Bahrain commission to investigate army, torture claims, Posted by Meosha Eaton

(Reuters) - A commission tasked by Bahrain to investigate weeks of protests that rocked the Gulf island kingdom said Sunday it would look at the role of the security forces in the unrest and examine charges of torture.

At a news conference marking the launch of the five-member panel's investigation, chairman Cherif Bassiouni said his team would look at 30 police officers being investigated by the Interior Ministry for allegedly not following procedures.

He said the army would also be investigated.

World news outlook for the week from April 2, Posted by Meosha Eaton

Following are some of the main world news events expected in the next week (all times GMT). Asterisks denote new listings

- - - -

SATURDAY, APRIL 2

NIGERIA - Parliamentary elections. ** NAIROBI - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visits Kenya.

MADRID - Spain's Socialist party meeting.

- - - -

SUNDAY, APRIL 3

KAZAKHSTAN - Presidential elections.

BANGKOK - U.N. climate talks (to April 8).

- - - -

MONDAY, APRIL 4

TUNIS - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi visits Tunisia.

MILAN - (TBC) Next hearing in a trial over alleged fraud over the acquisition of television broadcasting rights. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi due to appear.

BAKU - Greek President Karlos Papoulias is expected to visit Azerbaijan.

JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's Foreign Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane hosts a panel discussion on BRICS. ** ANKARA - NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visits Turkey. ** WASHINGTON - International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn will preview the 2011 IMF/World Bank spring meetings in an address on "Global Challenges, Global Solutions" to students at George Washington University.

HAITI - Preliminary results of presidential run-off election set to be announced. ** TEHRAN - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is expected to hold a news conference. ** RABAT - Britain's Prince Charles expected to visit Morocco.

ASSAM, India - Local elections, phase I.

TOKYO - Experts and officials from EU Naval Force, Japan self defence force and coast guard, Kenyan transport ministry, to meet over anti-pirazy operations (0200).

GENEVA - U.N. hosts annual space security conference (to April 5).

- - - -

TUESDAY, APRIL 5

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama to meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres.

PARIS - French Ruling UMP party hosts debate on secularism. ** SEOUL - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak meets South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

ABU DHABI - IAEA energy advisers due to meet.

- - - -

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6

ROME - Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi expected to stand trial on charges of paying an underage girl for sex and abuse of office.

CAIRO - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas visits Egypt.

HAITI - Final results of presidential election to be announced.

ATHENS - World Trade Union Congress (to April 10).

- - - -

THURSDAY, APRIL 7

BUDAPEST - Economic & Financial Affairs Council (Informal) (to April 9).

WASHINGTON - The National Agricultural Landscapes Forum (to April 8).

BOGOR, Indonesia - Indonesia as the chair of ASEAN to host border talks between Cambodia and Thailand.

- - - -

FRIDAY, APRIL 8

PRAGUE - Anniversary of signing a bilateral treaty between the Russia and United States on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms , START-2 (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty).

PRAGUE - Czech President Vaclav Klaus to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (0700).

- - - -

SATURDAY, APRIL 9 ** NIGERIA - Presidential elections. ** REYKJAVIK - Iceland to hold a national vote on whether to accept a new Icesave deal.

Bahraini's speak of community divisions, Posted by Meosha Eaton

SHOWS:

MANAMA, BAHRAIN (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

1. VARIOUS OF ROAD DIVIDING ARAD VILLAGE; MOSTLY SUNNIS LIVING ON THE RIGHT AND MOSTLY SHI'ITES LIVING ON THE LEFT SIDE

2. CLOSE OF SHOP ON THE ROAD

3. VARIOUS OF ALLEYWAY ON SUNNI SIDE

4. SHOP SIGNS

5. CLOSE OF PEOPLE LEAVING HOME

6. MEN FROM SHI'ITE PART OF THE VILLAGE SITTING IN A MAKE-SHIFT METAL SHACK

7. MEN ENTERING SHACK

8. VILLAGE RESIDENT MOHAMMED AL-ARADI READING NEWSPAPER

9. POTS OF TEA / MEN SITTING

10. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) VILLAGE RESIDENT MOHAMMED AL-ARADI, SAYING:

"The issue (of Sunni/Shi'ite friction) will eventually disappear. The young generation might be affected because of their relatively new experience, but we have confidence that once they go back to school, mix with others at school, on the street and in daily life, they will be able to overcome this hurdle, although what has happened leaves a bit of sorrow inside and it leaves a bitter feeling, for some."

