Australian diver killed in shark attack (AFP)

SYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian diver was killed by sharks in south Australia on Thursday, police said, in only the second fatal shark attack in Australian waters in more than two years.
The abalone diver was thought to have been returning to the surface after a dive when two sharks, believed to be great whites, took him, South Australia Police said in a statement.
The skipper on the boat witnessed the incident and returned to shore near Coffin Bay, around 300 kilometres (200 miles) west of the city of Adelaide, the statement added. No other details were immediately available.
In August, an Australian surfer died after being mauled by a shark off a Western Australian beach.
That death was the first since December 2008, when a man was attacked by a large shark, also believed to be a great white, off the Western Australia coast while snorkelling with his son, according to the Australian Shark Attack File.
Sharks are a common feature of Australian waters but fatal attacks are rare, with only 24 recorded deaths in the 20 years up to June 2009.
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Egypt's cabinet, under attack, meets for first time (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt's new cabinet met for the first time on Wednesday with security high on its agenda and under attack from the Muslim Brotherhood and others who want it purged of ministers appointed by ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

In preparation for polls that military rulers have promised to hand over power to civilian rule in six months, activists announced the forming of a new political party on Wednesday.

The Brotherhood and other political groups have called for another million-man-march on Friday to fill Cairo's central Tahrir Square, which was the nerve-center for opposition to Mubarak's 30-year iron rule, to call for a new cabinet.

Banned under Mubarak and playing an increasingly active role in Egyptian political life since the 18-day uprising that toppled Mubarak, the Brotherhood wants the lifting of emergency law, freeing of political prisoners and a purge of the cabinet.

The cabinet will discuss security issues in the post-Mubarak era and the provision of basic foods and subsidies on Wednesday, political sources said. Despite political pressure, there are unlikely to be further changes in the cabinet, they added.

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that is running the Arab world's most populous nation, swore in 10 new ministers on Tuesday, some who had opposed Mubarak, but key portfolios were unchanged.

"The main ministries of defense, justice, interior and foreign remain unchanged, signaling Egypt's politics remain in the hands of Mubarak and his cronies," senior Brotherhood member Essam el-Erian told Reuters, reacting to the new line-up.

In the run-up to presidential and parliamentary elections, a committee is amending the constitution to dismantle the apparatus that propped up Mubarak's rule and political parties are being registered ahead of the polls.

"EGYPT THE FREE"

A former diplomat, Abdallah Alashaal, was quoted by MENA news agency on Wednesday as saying he was setting up a new political party "Egypt the Free" to participate in the polls.

"The establishment of the party comes within the framework and desire to make a real representation of the youth of January 25 revolution during the coming period," Alashaal said.

The Brotherhood and youth groups are anxious that the emergency law, imposed after the assassination of Anwar Sadat by Islamist soldiers from his army in 1981, be lifted but some Cairo residents were not so sure.

"For now, they shouldn't cancel the emergency law because there are thousands and thousands of thugs out there but ultimately, yes, they have to remove it because police were mistreating lot of people through it," Somaya Mohamed, a retiree, told Reuters on Wednesday.

"I don't see anything wrong with the politics of (prime minister) Ahmed Shafiq, he has a white track record," he said, adding: "I think the youth is simply against anything that the president said that's all, they wanted to put an end to him and whatever he said."

Another priority facing the cabinet is getting the nation back to work and to stop the protests and strikes that have damaged an economy that had already been damaged by the turmoil of the revolution which erupted on January 25.

The Egyptian stock market, which closed two days after the uprising started, has announced that it will stay shut until next week.

(Writing by Peter Millership)

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First Pakistan drone attack in weeks kills seven (Reuters)

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) – A U.S. drone strike killed at least seven people on Monday in a tribal region along Pakistan's western border, Pakistani officials said, the first such attack in a month as a diplomatic feud strains U.S.-Pakistani ties.

At least four missiles were fired from the unmanned aircraft at a suspected militant training center in Azam Warsak, just west of Wana, the main town in the South Waziristan tribal agency, intelligence officials in South Waziristan said.

"According to initial reports there were foreigners among the dead," one of the officials said.

A second official said the foreign nationals killed included three people from Turkmenistan and two Arab nationals.

It is the first time since January 23 that intelligence officials have reported a U.S. drone attack, marking a resumption of a campaign that has become the centerpiece of U.S. efforts to halt militants launching attacks on its soldiers in Afghanistan.

