A group of political dissidents charged with plotting against the government of Bahrain are stonewalling the prosecution by refusing to cooperate with state-appointed lawyers after their own legal team withdrew in protest over the authorities' refusal to investigate torture claims.

On Thursday, the trial for 25 dissidents accused of terrorism was adjourned until Jan. 6 after the state-appointed lawyers told the court they could not do their job without their clients' cooperation, according to organizations following the case. Local media has been barred from covering the trial.

The trial has become the most visible symbol of the Sunni monarchy's crackdown against the largely Shiite opposition, which has sparked riots and led to the arrest of hundreds of people since it was launched in the months leading up to the October parliamentary elections.

Bahrain, a close ally of the United States and host to the Navy's Fifth Fleet, has come under heavy criticism from local and international human rights organizations, which have accused authorities of torturing the defendants on the pretext of trumped-up charges.

Arabian peninsula states have adopted a conciliatory tone on Iran a little over a week after U.S. diplomatic cables released by the watchdog site WikiLeaks appeared to show serious anxiety among Arab leaders over Tehran's growing power, and even enthusiasm in some corners (and at certain points) for a military attack on its controversial nuclear program.

Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary-General Abdul Rahman Atiyyah stopped short of an outright repudiation, but he described the content of the leaked cables as "guesses or analyses that can hit or miss" and that "generated misunderstandings," according to the Abu Dhabi-based National newspaper.

The council wrapped up a two-day summit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday, gently calling on Iran to cooperate with the international community over its nuclear program in order to end sanctions against Tehran. The closing statement also reiterated Arab support for Iran's right to a peaceful nuclear program.

Animal rights activists are speaking out against the treatment of millions of animals that will be killed and eaten during the Eid al Adha holiday, as suppliers and butchers are accused of ignoring religious edicts on humane slaughter.

On Friday, an Australian animal rights group reiterated its call for the Australian government to stop the sale of livestock to the Middle East after activists documented sheep in Kuwait and Bahrain allegedly being subjected to brutal treatment.

Australia is one of the largest exporters of livestock to the region, with trade totaling $297 million in 2009, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The group has already succeeded in banning livestock export to Egypt.

"In the same way that Christmas has become the peak time of animal suffering in the West with vast numbers of factory farmed animals slaughtered for Christmas celebrations, the Festival of Sacrifice is the worst time of animal suffering throughout the Middle East," the Animals Australia campaign homepage read.

A recent report in the Egyptian newspaper the Daily News featured butchers who admitted to ignoring Islamic hilal methods of slaughter in order to meet the high demand for meat. 

"Islam has put regulations for the slaughtering process ensuring that the animal is well treated before, during and after slaughtering and those who defy these rules are punished," Sheik Saber Taalab, former member of the Islamic Research Center in Cairo, told the paper.

Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates are in the market for some fancy new war toys, and the United States is more than willing to beef up the militaries of its Arab allies in the Persian Gulf as Washington weighs the possibility of a showdown with Iran.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which operates under the Pentagon, last week announced that the two Arab gulf states had requested long-range missiles to help counter "major regional threats."

The proposed deal comes on the heels of a recent $60-billion U.S. arms sale to neighboring Saudi Arabia.

"Saudi Arabia and the UAE have already made very large purchases of what is typically considered a classic defensive system," Kenneth Wise, an expert with the Dubai-based B'huth research center, told Babylon & Beyond. "But I always say you can kill someone with a shield."

Pro-government groups may have retained control of Bahrain's legislature in last weekend's parliamentary runoff, but the victory continues to be shadowed by allegations that security forces brutally tortured at least 25 opposition activists arrested in the run-up to the election.

Last Thursday, members of the group -- bloggers, government critics, political activists and religious leaders -- made their first appearances in court, where they testified to having endured threats and abuse at the hands of authorities.

Abduljalil Al Singace, from the opposition Shiite political society Haq, told the court he was beaten severely for weeks on end and that interrogators threatened to rape his wife, daughters and sister.

"I was beaten on my ears, my crutches were taken away and I was forced to stand for long periods of time in a basement under the National Security Apparatus building," he said, according to a transcript provided by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. "They opened the door so I could hear the others being tortured, and this went on every night after midnight and until sunrise."

It's their biggest dream to perform live in concert but they doubt Bahrain is ready for two girls jamming and playing rock and heavy metal on stage.

