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Demonstration in Bahrain
Video sent on February 23 by Ali Sharaf

Police launch “brutal” operation in Bahrain
It was the early hours of the morning in Bahrain when the security forces launched a major operation to clear a camp of protesters in the capital, Manama. Men, women and children ran for their lives. Witnesses say it was a brutal assault. Most people were asleep when the police arrived in force, armed with tear gas and rubber bullets. The opposition say three people have been killed. Dozens are thought to have been injured. Bahrain’s stability is of strategic importance. The US Fifth Fleet is based there and it is seen as a regional buffer against Iran. The only people left at the Pearl Roundabout now are the police. Thousands of people took to the streets three days ago, to demand a greater say in the running of the country, where a Sunni Muslim monarchy rules over a mostly Shi-ite population. Will the protests cause another Arab regime to fall? A Javascript enabled browser that accepts cookies is required in order to participate in the poll. yes (88%)  no (8%)  i don't know (4%)  // pollTS[0]) { pollTS = cookie; cValid = true; }; }; warning.parentNode.removeChild(warning); if(cookie && cValid) { for(var i = 1; i < pollTS.length; i++) { votes += parseInt(pollTS[i], 10) || 0; }; var total = 0; for(var i = 1; i < pollTS.length; i++) { per = pollTS[i] > 0 ? Math.round(pollTS[i] / (votes / 100)) : 0; if(total + per > 100) { per = 100 - total; total = 100; } else { total += per; }; output[output.length] = '' + questions[i - 1] + ' (' + per + '%) '; }; pollHTML += "" + output.join("") + ""; }; if(!cookie) { pollHTML = ' yes no i don’t know'; }; if(pollHTML) { content.innerHTML = pollHTML; }; })();// ]]>

Iranian warships pass through Suez Canal
Two Iranian warships have passed through the Suez Canal, the first from the country to do so since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Iranian officials said the frigate and supply vessel were on their way to Syria for training. Egypt gave the mission the green light; Israel described it as a “provocation.” Although it was planned before the uprisings in the Middle East, observers said the journey is symbolic. “I think that the message should be very clear – Iran is here, the United States is getting weaker, states like Egypt are not any more kind of pro-western pillars in the Middle East,” said Professor Uzi Rabi, expert in Iranian-Israeli relations at Tel Aviv University. “Iran is trying to capitalise on that and send a message that the whole Middle East should be read differently in geo-political terms.” The Israeli government has called for a firm reaction from the international community. The episode is awkward for Cairo’s new interim government. Egypt has a peace treaty with Israel, but had no legal grounds to refuse the ships entry.

Libyan diplomats reject Gaddafi’s “brutal regime”
In an unprecedented move, most of Libya’s mission to the United Nations in New York has revolted against Gaddafi, vowing to represent the people not the government from now on. Ibrahim Dabbashi said they were taking the action because of the regime’s despicable action in attacking the Libyan people: “We have never been with Gaddafi, we are with the people and we just made a statement to ask the international community to intervene to do something to help the Libyan people who are facing genocide in Tripoli. Also he is facing crimes against humanity in all the eastern cities of Libya,” he said. As protesters showed their support for the uprising outside UN headquarters, the diplomat and his colleagues called for help from the UN. They want it to establish a no-fly zone above Libya to prevent mercenaries from being flown in and to establish a safe passage for medical supplies to help treat the injured.

Japan forced to end Antarctic whale hunt
Japan has cut short its annual Antarctic whale hunt, claiming harassment by American activists has made it impossible to continue. Japan’s fisheries ministry suspended the hunt last week after the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society chased the whaling fleet’s mothership. But, it has now recalled all four of its ships in what is being seen as a major victory for the environmentalists. It is the first time the Japanese fleet has headed home early – one month before it was scheduled to leave and only reaching a fifth of its targeted catch. Clashes between Japanese whalers and Sea Shepherd activists have escalated in recent years. Japan insists the hunt is an important cultural tradition. The activists describe it as cruel and unnecessary.

Italian government partners stand by Berlusconi
Is the party over for Silvio Berlusconi? Several commentators in today’s newspapers believe early elections are inevitable after the Italian prime minister’s indictment for alleged sex offences and abuse of power. One wrote that Berlusconi was “worn down and gasping for breath”. But most expect him to fight on as he has done in the past. The Northern League, partners in the centre-right government, have their own reasons for not wanting the government to be toppled. “The judicial fury against the prime minister is evident to all. But if some judges think that this will also weaken the government’s business, they’re completely wrong,” said the League’s leader in the Senate, Federico Bricolo. The trial in Milan is due to begin in April. The judges who will hear the case are all women. Prosecutors say there is ample evidence that Berlusconi paid a Moroccan dancer for sex when she was under 18, and intervened with police to get her freed from custody. He denies the allegations. He still has his backers: “I judge him as a politician who’s made a big contribution, and will continue to do so for the good of Italy”, said one man in Rome. “They only talk about this … enough is enough. They’re not talking about politics anymore. They’re talking just about him…that’s all,” complained another. One opinion poll this week suggests that almost 50 percemt of Italians believe the accusations are true. As satirists have a field day, a well-known Italian band has adapted Shakira’s song “Waka Waka”, changing the title to “Bunga Bunga”… Berlusconi’s own term for his infamous parties.

