Unrest in Yemen

In response to the uprising in Tunisia, mass protests broke out yesterday in Yemen.  Protesters are demanding the removal of dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled Yemen for the past 32 years.

In other news:

• In Albania, police clashed with over 20,000 protesters, leaving 3 dead and 55 injured.  Tensions have been rising in Albania over the exposure of government corruption.
• The FCC and the Justice Department have approved Comcast's takeover of NBC/Universal, a move further concentrating media in the United States.  Senator Al Franken was one of only a few elected officials who really tried to stop the merger.  Franken on the merger: 

With approval of this merger, the FCC has given a single media conglomerate unprecedented control over the flow of information in America.  This will ultimately mean higher cable and Internet bills, fewer independent voices in the media, and less freedom of choice for all American consumers. And it will leave Minnesotans at the mercy of a shrinking number of very powerful media conglomerates.  We count on competition in this country to keep corporations in check, and we have designed antitrust laws to ensure that companies do not become too big or too powerful. I fear this is only the first domino in a cascade to come. By approving this merger, the FCC may have just given a green light to AT&T and Verizon to pursue similar mergers with ABC/Disney or CBS/Viacom. But, this does not mean the fight is over. A growing number of Americans stand behind me ready to fight any further media consolidation of this kind.

• In an "unrelated" note, NBC has made a financial settlement with Keith Olbermann ending his program on MSNBC.  Olbermann had grown increasingly upset with executives interference with his show and there are rumors Olbermann may try to start a new media program on the Internet.  Countdown with Keith Olbermann was the highest and most profitable program on MSNBC.  Ironically, Olbermann replaced Phil Donahue in 2002, who at the time also had the highest rated program on MSNBC.  A leaked NBC memo from 2002 stated Donahue was fired for being too questioning of a possible war in Iraq.  Executives felt it would not make good business sense for General Electric (which in addition to owning NBC and making microwaves, is a defense contractor) to give a platform to an anti-war voice.
• If Sarah Palin visits Australia she may face prosecution for inciting violence.  Palin, and a number of other high profile politicians, have called for violence against journalists, including for the assassination of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange.   
• More on the Swiss Bank leak: 
  Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Assange slams whistle-blower's arrest.