The king of Bahrain said Sunday that the state of emergency he imposed in mid-March to quell anti-government demonstrations on that strategic and contested island will end June 1.
The announcement is a sign that Bahrain is seeking to assure banks and foreign governments that the chaos of recent months is over and that the kingdom, which depends heavily on financial business, is trying to return to normal. It is also a sign that the numerous arrests and rushed trials of opposition figures in military courts could be running their course.
SYRIA: 12-year-old boy is killed as crackdown expands.
Gunfire and shelling rattled a city in central Syria on Sunday and killed a 12-year-old boy, as President Bashar Assad’s autocratic regime expanded its military crackdown on a seven-week uprising by sending tanks and reinforcements to key areas, activists said.
Activists said authorities also arrested a 10-year-old boy, apparently to punish his parents, and filed charges against a leading opposition figure who is suffering from cancer.
