Kate McGough

Jordan's King Abdullah has sacked his government following protests as thousands marched in Amman to protest rising prices and unemployment and to demand that the prime minister, Samir Rifai step down. Prince Hassan of Jordan reacts to the news and talks about the future of the Mideast and the view of Egypt from Jordan. Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland also weighs in.

The BBC reports that leaflets are being distributed in the crowd calling for the army to take the people's side and to resist orders to go against the people. And although there have been live rounds used against the demonstraters, they weren't fired by the army, says the BBC's Wyre Davies. He says that private security forces and the police have been responsible for the shootings.

Protesters have taken to the streets of Cairo with demands on a range of issues from ending police brutality to raising the minimum wage. Activists organized protests over Facebook and Twitter. But while the city is galvanized by the recent events in nearby Tunisia, will this uprising enact change? The BBC's Jon Leyne reports from Cairo on the protests. 

After a shooting spree over the weekend that left six people dead and a U.S. Congresswoman in critical condition, President Barack Obama flew to Tucson, Arizona on Wednesday to offer his condolences to the community. Obama spoke last night at service titled, "Together We Thrive: Tucson and America." Despite the occasion for grief, many at the rally seemed energized, in part by the news that during the president's visit to her hospital bed, Rep. Giffords (D-Ariz.) opened her eyes for the first time since the attack. It was estimated that more than 14,000 people were in attendance. 

There’ll be a lot more "out of office" emails in Washington this week as key members of the Obama administration are on trips in South Asia, Asia and the Arabian peninsula. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in China today and will travel to South Korea and Japan later in the week. Vice President Joe Biden has just left Afghanistan and is in Pakistan today; and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Qatar, continuing her tour of Arab states after her surprise trip to Yemen yesterday. What do these three top officials hope to accomplish abroad, and what challenges do they face?

Much has been made of Tucson shooting suspect Jared Loughner’s troubled state of mind by police and former classmates. But if Loughner’s mental issues were a factor in Saturday’s attacks, does it follow that we should screen people for mental illness before allowing them to purchase guns? Is this even possible? And more importantly, do these kind of gun restrictions save lives or are they merely knee-jerk responses that only give us the impression of added safety?

Pakistan's Punjab governor Salman Taseer was shot dead yesterday by one of his bodyguards, who shot him 30 times. The governor was a businessman and a publisher of a liberal English-language daily. Recently, he was working to repeal Pakistan's blasphemy laws, which lead to fiery demonstrations by religious parties. BBC reporter, Aleem Maqbool is in Lahore, Pakistan, where Taseer's funeral is taking place.

Since it was launched in the 1970s, NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft is reaching the edge of the solar system, and it has made an interesting discovery. 11 billion miles from home, the particles that surround it — emanating from the sun — are no longer moving outward but sideways. The craft's long trip, which will only end when it runs into something in mostly-empty space, continues to beam back basic data homeward. Dan Andrews, an expert in planetary science especially the study of comets and asteroids at the Open University in the UK, joins us for more on Voyager 1's recent discoveries and continuing journey. 

The United States is backing away from peace talks on the Middle East that are in flux, thanks in part to Israel's refusal to back down on the issue of new Jewish settlements. Palestinians are saying that direct talks may be over for the time being, and the U.S., after high hopes for progress, is suffering a tarnished record as a negotiator. Has the cause for peace hit another dead end? 

A hacker group known as "Anonymous" has reportedly initiated "Operation Payback" a call for attacks on several websites in retaliation for those sites pulling services from Wikileaks in the past 24 hours. So far, Mastercard's website has been brought down, PayPal is under attack as is Swiss bank PostFinance, which recently froze Julian Assange's bank accounts at the institution. We're joined by Rory Cellan-jones, reporter for our partner the BBC, for more on this breaking story.  

India's Attorney General has filed a case to double the payout for a 1984 tragedy caused by U.S. chemical company Dow Chemicals. The company owned a Union Carbide chemical plant in Bhopal, India, which leaked gas 26 years ago and caused the death of thousands of people in the area. Dow Chemical paid a $470 million settlement in 1989, but now India is petitioning for over $1 billion.

British authorities are reportedly aware of Julian Assange's whereabouts in the South of England. But according to British newspaper The Independent, they have yet to act on the international "red notice" from INTERPOL, which alerts countries they are looking for him. Why? We're joined by Mark Hughes, crime correspondent for The Independent, to learn more on the story.   

Using powerful instruments at the Keck Observatory in Hawaii, astronomers recently discovered that the universe stretched much further than originally thought. Between 50 and 300 million light years away, feint light from red dwarf stars in eight giant "elliptical galaxies" suggest there may be three times the number of stars originally thought to exist in the universe. Joining us is Brendan Owens, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England.  

One of the eye-opening revelations coming out of the latest Wikileaks document release is what some countries think of one another. Do Chinese officials think of North Korea as a "spoiled child"? Well, that's the characterization in one of the leaked cables. What else does China think of it's neighbor? 

Alice Herz-Sommer celebrates her 107th birthday today. As if that weren't enough of a an accomplishment, she also happens to be the oldest living survivor of the Nazi Holocaust. Her love of music inspires her to live her life with optimism and faith in the human spirit, even though she lived through one of the most horriying ordeals any human can imagine. Vincent Dowd, arts correspondent for the BBC, visits Alice to hear her story.

Pope Benedict XVI's opinions on the use of condoms have been expanded in a book released this morning. In interviews used in the book, "Light of the World," the Pope told a German journalist that using condoms to prevent of HIV, such as in the case of male prostitutes, is a "lesser evil." Is the Vatican's position on birth control changing? 

Ireland's bailout moves forward, as the country takes a $140 billion from the International Monetary Fund. The move has postponed some looming problems for Portugal, which the E.U. also worries is in need of large-scale financial help. But questions remain about whether the bailout of Ireland will create the necessary stability in the Euro single currency zone or not. The BBC's Theo Leggett joins us for more.  

Can a fictional show about Afghanistan police inspire real support for law enforcement in that country? That's what creators of "Eagle Four" are hoping. The television program, bankrolled by the U.S., follows a fictional squad of highly-trained officers as they foil suicide bomb plots and protect the innocent. But with actors who have received mysterious death threats and a country that often reflects the action show explosions, will the show be successful in changing hearts and minds? 

In his speech in Jakarta earlier this week, President Obama addressed Muslims across the world, seeking to reassure them that they are not the enemy. "America is not," he said, "and never will be, at war with Islam." But while President Obama reaches out to Muslims across the world, the federal government is trying to make sure Muslim communities here at home get the same message.

President Obama continues his Asia trip this week with a stop in Indonesia, to emphasize American ties with the Muslim country. In a speech to Indonesians last night, the President sought to highlight those bonds; he did so by recalling his time growing up in Jakarta. Did Obama succeed in reaching out to Indonesia, which has the largest Muslim population in the world?