APRIL 18, 2007

Meanwhile out of the spotlight

With Formula 1 having gone home, the newspapers in the Gulf have now revealed that police foiled 70 attempts by rioters to sabotage the Grand Prix at different locations in Bahrain. The Interior Ministry has said that rioters were trying to get to the area of the circuit. The protests were organised by Internet and were sectarian in nature. The only previous reports of trouble were on Friday when afternoon when there were clashes in Manama, in the Shia suburb of Sanabis (where there was serious rioting last year). According to reports protesters hurled stones and Molotov cocktails at police who used tear gas and rubber bullets.