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Egyptian protesters opposed to President Mubarak continued to be attacked by pro-Mubarak supporters throughout Tuesday night and Wednesday. Opposition protesters in Cairo’s Tahrir square have been badly beaten and some have been killed. Police ID badges have been confiscated from some pro-Mubarak supporters, evidence that the counter protests are driven by the government. Listen to Democracy Now at 9am for reports from Tahrir Square by Sharif Abdel Kouddous and others. Overshadowed by Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt is the political unrest in Jordan, Algeria, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday Jordan’s King Abdullah fired his cabinet and appointed a new Prime Minister, Marouf Bakhit. Bakhit’s appointment is seen as a move to appease protesters who opposed the former Prime Minister’s economic policies, which favored private business and open markets. Protesters have largely been from the politically influential community of tribal Jordanians who benefit the most from the state jobs and subsidies. It is not unusual for the Jordanian monarchy to dismiss the cabinet. During the 47 year rein of King Abdullah’s father he oversaw 45 Prime Ministers. Meanwhile in Algeria a protest march is being planned for February 12th, but the government has already declared it “officially banned.” A nation-wide state of emergency was declared in 1992 and has been in place since, accompanied by bans on new political parties and public gatherings. The February 12th march is in protest of these policies, and it follows small and occasionally violent protests ignited last month after food prices spiked. There are signs the Algerian government is debating policy changes to ease the unrest. In Yemen, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of their capital this morning, demanding an end to the rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years. And in Saudi Arabia floods displacing over 18,000 people have spurred protests directed at the aging infrastructure. King Abdullah has responded by saying officials responsible for failed systems will be punished. Given that the situations of these Arab nations are similar to Egypt – young, educated, and underemployed, the region is a tinderbox surrounded by the sparks of uprising in neighboring countries.

GUESTS: Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and Chair of Mid-Eastern Studies at the University of San Francisco. Lamis Andoni, an independent journalist based currently in Amman, Jordan, works with Al Jazeera