May 12, 2008 7:05 p.m. EST

Sandeep Singh Grewal - AHN Middle East Correspondent
Manama, Bahrain (AHN) - Hussain Al Qanber is a stranger in his own country, with no passport or documents. He is married to a Bahraini woman, but despite being a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) national he is still waiting to become a Bahraini citizen.

"My wife is a Bahraini, but I am not. I hold a Saudi passport which does not guarantee housing or education to my family here. My father has stayed in Bahrain for 50 years," Hussain told AHN.

(BCHR/IFEX) - The following is an abridged 3 May 2008 BCHR press release:

On World Press Freedom Day: A Report by a Regional Group Calls for Reforming the Media in Bahrain; The BCHR Calls for Discussing Report Findings and Implementing Its Recommendations

NGOs say five nations unfit to serve on UN rights body

AFP - Tuesday, May 6 11:53 pm

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Gabon, Bahrain, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zambia do not deserve a seat on the Human Rights Council, the United Nations' top rights body, two non-governmental organizations said Tuesday.

In a joint report, UN Watch and Freedom House, which champion human rights worldwide, lamented that Gabon and Zambia were guaranteed seats on the council because of a lack of competition from more democratic countries in their African group.

Bahrain hopeful of rights council seat
By MANDEEP SINGH
Published: 8th May 2008

BAHRAIN stands a good chance of being elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council, a top official said yesterday. "We have had a very good Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recently and in light of that, we have a bright chance," said Permanent Representative of Bahrain to UN Industrial Development Organisation, Geneva, Abdulla Abdullatif Abdulla.

He said Bahrain's UN team was campaigning for a seat on the council in both Geneva and New York

Jailed teachers 'may go on hunger strike'
By NOOR TOORANI
Published: 7th May 2008

FAMILIES of Bahraini teachers held in a Saudi jail for more than two months have claimed the men could resort to a hunger strike if they are not released soon.

Four of the eight teachers reportedly told their families they would take the drastic action when they visited them in the Riyadh prison last week.

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FREE TO SPEAK OUT
Published: 5th May 2008

MANAMA: Freedom of expression in Bahrain yesterday received a major boost as the amended law on Press and publications was approved.Chaired by Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Cabinet gave the green light to this important step as Bahrain joined hands with the international community to celebrate World Press Freedom Day.

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US hails Bahrain's anti-terror battle
By REBECCA TORR
Published: 5th May 2008

BAHRAIN is actively monitoring terrorist suspects, but its ability to detain and prosecute them is sometimes hampered by the country's legal constraints, according to a US Department of State report.

Bahrain Centre for Human Rights - March 2008.
The Kingdom of Bahrain is the first Arab country to have all its detainees released from Guantanamo. They were released as the result of a diplomatic and security agreement between the Bahraini and American authorities, but in reality this would have not taken place without the activity and continued pressure exerted by institutions of civil society, human rights organizations, the US law firm representing Bahraini detainees, a popular movement, and the parliament.

Pregnant wife's terrifying ordeal
By NOOR TOORANI
Published: 3rd May 2008

THE pregnant wife of one of eight Bahraini teachers arrested in Saudi Arabia two months ago is worried that her husband could miss the birth of their first child. Kawthar Yousif, the 20-year-old wife of Majeed Al Ghasra, is now five months pregnant.

She says she is terrified that her husband could still be behind bars when she goes into labour.

"I don't think I can do this without him," she told the GDN.

"If things keep going the way they are then I'm afraid he will miss the birth of our child."

http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/04/24/10208133.html

04/28/2008 08:10 AM | By Habib Toumi, Bahrain Bureau Chief

Adel Marzooq was deeply anguished, but the veteran columnist felt he had to write the painful truth: Bahrain is no longer the postcard image that he had known since his birth.

His homeland, regarded as one of the most peaceful places on earth, is turning into two antagonistic countries at the hands of its own sons and daughters stubbornly engaged in callous and immoral hostility over sectarian ideologies.