The United States Wednesday called on Bahrain to punish those guilty of human rights abuses in anti-government violence this year, and said it would closely follow its ally's actions.

The statement followed the publication of a special independent commission report in Bahrain that found police used "excessive force" and tortured detainees in a crackdown on the Shiite-led democracy protests in March.

U.S. President Barack Obama urged Yemen on Wednesday to immediately implement a deal under which President Ali Abdullah Saleh has agreed to hand over power after 33 years in office.

"The United States will continue to stand by the Yemeni people as they embark on this historic transition," Obama said in a written statement.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal on Wednesday accused Iran of continuing to interfere in neighboring Gulf states, warning that its nuclear program could pose a threat to regional security.

In a ministerial meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Faisal spoke of "continued Iranian meddling in the internal affairs of the countries of the region."

France will ask its EU partners to consider setting up humanitarian corridors in Syria, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Thursday after talks with Burhan Ghalioun, head of the opposition Syrian National Council.

Juppe said France considered the SNC a "legitimate interlocutor" and he would take to Brussels the idea of protected escape routes for Syrian civilians fleeing the crackdown of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

The grand imam of Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's highest seat of learning, called on Egyptian police on Wednesday not to shoot at protesters demanding democratic change as four more people died in clashes.

As thousands rallied for a fifth straight day in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, epicenter of the Arab Spring uprising which overthrew veteran president Hosni Mubarak in February, an opinion poll found that 43 percent of Egyptians thought the ruling military was trying to slow down or reverse its gains.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah signed a deal on Wednesday to hand over his powers after 33 years in office which Saudi King Abdullah hailed as marking a "new page" in the impoverished country's history.

Live footage of the ceremony aired by Saudi state television showed Saleh ink the Gulf- and U.N.-brokered agreement in Riyadh's Al-Yamama royal palace watched over by members of the Yemeni opposition as well as King Abdullah and Gulf foreign ministers.

A new government line-up in Tripoli drew praise from Washington Wednesday as a "significant step" towards democracy but barbs from Libya's regions highlighted the challenge of unity after 42 years of dictatorship.

Areas of the vast desert country that played major roles in the eight-month uprising which overthrew Moammar Gadhafi's regime complained of "marginalization" in the long-awaited interim cabinet unveiled late on Tuesday.

Bahrain's king vowed reforms on Wednesday after a commission of inquiry found that his security forces used "excessive force" and tortured detainees in a March crackdown on Shiite-led protests.

King Hamad commissioned the report to investigate allegations of government misconduct and human rights abuses against protesters, democracy activists, and opposition figures.

Libya has priority to try the most prominent son of deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi, International Criminal Court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said on Wednesday.

On an official visit to Tripoli, Moreno-Ocampo said Libya had every right to try Seif al-Islam, arrested last week.

Three more people died in Cairo on Wednesday, a medic said, as violence which has killed dozens raged into a fifth day despite promises by Egypt's military ruler to speed up the transition to democracy.

Clashes broke out in Mohammed Mahmoud street, just off Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, where thousands of protesters rallied again on Wednesday to demand an immediate end to military rule.