11. GRAFFITI ON WALL IN SHI'ITE PART READING (Arabic): "February 14th is the day when the oppressed rise above the oppressor."

12. CLOSE OF WALL

13. WALL GRAPHITE READING (Arabic): "Khalifa (the prime minister), we will not forget our martyrs."

14. MOSQUE MINARET / STREET BELOW

15. SHI'ITE RELIGIOUS EVENTS STALL WHERE WATER IS HANDED OUT TO PEOPLE AT ASHORA

16. CLOSE OF WALL, PAINT RIPPED OFF AND GRAFFITI ON IT READING (Arabic): "Khalifa step down."

MANAMA, BAHRAIN (MARCH 24, 2011) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

17. VARIOUS OF VILLAS AND ROADS AT SUNNI-PART OF THE VILLAGE

18. CLOSE OF FLOWERS AT ONE OF THE GARDENS

MANAMA, BAHRAIN (RECENT) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)

19. VARIOUS OF SUNNI COMMUNITY MEMBERS SITTING DOWN TALKING AT THE VILLAGE'S MAJLIS (COMMUNITY CENTRE)

20. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) VILLAGE RESIDENT, MUBARAK IBRAHIM, SAYING:

"When we realised that the operation is being steered by Iran or that it might become like what happened in Iraq, in terms of sectarianism, things changed after that, tensions increased and meetings were held about this. We became aware of it more."

21. CLOSE OF HAND MOVING ROSARY

22. VARIOUS OF MEN SITTING DOWN

23. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) COMMUNITY MEMBER, SAYING:

"They have raised the ceiling of demands to very high, you either take our demands or we won't accept (they say). I mean I don't know what would happen if the demands weren't met, surely there would be civil war, which we fully reject."

24. CLOSE OF MAN'S EYES

25. MEN DISCUSSING

26. VARIOUS OF ORNAMENTS IN THE ROOM

STORY: In the wake of Bahrain forces' fierce crackdown on a month of protests, the main street parting Manama's quiet Arad suburb has suddenly become a great divide.

One elderly Shi'ite man who didn't want to be named or filmed said the road was once an ordinary street with Sunnis on one side and Shi'ites on the other, but now everyone is nervous.

Bahrain's U.S.-backed ruling Al Khalifa family, part of the Sunni minority, is eager to declare an end to the unrest.

State television shows people relaxing in cafes, saying they feel safe in the streets, now guarded by tanks and masked soldiers.

But to many in the tiny island kingdom, eyed closely by Sunni-ruled oil exporter Saudi Arabia and non-Arab Shi'ite power Iran, Bahrain has stepped back from the brink of chaos to find the delicate fabric that held society together has unravelled.

"The issue (of Sunni/Shi'ite friction) will eventually disappear. The young generation might be affected because of their relatively new experience, but we have confidence that once they go back to school, mix with others at school, on the street and in daily life, they will be able to overcome this hurdle, although what has happened leaves a bit of sorrow inside and it leaves a bitter feeling, for some," said Mohammed al-Aradi, a Shi'ite, sitting on a tattered chair in a makeshift metal shack where he and his friends while away the afternoon.

Seizing the momentum of uprisings that have swept the Middle East, mostly Shi'ite demonstrators took to the streets on Feb.14 and camped out in the main Pearl roundabout for weeks, sparking the worst unrest since the Shi'ite protests of the 1990s.

Bahrain forces razed the area last week, after stamping out protests and sporadic clashes that have killed around 20 people.

