SHOWDOWN IN THE MIDDLE EAST

(Reuters) – Bahrain expelled two American rights activists Saturday after police used teargas and stun grenades to break up a protest Saturday that tried to march toward the roundabout at the center of a failed pro-democracy uprising last year.

Bahrain deported two American women Saturday accused of aiding anti-government activists after entering on tourist visas, officials and activists said.

Egyptian authorities have detained an Australian journalist and an American student on suspicion they had distributed cash to workers and incited them to take part in a strike demanding an end to army rule, the state news agency said.

The United States’ top general discussed an Egyptian crackdown on Western-funded pro-democracy groups with the head of the country’s ruling military council, as another two foreigners were arrested on charges of fomenting discontent on the first anniversary of Hosni Mubarak’s ousting.

An Iranian news agency reports that more than 30 million people in the country have lost access to foreign email services such as Gmail, Yahoo mail and Hotmail.

Saudi Arabia denied reports in Saudi media that it has formally presented a new resolution on Syria to the United Nations General Assembly, Saudi state news agency SPA cited an official at the foreign ministry as saying on Sunday.

The proposed revival would expand the mission to include monitors from non-Arab, Muslim nations and the United Nations, officials from the 22-member group said. Last month, the League pulled out its observer mission to Syria after it came under heavy criticism for failing to stop the bloodshed engulfing the country.

Gulf foreign ministers were meeting in Cairo on Sunday to consider new action to end Syria’s bloody 11-month crackdown on dissent, as fighting spread, even spilling over into Lebanon.

Islamist militants in southern Yemen executed early on Sunday three men they accused of giving the United States information used to carry out drone strikes in the area, a spokesman for the group said in a text message. Residents of the towns of Jaar and Azzan said two Saudis and one Yemeni Reported by Al Arabiya 48 minutes ago.

The U.S. is supporting a leading role for Turkey in organizing international pressure on Syria, as the two allies seek to build a coalition able to back the Syrian opposition movement and help broker an end to the violence.

The Arab League called on Sunday for the UN Security Council to send a joint UN-Arab peacekeeping mission to Syria and decided to scrap its own monitoring team, according to a resolution approved by ministers and obtained by Reuters.

A security official says al-Qaida-linked militants have publicly executed two Yemenis suspected of collaborating with the United States.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said Sunday he hoped the bloodshed in Syria could be stopped under a similar scenario to the one which saw Yemen President Ali Abdullah Saleh relinquish power.

An Egyptian security official says that authorities have arrested an Australian journalist and an American student accused of trying to bribe people to join a strike demanding a faster transition to civilian rule.

Libya has demanded the extradition of Saadi Gadhafi, the son of fallen dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Saadi, meanwhile, warned an uprising was brewing in Libya and said he could “return any time.”

Hezbollah on Sunday denounced the continuous crimes committed by the Bahraini regime against its people. “Bahraini Regime is escalating repression against its peaceful people, committing different crimes as it relies on a logistic and military.

The Obama administration has told Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that it doesn’t object to the formation of a new government under a deal between Abbas and Hamas

Reporters Without Borders has registered a series of freedom of information violations in Bahrain in the run-up to the first anniversary of the uprising in this Gulf kingdom on 14 February.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said that western pressures on Iran will reinforce Iranians’ resolve to pursue their rights, local satellite Press TV reported on Sunday.

Bahrain’s King Hamad dismissed the country’s opposition movement as disunited and said the threat of Iran had compelled him to call in foreign troops to crush protests.

Southern separatists in Yemen set fire to a tent camp housing anti-government protesters in the port city of Aden, witnesses said on Sunday, in opposition to an election this month.