A man has been killed in Bahrain during overnight clashes with the security forces, activists say, a day before Sunday's F1 Grand Prix.

Officials said an investigation had been launched after his body was discovered in a Shia village near the capital, Manama.

Tens of thousands on Friday took part in at times violent protests demanding an end to the crackdown on dissent.

On Saturday, police fired tear gas to disperse new rallies, eyewitnesses say.

Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 boss, hit out at reporters asking him to comment on the country's worsening political crisis. "It's a lot of nonsense," he said. "You guys love it. What we really need is an earthquake or something like that now so you can write about that."

David Cameron was equally dismissive of demands for the race to be called off despite the Foreign Office advising F1 fans against going to the Grand Prix. He insisted it was "a matter for Formula One", adding, "Bahrain is not Syria – there is a process of reform underway".

Ed Milliband, however, backed the 17 MPs who signed a Commons motion warning that the race is being used by the Bahraini government as "an endorsement of its policies of suppression of dissent". He said: "I certainly think it is the case that, given the violence we have seen in Bahrain and given the human rights abuses, I don't believe the Grand Prix should go ahead."

The perceived insensitivity of Formula One's drivers and executives angered opposition groups, who have borne the brunt of more than a year of state-sanctioned violent clashes which have left more than 50 dead and thousands tortured, imprisoned and sacked for speaking out against the monarchy.

Crowds of masked protesters hurled petrol bombs at Bahrain police who fired tear gas back yesterday, turning the streets into a conflict zone on the eve of a Formula One Grand Prix that demonstrators say glorifies a repressive government. Around 7,000 marchers held banners calling for democratic reforms as riot police beat up protesters.

Bahrain's government has spent £25m to host the global sporting event, hoping to demonstrate that normal life has returned to the Gulf island kingdom, after it cracked down harshly on Arab Spring demonstrations last year. But vivid televised images of smoke and rubble-filled streets threaten to embarrass Formula One and the global brands that lavish it with sponsorship.

Protesters were outraged at the death of one of their number, whose bullet-ridden body was found sprawled on a village rooftop early yesterday after clashes with police. Opposition activists said Salah Abbas Habib, 36, was one of a group of protesters beaten and shot at by police on Friday in the Shia village of Shakhura, around five miles west of the capital, Manama. 

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/violent-clashes-as-bahrains-democracy-protests-escalate-7668403.html

Bahrain has deported a group of journalists and producers for Britain's Channel 4 News after the controversial Formula One Grand Prix.

Bahrain's government spent millions of dollars to host the global sporting event, hoping to show that normal life had returned to the Gulf kingdom after it cracked down on demonstrations last year.

But vivid TV images of masked youths hurling petrol bombs and police firing teargas cast a shadow over the event.

The protesters, mostly from the majority Shiite Muslim community, blame the Sunni ruling elite for shutting them out of opportunities, jobs and housing.

One protester died over the weekend in the Shiite village of Shakhura. Bahrain's interior ministry called the death suspicious and said was under investigation.

The Channel 4 News crew were arrested while covering a series of protests after the completion of the race.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-23/bahrain-deports-british-journalists-after-grand-prix/3967452

King Hamad of Bahrain has accused foreign media of exaggerating unrest and inciting violence in the Gulf Arab state after it hosted a Formula One race last month that turned into a public relations headache.

"It is quite clear that Bahrain has been targeted by purposeful, willful campaigns in some foreign media that sought to distort true facts, instigate violence, sabotage, hatred and hostility among citizens in our united nation," the king said in a speech carried by the state news agency BNA marking the International Day for Freedom of the Press on Wednesday. 

He gave no details on which media he was referring to, but said Bahrain would assure freedom of expression. 

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/05/20125220628139601.html

See toon at top...