Kuwait Feature: Youth Take Up Battle Against Bureaucracy (Dickinson)

Photo:Stephanie McGehee/ReutersThe story spread like wildfire among young Kuwaiti friends because everyone could remember a similar experience. A young man, trying to renew his passport and tired of waiting, called his friend, who in turn knew someone who could help.

That wasta, or connection, wasn't a high-level official or even a bureaucrat. It was the expatriate server who poured tea for employees at the passport office. Sure enough, with the waiter on board, more wasta followed, and suddenly, the renewal was rushed through.

The story may have been told in jest, but one of the most common grievances among young Kuwaitis is not jobs, health care, or even politics. It is the bureaucracy.

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Bahrain Analysis: Does Al Wefaq Still Lead the Opposition to the Regime? (Dickinson)

Protest in Manama on "Martyrs Day" on Monday

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"I appreciate how hard they have pushed for reform," she said in a café, in between homework assignments. "But sometimes Al Wefaq drives me crazy."

Jamana is not alone in her growing disgruntlement with the Shiite bloc and its allies.

Since long-running protests against the government intensified last year on the heels of upheavals in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world, the Al Wefaq-led opposition has taken pains to reiterate its support for the monarchy even as they call for political reform. Their peaceful, licensed marches have been supported by tens of thousands of Bahrainis. Two weeks ago, the head of Al Wefaq asked supporters not to chant anti-regime slogans.

As the kingdom's political stalemate has ground on, however, mounting frustration among once-moderate critics and opponents of the government has translated into growing support for groups whose goals and tactics are more extreme.

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Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Is Hunger Striker Alkhawaja Near Death?

A cameraman films Bahraini police surrounding the body of Salah Habib Abbas Alqattan, apparently slain by security forces --- near the end of the clip, a shot appears to be fired at him

See also Syria Wired: The Latest from Social Media and EA's Readers
Friday's Bahrain, Syria (and Beyond) Live Coverage: Protest Here, Protest There, Protest Everywhere?

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2228 GMT: We close today's coverage with two contrasting images from Bahrain....

Mohammed Hasan, a "fixer" for foreign journalists covering stories in the kingdom, has been released from detention after he was seized this morning:

But this photograph (Warning: Graphic) appears to confirm that protester Salah Habib Abbas Alqattan was killed by birdshot fired by security forces:

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