Bahraini King's commitment to reform praised

Barack Obama has praised Bahrain's King Hamad bin Issa al Khalifa's "commitment to reform".

In response to continued protests in his kingdom, the king announced changes to his government this weekend, including replacing four ministers, two of which are part of the extended royal family.

One of protesters' main lines of complaint has been that the ruling house of Al Khalifa holds too much control over state levers of power.

The move has been welcomed by the US president, who said in a statement: "I welcome the announcement by King Hamad bin Issa al-Khalifa about making important changes to the cabinet and restating his commitment to reform."

Protesters have been camped in the island state's Pearl Square in the capital, Manama, for over two weeks, calling for reform to extend to having a genuinely democratically elected parliament.

One of the main points called for is the sacking of Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa ibn Salman al-Khalifa, the king's uncle, who has been in power for over 40 years.

Strategically Bahrain is an important ally for the US, as its Navy's Fifth Fleet is based there.