The lead up to the election has been less than promising: Sunday marked the ninth straight day of protests against military rule in Egypt. At least 41 protesters have been killed and more than 2,000 wounded. However, these events haven't stopped a record number of voters from queuing up well before polls opened this morning. This will be the country's first parliamentary election since former President Hosni Mubarak was ousted.

Occupy Wall Street protesters have vowed to carry on after being evicted from Zuccotti Park overnight Tuesday. After being thrown out of the park after two months, protesters regrouped after dawn on Tuesday in nearby Foley Square and marched toward City Hall. Ben Brock Johnson, digital editor for The Takeaway, saw protesters being removed from Zuccotti Park early Tuesday and spoke with protesters in Foley Square.

On Monday, The Takeaway spoke with New York University professor of international relations Alon Ben-Meir and National Review writer Charles C.W. Cooke to discuss reports of illness and lawlessness at Occupy Wall Street encampments around the country. Today, after Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered police to clear the protesters' camp at Zuccotti Park, Ben-Meir and Cooke rejoin the program to react to the day's events.

An estimated 10,000 protesters marched to the Port of Oakland last night as a general strike was called in support of the Occupy Wall Street movement. Demonstrators shut down maritime operations at the port as officials asked that protesters allow the workers to return home safely. The march was generally peaceful, police said, as some vandalism was reported. The strike was the first of its kind since 1946. Meanwhile at Wall Street, protesters have battled the snow and prepare to face the winter.

Massive labor strikes have turned violent in Greece as thousands of protesters have clashed with police in the streets of Athens. The demonstrators are protesting against proposed austerity measures that would lay off more than 30,000 public sector workers while cutting pensions and salaries for those left with jobs. The Greek Parliament will vote on the final austerity package today.

As the Occupy Wall Street protests enter their fourth week, a number of media commentators have made the inevitable comparison to the Tea Party movement that has galvanized conservative politics for the last two years. But are the two movements really that similar, or is the comparison simply a convenient media narrative? Tea Party Express Chairman Amy Kremer has been quoted dismissing the movement as "a kid having a temper tantrum because their parents won't buy them the whole ice-cream store." (Read a transcript of the interview after the jump.)

Since mid-March of this year, pro-democracy protests have engulfed most of Syria, and in August, Syrian opposition formed the 94-member National Council, to aid in the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad. Earlier this week, the council warned that the country may find itself in the midst of a civil war if Assad doesn't step down. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Susan Rice, the United States' ambassador to the UN, blasted China and Russia for vetoing a resolution condemning the violence of the Assad government.

The Occupy Wall Street protests continue in lower Manhattan today. Demonstrators are protesting perceived excessive greed by the super-wealthy and economic inequality as epitomized by Wall Street. The protests have grown in popularity over the last three weeks, and similar events are happening all over the country, including cities like Boston and Miami. On Monday, The Takeaway spoke with J.A. Myerson, from the media team for the Occupy Wall Street movement, about why he's protesting and what future he sees for the movement.

Over 700 protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement were arrested on Saturday while attempting to cross the Brooklyn Bridge. Police said the arrests were made because protesters were obstructing the roadway, though many protesters have charged that the NYPD tricked them by allowing them onto the bridge. The movement, now in its third week, has spread from a handful of protesters in New York's Zuccotti Park to demonstrations in Boston, Washington, Denver, Los Angeles, and other cities.

The Occupy Wall Street protests have been gaining momentum since they began in downtown Manhattan two weeks ago. More than a few pundits have noted the leaderless movement is using Arab Spring-style tactics as their inspiration. Like the protests in Tahrir Square in Cairo, Occupy Wall Street supporters are extremely adept at using social media to spread their message. Their camp in the Financial District's Zuccotti Park is impressively organized, with a reception area, media zone, medical clinic, library and cafeteria. But despite structure on the ground, one criticism that’s been repeatedly levied at them is their lack of unified demands. The protesters want to end greed and corruption but don’t necessarily agree as to what that means in practice. 