Many analysts believe Washington halted the attacks for weeks to avoid further inflaming anti-American fury in Pakistan just as it pressures Islamabad to release Raymond Davis, a U.S. consulate employee imprisoned after shooting two Pakistanis last month in what he said was an attempted robbery.

Others speculate the pause was due to poor weather or an inability to find reliable targets as militants hunt down Pakistanis they believe are feeding intelligence information.

Washington, which provides Pakistan with billions of dollars a year in military and civilian aid, is leaning hard on the government of President Asif Ali Zardari to release Davis on grounds the U.S. national is shielded by diplomatic immunity.

Yet neither can the government afford to unleash popular fury in a case that has galvanized anti-American sentiment in Pakistan. Protesters have burned U.S. flags and demanded the Davis be tried for murder in local courts.

The drone strikes, which are not publically acknowledged by either country, are another delicate situation for the vulnerable Zardari government, battling an insurgency of its own and struggling to hold together a fragile coalition.

The attacks are seen as a risk and a necessity for Pakistan, under pressure its chief ally in the West to do against militants but also facing mounting resentment from Pakistanis who decry the government for bowing to U.S. wishes.

There is also debate over the effectiveness of the strikes. While the drone strikes have killed al Qaeda and Taliban figures, many of senior militants are living in cities like Quetta or Karachi that Pakistan has made off-limits to strikes.

(Additional reporting by Augustine Anthony in ISLAMABAD; writing by Missy Ryan; Editing by Chris Allbritton and Sanjeev Miglani)

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Obesity Alone Raises Risk of Fatal Heart Attack, Study Finds (HealthDay)

MONDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Obese men face a dramatically higher risk of dying from a heart attack, regardless of whether or not they have other known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, a new study reveals.

The finding stems from an analysis involving roughly 6,000 middle-aged men, and it suggests that there is something about carrying around excess weight that contributes to heart disease independent of risk factors such as high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol and arterial disease.

What exactly that something is, however, remains unclear, although the researchers suggest that the chronic inflammation that typically accompanies significant weight gain might be the driving force behind the increased risk.

"Obese, middle-aged men have a 60 percent increased risk of dying from a heart attack than non-obese middle-aged men, even after we cancel out any of the effects of cholesterol, blood pressure and other cardiovascular risk factors," noted study author Jennifer Logue, a clinical lecturer of metabolic medicine with the British Heart Foundation's Cardiovascular Research Centre at the University of Glasgow, in Scotland. "This means [that] obesity itself may be causing fatal heart attacks through a factor that we have not yet identified."

Logue and her colleagues report their observations in the Feb. 15 online issue of Heart.

To explore the subject, the authors spent nearly 15 years tracking 6,082 male patients who were diagnosed with high cholesterol but had no history of either heart disease or diabetes.

Over the study period, the research team noted 214 heart disease fatalities, along with another 1,027 heart attacks and/or strokes that did not result in death.

The team confirmed the well-established theory that being obese is linked to a greater chance for having all of the classic risk factors linked to heart disease.

That said, even after ruling out relevant variables such as age and smoking history, the risk of death among obese men -- those with a body mass index (BMI) between 30 and 39.9 -- was still 75 percent higher than it was for non-obese men.

What's more, even after also accounting for risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes (as well as medication history), the chance of experiencing a fatal heart attack was 60 percent greater among obese men, as compared with non-obese men.

The one caveat: in and of itself, being obese was not linked to a higher risk of experiencing a non-fatal heart attack or stroke.

Logue cautioned that further research is needed to confirm the findings, and to uncover the exact mechanism by which obesity itself is a risk factor for fatal heart attacks.

"Possible reasons include particular chemicals that the fat cells are releasing. Or perhaps it is related to the fact that obese people tend to have larger hearts to cope with the additional stress of their larger size, and this already stressed heart does not manage to continue to work during a heart attack," she said.

"However, it certainly makes me think that we cannot just treat cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes in obese men without also considering their weight," Logue added. "We need to find easier and more effective ways to help people lose weight and find out if losing weight can help reduce the risk of fatal heart attacks. We also need to dedicate far more resources to preventing obesity in the first place."

Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that the current study "provides further evidence as to why there needs to be global efforts to prevent and treat obesity though lifestyle modification."

