Bahrain Urged to Free Prisoners of Conscience
23 July, 2012 – POMED

Amnesty International has urged the Bahraini government to free all prisoners of conscience following the crackdown of security forces on peaceful protests last Friday. Thousands of protesters continued to clash with police throughout the weekend in reaction to government plans to limit political marches. On July 24th, a court will consider the appeal of prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab against his three-month prison sentence on charges related to a post he made on Twitter. Hassiba Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Deputy Programme Director, condemned Rajab’s conviction and that of several Bahraini doctors, saying, “The charade of justice has gone on too long in Bahrain” and added, “All convictions against them should be quashed.”

Bahrain Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid al-Khawaja met with several Congressmen and senior government officials in Washington, D.C. over the weekend. Al-Khawaja discussed the “implementation of the recommendations of the Bahrain International Commission for Inquiry” with CIA Director David Petraeus and Senator John McCain (R – AZ). The interior minister also claimed that Bahrain was “on the path to democratic reform.” Additionally, Bahraini police announced the arrest of a “terrorism” suspect, accused of possession and production of “explosives for terrorist aims.” …more

Police Fire at 5 Years Old Child
23 July, 20120 – Bahrain Mirror

Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): In its crackdown campaign the riot police in Bahrain fired its bird gunshots at a five-year old child. The boy was shot in the chest and left eye. It happened in Dair village a suburb of Muharraq last Wednesday evening.

The child was transported to Salmaniya Hospital. It has not been revealed whether he had lost vision. His father said he was conscious but his injured eye could not see.

Activists who were with the child in the hospital said that they were banned from speaking to the child’s father about the incident after the instructions of officer Yousef Mulla Bkheit who is notorious for his torturing of the prisoners and assaulting them sexually.

The activists said that the family wanted to take the child to a private hospital, however, officer Bkheit refused. They said that the father’s body was full of bird shots pellets as well. They reported that police told him to move otherwise they would fire at him, when he turned to carry his child they fired on both of them.

The man who was still in shock said: “It didn’t occur to me they would fire at an old man and his little child, we were only selling fish”. He confirmed that they fired on them on purpose. They fired twice at them. The activists said that the father’s and child’s blood covered their fish box where they were selling fish at the side of the road.

The activists said the boy Ahmed Nahham was the youngest citizen whose eyes were fired at. Wefaq society called on the Human Rights organizations and groups to save Ahmed Nahham five-year old boy who was targeted by Bahrain police by bird gunshots along with his injured father who was with him during the incident.

Wefaq statement explained that Ahmed was from Dair village that suffered the savage barbaric attack
waged by the police. It added that police carried Ahmed away with them, nobody knew about his injury.

Pictures showed police taking Ahmed away. Wefaq said: that behaviour shows the regime way of dealing with the citizens as enemies entitled to be repressed, injured and murdered for demanding their rights. …source

Saudi forces wear Bahrain police uniforms: Al Wefaq leader
23 July, 2012 – PressTV

The leader of Bahrain’s main opposition party, Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, says Saudi forces wear Bahraini police uniforms in their crackdown on anti-regime protesters in Bahrain.

Sheikh Ali Salman, whose society is the biggest opposition group in Bahrain, noted that the Peninsula Shield Force uses Bahraini police uniform when cracking down on anti-government protesters.

The cleric emphasized that his group will never resort to arms and will continue peaceful protests.

Al-Wefaq has organized many anti-government demonstrations in Bahrain since the beginning of the revolution in February 2011. The Manama regime forces have been cracking down on the protests ever since.

Last Month, Sheikh Ali Salman was hit in the chest and shoulder by a rubber bullet and a tear gas canister on Friday, the movement said in a statement.

In mid-March 2011, Saudi Arabia deployed forces in Bahrain to help the regime in Manama crush anti-government demonstrations.

Protests have intensified in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom, with demonstrators demanding the downfall of the Al Khalifa regime.

According to human rights organization Amnesty International, scores of people have been killed during the protests.

Bahrainis hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the death and arrest of protesters.

Minister of Interior Lt-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa – the Minister holds meetings during official visit to US
19 July, 2012 – MOI

MOI:

During an official visit to the US, His Excellency Minister of Interior Lt-General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa held meetings with US government officials and members of the Senate as well as Congressmen over the last two days. He met CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus and FBI Director Robert Mueller. He also met Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Michael H. Posner in the presence of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs M. Brooke Darby and the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for the Arabian Gulf in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs as well as Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough.

HE the Minister also met a number of US senators including John McCain, head of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, in the presence of Joe Lieberman, Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, Daniel Inoyem, Ben Cardin and James Risch.