On the side of Arad that houses Sunnis and some wealthy Shi'ites, homes are freshly painted and the streets are tidy. On the Shi'ite side, many alleys are crumbling, and faded buildings are blotched with white paint covering anti-government graffiti.

Shi'ites make up about 60 percent of Bahrain's population, but Sunnis are over represented in key political positions, and Shi'ites say they get preference for jobs and services.

As the country became an important financial hub, their exasperation grew as many Sunnis and foreigners, who make up over half of Bahrain's 1.2 million people, grew wealthier.

Sitting around a living room in white robes sipping coffee, Sunni men in Arad say they are sympathetic to their Shi'ite neighbours, but calls for a constitutional monarchy makes them uneasy. They said democracy in sectarian Arab states had failed and that they worried about foreign intervention and Bahrain turning into Iraq.

"When we realised that the operation is being steered by Iran or that it might become like what happened in Iraq, in terms of sectarianism, things changed after that, tensions increased and meetings were held about this. We became aware of it more," said Mubarak Ibrahim

"They have raised the ceiling of demands to very high, you either take our demands or we won't accept (speaking about protesters). I mean I don't know what would happen if the demands weren't met, surely there would be civil war, which we fully reject," added another resident of the village.

Some analysts say the government may have created its own sectarian nightmare. In recent days, Bahrain said its forces, backed by the entrance of troops from Gulf Sunni neighbours, foiled a "subversive foreign plot" aimed at overturning the state. Many read that to mean Iran, just across Gulf waters.

Shi'ites are quick to downplay outside loyalties. They say pictures of Iraqi Shi'ite religious leaders or of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Shi'ite militant group Hezbollah, are just about religious association.

Oman protesters want information minister sacked, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Cabinet reshuffled twice after protests
* Protestors say information minister should have gone too


By Saleh Al-Shaibany

MUSCAT, March 10 (Reuters) - Omani protestors demanded the sacking of the information minister on Thursday, three days after the sultan removed ten cabinet members to try and address widening discontent in the Gulf Arab state. Responding to calls from protesters to stop widespread corruption, Sultan Qaboos bin Said reshuffled his cabinet for the second time in a week on Monday, and removed the finance and interior ministers, among others.

But protesters said the reshuffle by Qaboos, an absolute monarch in power since 1970, did not go far enough. "The information minister has for years suppressed freedom of the media and he should have been among those ministers who were sacked. We want him to go now," Mohammed Al Hakmani, one of the protesters at the headquarters of the Shura Council, told Reuters.

Popular revolts against oppressive governments and economic hardship have swept through the Arab world over the past two months, unseating entrenched leaders in Egypt and Tunisia and leading to bloody fighting in Libya. Anti-government protests have also hit other Gulf countries, including Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

Yesterday, about 200 people gathered at Oman's ministry of information demanding freedom of press and a shake-up of its officials in the state-run radio and television.
"The local press must be able to report any minister who is corrupt and we don't see it happening under the current minister of information," said Faiz Al Badri, another protester in the northeast industrial town of Sohar.

Hamed Al-Rashdi has held the information portfolio for nearly a decade and kept local media under tight control.

The protests in Oman, which briefly turned violent on February 27, have been going on for two weeks. About 50 demonstrators continue to sleep in tents at Sohar's globe roundabout, opposite a large supermarket protesters had looted and burned down. (Editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Hardline Shi'ite groups demand republic in Bahrain, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Three hardline groups call for end to monarchy
* Joining to create new republican movement
* Groups are smaller than main opposition Wefaq

(Adds analyst, Wefaq)

By Lin Noueihed MANAMA, March 8 (Reuters) - Three hardline Bahraini Shi'ite groups said on Tuesday they had formed a coalition aimed at toppling the Sunni monarchy and setting up a republic, raising tensions days ahead of a planned march on the royal court. The move is likely to be seen as an escalation by the ruling al-Khalifa dynasty and raises the chances of a renewed security crackdown against mainly Shi'ite Muslim protesters. The new "Coalition for a Republic", made up of Al Haq, Wafa and the Freedom movement, called for peaceful change through a decentralised movement of civil disobedience and resistance. Consisting of groups much smaller than the main opposition Wefaq movement, the new coalition risks splitting the broader Shi'ite opposition movement that is demanding an elected government and a true constitutional monarchy, as well as better access to jobs within the system.

