NEWS OF THE DAY
1 Opposition leader held: A lawyer for the leader of Bahrain’s largest Shiite opposition group said Sunday that Sheikh Ali Salman is being held by the Interior Ministry, which is accusing him of inciting hatred against the government and calling for its overthrow by force. Scattered clashes broke out Sunday evening in the capital, Manama, between protesters and government forces after the al-Wefaq group said its secretary general, Salman, was detained by investigators after more than 12 hours of questioning without his lawyer. The Interior Ministry says Salman’s case is being referred to public prosecutors, and he could next face official charges.
2 Reversal on wages: Saudi Arabia is not planning to trim public salaries, wages and allowances, state-run media reported Sunday, just days after an earlier government statement said efforts were being made to reduce such expenditures in the face of a nearly $39 billion deficit that is largely due to falling oil prices.
3 Ships collide: A Turkish cargo ship collided with another merchant vessel and sank near a foggy Italian port in the northern Adriatic on Sunday, killing two crew members and leaving four others missing in cold, rough seas, officials said. Coast Guard Cmdr. Franco Maltese said six crew members were initially rescued and brought to the port of Marina di Ravenna; one of those rescued later died in the hospital. The search for the four still missing was suspended due to darkness. No one was hurt aboard the other ship, which was still seaworthy.
4 Movie banned: Egypt on Sunday said it banned Ridley Scott’s biblical epic “Exodus: Gods & Kings” because the Hollywood blockbuster distorts Egypt’s history and presents a “racist” image of Jews. The Culture Ministry said the film put forth a reading of Egypt’s history that is at odds with the story of Moses told by the world’s monotheistic religions. Egypt is a conservative country with a Muslim majority and a sizable Christian minority. Censors objected to the “intentional gross historical fallacies that offend Egypt and its pharaonic ancient history in yet another attempt to Judaize Egyptian civilization, which confirms the international Zionist fingerprints all over the film,” the statement said.
5 Croatian election: The liberal incumbent and a conservative rival are heading for a showdown in a runoff presidential election in Croatia, according to the partial count of the Sunday poll, held amid severe economic woes in the EU’s newest member. Current President Ivo Josipovic, who is backed by the centerleft government, held a slight lead with 39 percent over opposition candidate Kolinda Grabar-Kitarevic at around 36 percent, early results released by the election authorities showed. Two other candidates were far behind. Since no one took more than half of the votes, a runoff will be held in two weeks. The vote is seen as a test for the centerleft government, which faces criticism over a bad economy more than one year after the country joined the European Union.