HE the Minister also met Congressman Peter King, Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security, Congressmen and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee Keith Ellison and Dana Rohrabacher, and Congressman and member of the Human Rights Committee Jim McGovern.

HE the Minister highlighted during his meetings the steps taken by Bahrain to deal with the incidents during the past months, including implementation of the recommendations of the final report of the Bahrain International Commission for Inquiry (BICI) set up through a national initiative by His Majesty the King.

HE the Minister affirmed that Bahrain had always led the way to a democratic approach since the launch of the comprehensive reforms project by HM the King more than ten years ago. He stressed that the incidents in Bahrain were not internal matters since they received outside support to escalate them to the level of violence and vandalism. This, he said, had led to death of innocent people and created fear among citizens and residents. “We understand that security and civil peace cannot be achieved by force or through violence and terror but through respect for the law and loyalty to the nation in order to achieve justice. This is a sign of wise governance by HM the King,” he said.

In this context, HE the Minister said that the investigations related to the seizure of five tonnes of explosives had shown that a number of them were ready to use and showed links between the suspects in the case and foreign parties.

He affirmed that the culture of violence was not part of the characteristics of Bahraini society and the main issue was the extremist approach through violence as the only means to achieve goals. “The strong national stance under the leadership of HM the King had protected the cohesion of the State and saved it from a real disaster and the damage it could have caused would be hard to predict,” he said.

He highlighted that during the crisis Bahrain had witnessed aggressive media attacks based on biased and far-from-objective reports and some international media resources had projected that what was happening in the country was a continuation of the Arab Spring. “This was proven to be baseless,” he said, and appreciated the BBC for its brave act of admitting to not being fair while covering the incidents of the last year. He added that this was the kind of stance Bahrain expected from prestigious international channels which claimed to bring the truth to the world.

HE the Minister also highlighted in detail the procedures adopted by the Ministry of Interior to carry out comprehensive reforms in response to the BICI recommendations. …more

Bahraini firms facing cyber attack threats
22 July, 2012 – Bahrain News

Bahraini businesses, which receive an average of 2,000 to 3,000 cyber threats per month, are unprepared in the event of a major IT security assault, according to experts in the kingdom.

National carrier Gulf Air, which saw disruptions to its corporate website as well as had its Facebook page hacked, told our sister publication the Gulf Daily News (GDN) that cyber crime is a serious threat to the aviation industry and large Bahraini companies, in particular.

“As a high-profile company and the kingdom’s national carrier, Gulf Air, like other large Bahraini companies, is a target and we take cyber crime extremely seriously,” said IT director Jassim Haji.

“The opportunity for large gains is fuelling the criminal underground, while ‘hacktivists’ looking to advance their agendas see penetrating networks as a great way to draw attention to their cause,” he added.

The airline has since stepped up security systems by building a disaster recovery centre located remotely from its headquarters, where all data is transferred and stored in real time.

Small and medium enterprises, however, are not so lucky.

“Small businesses are at great loss,” said Al Hilal Group networks specialist Sayed Alaa Al Marzooq Sayed.

“Some medium-sized companies have disaster recovery systems in order to back up data. It takes one or two days to restore the system. It costs a lot of time when all systems crash,” he said. “If you have no backup, you won’t be able to access information.”

Bahrain’s banking sector is also on high alert against any potential threat to its systems.

“We receive almost 2,000 to 3,000 threats per month,” said Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance senior IT support engineer Mohammed Abdulkareem.

“We carry security auditing of our system and we monitor them regularly besides providing for anti-virus protection. We advise our users not to view certain emails or open certain attachments,” he added.

Network security experts say most Bahrain-based users still fall for financial frauds on the Internet. “Previously, hackers would extract credit card details in one go. Now, they send you an email which sounds personal and proposes to transfer a certain amount of money,” Abdulkareem said.

He advised adopting a cautious approach towards using social networking websites as users usually from the opposite sex often extract vital financial and personal information.

“People don’t target credit cards now but go directly for bank statements. Many people in Bahrain have lost thousands of dinars,” he said. He also warned of the dangers of backdoor attacks from using shared networks.

“Free WiFi in cafŽs sometimes don’t belong to the cafŽ but to some other user,” Abdulkareem said. “If you access bank websites from the Internet, a packet will be copied and your information will be gleaned. Bahrain is not at all prepared. Only 20 per cent of companies are prepared.”

Gulf Air, meanwhile, said the government was stepping up its efforts to protect Bahrain’s businesses against cyber security lapses.

“There is an Internet crimes division at the Interior Ministry with whom we work very closely to ensure that all possible precautions are taken to safeguard Gulf Air’s corporate assets and reputation,” said Haji.