"This tripartite coalition adopts the choice of bringing down the existing regime in Bahrain and establishing a democratic republican system," Haq leader Hassan Mushaimaa told reporters at Pearl roundabout, where protesters are camped out. "The monarchy has failed to bring down the revolution by force, and it now aims ... to co-opt its legitimate demands through murky political games and ... by inciting chaos." No stranger to sporadic protests and rioting, Bahrain has been gripped by the worst unrest since the 1990s after a youth movement took to the streets last month, emboldened by revolutions that toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt.

Seven were killed in an ensuing clampdown by security forces early in the protests, but the situation has since calmed. The majority of Bahrainis are Shi'ites but the island, home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, is ruled by the U.S.-backed al-Khalifa family, who are Sunnis. The outcome in Bahrain is being closely watched in neighbouring Saudi Arabia, where Shi'ites make up about 15 percent of the population and which has seen small protests. Risks of instability there would soar if the opposition in Bahrain toppled the ruling al-Khalifa family, analysts said.

ESCALATION Al Haq has questioned the legitimacy of the ruling family before and the government has repeatedly arrested its leaders in recent years, including during a security crackdown last August. But Mushaimaa and other Al Haq leaders were pardoned by King Hamad after the protests erupted in Bahrain last month, and Mushaimaa returned from exile in London on Feb. 26. Thousands are still camped out in Manama's Pearl roundabout, many demanding the ouster of the royal family. Bahrain's Wefaq, which draws larger support than the new coalition and the youth movement, is more moderate.

Wefaq has called only for the resignation of the government and a constitutional monarchy that cedes more power to the people. Wefaq won 18 seats in parliament in recent elections, but complains the elected lower house can be overruled by an upper house appointed by the king. Wefaq's deputies quit after the protests began but the bloc has not joined in calling for a republic. "The key thing is to create a constitutional assembly now and hold free elections. This will be the only serious move to end this political crisis," said Khalil Marzooq, a Wefaq deputy. The government has made a number of concessions to the opposition since unrest started, including a limited cabinet reshuffle and the release of political prisoners.

The Crown Prince has offered dialogue, but opposition groups have set conditions for talks that include the sacking of the cabinet. Shadi Hamid, analyst from the Brookings Centre in Doha, said that the unrest in Bahrain would not end any time soon. "This is really a reflection of the Bahraini government's failure to deal with these protests in an effective manner," he said, adding the government had not made any serious moves toward reforms or started dialogue with the opposition. "We know that the Saudis are going to do whatever they can to back the Khalifa family and the absolute last thing they want to see is talk about the monarchy ending and a republic being the new form of government."

(Additional reporting by Erika Solomon in Dubai and Frederik Richter in Manama, Editing by Samia Nakhoul and Sonya Hepinstall)

Shi'ite dissident returns to Bahrain from exile, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Shi'ite opposition leader allowed to return unhindered
* Cabinet reshuffle unlikely to pacify protesters
* Health, housing, cabinet affairs ministers replaced

(Adds confirmation of cabinet reshuffle)
By Frederik Richter

MANAMA, Feb 26 (Reuters) - A hardline Shi'ite dissident flew home to Bahrain from exile on Saturday to join an opposition movement demanding that the island kingdom's Sunni ruling family grant more rights. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa reshuffled the cabinet but this appeared unlikely to pacify protesters inspired by popular uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere.

"We want a real constitution," Hassan Mushaimaa told reporters at the airport on his return. "They've promised us (one) before and then did whatever they wanted to."
"I'm here to see what are the demands of the people at the square and sit with them and talk to them," he said, referring to anti-government protesters camped in Manama's Pearl Square.

