The Short List

• The Bahraini police attacked sleeping protesters in Manama's Pearl Square with shotguns, concussion grenades, and tear gas.  Five people were reportedly killed and over 200 are reported injured.  CIA World Factbook entry on Bahrain.


• In Basra, in southern Iraq, hundreds protested and demanded the ouster of the local governor.  The protests centered around a lack of jobs and government services.


• Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas has declared elections will not go forward unless the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip is included.


• The Economist discusses commerce in Mogadishu, neglects to mention Somaliland at all.


• The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports that cyber-attacks suffered by the Canadian Finance Department and Treasury Board originated in China.  China's Foreign Ministry dismissed the allegation.


• IBM's trivia-trouncing computer, Watson, crushed legends Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter on Jeopardy last night on the final day of a three day exhibition.  Mr. Jennings had the best line of the night though, when answering the final Jeopardy question adding on "I for one welcome our new computer overlords."  A magnificent play on the Simpsons line embedded below.