Security experts say the recent spate of attacks against Bahraini companies is because the country has come under the radar of foreign ‘hacktivist’ groups.

“People will always go where there’s the lowest risk,” forensics expert Tony Tesar said. “Developing countries and new markets, where defence capabilities are not established, always present opportunities.”

The cost of maintaining a team to constantly protect systems is much more than the damage caused by the threat, said Tesar who is security and risk management director at security firm RTI Limited.

“Bahrain has come under the radar of many hacktivist groups who have claimed responsibility for attacks carried out against high-profile institutions.”

Bahrain has been placed in the spotlight because of the unrest, Tesar added. “I think Bahrain is aware of the threat from cyber attacks and a lot of companies are putting defences in place, so they are employing companies half way across the world to do it for them.” …source

Iran: “common sense” can keep oil route open
23 July, 2012 – Al Akhbar

Iran would not close the Strait of Hormuz as long as it is able to use the vital shipping line itself, a military commander was quoted as saying on Monday, moderating threats by politicians to block the waterway as retaliation for sanctions.

“The enemies constantly state that the Islamic Republic of Iran intends to close the Strait of Hormuz but we say that common sense does not dictate that Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz as long as it makes use of it,” said Alireza Tangsiri, deputy naval commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, state news agency IRNA reported.

Iranian politicians and officials have often said Iran could block the strait – the neck of the Gulf through which 40 percent of the world’s seaborne oil exports passes – in response to sanctions or military action.

They have demanded the US and the European Union abandon crippling sanctions that are aimed at forcing the country to abandon its anti-American policies.

Any attempt to block the strait would risk a military response from the United States and Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told Reuters earlier this month Iran was unlikely to follow through on the threat unless its own vessels were denied use of the strait.

Iran’s parliament is debating a bill recommending the strait be closed in retaliation to a European Union embargo on Iranian oil which came into full effect this month. …more

Bahraini police fire tear gas on thousands of protesters
22 July, 2012 – Voice of Bahrain

Violent clashes erupted in Bahrain as thousands protested the government’s move to limit political marches. Police used tear gas and, reportedly, rubber bullets to disperse the crowd, which responded with firebombs.

Police were using tear gas against the crowds rallying in the Bahraini capital Manama and several other places, as the protests continued into the night.­

Demonstrations were aslo held in the villages of Diraz, Bilad al-Qadeem, and Musalla, where protesters called for the ouster of the royal al-Khalifa family. At least one protester was reportedly injured by riot police in Musalla.

The ruling elite want to ban anti-government marches to prevent the disruption to traffic and curb street violence, as at least 50 people have been killed in the country since February 2011.

The opposition described the move as a new attempt by the monarchy to silence it.

The kingdom has been engulfed by more than 17 months of clashes between the Sunni monarchy and kingdom’s Shiite majority protesters, who claim systematic discrimination.

The insurrection was originally crushed during a period of martial law, but unrest has continued with repeated clashes between riot police and youths who say the monarchy marginalizes them.

Sayed Hadi al-Mosawi, a member of the opposition who participated in the protests, told RT that Bahraini security forces are deliberately targeting protesters for killing.

“Anyone who is trying to participate in a protest in Bahrain could be in danger, because the riot police forces, they don’t care about people’s lives and they don’t even care of how they treat [the protesters],” he said. “They don’t just prevent you or warn you, they shoot at your body.”

Al-Mosawi says that the government is trying to completely strip people of their freedom of expression.

“They know very well that our protests and our marchers and gatherings are totally peaceful,” he said. “They know that thousands of people come to our protests and they come peacefully, participate peacefully and leave peacefully.” …more (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

Bahrain revolution has reached a milestone
Interview with Kamel Wazni – ABNA – 23 July, 2012

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – Anti-regime protesters once again took to streets in the capital on Sunday, demanding the release of all political activists and an end to the regime’s crackdown on anti-government demonstrators.

Protesters rallied in the streets of Sitra and Ma’ameer, renewing their calls for the regime’s downfall. They have also expressed solidarity with jailed Saudi cleric Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr, who has staged an open-ended hunger strike.

The rally turned violent after Bahraini security forces clashed with protesters, firing teargas canisters and rubber bullets.

At least 10 people were injured during the confrontation and several others arrested by the forces.

Thousands of anti-regime protesters have been staging regular demonstrations in the Persian Gulf island nation since mid-February 2011.

Protesters first demanded political reform and a constitutional monarchy, a plea that later changed to an outright call for the ouster of the ruling Al Khalifa regime following its brutal crackdown on peaceful protests.