Thousands of demonstrators marched from Pearl Square to a former office of Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa on Saturday in a new tactic to press demands for the removal of the man who had held his post for 40 years.
Sheikh Khalifa, the king's uncle, is a symbol of the ruling family's political power and wealth.

The march was the protesters' first foray into a government and commercial district of Manama. They halted at a compound which also houses the Foreign Ministry. Many waved Bahraini flags and chanted: "The people want the fall of the regime". Mushaimaa, London-based leader of the Shi'ite Haq movement, had been on trial in his absence over an alleged coup plot.

The other defendants in the case were freed in Bahrain this week and the Gulf Arab state's foreign minister said Mushaimaa had received a royal pardon and could return home unhindered. Allowing him to return was the latest in a series of concessions by the ruling al-Khalifa family aimed at placating Bahrain's majority Shi'ites who have been at the forefront of nearly two weeks of protests demanding more say in government.

Tens of thousands thronged the streets of Manama on Friday, declared a day of mourning by the government, in one of the biggest demonstrations since a "Day of Rage" on Feb. 14. Security forces did not interfere. Last week seven people were killed and hundreds wounded in unrest before Bahraini rulers, under pressure from their Western allies, pledged to allow peaceful protests and offered dialogue with opponents. This week the government released more than 300 people detained since a crackdown on Shi'ite unrest in August.


SOP TO OPPOSITION
In the cabinet reshuffle, the ministers of housing, health and cabinet affairs were replaced, according to the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA).
Majeed al-Alawi, a former opposition activist who served as labour minister, was made housing minister. Nazar al-Baharna, an outgoing minister of state for foreign affairs and one of the highest-ranking Shi'ite government officials, took the health portfolio, BNA said. Replacing the ministers of health and housing could be a concession to Shi'ites who have complained of discrimination in public services, complaints the government says are unjustified.

Many of the protesters were demanding a constitutional monarchy instead of the existing system where citizens vote for a mostly toothless parliament and policy remains the preserve of an elite centred on the al-Khalifa dynasty which has ruled Bahrain for 200 years.

The main Shi'ite opposition group Wefaq said in a statement the reshuffle fell far short of people's demands and called for the entire government to step down. Mushaimaa's Haq party is more radical than Wefaq, from which it split in 2006 when Wefaq contested a parliamentary election, effectively legitimising it. Opposition groups want to see a commitment to an elected government instead of one appointed by the king before they enter any dialogue. Before the reshuffle, about two-thirds of the cabinet were members of the ruling family.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Attiatullah al-Khalifa, minister for cabinet affairs, was replaced by Kamal Ahmed, a former official at the Economic Development Board, a body used by Bahrain's crown prince to implement economic reforms. BNA also said that the National Oil and Gas Authority (NOGA) would be transformed into a ministry of energy headed by the head of NOGA Abdul-Hussain bin Ali Mirza. His portfolio would include electricity and water affairs.

(Reporting by Frederik Richter; writing by Alistair Lyon; editing by Andrew Dobbie )

UPDATE 2-Bahrain says ready to talk, activist can return, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Foreign minister says "everything can be brought to table"
* Shi'ite opposition figure pardoned, free to enter country

(Recasts with foreign minister interview)

By Frederik Richter MANAMA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Bahrain, which has seen thousands of mainly Shi'ite protesters take to the streets, is seeking a national dialogue where everything is on the table, the kingdom's foreign minister said on Thursday. Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa said a national dialogue would include "all walks of people", including a hardline Bahraini opposition figure who was pardoned and is seeking to return home.

"What's happening in Bahrain is a new transformation, a new beginning for our reforms that started a decade ago," Sheikh Khaled told Reuters. "Everything can be brought to the table," Sheikh Khaled said, responding to questions over whether Bahrain would consider changes in its cabinet in response to the demands of protesters. Bahrain saw the worst unrest since the 1990s when seven were killed last week in protests by its majority Shi'ites that complain of discrimination and want an elected government.