From London and Athens to Israel and India, and now, Wall Street, protesters all over the world are taking to the streets, and their complaints are not that different. Income inequality, unemployment, austerity measures imposed by governments thought to be inept and removed from the will of the people have fueled protests around the globe. Like the protests of the Arab Spring, which have toppled authoritarian governments in the Middle East and Northern Africa this year, these protesters utilize social media to organize, and shun traditional political institutions.

Reports coming out of Syria this morning claim that security forces opened fire on worshipers at mosques in the southern and central regions of the country after Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan. At least seven people are known dead at this time. Amer Al-Sadeq, of the Syrian Revolution Coordinators Union, has the latest update from Damascus.

After a homeless man was shot dead by Bay Area Rapid Transit system police last month, outraged citizens planned protests for last Thursday at a BART station, planning to organize via their mobile devices. To prevent the demonstrations, BART cut off cell phone service to its passengers. Many called this action censorship, and retaliated. The hacker group Anonymous broke into the BART website, defaced it and released user information to the public. Another protest is set to take place at a BART station today. How will BART handle it this time?

Today is the fifth day of Ramadan — the holiest month on the Islamic calendar during which, typically, life in the Middle East slows down. Businesses close early, and families and communities gather every night to break their fast. But this year has been strikingly different. The Syrian government has used the holy month to intensify its violent crackdown on protesters, with tanks entering the town Hama every day since the weekend. Meanwhile in Egypt, hundreds of armed troops stormed Cairo’s Tahrir Square earlier in the week, beating protesters with electric batons.

Demonstrators continue to protest in the streets of Athens today, amid violence and tear gas. Many Greeks are not happy with their government's upcoming vote on austerity measures, which would mean higher taxes and many spending cuts. If Greece's government does not pass the austerity measures, though, they would be at risk of not receiving a €12 billion bail-out, and becoming the first eurozone country to default.

Tens of thousands of Greeks are gathering in the streets of Athens today, as part of a 48-hour strike to protest an austerity package that includes deep spending cuts and higher taxes, and would need to pass in order for Greece to obtain a bail-out from the European Union. Parliament will vote on the austerity package tomorrow. Polls show eighty percent of Greeks are apposed to the package. 

Jubilant crowds took to the streets in Yemen over the weekend, celebrating the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Following a rocket attack on his compound on Friday, Saleh was flown to the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Saturday to have wood splinters surgically removed from his chest. Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has taken over for the interim, and international leaders are calling on Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. But it's unclear whether the man who ruled the country with an iron fist for 33 years will try to return – and if not, what will happen in the power vacuum.

President Barack Obama arrives in Ireland today, as he begins is week long trip to Europe. His stops include the UK, France, and Poland. Jason Stallman, editor for the national desk at The New York Times, looks at what we can expect in the week ahead on this trip. 

As the president journeys through Europe, a number of key economic indicators is set to be released, including GDP figures. Charlie Herman, economics and business editor for The Takeaway and WNYC, crunches the numbers for us and tells us if good things are ahead for our economy.

The crackdown on pro-democracy activists in Syria has worsened. Plain clothes police have been pulling protesters off the streets and throwing them into vans, and threatening imprisonment to those who have video of protests on their cell phones. We get an update on the situation in that country from Anthony Shadid, reporter for The New York Times. Shadid explains that Syria's government is "in survival mode and it has signaled it's intention in brute force." Is it time for international intervention?

It's been another tumultuous week in the Middle East. Another Day of Rage is planned today in Syria, and European governments are meeting to discuss possible sanctions. Meanwhile, human rights activists claim that the four anti-government protesters in Bahrain—who were sentenced to death on Thursday over the killing of two policemen—did not receive a fair trial. And in Morocco, at least fifteen people were killed and more were injured after a suicide bomber attack in a popular restaurant. Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development at the University of Maryland, speaks with us about the news coming out of the Middle East.