"While obesity is associated with elevations in blood pressure, increased risk of diabetes and abnormal lipid levels, it has been less clear whether the increased risk of mortality associated with obesity can be entirely explained by these well-established cardiovascular risk factors or whether other factors related to obesity may also be contributing to excess mortality risk," he noted.

Dr. Murray A. Mittleman, director of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit with the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School in Boston, agreed.

"It's not surprising that not all of the risk can be explained by traditional risk factors," he said. "But no one study is going to definitively answer the question as to what other mechanisms for risk might be. So the primary issue would still continue to be working towards overall weight reduction, to reduce the risk for all of the pathways that we already know go along with obesity."

More information

For more on obesity and heart disease, visit the American Heart Association .

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Nine dead in Taliban attack on Afghan bank (AFP)

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AFP) – Nine people were killed and 70 others wounded, including police chiefs, Saturday in an attack claimed by the Taliban on a bank in Jalalabad, eastern Afghanistan.

Police collecting their salaries were among the dead and Alishah Paktyamwal, police chief of Nangarhar province where Jalalabad is located, plus his deputy were wounded in the attack.

The incident is the latest to target police in Afghanistan, who alongside the army are due to take control of the war-torn country's security from 2014, allowing most international troops to withdraw.

It happened when three Taliban suicide bombers burst into a branch of Kabul Bank in the city and detonated their devices. There was also a hail of gunfire as the attack unfolded.

Baz Mohammad Shirzad, regional health director for eastern Afghanistan, told reporters: "The final toll is that 70 people have been injured and nine killed." The casualties included police, bank staff and civilians, he said.

Shirzad added that he had also asked the Afghan army and international troops to provide extra security at the hospital amid fears of a possible fresh attack there.

Although the fighting is now over, a curfew in the city has been imposed by local police which bans cars from driving around, an AFP reporter said.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, which he said was committed by three suicide bombers.

"People were there doing business deals and to receive their salaries," he said. "This attack once again showed the cruel actions of the terrorists who do not want the people of Afghanistan to live in peace."

A medical source speaking on condition of anonymity said the police chief of Nangarhar province where Jalalabad is located, Alishah Paktyamwal, plus his deputy and the city's criminal police chief were slightly hurt.

The source added that other police officers were killed in the attack.

An AFP reporter at the scene said he had heard gunshots and five explosions as the attack unfolded.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said the militant Islamists, who have been fighting international and government forces in Afghanistan for nearly ten years, were responsible.

"Three suicide bombers have entered the Kabul Bank branch in Jalalabad in the section where they pay the army and police salaries. Big casualties have been inflicted," he said.

Eastern Afghanistan is seen as volatile. Nangarhar province borders Pakistan, where the Taliban and other Islamist networks keep rear bases that Washington wants the Pakistani military to destroy to help suffocate the insurgency in Afghanistan.

A total of 12 people including police officers died in attacks in the region Friday, including nine in a car bombing near a district police headquarters in the eastern city of Khost.

Afghan security forces are frequently targets of attacks by the Taliban.

Last Saturday, 19 people including 15 police and an intelligence agent died when suicide bombers armed with guns, grenades and car bombs targeted police headquarters in Afghanistan's de facto southern capital, Kandahar.

The total strength of Afghan police and army has risen by 36 percent in the last year and international military officials expect the number of police to top 120,000 by September.

The Afghan police and army are due to take responsibility for security in their own country from 2014, allowing the bulk of international troops to withdraw.

A limited withdrawal of foreign forces is expected to start from more stable provinces of Afghanistan from July.

There are currently around 140,000 international forces, around two-thirds from the United States, in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, who were ousted by a US-led invasion in 2001 after the September 11 attacks.

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Bahrain army withdrawn, police attack protesters (Reuters)

MANAMA (Reuters) – Bahraini troops and armored vehicles on Saturday rolled out of a Manama square that had been a base for anti-government protesters, meeting one opposition condition for a dialogue proposed by the king.

But when a few protesters tried to regain their former stronghold in Pearl Square, police beat them back.

At least 100 riot police took up position, while a group of about 50 demonstrators stood about 50 meters (yards) away.

One man raced to the center of the traffic circle, fell to his knees to kiss the yellowed grass and began praying as other protesters celebrated. Moments later, 10 police cars pulled up and policemen beat up one protester and fired teargas.

At least 100 riot police took up position, while a group of about 50 demonstrators stood about 50 meters (yards) away.

