WORLD AT A GLANCE

Bahrain troops fire on demonstrators

The wave of pro-democracy demonstrations seems to be spreading across the Arab world, almost redefining the democratic norms on Arab nations. The people of Bahrain have joined the regional move for democracy by demanding the end of Bahrain's monarchy, reported the BBC.

By midnight Friday, it was reported that Bahraini security forces have opened fire on anti-government protesters, witnesses and Opposition activists said. The BBC reported: "The protesters were fired on after they had streamed into the centre of the capital Manama from the funerals of protesters killed in a security crackdown earlier this week.

Witnesses said the army fired live rounds and tear gas, and officials said at least 25 people had been hurt.

Many of the protesters are calling for the overthrow of the royal family.

Crown Prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa appeared on State TV on Friday to promise a national dialogue once calm has returned.

The prince, who is also deputy supreme commander of the army, called for everyone to withdraw from the streets."

Clashes in Libya

Deadly clashes erupted between anti-government protesters and police in the Libyan city of Benghazi. The wave of resentment has also spread to Libya.

Obama blamed for mishandling situation

US President Barack Obama was criticised by his opponents in the US for his handling of the growing wave of resentment in Arab countries.

"Quickest on the trigger were those Republicans harbouring presidential ambitions of their own. Newt Gingrich said the administration had been "amateurish"; John Bolton (yes, the strident former UN ambassador really is contemplating a presidential run) called the White House "hesitant, inconsistent, confused and just plain wrong", Tim Pawlenty said Obama's team had shown all the consistency of a "Tower of Babel".

Quite a few more objective analysts have also stormed into Tahrir Square with polemical guns blazing. In Newsweek Niall Ferguson, a British historian, declared that the president had presided over "a foreign-policy debacle".

Michael Scheuer, the former head of CIA operations against al-Qaeda, claimed that Osama bin Laden would be doing a "happy dance" at the spectacle of America pulling down a loyal ally. Marc Thiessen, a think-tanker at the American Enterprise Institute, said that an over-cautious Obama had failed to show the Egyptian street that America was on its side.

And Dimitri Simes, a distinguished former Kremlinologist, argued there was no need for the president to have thrown a friend off a cliff instead of hedging his bets as events unfolded: "After all," said Simes, "Egypt is not an American protectorate and the president need not act as if it were his prerogative or responsibility to shape events there.", stated The Economist on America's handling of the wave of pro-democracy protests in Arab nations.

Suicide bomb kills 11 in Afghanistan

A suicide car bomber has killed at least 11 people in the eastern Afghan city of Khost, BBC reported quoting police sources.

The attack, which targeted a police checkpoint in a crowded area of the city, left many wounded.

Police became suspicious and opened fire on the driver who blew himself up, provincial police chief Abdul-Hakim Isaqzai told the BBC.

The restive province, on the border with Pakistan, has long been a target for Taliban militants

German defence minister drops doctorate

German Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has temporarily renounced his doctorate title following accusations of plagiarism.

German media allege that several passages of his 2006 thesis were lifted from other people's work. The minister strongly denied the claims. He said there were undoubtedly mistakes and he was unhappy about them.

Chancellor Angela Merkel had offered to support him if he explained his actions and apologised, reports say.

But her chief spokesman Steffen Seibert made no comment on the defence minister's statement at a Berlin news conference, prompting journalists to walk out.

"I will temporarily, I repeat temporarily, give up my doctoral title," zu Guttenberg told reporters in his statement minutes earlier.

"My dissertation is not a work of plagiarism and I completely reject all such accusations," he said.