Muscat, Oman:
Omani authorities say they have released 57 people arrested in crackdowns against pro-reform protesters.
The announcement today is an apparent attempt to ease tensions after clashes with demonstrators demanding officials free the detainees. One protester died in the Friday unrest.
More than 100 people were arrested last week as authorities try to quell demonstrations pushing for more job opportunities and a greater political freedoms in the tightly ruled country.
The protest which began in late February are small compared with the upheavals in Gulf neighbor Bahrain and elsewhere in the Arab world but unprecedented for the sleepy sultanate.
Oman and Iran also share control of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the route for 40 percent of the world's oil tanker traffic.