MANAMA // Demonstrators blockaded Bahrain's parliament and massed outside the state broadcaster's offices yesterday in efforts to escalate pressure after two weeks of non-stop marches.
The demonstrations appeared to be part of a strategy to hold rallies at sensitive locations in the capital, Manama, while maintaining a round-the-clock protest base in the central Pearl Roundabout.
The parliament became a target to coincide with a meeting of the 40-member upper chamber, which is appointed by Bahrain's ruler. The session was delayed by several hours when protesters formed a human chain around the entrance.
From parliament, the marchers then moved to the state television headquarters, chanting slogans claiming that the reports on the unrest seek to widen rifts between the Shiite-led protesters and the Sunni dynasty that has ruled Bahrain for more than two centuries.
Shiites, who account for about 70 per cent of the country's 525,000 people, have long complained of discrimination and other abuses. More employment opportunities and better housing have been among their demands.
Bahrain's rulers have sought talks with opposition groups to ease the tensions.
Late on Sunday the US president, Barack Obama, welcomed a move by Bahrain to reshuffle its cabinet and urged the government to respect human rights.
"I welcome the announcement by King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa about making important changes to the cabinet and restating his commitment to reform," Mr Obama said.
The king reshuffled the cabinet last week in a further attempt to appease the opposition.
The ministers of housing, health and cabinet affairs were among those sacked, said three government officials who did not wish to be named, adding that they had not yet received official confirmation of who was being replaced.
Mr Obama said: "As a long-standing partner of Bahrain, the United States continues to believe that Bahrain's stability will be enhanced by respecting the universal rights of the people of Bahrain and reforms that meet the aspirations of all Bahrainis."
* Associated Press with additional reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BMW M5 specs
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Specs
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
In The Heights
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Stars: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manual Miranda
Rating: ****
