The Bahraini government has banned all protests and public gatherings as violence between anti-government protesters and police intensifies.

The interior minister, Sheikh Rashid Al Khalifah, said protests would only be permitted once secuirty and stability were returned, and "repeated abuse" of the rights of freedom of speech and expression (ie. the protests), could not be tolerated.

The Vietnamese government has jailed two song writers for criticising government policy in their songs.

Tran Vu Anh Binh and Vo Minh Tri were jailed for six and four years respectively by a court in Ho Chi Minh City.

Their songs criticised China over the South China Sea dispute and Vietnam’s handling of the crisis.

Tensions between the Greek media and government escalated following the interruption of state television , ERT, broadcasts by a journalists’ union announcement.

A morning chat show was interrupted by an announcement condemning the recent suspension of two presenters who were seen as critical of the government.

A commander within the Basque separatist organisation, Eta, was arrested by French police 70km north of Lyon this weekend.

Izaskun Lesaka, who is believed to be the military commander of Eta, was arrested along side her boyfriend, Joseba Iturbe Otxoteka.

The operation was a joint venture by RAID, an elite French police unit, and the Spanish Civil Guard.

The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reshuffled his cabinet on Sunday, said to be the 'last reshuffle' of his term before the 2014 general elections.

Promoting younger members of the Congress Party that have been supported by Rahul Gandhi, the move has been seen as heavily influenced by Rahul, prompting speculation that he could be Congress' next working president or secretary general.

See here for analysis by Times of India.

Following SM Krishna's sudden departure on Friday from his role in the minister of external affairs, Salman Khurshid will take up the role.

In its editorial, The Hindu commented,

'The biggest upheavals have been in the ministries of External Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas. Salman Khurshid is a natural choice to fill the vacuum created by S.M. Krishna’s exit. Mr. Krishna may have been slow to get off the block but he leaves behind a Ministry that is focused and efficient and in whose performance he played no small role.

The United Nation has warned that their figure of 28,000 displaced is likely to rise, as refugees in several areas along the western coast are yet to be counted.

The UN’s Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Ashok Nigam, said that around 27,300 of the displaced are Muslim.

The bombing of a church in northern Nigeria on Sunday, has sparked reprisal attacks by angry Christian youths.

Eight people were killed, and over 100 people wounded, when a car packed with explosives was driven into St Rita's church in the Malali area of Kaduna.

A plan to expand a petrochemical plant in China’s Zhejiang province has been scrapped after protesting crowds gathered in Ningbo over several days.

Crowds opposed to the expansion clashed with police and thousands of protestors were dispersed by security forces on Saturday.

Iraqi Kurds from the UK have started a campaign for recognition of the mass-killing of Kurds in the 1980s and before as genocide.

Saddam Hussein’s regime killed over 180,000 Kurds in the northern region of Kurdistan, but the killing of Kurds by Arabs has occurred in the region since the 1960s.

An European delegation cancelled a planned trip to Iran, after their request to meeting two jailed activists was refused.