Sheikh Khaled said he expected formal talks between the government and the opposition to start within days and that Hassan Mushaimaa, the London-based leader of the Shi'ite Haq movement, could return to the country. Mushaimaa has been stranded in Beirut since Tuesday after authorities blocked him from boarding a flight to Manama because his name was on an international arrest warrant. A Lebanese judicial source said Mushaimaa's passport had been seized, but he was not in custody.

"The Bahraini government has distributed his name to borders in the Arab world," Abbas al-Amran, a friend of Mushaimaa, told Reuters. "He will not let himself be arrested. He wants to take a plane and come to Bahrain as an ordinary citizen." REFORM DEMANDS Mushaimaa is among 25 people charged last year over an alleged coup plot and was being tried in absentia. But the government freed the other defendants on Tuesday as one of several gestures to try to defuse anti-government protests that at their height drew tens of thousands. A statement by King Hamad bin Isa on Monday hinted the trial would be shelved, which would let Mushaimaa return unhindered.

Lebanese authorities were checking with Bahraini authorities on whether to let him fly to Manama, the Lebanese official said. Mushaimaa's Haq party is more radical than the Shi'ite Wefaq party, from which it split in 2006 when Wefaq contested a parliamentary election. Haq's leaders have often been arrested in recent years, only to receive royal pardons. Bahrain's protesters want a constitutional monarchy instead of the existing system where citizens vote for a mostly toothless parliament and policy remains the preserve of a ruling elite centred on the Sunni al-Khalifa dynasty.

Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa has offered dialogue but has yet to persuade the opposition that the government is serious about constitutional reforms. Pro-government supporters have also staged rallies.

"Talks with representatives of Bahrain society and the Crown Prince continue and positive progress is being made towards the commencement of the national dialogue," a government statement said. The Shi'ite opposition Wefaq party, however, said there had been "no progress at all". Former Wefaq lawmaker Ibrahim Mattar said his party wanted a clear commitment to a constitutional monarchy before coming to the table. The al-Khalifa family, which has ruled Bahrain for 200 years, dominates a cabinet led by the king's uncle, who has been prime minister for 40 years since independence in 1971.

S.Africa needs jobs leap to avoid N.Africa fate-Gordhan, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* South Africa must move fast on job creation
* New growth policy must be implemented quickly


CAPE TOWN, Feb 24 (Reuters) - South Africa could in the long run face the same type of political unrest that has wracked North Africa if it doesn't move quickly to create jobs and reduce inequalities, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Thursday.

Gordhan's comments came a day after he projected a much larger-than-expected budget deficit for next fiscal year -- with billions of rand set aside for jobs -- as the approach of elections put the government under pressure to spend more.
The ruling ANC, in power since the end in 1994 of apartheid which kept millions of blacks on the sidelines of economic activity, is under pressure to do more to slash unemployment levels of around 25 percent and provide social welfare for millions of people still mired in poverty.

On Thursday Gordhan told a post-budget breakfast meeting that South Africa should move quickly to implement a new growth policy that aims to end poverty among black South Africans. "As South Africans we have to be frank that we are good at ideas and not always good at implementation. Let's learn from ... North Africa," he said.

"North Africa is about allowing inequalities to grow, allowing joblessness to grow. It is about a state that hasn't actually performed, about a minority that accumulates things for itself. If you want to follow that path for the next 20 years, we'll end up like North Africa."

Hundreds of people have been killed in Libya and Bahrain this month in anti-government protests sparked by upheavals that just weeks ago dislodged decades-old regimes in Egypt and Tunisia.

South Africa's Treasury on Wednesday shaved its growth forecast for 2011 to 3.4 percent from 3.5 percent projected last October, after Africa's biggest economy grew 2.8 percent last year, emerging from its first recession in nearly two decades.
Gordhan projected growth at 4.1 percent in 2012 and 4.4 percent in 2013, but those rates are still well below levels needed to reduce unemployment, with the Treasury estimating last year that annual growth of 7 percent was needed to make a big dent in joblessness.

