Bahrain blaze injures 60

The authorities in Bahrain are investigating a fire which broke out in a shop on the first floor of a high-rise building in the capital, Manama, injuring sixty people.

The fire burned for two hours and damaged fifteen shops before it was brought under control.

Most of the injured suffered from smoke inhalation; others were hurt when they jumped from windows.

Bahrain has suffered a series of arson attacks since December 1994, when mainly Shi'ite Muslim activists began a campaign for reforms, including the restoration of parliament, which was dissolved by the the Sunni-led government in 1975.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service