Manama - Bahrain on Monday permanently closed a Saudi billionaire's pan-Arab news channel after less than 24 hours on air, in what an analyst called a worsening of press freedom.

Manama - Programming at a pan-Arab news channel owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal was unavailable on Monday, hours after its first transmission from Bahrain.

Manama - Prosecutors in Sunni-ruled Bahrain charged Shiite opposition chief Sheikh Ali Salman on Monday with promoting regime change in the Gulf kingdom through hatred and violence.

Manama - A bomb blast Tuesday killed one person in a Shiite village in western Bahrain, according to the authorities, who have faced years of simmering unrest since crushing pro-democracy protests in 2011.

Manama - A war of words over Bahrain's legislative election heightened Sunday, with the Sunni leadership and the Shiite opposition, which boycotted the polls, at odds over the turnout rate and trading accusations of malpractice.

Manama - Bahrain voted Saturday in its first legislative election since security forces crushed a pro-democracy uprising in 2011, with the opposition boycotting the poll they see as a farce.

Manama - Bahrain's Shiite-led opposition on Saturday announced a boycott of parliamentary elections next month, saying the vote would cement "totalitarian" Sunni rule in the polarised kingdom.

San Francisco - As the United States and five Arab nations — none of them democracies, most of them repressive dictatorships — begin bombing Islamic State targets in Syria, President Barack Obama has begun boasting on the "broad coalition" he's enlisted in the fight.

Washington - Just as a Senate report condemning the waterboarding of a couple of the most dangerous GITMO terrorists is due to be released, Democrats are calling for the head of the CIA director.

London - The UK’s Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has called for Russia to be stripped of its scheduled hosting of the 2018 World Cup soccer finals.

Manama - In a bid to undo its reputation of decadence and vice among its neighbors Bahrain is taking steps to ban alcohol and other un-Islamic activities subjects of the kingdom partake in.

New York - Originally lauded as a progressive alternative to tyranny in the Middle East, the Arab Spring has been a season of persecution for Christians. As persecution reaches pandemic proportions, the very survival of Christianity in the region is in question.

Manama - Two people were killed Saturday when their car exploded in a Shiite village in Bahrain, the interior ministry said, although it was unclear whether the vehicle itself had been targeted.

Manama - FIA president Jean Todt has promised to look into improving the sound of Formula One's new engines but dismissed a change in the rules demanded by some stables.

Manama - Lewis Hamilton won the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday ahead of Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg after a thrilling wheel-to-wheel duel, taking him level with the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio with a 24th career victory.

Manama - Nico Rosberg starts in pole position for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday with teammate Lewis Hamilton completing a Mercedes front row lockout, further loosening struggling Sebastien Vettel's grip on his world title.

Manama - Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg put the all-conquering Mercedes team on course for a third successive victory on Saturday when the pair swept the board in practice for Sunday's Bahrain Grand Prix.Hamilton, who was fastest on Friday, clocked 1:35.

Manama - Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg put Mercedes' early season dominance to its first true test Sunday at the floodlit Bahrain Grand Prix on a track where both drivers have always struggled.

Manama - Bahrain tightened security Thursday, as the three-day Formula One Grand Prix was about to get under way, with the country's Shiite opposition planning protests to seize world attention for pro-reform demands.

The authorities on the island kingdom of Bahrain have said they will eliminate terrorism following a deadly attack that killed three police officers in a Shiite village.