We have conducted an interview with Kamel Wazni, political analyst, to further discuss the issue. The following is an approximate transcript of the interview.

Q: I’d like to ask you where you feel this revolution in Bahrain has reached at this point?

Wazni: I think it has reached a milestone because it has more involvement from every side within the country. The people are determined to carry through their legitimate demands. They will accept no less than their total new democratic system and the fall of the regime.

I think the people have the right to continue demonstrating because the level of crackdown and the crime that has been committed by the Al Khalifa family, by the Bahraini government against the people and they continue crackdown and imprisonment for innocent people obviously will not be tolerated for very long.

I think there is genuine feeling among those people on the street that they are willing to face the hardship as Sheikh [Isa] Ghasem said those people will not be weakened by this heavy crackdown and this criminal act by the government.

As we witnessed the people feel liberated at this point even the crackdown is heavier today than was before.

There is a lot of imprisonment and illegal imprisonment, doctors even children [have] been actually abducted and put in detention. These crimes has to be answered by the international community, has to be answered by the United States which actually gave the order to the Bahraini government to continue the crackdown because they have an interest in the American Fifth Fleet that actually sit on the Bahraini soil.

This is actually an occupation by the American of a free Bahrain.

Q: Mr. Wazni, how interconnected then are the protest movements in both Saudi Arabia and Bahrain?

Wazni: I think the same crime has been committed against those two people. We know that the Saudis sent their soldiers to crackdown against the Bahraini and those two populations [have] been discriminated against, [have] being marginalized by the Saudis and by the Bahrainis.

Today you have to put more the blame on the Saudis than on the Bahraini even the Bahraini are participant in this huge violation of human rights but the Saudis are sending their tanks and their weapons and they are using this heavy hand against the protesters whether is in Bahrain and whether it is in Saudi Arabia.

In Qatif, the arrest of Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr who is actually calling outright for another form of government, for another form of body to rule the country because for very long time now other people at the leadership, they have been calling for the same thing.

You cannot tolerate discrimination for very long time, you cannot tolerate abuse for very long time and you cannot tolerate imposed poverty for very long time. You have a country like Saudi Arabia which has a GDP of over 600 billion dollars and you have a lot of poverty and this poverty is designed by the government to keep the people in the eastern part to be impoverished because they belong to certain sects, so this is not acceptable any longer.

So there is a lot of similarity, the same abuses, the same ideology, this cannot be stand. I think that is why you see a lot of solidarity between the Bahraini and the people of Qatif and actually the Bahrainis [have] been demonstrating for the liberation of Sheikh Nemr al-Nemr.

…more

Canadians protest Saudi government, western backers
23 July, 2012 – Joshua Blakeney – Press TV, Calgary

Canadians took to the streets this weekend to protest the US-backed Saudi government. Activists drew attention to the human rights abuses against Shia minorities, criticizing Western governments for their lack of concern with what they called “Saudi Arabia’s abysmal human rights record.”
Canadians took to the streets this weekend to display their antipathy towards what they call the anti-democratic government of Saudi Arabia. Activists voiced concerns with the backing the Saudi monarchy receives from Western governments which regularly claim to be concerned with Human Rights and democracy in the Middle East.

Tthese activists refer to Saudi Arabia as a puppet state of the United States who they accuse of engaging in a divide and rule strategy in order to control the resources and destiny of the inhabitants of the region.

Many of the protesters were Shia Muslims who were particularly upset with the arrest and subsequent brutalization of the Saudi Shia cleric and human rights advocate Sheik Nemr.

Activists emphasized that they were keen to see Muslims unite to resist the attempts by the imperialist countries to foment sectarianism in the Middle East. Such ‘divide and rule’ policies, they say, are being exhibited currently in Syria where Israel, the United States, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are playing on confessional and ethnic differences in an attempt to weaken one of the more stable and prosperous countries in the region. …source

Bahraini protesters demand release of prisoners
23 July, 2012 – PressTV

Bahraini anti-regime protesters have held demonstrations in the northeastern island of Sitra and the western village of Karzakan to demand the release of prisoners.

The demonstrators on Sunday also called for the downfall of the Al Khalifa regime.

In Sitra, the Saudi-backed regime forces used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.

Similar demonstrations were also held in Manama on Sunday.

Anti-regime protests in Bahrain continue despite the heavy-handed crackdown by the regime forces.

Bahraini demonstrators hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the killing of the protesters during the uprising that began in February 2011. ….source

Saudi Authorities Detained Three Shiite Youngsters
Shia Post – 23 July, 2012

Saudi Wahhabi authorities arrested 3 Shia youngsters on charges of organizing the detonations and inciting violence against the security forces.