Troops in tanks and armored vehicles took over the traffic circle on Thursday after riot police attacked protesters who had camped out there, killing four people and wounding 231.

Bahrain's crown prince announced that all troops had been ordered off the streets and that police would maintain order.

"That's a very positive step," Jasim Hussain, a member of the main Shi'ite Wefaq bloc that quit parliament on Thursday, told Reuters. "They're trying to ease the tensions. I don't know whether it will be sufficient."

Wefaq had earlier rejected a call by King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa for a national dialogue to end the unrest that has rocked Bahrain since Monday, saying troops must be withdrawn first, among other conditions.

Another Wefaq lawmaker said the troop pullout was not enough by itself. "There's no difference if people are killed by the military or by the security forces," said Ibrahim Mattar.

"STOP KILLING PEOPLE"

"We hope to hear a clear message from the government that it will stop killing people who are protesting peacefully."

Mattar said the king must accept the "concept" of constitutional monarchy, as well as withdrawing the military.

"Then we can go for a temporary government of new faces that would not include the current interior or defense ministers."

He reiterated an opposition demand for the king to fire his uncle, Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman al-Khalifa, prime minister since Bahrain gained its independence in 1971.

"We are not going to enter a dialogue as Shi'ites," Mattar said. "They try to put the issue in this frame. The dialogue should be with all people who were protesting. Some are liberal, non-Islamic. Some are Sunni and some Shi'ite."

Shi'ites, who make up about 70 percent of Bahraini nationals feel cut out of decision-making in the Sunni-ruled state and complain of discrimination in access to state jobs and housing.

On Friday, the king offered a national dialogue with all parties to try to end the turmoil fueled by Shi'ite grievances in which six people have been killed and hundreds wounded.

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke to King Hamad on Friday, condemning the violence and urging the government to show restraint and respect the rights of its people.

MILITARY ORDERED TO WITHDRAW

"Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, has ordered the withdrawal of all military from the streets of Bahrain with immediate effect," a statement said on Saturday.

"The Bahrain police force will continue to oversee law and order."

More than 60 people were in hospital with wounds sustained on Friday when security forces fired on protesters as they headed to Pearl Square, then still in military hands.

Also on Friday, Shi'ite mourners buried the four people killed in the raid on Pearl Square, which protesters had hoped to turn into a base like Cairo's Tahrir Square, the heart of a revolt that ousted Egypt's Hosni Mubarak.

The European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton voiced concern about reports on violence by the security forces. "I urge the Bahraini authorities to respect fundamental human rights including freedom of expression and the right to assemble freely," she said, appealing to all parties to use restraint.

Young activists had also called for an open-ended strike from Sunday and the closure of all public and private schools on a Facebook page called the "February 14 revolution in Bahrain."

They demanded that protesters be allowed back into Pearl Square, the release of all political prisoners and word on the fate of missing people, as well as the resignations of the defense and interior ministers and the security chief.

A naval base near Manama that hosts the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet helps the United States to project power across the Middle East and Central Asia, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

A Fleet spokesman said there was no significant impact on operations and Jennifer Stride, spokeswoman for the U.S. naval base, said no evacuation of families was planned.

The United States is caught between the desire for stability in an ally seen as a bulwark against Iran and the need to uphold the people's right to express their grievances.

The unrest in Bahrain, a minor non-OPEC oil producer and regional banking hub, has shaken confidence in the economy.

In 1999, King Hamad introduced a constitution allowing elections for a parliament with some powers, but royals still dominate a cabinet led by the king's uncle for 40 years.

(Additional reporting by Michael Georgy in Manama, Ross Colvin in Washington and Charlie Dunmore in Brussels; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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Australian diver killed in shark attack (AFP)

SYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian diver was killed by sharks in south Australia on Thursday, police said, in only the second fatal shark attack in Australian waters in more than two years.

The abalone diver was thought to have been returning to the surface after a dive when two sharks, believed to be great whites, took him, South Australia Police said in a statement.

The skipper on the boat witnessed the incident and returned to shore near Coffin Bay, around 300 kilometres (200 miles) west of the city of Adelaide, the statement added. No other details were immediately available.

In August, an Australian surfer died after being mauled by a shark off a Western Australian beach.

That death was the first since December 2008, when a man was attacked by a large shark, also believed to be a great white, off the Western Australia coast while snorkelling with his son, according to the Australian Shark Attack File.

