Bahrain doles out money to families, Latest appeasement comes as activists call for protests to demand political, social and economic reforms
Ahead of protests planned to take place in Bahrain next week, the nation's king has said he will give 1,000 dinars ($2,650) to each Bahraini family. Friday's announcement on state media came as the latest step that Sunni rulers have taken to appease the majority Shia public. Activists have called for protests in Bahrain, starting from Monday, to demand political, social and economic reforms. The demonstrations will coincide with the tenth anniversary of Bahrain's constitution. Although most analysts do not see any immediate risk of revolt after popular uprisings toppled the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt, the small island nation is considered the most vulnerable to unrest among Gulf Arab countries. The Bahraini government has made several concessions in recent weeks, such as higher social spending and offering to release some minors arrested during a security crackdown against some Shi'ite groups last August.