The ANC is pouring billions of dollars into job promotion schemes. Besides 39 billion rand already earmarked for job creation and factory investment, Gordhan said the government would spend an extra 5 billion rand on a youth employment subsidy to get school-leavers and graduates into work. (Reporting by Stella Mapenzauswa; Editing by xx)

Bahrain frees prisoners to mollify protesters, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Bahrain frees 23 accused in coup plot against monarchy
* About 250 detainees freed overnight as sop to protesters
* Exiled Shi'ite leader expected to return soon
(Adds details on prisoner release, comment from lawyer, Bahrain king in Saudi Arabia)
By Frederik Richter

MANAMA, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Bahrain has freed 23 people accused of trying to topple the island's Sunni Muslim monarchy, along with more than 200 other mostly Shi'ite prisoners detained in recent months, a lawyer said on Wednesday. The prisoner release was a further concession to the mainly Shi'ite protesters who took to the streets last week to demand a constitutional monarchy and an elected government, emboldened by a surge of popular unrest across the Arab world. It also preceded the expected return to Bahrain of Hassan Mushaimaa, leader of the hardline Shi'ite Haq party, one of two people tried in absentia for his part in the alleged coup plot.

Mohammed al-Tajer, a lawyer for the 23 activists, told Reuters that about 250 prisoners had been released. Most were detained as part of a crackdown launched on some Shi'ite opposition groups last August and during subsequent protests. The opposition describes youngsters arrested during clashes with security forces in Shi'ite villages as political prisoners. Tajer said detainees picked up in last week's confrontations between security forces and protesters had been freed earlier. He said it was not clear if the 25 charged in the coup plot had received royal pardons or if the case could be revived. "If this is just a suspension of the charges, they might bring up the case again or file other charges. We're waiting for an official statement," he said. Opposition leaders welcomed the prisoner release.

"Allowing the people to protest and releasing those people are positive moves," said Ibrahim Mattar of the main Shi'ite Wefaq party. Opposition groups were waiting for the royal family to accept the principle of a constitutional monarchy before they would enter into a dialogue offered by the king, he added.
Majority Shi'ites have long complained of discrimination in Sunni-ruled Bahrain, which is a close U.S. and Saudi ally. King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa was in Riyadh to welcome home Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah from an extended absence due to ill-health, a sign of tight ties between the Bahraini royals and their far stronger Saudi counterparts. Saudi Arabia is concerned unrest in Bahrain might spread to its own Shi'ite minority.

Bahrain's 70 percent Shi'ite majority wants to overhaul a system where parliament has little power and policy remains the preserve of an elite centred on the royal al-Khalifa family. The al-Khalifa dynasty has ruled Bahrain for 200 years, and the family dominates a cabinet led by the king's uncle, who has been prime minister since independence from Britain in 1971. Before the prisoner release, Bahrain's rulers had agreed to allow peaceful protests and had offered dialogue on reform. "The main point we are waiting for is the initiative for political reform. Until now they didn't promise anything," Mattar said. "If they don't say it, we are wasting our time."


YOUTHS EMERGE FROM JAIL
Protesters had demanded the release of political prisoners in Bahrain, where seven people were killed and hundreds wounded in demonstrations last week. In the first releases, late on Tuesday night, two dozen relatives waited at the jail for teenaged prisoners, who emerged one by one with solemn, unshaven faces. Some waved victory signs. One waiting mother tossed a sprig of basil in the air to welcome her freed son, a Reuters photographer said.The 23 men jailed for the coup plot, who include some Shi'ite clerics, were put on trial in October after a broad security crackdown on some Shi'ite opposition groups in August.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Bahrain's king and crown prince for freeing political prisoners,  allowing peaceful demonstrations and offering talks with the opposition. "These steps will need to be followed by concrete actions and reforms," she told reporters on Tuesday, warning that "there is no place for violence against peaceful protesters". Bahrain is a small but strategic U.S. ally that hosts the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in a region shadowed by fears of Iran's nuclear ambitions.

