In Brief:One dead in Bahrain clash

Nicosia - One person was shot dead and several wounded in fresh clashes between demonstrators and security forces in Bahrain, in the worst violence for a month, according to diplomatic sources. The clashes erupted late on Thursday in the mostly Sh ia villages of Diraz, Beni Jamrah, Abu Sibaa, Barbar, Jid Hafs and Sanabes, on the road to Budaya, northwest of Manama.

The London-based newspaper Al-Hayat said the Bahraini authorities had freed more than 150 people arrested in clashes in December. Quoting Bahraini government sources, the paper said 400 people had been arrested last month. AFP