February 21, 2011 9:06 PM

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Protests continue in Bahrain & Yemen

In Bahrain, anti-government protesters are camping at Manama’s Pearl Square calling for sweeping political reforms.Bahrain’s opposition meanwhile has presented its demands to the crown prince, which includes the release of all political prisoners, resignation of the government, investigations of deaths of protesters and talks on a new constitution. Reports say, a group of protesters on Monday called for the ouster of Bahrain's rulers as part of reforms.Six people were killed and many wounded last week as security forces used force to quell protests. Following this, Bahrain's crown prince, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, who is also the deputy supreme commander of the country's armed forces, appealed for calm and political dialogue in a his address on state TV.Sheikh Salman said protesters would be allowed to stay in the Pearl Roundabout area and extended his condolences to all the families who lost their loved ones and all of those who have been injured.Meanwhile reports from Yemen say President Saleh rejected demands of his stepping down and said that the widespread demonstrations against his regime were unacceptable acts of provocation. He however renewed calls for talks with the protesters. In a press conference, he said that he has ordered the army to fire at demonstrators only in case of self-defense. A week and a half of marches have left nine dead, in the country.Jordan's King Abdullah II has called for quick and real reforms to give the public a greater role in governing and to eliminate corruption following anti-government protests over the last seven weeks. Activists are demanding a stronger role in politics and greater political freedoms.In Kuwait, stateless Arabs demonstrated for a third day to demand Kuwaiti citizenship and its lavish benefits. The stateless Arabs hold no citizenship but have been settled in the oil-rich Gulf nation for generations.

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