Geneva Motor Show: looking or buying?
As the Geneva Motor Show opened to the public – expecting 700,000 visitors – the question was were they coming just to look or to actually buy? European manufacturers particularly have been experiencing a bumpy ride and hoping the latest oil price spike will not empty their showrooms of customers as the economic crisis did. Sales did pick up last year to 57.3 million vehicles from 2009’s 51 million. In 2008 the total was 52.3 million. The industry’s much anticipated electric cars have been too long coming and are a bit too pricy according to Christoph St??rmer, an analyst at IHS Automotive. He said: “Consumers have been expecting electric vehicles on their roads ever since last year. And they were utterly disappointed that they couldn’t buy them a year ago and they were equally disappointed that it would cost more to buy them at all. So the consumer wants to be painlessly green, he wants to have the newest stuff at the lowest possible price.” The key theme at this year’s Geneva show is fuel efficiency of the 170 new models are being unveiled, many are powered by electric, hybrid and more efficient conventional engines.

Brazil great Ronaldo hangs up his boots
Brazilian star Ronaldo has announced he is retiring from football at the age of 34. He is one of only two players – the other being Zinedine Zidane – to be named FIFA world player of the year three times. In a glittering goal-filled career, Ronaldo Lu?�s Naz??rio de Lima was a member of two World Cup-winning sides in 1994 and 2002. He told a packed press conference in Sao Paulo that injuries had forced him to put an end to his career. “I came here to say today that I’m ending my career as a professional player…Four years ago at Milan I discovered I was suffering from a complaint called hypothyroidism, which slows down your metabolism and to control it I would have to take some hormones that are not permitted in football because of anti-doping.” He added that “it has been a beautiful, emotional, marvellous career.”?� He had been expected to retire at the end of this season but with his club, Corinthians, making an early exit from the Copa Libertadores, he decided that now was the time to call it a day. Ronaldo’s glittering career began at Cruzeiro in his native Brazil where a dazzling goalscoring streak brought the teenager to the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs.?�Later that season, he was named as non-playing member of his country’s 1994 World Cup squad.?�Ronaldo joined PSV Eindhoven after the competition. In two seasons in Dutch football, he hit 54 goals in just 57 games. ?�That rich vein of form alerted Spanish giants Barcelona, who were coached by Englishman Bobby Robson at the time.?�Robson only coached Ronaldo for one season but he once referred to him as “the best player I have ever worked with.”?�Robson said: “Ronaldo was lean, mean, as quick as an Olympic sprinter and some of the goals he scored had me shaking my head in disbelief.”?�Ronaldo stayed just one season at the Camp Nou where he netted 47 goals in 49 matches ??� a return which saw him named the youngest ever winner of the FIFA World Player of The Year at the age of just 20.?�After one season with Barca, Inter Milan snapped him up for a world record fee and Ronaldo went on to score 59 goals in 99 appearances for the Italian giants.?�But it was with the Nerazzuri that injuries began to hamper Ronaldo’s career. He damaged his knee in 1999 and then again during his comeback in February 2000, which kept him out of the game for another two years.?�Nevertheless, Real Madrid were willing to part with 39 million euros in 2002 to secure Ronaldo’s signature. He paid them back with 98 goals in 164 games and a record number of replica shirts sold with his name. Four seasons later, he was back at the San Siro, this time with AC Milan. He played just 20 matches there, scoring nine goals, before moving back to Brazil to play with Corinthians. He also made a huge impact on the international stage and holds the record for the number of goals scored in World Cups, with 15. In 97 international matches, he scored 62 times for Brazil.

Italy’s EU immigration rescue call
What if Arab revolutions launched a thousand ships? Italy has not felt this vulnerable to illegal immigration since communism collapsed in Albania 20 years ago. Hundreds of thousands of Albanians back then caused a national crisis in Italy, welcomed at first but not for long. The material and political challenges were immense. Events today in north Africa threaten to eclipse the Albanian crisis. At a meeting in Rome, Italy’s Interior Minister Roberto Moroni and those of the five other European Union countries touching the Mediterranean have met to plan emergency strategy. Moroni said: “We ask that a special European solidarity fund be created to ensure that the countries feeling primary impact from the humanitarian crises in progress will have the resources needed, provided by all the countries of Europe.” Libya’s 2,000 kilometres of coastline are a launch pad for many illegal immigrants heading for the closest EU country – Italy. Rome lavished attention on Colonel Gaddafi in recent years and in 2008 conceived a friendship treaty under which the Libyans agreed to patrol the sea to curtail clandestine migration, in exchange for money. That arrangement has been outstripped by the current events. Since Sunday, the ships and aircraft of the European border control agency Frontex have been deployed in the sensitive area. Frontex has released an estimate saying that as many as one and a half million migrants are ready to risk anything to set foot on European soil.

Coach passengers rights to increase
A new EU law on coach passengers’ rights will come into effect in 2013. The rules cover all long-distance scheduled passenger services, whether national or crossing borders. Compensation can be as much as half of the purchase price as well as a full refund of the ticket, if an operator cancels a service or somehow cannot honour the transport contract, after a departure is delayed by at least two hours. The law package includes the provision of information before and during a journey and the needs of people with disabilities or reduced mobility. A more than 90 minute delay will entitle passengers to snacks and refreshments. If a trip is interrupted forcing passengers to make an unforeseen extended pause part-way, the operator has to pay for hotel accommodations. The rules will not apply where natural disasters or unsafe weather causes problems; but the operator is liable in the case of death or injury from accident. Lost or damaged luggage entails compensation under the law as well.