BBC: Hundreds of people have clashed with police and pro-government supporters in the Libyan city of Benghazi, reports say. Eyewitnesses told the BBC the overnight unrest followed the arrest of an outspoken critic of the government. The lawyer was later said to have been released but the protests continued. Pro-democracy protests have swept through several Arab countries in recent weeks, forcing the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt from power. A call has been put out on the internet for protests across Libya on Thursday. There is no independent confirmation of the overnight protests in Benghazi, but eyewitnesses say that at one stage some 2,000 people were involved. They say stones were thrown at police who are said to have responded with water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets. MORE
RELATED: Thousands of protesters took over a main square in Bahrain’s capital Tuesday — carting in tents and raising banners — in a bold attempt to copy Egypt’s uprising and force high-level changes in one of Washington’s key allies in the Gulf. The move by demonstrators capped two days of clashes across the tiny island kingdom that left at least two people dead, parliament in limbo by an opposition boycott and the king making a rare address on national television to offer condolences for the bloodshed. MORE