Three months after the first anti-government protests in Ukraine, the country has experienced its deadliest day of political violence, with nine people dying in clashes between demonstrators and police. The beating heart of the pro-Europe, anti-Russia 'Euromaidan' movement is in Kiev's Independence Square (in Ukrainian, Maidan Nezalezhnosti), and the square is currently in flames after a day of police firing rubber bullets at protesters wielding molotov cocktails and fireworks.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday accused Washington of plotting with anti-government protesters and expelled three US diplomats in retaliation. Maduro's order came on the same day that fugitive opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez re-appeared and called for a mass rally on Tuesday and challenged the government to arrest him at the event.

Among Venezuelans taking to the streets are student protesters who, in the past, have proven to be a powerful political force. Using Twitter as well as street demonstrations, the students offer a boost to a weak and disjointed opposition. Tens of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets of Caracas and other cities Wednesday in the biggest antigovernment protests yet during the 10-month term of President Nicolas Maduro. Pro-government demonstrators also turned out, sparking confrontations that reportedly left three people dead.

Turks have hit back at a new law tightening control of the internet with more than half a million tweets on the hashtag "Internet Censorship in Turkey".

The administration of Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has faced protests since October 2013. The protesters claim the administration has bought votes, and these activists have vowed to disrupt polling stations. In a precursor to today's elections, a gun battle broke out in front a Lak Si District officer where anti-government protesters set up an encampment in front of a building holding election ballots.

The Russian blockade began at midnight on Jan. 29. At factories and warehouses across neighboring Ukraine, truckers had picked up their regular haul of cargo that afternoon and made their way to the eastern border. If their radios were tuned to the news as they drove along the icy highways, they would have heard some alarming bulletins.

Outraged by a new Russian law that outlaws “homosexual propaganda” and by President Vladimir Putin’s recent remarks that gays who go to Sochi for the Olympic Winter Games should “stay away from children,” some gays and lesbians are planning to boycott watching the Olympics on TV.

A long-awaited environmental review of the Keystone XL pipeline released Friday by the State Department found the project would have a negligible impact on climate change, bolstering the case for the controversial project as it heads to the White House for a decision on its construction.