Local Editor

At least one anti-government protester has been poisoned and killed in Bahrain after Saudi-backed Bahraini troops fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators demanding an end to the Al Khalifa rule.

The victim, 27-year-old Sayyed Jawad Ahmad Hashem, died on Wednesday after suffering tear gas inhalation two days earlier in the eastern island city of Sitra. Reports say scores of Bahrainis have gathered outside Ahmad Hashem's house to protest against the killing.

Thousands of anti-government protesters have been staging demonstrations in Bahrain since mid-February, demanding political reforms and a constitutional monarchy -- a demand that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa family following its brutal crackdown on popular protests.