From the TimesOnline: The Iran security forces won out over the protesters:

Opposition websites said Revolutionary Guards and basiji militiamen were stationed everywhere and that they moved swiftly and violently to break up opposition demonstrations.

They claimed the security forces used live ammunition, knives, teargas and paintballs that would enable them to identify protesters later and that they were beating and arresting women as well as men. They were backed up by water canon, new Chinese anti-riot vehicles and helicopters. Some, wearing plain clothes, infiltrated the protesters. The mobile telephone, internet and text messaging systems were seriously disrupted.

[More...]

The best way to follow the Iran protests today, at least for now, is on twitter. Try #iranelection. While many are posting in Farsi, others are retweeting in English. Crowds are growing, and security forces opened fire.

Security forces attacked the crowd of protesters in Arya-Shahr, opening fire on them. Several people have reportedly been injured during the shooting. However, the crowd has not dispersed and keeps chanting slogans. Security forces are firing directly on the masses of protesters. There is a heavy presence of military and intelligence forces in Tehran streets.

Other tweets: "Clashes in Vesal St & Vanak sq right now." "Confirmed: Mobile service disconnected in certain parts of Tehran."

Some video is getting out, the tweeters are posting the links. "Death to Dictators" seems to be the most prevalent protest chant being quoted. [More...]

Good news for the 10 jailed Americans in Haiti, suspected of child trafficking for trying to remove Haitian children to the U.S. The Judge reportedly has decided to release them, as early as tomorrow:

"One thing an investigating judge seeks in a criminal investigation is criminal intentions on the part of the people involved and there is nothing that shows that criminal intention on the part of the Americans," the [judicial]source said.

Haitian jails have always been miserable places. I hope this report is correct.

The London Conference on Yemen begins at 1800 GMT. that's 1pm ET. The UK is streaming it live here. The meeting is being chaired by UK Foreign Secretary David Milbrand and will cover three themes:

• discussions of the challenges facing Yemen, including the drivers of radicalisation and instability, and agreement that a comprehensive approach is needed to address them
• greater impetus to the political and economic reform agenda, including urgent and concrete action by the Government of Yemen; and
• improved international coordination and support towards Yemen.

[More...]

The U.K. is hosting a conference Wednesday on how to help Yemen. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is attending. (Here's a full list.) The State Department held a briefing today on Yemen. Here's the transcript.

Human Rights Watch has released this report on Yemen in advance of Wednesday's conference, with 7 recommendations for Yemen's allies. Center for American Progress has these recommendations. [More...]

It's important to keep the devastating news from Haiti at the top of our consciousness. The news is no longer 24/7, but the nightmare continues.

“There are still thousands of patients with major fractures, major wounds, that have not been treated yet,” said Dr. Eduardo de Marchena, a University of Miami cardiologist who oversaw a tent hospital near the airport where hundreds of severely injured people were being tended. “There are people, many people, who are going to die unless they’re treated.”

....In the squatter camps now scattered across this capital, there are still people writhing in pain, their injuries bound up by relatives but not yet seen by a doctor eight days after the quake struck. On top of that, the many bodies still in the wreckage increase the risk of diseases spreading, especially, experts say, if there is rain.

[More...]

Back in 2004, plans were made to house up to 50,000 boat people from Haiti who had fled trying to get to the U.S. at Guantanamo. The idea was to hold them at Guantanamo until they could be returned to Haiti.

Now, the U.S. is planning to do it again.

The U.S. has begun preparing tents at Guantanamo Bay for Haitians migrants in case of a mass migration spurred by the earthquake, a senior official at the base said Wednesday.

About 100 tents, each capable of holding 10 people, have been erected and authorities have more than 1,000 more on hand in case waves of Haitians leave their homeland and are captured at sea, said Navy Rear Adm. Thomas Copeman.

Only Haitians who were in the U.S. on January 12, the day of the earthquake, will be granted Temporary Protected Status and allowed into the U.S. to live and work. So what they are saying is we are going to house Haitians in refugee tents until they can be returned to Haiti? How many years will that take? [More...]

Despite the world-wide effort to get supplies, food, medical care and security forces to the people of Haiti, it's not happening fast enough. Violence is growing and spreading.

Apparently, the Haitian police are on the scene and they are shooting and killing looters, or leaving them to vigilante justice. Here's a dismal report from The Telegraph:

Police opened fire on a group of looters, killing at least one of them, as hundreds of rioters ransacked a supermarket. One, a man in his 30s, was killed outright by bullets to the head as the crowd grabbed produce in the Marche Hyppolite.

Another quickly snatched the rucksack off the dead man's back as clashes continued and police reinforcements descended on the area armed with pump-action shotguns and assault rifles.

[More..]

What will happen to the orphaned, homeless, sick and at-risk children in Haiti, who make up more than half of the country's population? Efforts are underway by Catholic Legal Services in South Florida to bring many here, for adoption, foster care or other placement. This was done for Cuban children in Operation Pedro Pan in the 1960s.

What's needed: Passports, Emergency visas, the granting of refugee status, faster paperwork processing.

We really need to get the injured children to places with adequate surgical and medical facilities.

Related Haiti Developments: [More...]

Hillary Clinton has arrived in Haiti. It's not clear if she's going to speak right away. More here.

20,000 bodies have been recovered so far, according to the Haitian Government. The medical situation remains dismal.

Update: MSNBC says she will be speaking at the airport (where she will be for four hours) and it will air her remarks live. Her plane brought supplies and will bring about 50 Americans home. She is the most senior U.S. official to visit Haiti since the earthquake.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is traveling to Haiti Saturday to view the earthquake effects first-hand, meet with Haiti's President and deliver supplies.

"We will also be conveying very directly and personally to the Haitian people our long-term, unwavering support, solidarity and sympathies to reinforce President Obama's message that they are not facing this crisis alone," she added.

"I will also be able to see first hand the ongoing efforts and deployment of US government personnel and resources for maximum impact to support the vital lifesaving relief and recovery efforts," Clinton said.

As BTD noted earlier, President Obama is traveling to Mass. Sunday to campaign for Martha Coakley.

Rescue efforts in Haiti are still facing difficulty in reaching the people. The Red Cross estimates 50,000 have been killed.

It's a race against time.

The pictures and news reports are harrowing. Looting is beginning, bodies are lining the streets and beginning to decay. Disease will begin spreading. The cemetaries are filled, and people are being put in mass graves.

Money is pouring in to relief organizations and countries around the world are trying to help, but the conditions there are so awful, it may be too little too late. The heavy equipment needed to dig out more potential survivors is still not there. People are still alive under the rubble. The medical care is not getting to them quickly enough. They need more supplies and pain meds.

The main port is closed, the airport is strained, relief workers say it's chaos.