In Bahrain, as in Egypt and Tunisia, the United States has tried to walk a difficult line in dealing with popular revolts against entrenched Arab leaders long allied to Washington. "Across the Middle East, people are calling on their governments to be more open, more accountable and more responsive. Without genuine progress toward open and accountable political systems the gap between people and their governments can only grow and instability can only deepen," Clinton said.

Mushaimaa, the Shi'ite opposition leader, was due to have returned from exile in London on Tuesday, but was barred from a Bahrain-bound flight from Beirut where he had stopped over. Tens of thousands of Shi'ite protesters filled streets in Manama on Tuesday demanding the fall of the Sunni-run government in the biggest protest since unrest began last week. The Bahrain government denies it treats Shi'ites unfairly. In a rally covered by state television on Monday, thousands carried Bahraini flags and signs supporting unity and dialogue.

(Reporting by Cynthia Johnston in Dubai, and Mohammed Arshad and Andrew Quinn in Washington; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Libya, Bahrain violence deep US concern-ambassador, Posted by Meosha Eaton

WASHINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The United States is deeply concerned by reports that Libyan and Bahraini security forces have attacked peaceful pro-democracy protesters, U.S. Ambassador the United Nations Susan Rice said on Sunday.

Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press, Rice rebutted accusations that the response of President Barack Obama's administration to a wave of pro-democracy protests in the Middle East and North Africa has been inconsistent. She stopped short of calling for regime change in either Libya or Bahrain, two countries with vital security importance for the United States where protests -- and reports of violence -- have been gathering momentum in recent days.

"There's no place for violence against peaceful protesters," she said. "What we're encouraging Bahrain and other governments in the region to do is to recognize that this is a yearning for change and reform that is not going to go away, that it needs to be respected and that they need to get ahead of it by leading rather than being pushed." Protests have flared across the region as pro-democracy activists are emboldened by the overthrow of long-standing dictatorships in Egypt and Tunisia. Security forces in the Libyan city of Benghazi killed dozens of people as they fought to crush an uprising against leader Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule, the bloodiest of multiple revolts now rocking the Arab world.

In the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, where the U.S. Fifth Fleet's naval base has helped America project military power across the Middle East and South Asia since 1958, thousands of anti-government protesters camped over Saturday night in a Manama square. But after days of violence in the Sunni-ruled island state, the mood appeared to be more conciliatory, with talks due to take place on Sunday between the opposition and crown prince. Unrest has also hit Yemen, Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, Algeria and Djibouti over the weekend as people took to the streets demanding political and economic change.

(Reporting by Pedro Nicolaci da Costa; editing by Todd Eastham)

Bloodshed in Libya, moves for talks in Bahrain, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* More than 100 killed in Libya
* Protesters said to take over town
* Bahrain focuses on talks led by prince


TRIPOLI/MANAMA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Security forces in the Libyan city of Benghazi killed dozens of people as they fought to crush an uprising against leader Muammar Gaddafi's rule, the bloodiest of multiple revolts now rocking the Arab world. Witnesses said Benghazi was in a state of chaos, with government buildings ransacked and troops and police forced to retreat to a fortified compound, from where snipers picked off demonstrators.

In the Gulf kingdom of Bahrain, thousands of anti-government protesters camped over Saturday night in a Manama square. But after days of violence in the Sunni-ruled island state, the mood appeared to be more conciliatory with talks due to take place on Sunday between the opposition and the crown prince.
Unrest also hit Yemen, Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, Algeria and Djibouti over the weekend as people took to the streets demanding political and economic change. Authorities in Saudi Arabia detained activists trying to set up the kingdom's first political party.

The clamour for reform across a region of huge strategic importance to the West and the source of much of its oil began in Tunisia in December. The overthrow of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali then inspired Egyptians to rise up against strongman Hosni Mubarak, sending him packing on Feb. 11. The tide has challenged leaders of countries long backed by the West as well as erstwhile enemies. While each has its own dynamics, from religion to tribalism, all seem united by frustration over economic hardship and a lack of political freedom.

BLOODSHED IN BENGHAZI