So at night, 30-year-old "Emz" and 23-year-old "Dyaz", who make up the duo of the Bahraini band Scarlet Tear, bring out the guitar and jam in secret at home.

The next morning, the nose piercings come off and jeans and casual T-shirts are exchanged for slick corporate wear and BlackBerries at work.

Step by step they hope to become Bahrain's first recognized all-female rock band, fighting the taboo and stigma surrounding their music genre and non-mainstream female musicians in their country.

"We want to prove to people that if girls want to do something they can, especially if they put their mind into it. We want to be the first out there and influence others to do the same. If you like something, go along with it and do it," Emz told Babylon & Beyond over the phone from Bahrain. She says that there are no non-mainstream female musicians in Bahrain who publicly announce that they play music.

Customers logging on to El Asira, a website selling sexual enhancement products, will soon discover that it's not your average online sex shop.

Suggestive images of naked women and men and advertisements for raunchy sex toys are absent. And just like mosques, the shop is gender segregated -- women log in to the left and men to the right.

Welcome to the world's first online halal sex shop specially designed for Muslim couples looking to spice up their marriage while adhering to Islamic principles. 

Nine men dressed in women's clothing were arrested on New Year's Eve in the discotheque of a Manama, Bahrain, hotel and charged with public debauchery, the United Arab Emirates' Gulf News reported this week.

Police reports cited by the paper said the men were "heavily made up and wearing provocative outfits" while soliciting fellow patrons. 

The reports said the men were from different Arab countries but did not specify their nationalities.

The paper noted that Bahrain has been seeking to crackdown on perceived homosexual behavior, which is illegal in the Persian Gulf nations, by introducing tougher immigration measures and prompt deportations.

Linking immigration and homosexuality is not unusual in countries where homosexuality is banned. Conservative governments often justify such discriminatory measures as a necessary protection against corrupting foreign influences.

A proposal by a conservative Bahraini political bloc to ban women from four countries from entering the country did not make the grade among Bahraini lawmakers but raised quite a few eyebrows when it was offered up.

The conservative Al Asala bloc proposed that Bahraini authorities stop issuing visas to Russian, Thai, Ethiopian, and Chinese women as part ongoing efforts to combat prostitution.

The small island kingdom began stepping up measures to curb prostitution last summer, rounding up and deporting scores of alleged prostitutes and banning one and two-star hotels from selling alcohol to prevent cheap flophouses from turning into brothels. 

Intensified efforts to put an end to prostitution in the relatively freewheeling island came shortly after a popular men's website listed Manama, Bahrain's capital, as one of the world's "top 10 cities to pursue vice and debauchery."

But despite the concern among some Bahraini parliamentarians including Adel Maawdah, who thinks prostitution is so widespread there that his country is turning into the "brothel of the Gulf," the controversial proposal was short-lived in the parliament.

Having long touted neutrality and moderation in world affairs, Switzerland is now being accused of fanning the flames of religious extremism by voting in a referendum to outlaw the building of mosque minarets.

Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi, long accused of supporting militant groups throughout the Middle East, says the Swiss are now supporting terrorism, at least indirectly.

The famously long-winded Kadafi spoke for 78 minutes this weekend on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his rule, according to Libyan television, which carried the speech live. 

Kadafi said the vote late last month will help Osama bin Laden recruit associates.

"Switzerland has done the so-called Al Qaeda, or the terrorists, the biggest favor," he said.

The referendum results already have sparked an uproar in Europe, and condemnations in Iran and Egypt. 

Now concern about the referendum is emerging as a major issue in the Middle East. 

Just two months after Dubai unveiled its plush metro system, Qatar announced it will build its own multibillion-dollar railway that will include a local metro in Doha, its capital, as well as freight and passenger trains to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia via the world's longest causeway.

The railway is expected to cost $25 billion and be completed by 2026, but officials are eager to have sections up and running by 2022, when Qatar hopes to host the World Cup, Reuters reported.

The deal between Qatari Diar, a real estate investment company owned by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, and the German transport company Deutsche Bahn was announced today. 

The contract comes against a background of increased spending on rail projects by the oil-rich Arab gulf states that is expected to exceed $100 billion.

-- Meris Lutz in Beirut

Photo: The west bay of Doha, Qatar. Credit: wikimedia commons