Bahrain committee submits reform proposals to king

MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) — Proposed reforms submitted to Bahrain's king Thursday seek to strengthen the power of parliament's lower house, the country's only elected body, after political unrest swept the Gulf island nation earlier this year.

The recommendations were drawn up by a government-sanctioned national dialogue committee created to address grievances that emerged during widespread anti-government protests that broke out in February after uprisings elsewhere in the Arab world.

The talks were supported by the United States, which uses Bahrain as the base for the Navy's 5th Fleet, Washington's main counterweight against Iran's influence in the oil-rich Gulf.

However, …