Kuwait (and Beyond) Live: Riot Police Break Up Protests

Protesters in Kuwait on Wednesday night (Photo: AFP)

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1445 GMT: Bahrain. As journalists convene to cover the Formula 1 race, the Bahraini police have detained a team of foreign journalists as well as a Bahraini reporter.

Just after 2:30 pm local time, an ITN news team, along with Bahraini journalist Naziha Saeed and their driver, were stopped at a checkpoint and taken to Budaiya police station.

This is hardly the first time foreign journalists have been detained inside Bahrain. It's unknown whether or not the journalists will be released soon.

1010 GMT: Libya

A Libyan passenger plane with about 150 passengers on board was hit as it prepared to land at Tripoli airport on Wednesday evening but sustained no major damage.

The Buraq Air Boeing 737 was a few miles (kms) from the capital's airport when the incident occurred.

It was not immediately clear whether the episode was accidental fire or an attack.

"As the plane prepared to land at Tripoli airport, it was hit on the bottom, in the lavatory at the front of the plane," a Buraq Air source said. "The plane landed safely afterwards."

A second airline source added: "We do not know exactly what happened but we believe this was accidental fire. Security at the airport has been stepped up and so far nothing suspicious has been found."

0620 GMT: Kuwait

Riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades on Wednesday night at an estimated 10,000 demonstrators,  protesting against authorities for raiding the house of a key opposition leader.

Several protesters were wounded in the clashes.

The police acted after Special Forces with assault rifles searched the home of former MP Mussallam al-Barrak, seeking to arrest him to serve a five-year prison term for insulting the Emir.

The crowd marched on a police station southwest of Kuwait City. Police pushed them back with tear gas and stun grenades, and protesters responded with fireworks and stones.

Barrak, who says he is prepared to go to prison at any time, had refused to turn himself in three times in the past two days because MInistry of Interior  officials failed to produce an original arrest warrant.

The former lawmaker described the raid on his house as a "cowardly action by the government" and said some of his relatives were beaten up and badly treated.

Kuwaiti courts have already sentenced at least 10 former opposition MPs and tweeters for insulting the Emir. The orders come amid moths of protests, challienging the Emir's amendment of electoral laws and calling for politial reforms.