Bahrain International Circuit chairman Zayed R Alzayani believes the return of Formula One to the Gulf kingdom will bring new hope to the region.

Seven members of the UK House of Lords and a leading British politician have called on the FIA to cancel this year’s Bahrain Grand Prix.

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone yesterday made a last-ditch bid to keep the Bahrain Grand Prix on this year's calendar.

Bernie Ecclestone has acted to resolve the issues surrounding the Formula One calendar following the Bahrain Grand Prix saga this week.

Former FIA president Max Mosley does not believe there is “the slightest chance” the rearranged Bahrain Grand Prix will go ahead this year.

The Formula One teams appear to be on a collision course with the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone after today’s contentious decision regarding the rescheduling of the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The Bahrain Grand Prix has returned to this year’s Formula One calendar after a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Bahrain today.

BAHRAIN has warned its nationals not to travel to Lebanon for their own safety after Iranian-backed Shi’ite Muslim group Hezbollah came out in support of weeks of protests by mainly Shi’ite demonstrators.

IT is too early to say we are witnessing the much-vaunted Arab Spring in the Middle East. The removal of Hosni Mubarak and Zine el-Abadine Ben Ali from power cannot be said to symbolise victories for democracy in Egypt, at least not at this stage. Instead, what we have seen are popular coups.

The season-opening race of the new Formula One campaign in Bahrain has today been officially called off.

Bahrain has ordered its military off the square in the capital that was the heart of an uprising against the Gulf nation's rulers, a key demand by the opposition for starting a dialogue in the political crisis.

At least four people were killed in Bahrain after riot police with tear gas and clubs drove protesters from a main square where they had demanded sweeping political change in this tiny kingdom.

Thousands of protesters poured into a main square in Bahrain’s capital today as the Arab push for change gripped the Gulf for the first time.

CREATING a sea of white robes, nearly three million Muslims converged on a rocky desert hill outside Mecca yesterday to perform the ritual of forgiveness marking the climax of the annual hajj.

An Irishman has been confirmed as being among the 57 people who drowned when a cruise ship capsized off the Bahraini coast last night.

A ferry carrying up to 150 people capsized and sank last night off the coast of Bahrain and at least 48 bodies have so far been recovered, officials said.

Thousands of Jordanians rallied in the capital and other cities shouting “Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!” a day after three deadly hotel bombings that killed at least 59 people.

HUNDREDS of angry Jordanians rallied last night outside one of three hotels attacked by suicide bombers, shouting “Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!”.

Bahraini authorities arrested several men in pre-dawn raids today alleging they have ties to al-Qaida.

BAHRAINIS turned out in large numbers yesterday for the first national elections in a Gulf Arab state allowing women to vote and run for office.

Voters have cast ballots in Bahrain’s first election for representative bodies in nearly 30 years, marking another step in the Gulf nation’s transformation from absolute monarchy to democracy - and the first time Bahraini women were allowed to vote and run for office.