Sharks are a common feature of Australian waters but fatal attacks are rare, with only 24 recorded deaths in the 20 years up to June 2009.

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Australian diver killed in shark attack (AFP)

SYDNEY (AFP) – An Australian diver was killed by sharks in south Australia on Thursday, police said, in only the second fatal shark attack in Australian waters in more than two years.

The abalone diver was thought to have been returning to the surface after a dive when two sharks, believed to be great whites, took him, South Australia Police said in a statement.

The skipper on the boat witnessed the incident and returned to shore near Coffin Bay, around 300 kilometres (200 miles) west of the city of Adelaide, the statement added. No other details were immediately available.

In August, an Australian surfer died after being mauled by a shark off a Western Australian beach.

That death was the first since December 2008, when a man was attacked by a large shark, also believed to be a great white, off the Western Australia coast while snorkelling with his son, according to the Australian Shark Attack File.

Sharks are a common feature of Australian waters but fatal attacks are rare, with only 24 recorded deaths in the 20 years up to June 2009.

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Riot Police Fatally Attack Bahrain Camp (Time.com)

(MANAMA) - Bahrain riot police firing tear gas and wielding clubs stormed a landmark square occupied by anti-government protesters before dawn Thursday, driving out demonstrators and destroying a makeshift encampment that had become the hub for demands to bring sweeping political changes to the kingdom.

The main opposition group Al Wefaq said at least two people were killed in the assault on Pearl Square, which was littered with flattened tents, trampled banners and broken glass. There was no official word on deaths or injuries, but hospitals treated dozens of people with serious gaping wounds, broken bones and respiratory problems from the tear gas.

Hours after police retook control of the plaza, the tiny island nation was in lockdown mode. Tanks and armored personnel carriers were seen in some areas - the first sign of military involvement in the crisis. Police checkpoints were set up along main roadways and armed patrols moved through neighborhoods in an apparent attempt to thwart any mass gatherings.

Barbed wire was put up around Pearl Square and a message from the Interior Ministry declared the protest camp "illegal." The air still carried the smell of tear gas more than four hours after the assault.

The blow by authorities marked a dramatic shift in tactics. It appeared Bahrain's leaders had sought to rein in security forces after clashes Monday that left at least two people dead and brought sharp criticism from Western allies - including the U.S. - which operates its main naval base in the Gulf from Bahrain.

Police held back Wednesday as tens of thousands of protesters crowded into the seaside square, dominated by a 300-foot (90-meter) monument to Bahrain's history as a pearl diving center.

After the crackdown early Thursday, protesters who were camped in the square overnight described police swarming in through a cloud of eye-stinging tear gas.

"They attacked our tents, beating us with batons," said Jafar Jafar, 17. "The police were lined up at the bridge overhead. They were shooting tear gas from the bridge."

Many families were separated in the chaos. An Associated Press photographer saw police rounding up lost children and taking them into vehicles.

Hussein Abbas, 22, was awakened by a missed call on his cell phone from his wife, presumably trying to warn him about reports that police were preparing to move in.

"Then all of a sudden the square was filled with tear gas clouds. Our women were screaming. ... What kind of ruler does this to his people? There were women and children with us!"

One man said he pretended to be unconscious to avoid further beatings from police.

ABC News said its correspondent, Miguel Marquez, was caught in the crowd and beaten by men with billy clubs, although he was not badly injured.

The Egypt-inspired protests began Monday as a cry for the country's Sunni monarchy to loosen its grip, including hand-picking most top government posts, and open more opportunities for the country's majority Shiites, who have long complained of being blocked from decision-making roles or key posts in the military.

But the uprising's demands have steadily grown bolder. Many protesters called for the government to provide more jobs and better housing, free all political detainees and abolish a system that offers Bahraini citizenship to Sunnis from around the Middle East as a way to close the population gap with Shiites, who account for 70 percent of the population. Many of the newly minted nationals get jobs in security forces to further cement the number of presumed loyalists protecting the ruling system.

Increasingly, protesters also chanted slogans to wipe away the entire ruling dynasty that has led Bahrain for more than 200 years and is firmly backed by the Sunni sheiks and monarchs across the Gulf.

Although Bahrain is sandwiched between OPEC heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Qatar, it has limited oil resources and depends heavily on its role as a regional financial hub and playground for Saudis, who can drive over a causeway to enjoy Bahrain's Western-style bars, hotels and beaches.

