CAIRO — Egypt's long banned Muslim Brotherhood said today it intends to form a political party once democracy is established, as the country's new military rulers launched a panel of experts to amend the country's constitution enough to allow democratic elections later this year.

The panel is to draw up changes at a breakneck pace — within 10 days — to end the monopoly that ousted President Hosni Mubarak's ruling party once held, which it ensured through widespread election rigging.

The initial changes may not be enough for many in Egypt calling for the current constitution, now suspended by the military, to be thrown out completely and rewritten to ensure no one can once again establish autocratic rule. Two members on the panel said the next elected government could further change the document if it chooses.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Thousands of protesters in Bahrain are filling a main square in the Gulf nation's capital as Egypt-inspired demonstrations gripped the country for a second day.Security forces appeared to hold back as the crowds poured into Pearl Square in Manama. The dramatic move today comes just hours after a second protester died in clashes with police in the strategic island kingdom, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.Oppositions groups are calling for greater political freedoms and an end to the ruling Sunni monarchy's grip on key decisions and government posts. The nation's majority Shiites have long complained of discrimination.

SANAA, Yemen — Thousands of people marching for the ouster of Yemen's U.S.-allied president clashed today with police and government supporters, and at least three demonstrators were injured in a fifth straight day of Egypt-inspired protests.Police tried to disperse the demonstrators using tear gas, batons and stun guns, but about 3,000 protesters defiantly continued their march from Sanaa University toward the city center, chanting slogans against President Ali Abdullah Saleh, including “Down with the president's thugs!”The procession gained momentum with hundreds of students and rights activists joining along the way.The unrest comes as ties between the U.S. and Saleh have been growing recently over rising alarm in Washington about the activities of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

AMMAN, Jordan — Protest marches in Jordan will no longer need government permission, Jordan's interior minister said today, bowing to growing pressure to allow wider freedoms.In street protests in the past five weeks, Muslim opposition groups, their leftist allies and independent rights activists demanded the government remove restrictions on free speech and assembly.Jordan's King Abdullah II responded by promising changes to pertinent laws.Srour said today that protesters would still have to inform authorities of any gathering two days in advance to “ensure public safety” and that they would have to observe public order. However, he stressed that the government would no longer interfere in such matters.Opposition leader Hamza Mansour said the change was a step in the right direction. “We're still waiting to see changes made to the election law and to have early elections held based on the new bill,” added Mansour, the leader of the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood.