Bahrainis protest at palace while cabinet meets

A large number of people protested outside the palace where Bahrain's cabinet was meeting Sunday, the first time a protest had been allowed at the site.

Protesters chanted slogans calling for the downfall of Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa, many waving one-dinar bills to criticize his purchase of the Bahrain Financial Harbour development for that amount in 2005.

The protest, which lasted about two and a half hours, was peaceful and broke up before the cabinet meeting ended.

There was no immediate comment from the government or Bahrain Economic Development agency.

Anti-government demonstrators continue to camp out in Bahrain's Pearl Roundabout, where seven people died when security tried to clear the area.

More than 500 people have been injured in Bahrain since the protest began in mid-February as part of a wave of popular unrest crashing through the Arab world, according to human rights activists.

A few dozen of those injured remain in the hospital. Four of them are in serious condition, said Nabeel Rajab, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.

Protesters initially took to the streets of Manama to demand reform and the introduction of a constitutional monarchy.

But some are now calling for the removal of the royal family, which has led the Persian Gulf state since the 18th century.

Young members of the country's Shiite Muslim majority have staged protests in recent years to complain about discrimination, unemployment and corruption, issues they say the country's Sunni rulers have done little to address.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights said authorities launched a clampdown on dissent in 2010. It accused the government of torturing some human rights activists