Social networking websites had been abuzz Wednesday with calls to press ahead with the protests. They were matched by insults from presumed government backers who called the demonstrators traitors and agents of Shiite powerhouse Iran. Some pointed out that Iranian hard-liners have called Bahrain the Islamic Republic's "14th province" because of its Shiite links.

The protest movement's next move is unclear, but the island nation has been rocked by street battles as recently as last summer. A wave of arrests of perceived Shiite dissidents touched off weeks of rioting and demonstrations.

Outside the main state medical complex - where many injured protesters were treated - dozens of protesters chanted: "The regime must go."

Before the attack on the square, protesters had called for major rallies after Friday prayers. The reported deaths, however, could become a fresh rallying point. Thousands of mourners had turned out for the funeral processions of two other people killed in the protests earlier in the week.

Mahmoud Mansouri, whose pants were torn in the mayhem, said police surrounded the camp and then quickly moved in.

"We yelled, "We are peaceful! Peaceful! The women and children were attacked just like the rest of us," he said. "They moved in as soon as the media left us. They knew what they're doing."

The country's rulers scheduled an emergency parliament session for later Thursday. But it may only serve to highlight the country's divisions and reinforce its image as the most politically volatile in the Gulf.

The main Shiite opposition bloc, with 18 of the 40 seats, has said it will not return to the chamber until the protest demands are met.

The occupation in Pearl Square, which began Tuesday, had become the nerve center of the first anti-government protests to reach the Arab Gulf since the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.

Just hours before police moved in, the mood in the makeshift tent city was festive and confident.

People sipped tea, ate donated food and smoked apple- and grape-flavored tobacco from water pipes. The men and women mainly sat separately - the women a sea of black in their traditional dress. Some youths wore the red-and-white Bahraini flag as a cape.

After prayers Wednesday evening, a Shiite imam in the square had urged Bahrain's youth not to back down.

"This square is a trust in your hands and so will you whittle away this trust or keep fast?" the imam said. "So be careful and be concerned for your country and remember that the regime will try to rip this country from your hand but if we must leave it in coffins then so be it!"

Across the city, government supporters in a caravan of cars waved national flags and displayed portraits of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

"Come join us!" they yelled into markets and along busy streets. "Show your loyalty."

Earlier Wednesday, thousands of mourners turned out for the funeral procession of 31-year-old Fadhel al-Matrook, the second known fatality from the protests. Later, in Pearl Square, his father Salman pleaded with protesters not to give up.

"He is not only my son. He is the son of Bahrain, the son of this nation," he yelled. "His blood shouldn't be wasted."

The bloodshed has brought embarrassing rebukes from allies such as Britain and the United States. A statement from Bahrain's Interior Ministry said suspects have been "placed in custody" in connection with the two protester deaths from earlier in the week, but gave no further details.

The widening challenges to the region's political order - emboldened by the downfall of old-guard regimes in Tunisia and Egypt - also flared elsewhere in Arab world.

In Yemen, the embattled president flooded the ancient capital of Sanaa with more than 2,000 security forces to try to stamp out demonstrations that began nearly a week ago. They turned deadly Wednesday in the southern port of Aden, with two people killed in clashes with police.

In Libya, security forces fired rubber bullets and water cannons at hundreds of marchers in Benghazi, the second-largest city. Witnesses said some police stations were set on fire and one protester said he saw snipers on a roof of a security headquarters firing on protesters.

The unrest was triggered by the temporary detention Tuesday of an activist but quickly turned into a rare public challenge to the 42-year rule of Moammar Gadhafi.

Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

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6 dead, 37 injured in attack on Mexican nightclub (AP)

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Armed men opened fire and hurled a grenade into a crowded nightclub early Saturday, killing six people and wounding at least 37 in a western city whose former tranquility has been shattered by escalating battles among drug cartels.

The attack in Mexico's second-largest municipality took place just hours after a shootout between soldiers and presumed cartel gunmen left eight people, including an innocent driver, dead in the northeastern city of Monterrey. Monterrey is Mexico's third-largest city.

In the Guadalajara attack, assailants in a Jeep Cherokee and a taxi drove up to the Butter Club, located in a bar and restaurant district popular with young people, and sprayed it with bullets.

Some of the men then got out of the taxi and threw a grenade into the nightclub entrance, said a police official, who spoke to news media at the scene and left without giving his name. The gunmen fled after the pre-dawn attack, he said.

