The man who foiled a Yemen-based al-Qaeda "underwear bomb" plot was a British man of Middle Eastern origin, according to US media.

UK officials declined to comment on the reports, but earlier this week the US said foreign agencies were involved in the operation.

The retrial of 20 Bahraini medics accused of aiding anti-government protesters has again been adjourned.

They were found guilty by a military tribunal last year and sentenced to up to 15 years in jail. But a retrial by a civilian court was ordered in October.

Newly released papers from Osama Bin Laden's hideout reveal a frustrated al-Qaeda leader struggling to control an unruly network, the US military says.

The documents seized during the raid on the Abbottabad compound were posted online by the research wing of the US military academy, West Point.

At least 20 people have been killed in Cairo in an attack on a protest near the Egyptian Ministry of Defence.

The unknown attackers used rocks, clubs, firebombs and shotguns. The protesters retaliated, beating some assailants.

Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel has won the Grand Prix in Bahrain while rage boiled beyond the track among protesters who say the ruling family that crushed Arab Spring demonstrations last year should not have hosted the race.

Egypt's state-owned gas company says it has scrapped a controversial deal which supplies Israel with 40% of its natural gas at lower than market prices.

Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) complained it had not been paid by the Israeli-Egyptian firm that buys gas from Egypt and sells it to Israel.