has risen to 150. According to local officials in the town of Khanfar, factory workers warned residents not to enter the site after it was taken over and looted by members of al-Qaeda. Yemeni authorities say the explosion was caused by metal objects striking barrels containing gunpowder. Meanwhile, the political situation in Yemen has reached a stalemate as President Ali Abdullah Saleh says he will not make any more concessions and the opposition remains unsatisfied.

Thirty-three people were killed and over 100 were wounded in Northern Iraq today in an incident in which 11 armed gunmen disguised as members of the Iraqi military stormed a government building. The BBC reports that the gunmen occupied the building for several hours and took a number of hostages before US and Iraqi forces regained control of the building. Three provincial council members, a brigadier-general, and three police officers were all killed.

Tonight, NBN gives us a profile of the first president of the Syrian Arab Republic, Shukri al-Quwatli. Described as the most prominent advocate of Arab unity in modern times, al-Quwatli is revered for resisting Turkish and French colonization and fighting for Syrian independence. Al-Quwatli was imprisoned and sentenced to death multiple times but was twice elected president by the Syrian people and fought to achieve Arab unity until his death in 1967.