Three were killed at the scene and three more died later in hospitals, said Medical Services Director Yannick Nordin. A Venezuelan and a Colombian were among the dead.

In a press conference led by state Attorney General Tomas Coronado Olmos, authorities said the attack may have been the result of a fight between two groups hours earlier in the trendy disco. Some of the people left and returned to attack the others.

State authorities said they are studying surveillance video from inside the nightclub to help determine what happened.

While there have been isolated grenade attacks around the city, Saturday's was the first to be thrown into a crowd and cause so many injuries.

The U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara recently warned U.S. citizens not to drive at night in parts of the city after suspected drug-gang members burned vehicles and blocked streets.

Such alerts have become common for highways in some areas of northern and western Mexico, but not for Guadalajara, which is known more for its mariachi music and tequila than as a focal point of a drug war that has claimed nearly 35,000 lives since 2006.

But in recent months the picturesque colonial city has come to resemble embattled areas of northern Mexico — including the state of Nuevo Leon, where Monterrey is located.

Seven presumed cartel gunmen were shot dead by soldiers near Monterrey during a chase and shootout just after midnight Friday. A civilian was also killed when the gunmen crashed into his car as they tried to flee soldiers.

A soldier and a state police officer were wounded during the clash in the suburban city of San Nicolas, the military said in a news release.

Soldiers also freed a woman who is presumed to have been kidnapped and was traveling in one of the vehicles. Two other vehicles, carrying an unknown number of attackers, escaped, and there were no arrests, said a spokesman for the state public security office, who was not authorized to give his name.

Nuevo Leon has been hit by a wave of drug-fueled violence in recent years as the Gulf Cartel battles a gang of its former enforcers known as the Zetas.

The cartels have staged a bloody turf war over drug peddling points and smuggling routes to the U.S. border 125 miles (200 kilometers) to the north, and clashes with the military and police have become almost a daily occurrence in and around Monterrey.

In Guadalajara, the violence has heated up just in the past few months from cartels warring for turf. The city is key to western drug routes once controlled by former Sinaloa leader Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, who was killed in a gunbattle with soldiers in July.

_____

Associated Press writer Mark Walsh in Monterrey, Mexico, contributed to this report.

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6 dead, 37 injured in attack on Mexican nightclub (AP)

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Armed men opened fire and hurled a grenade into a crowded nightclub early Saturday, killing six people and wounding at least 37 in a western city whose former tranquility has been shattered by escalating battles among drug cartels.

The attack in Mexico's second-largest municipality took place just hours after a shootout between soldiers and presumed cartel gunmen left eight people, including an innocent driver, dead in the northeastern city of Monterrey. Monterrey is Mexico's third-largest city.

In the Guadalajara attack, assailants in a Jeep Cherokee and a taxi drove up to the Butter Club, located in a bar and restaurant district popular with young people, and sprayed it with bullets.

Some of the men then got out of the taxi and threw a grenade into the nightclub entrance, said a police official, who spoke to news media at the scene and left without giving his name. The gunmen fled after the pre-dawn attack, he said.

Three were killed at the scene and three more died later in hospitals, said Medical Services Director Yannick Nordin. A Venezuelan and a Colombian were among the dead.

In a press conference led by state Attorney General Tomas Coronado Olmos, authorities said the attack may have been the result of a fight between two groups hours earlier in the trendy disco. Some of the people left and returned to attack the others.

State authorities said they are studying surveillance video from inside the nightclub to help determine what happened.

While there have been isolated grenade attacks around the city, Saturday's was the first to be thrown into a crowd and cause so many injuries.

The U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara recently warned U.S. citizens not to drive at night in parts of the city after suspected drug-gang members burned vehicles and blocked streets.

Such alerts have become common for highways in some areas of northern and western Mexico, but not for Guadalajara, which is known more for its mariachi music and tequila than as a focal point of a drug war that has claimed nearly 35,000 lives since 2006.

But in recent months the picturesque colonial city has come to resemble embattled areas of northern Mexico — including the state of Nuevo Leon, where Monterrey is located.

Seven presumed cartel gunmen were shot dead by soldiers near Monterrey during a chase and shootout just after midnight Friday. A civilian was also killed when the gunmen crashed into his car as they tried to flee soldiers.

A soldier and a state police officer were wounded during the clash in the suburban city of San Nicolas, the military said in a news release.

