The leading Bahraini human rights activist, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, has appeared in court in the capital, Manama, for his retrial. Mr Khawaja, who began a hunger strike in February in protest at the prison sentence he was given by a military court in June, was in a wheelchair. Witnesses said he had looked weak but moved his chair without assistance. Mr Khawaja and 20 others are accused of plotting to overthrow the state. Seven of them are being tried in absentia, Bbc.co.uk reported.

At least 70 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack during a rehearsal for a military parade in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa. The assailant, who was reportedly wearing army uniform, blew himself up among soldiers at al-Sabin Square, near the presidential palace. Bbc.co.uk quotes an al-Qaeda source that one of the group’s members had carried out the attack. "We were in a parade, suddenly there was a huge explosion. Dozens of our men were killed. We tri... Read more »

Mourning Algerians paid final respects yesterday to Arab singing divaWarda, whose body was returned to her homeland after she died of a heart attack at the age of 72 in Egypt two days earlier. Known throughout the Arab world as Warda al-Jazairia (Warda the Algerian), or as the “Algerian Rose”, the singer famed in the north African nation and across the Arab world with singing Algerian independence songs as a young girl. Hundreds of Algerians, most of them w... Read more »

Yemeni troops sent Al-Qaeda fighters fleeing from the southern city of Loder and pressed towards militant-controlled Zinjibar. "We have cleansed Loder (of Al-Qaeda) and the fighters have been forced to flee," Middle-east-online.com quotes anonymous military official as saying.He said that Al-Qaeda gunmen retreated from three positions on the outskirts of Loder, in southern Abyan province, which they have been trying to overrun for several months.

The head of Syria's main opposition coaltion, the Syrian National Council, has said he will resign amid growing criticism and rifts within the group. Burhan Ghalioun, who was re-elected as SNC leader on Tuesday, said he would step down once a replacement is found. The SNC was formed last year to present a united front for the opposition, but has been torn by divisions. "I will not allow myself to be the candidate of division, I am not attached to a position... Read more »

Libyan Islamist commander Abdel Hakim Belhadj has resigned his military post in a bid to enter politics. Mr Belhadj, a key brigade leader in the 2011 toppling of Col Gaddafi, plans to run in elections next month He is a former member of an Islamist insurgent group which sought to overthrow Gaddafi in the 1990s. Mr Belhadj is currently taking legal action against the UK authorities, alleging they were complicit in his 2004 rendition to Libya, Bbc.co.uk repor... Read more »

Leaders of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) are meeting in Saudi Arabia to discuss plans for a regional political, economic and security union. The exact nature of this union is unclear. Bahrain's minister of state for information, Samira Rajab, said it could follow European Union model. The idea to form the union belongs to the Saudi monarch, King Abdullah, who is chairing the meeting in Riyadh, Bbc.co.uk reported.

More than 1,000 Jordanians, mostly opposition Islamists, marched on Friday demanding elected governments and "radical" reforms, and criticising newly appointed Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh. Demonstrators gathered in central Amman after midday prayers, the protesters, including youths and trade unionists, carried banners reading "we want to reform the regime, radical change and elected governments." "Fayez (Tarawneh) go home, you are not up to reform. We wa... Read more »

The United States is resuming sales of weapons to Bahrain, but says it will not supply the Gulf state with any crowd control equipment. The US State Department says the shipment will help Bahrain "maintain its external defence capabilities." Arms sales were frozen last year after the Bahraini government suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations. Amnesty International says 60 people have been killed since the protests began in February 2011, Bbc.co.uk reported... Read more »

Egyptian expatriates have begun voting in the first presidential elections since an uprising forced long-ruling Hosni Mubarak to step down last year. Electoral officials say fewer than one million of the nearly 10 million Egyptians abroad have registered. Voters in Egypt will go to the polls on 23 and 24 May. A run-off will be held in June if no-one wins 50% of the vote. Yesterday two of the front-runners took part in the first presidential election debate ... Read more »