Soldiers also freed a woman who is presumed to have been kidnapped and was traveling in one of the vehicles. Two other vehicles, carrying an unknown number of attackers, escaped, and there were no arrests, said a spokesman for the state public security office, who was not authorized to give his name.

Nuevo Leon has been hit by a wave of drug-fueled violence in recent years as the Gulf Cartel battles a gang of its former enforcers known as the Zetas.

The cartels have staged a bloody turf war over drug peddling points and smuggling routes to the U.S. border 125 miles (200 kilometers) to the north, and clashes with the military and police have become almost a daily occurrence in and around Monterrey.

In Guadalajara, the violence has heated up just in the past few months from cartels warring for turf. The city is key to western drug routes once controlled by former Sinaloa leader Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, who was killed in a gunbattle with soldiers in July.

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Associated Press writer Mark Walsh in Monterrey, Mexico, contributed to this report.

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6 dead, 37 injured in attack on Mexican nightclub (AP)

GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Armed men opened fire and hurled a grenade into a crowded nightclub early Saturday, killing six people and wounding at least 37 in a western city whose former tranquility has been shattered by escalating battles among drug cartels.
The attack in Mexico's second-largest municipality took place just hours after a shootout between soldiers and presumed cartel gunmen left eight people, including an innocent driver, dead in the northeastern city of Monterrey. Monterrey is Mexico's third-largest city.
In the Guadalajara attack, assailants in a Jeep Cherokee and a taxi drove up to the Butter Club, located in a bar and restaurant district popular with young people, and sprayed it with bullets.
Some of the men then got out of the taxi and threw a grenade into the nightclub entrance, said a police official, who spoke to news media at the scene and left without giving his name. The gunmen fled after the pre-dawn attack, he said.
Three were killed at the scene and three more died later in hospitals, said Medical Services Director Yannick Nordin. A Venezuelan and a Colombian were among the dead.
In a press conference led by state Attorney General Tomas Coronado Olmos, authorities said the attack may have been the result of a fight between two groups hours earlier in the trendy disco. Some of the people left and returned to attack the others.
State authorities said they are studying surveillance video from inside the nightclub to help determine what happened.
While there have been isolated grenade attacks around the city, Saturday's was the first to be thrown into a crowd and cause so many injuries.
The U.S. Consulate in Guadalajara recently warned U.S. citizens not to drive at night in parts of the city after suspected drug-gang members burned vehicles and blocked streets.
Such alerts have become common for highways in some areas of northern and western Mexico, but not for Guadalajara, which is known more for its mariachi music and tequila than as a focal point of a drug war that has claimed nearly 35,000 lives since 2006.
But in recent months the picturesque colonial city has come to resemble embattled areas of northern Mexico — including the state of Nuevo Leon, where Monterrey is located.
Seven presumed cartel gunmen were shot dead by soldiers near Monterrey during a chase and shootout just after midnight Friday. A civilian was also killed when the gunmen crashed into his car as they tried to flee soldiers.
A soldier and a state police officer were wounded during the clash in the suburban city of San Nicolas, the military said in a news release.
Soldiers also freed a woman who is presumed to have been kidnapped and was traveling in one of the vehicles. Two other vehicles, carrying an unknown number of attackers, escaped, and there were no arrests, said a spokesman for the state public security office, who was not authorized to give his name.
Nuevo Leon has been hit by a wave of drug-fueled violence in recent years as the Gulf Cartel battles a gang of its former enforcers known as the Zetas.
The cartels have staged a bloody turf war over drug peddling points and smuggling routes to the U.S. border 125 miles (200 kilometers) to the north, and clashes with the military and police have become almost a daily occurrence in and around Monterrey.
In Guadalajara, the violence has heated up just in the past few months from cartels warring for turf. The city is key to western drug routes once controlled by former Sinaloa leader Ignacio "Nacho" Coronel, who was killed in a gunbattle with soldiers in July.
_____
Associated Press writer Mark Walsh in Monterrey, Mexico, contributed to this report.
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Kandahar attack kills 3, injured 26: Afghan official (AFP)

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AFP) – Three people were killed, including two policemen, and 26 wounded after an attack claimed by the Taliban on police headquarters in the Afghan city of Kandahar, an official said.
Nine children were among those hurt in the violence, said Zalmai Ayubi, a spokesman for the governor of Kandahar, which is in the highly volatile south of the war-torn country.
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