On Sunday, July 15, 2012, Saudi Wahhabi authorities arrested three Shiite youngsters “Ali Hussan al-Jaroudi, Hussain Taqi al-Jaroudi, Mohammad Ahmad al-Medan” on charges of organizing the detonations and inciting violence against the security forces.

Three Shiite youngsters were halted by a police check-point when they were returning home in Qatif from a vacation in al-Medina al-Munwarra.

The police found a photo of Sheikh Nemer al-Nemer on their mobiles.

The security police transferred them to the General Intelligence, Al-Mabahith Al-’Aamma of al-Medina al-Munwarra

Their families have no information about them . …source

Bahrain: Elderly Men Arrested for “Protecting Women” from Police
23 July, 2012 – by Amira Al Hussaini – Global Voices

The elderly are not immune to arrest for taking part in “unlicensed” protests in Bahrain, where demonstrations should be sanctioned by the state. According to netizens, two elderly men were arrested for “protecting women from the police” in the village of Karzakan.

Photojournalist Mazen Mahdi complains about the arrests. He tweets:

@MazenMahdi: The 2 elderly men they arrested in #karzakan yesterday .. Do they even know by arresting them they confirm targeting of right to assembly?

@MazenMahdi: The 2 represent no threat to national security .. They are not armed .. And they didn’t attack anyone

@MazenMahdi: Arresting them and calling them law breakers only make those holding them still as abusers of the law – ask Timoney :)

Abdulmajeed, an elderly man arrested in Bahrain reportedly for defending women

Abdulmajeed, an elderly man arrested in Bahrain reportedly for defending women. Photograph shared on Twitter by @yassmha

John Timoney is the former controversial Miami Department Chief (Google Timoney+Lexus), who is now a special security adviser in Bahrain. Netizens routinely use social media to vent off about the heavy-handedness of the security forces, sharing videos and photographs of the atrocities committed against protesters. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are the only means of sharing such stories as local news media outlets are either government owned or controlled – or heavily censored.

On Twitter, Mohamed Almakna shares a link to a video on YouTube showing the elderly men, named as Abdulmajeed and Mohammed, apparently arguing with armed and masked security forces. They are reportedly “defending women” [from harassment or arrest] in the village of Karzakan, before their own arrest.

Almakna tweets:

@Almakna: Video of arresting the elderly Abdulmajeed and Mohamed when they stood to defend women in Karzakan http://fb.me/1vNsVdhhB #Bahrain

He further explains:

@Almakna: News that the elderly Abdulmajeed has been arrested today! Abdulmajeed is one of the faces that are seen in all protests #Bahrain

@Almakna: Elderly Abdulmajeed is the true definition of “Steadfast” in cold or hot weather he’s always taking part of pro-freedom protests #Bahrain

At the time of writing this post, it is not known whether Abdulmajeed and Mohammed have been released.

Anti-government protests started in Bahrain on February 14, 2011. In March that same year, the movement was crushed when Saudi forces entered the country. Thousands of people, including professionals like doctors and teachers, were sacked from their jobs. Many of them were also jailed. The Pearl Roundabout, where the main protests were staged, was razed and a junction [which has been turned into a military zone which is still closed to traffic] was built in its place. Sporadic protests continue in villages and are attacked and contained by security forces. Almost 90 people have died in the unrest. …source

People power can make up for economic shortfall

Bahrain’s strength lies in human capital
By Jasim Ali – Gulf News – 21 July, 2012

Bahrain’s not so impressive credit ranking should be a cause of concern for authorities. Standard and Poor’s, a key credit rating agency, has assigned Bahrain the lowest ranking among fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

In fact, the credit rating of ‘BBB’ is the lowest investment rating. Still, of all GCC countries, only Bahrain is on S&P’s credit watch. What’s more is that the outlook for Bahrain remains negative.

The relatively poor rating by regional standards adds to an already alarming debt challenge. Outstanding public debt amounted to $7.7 billion in 2010, rising to $9.5 billion in 2011 and to $11.6 billion this year.

Whilst not statistically frightening, rising debt levels cannot be overlooked. The latest debt ratio accounts for around 43 per cent of the gross national product (GDP). The debt level comprised some 25 per cent of the GDP only three years ago.

Happily, the debt level remains below the psychologically significant mark of 60 per cent of GDP as stipulated by the Gulf Monetary Union (GMU) scheme. Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait are members of the GMU, which came into effect in 2010.

Remarkably disturbing, adverse effects of the current credit rating issue were on display recently whilst marketing fresh sovereign instruments. The country had to endure paying higher basis points above Libor than in the past to entice foreign interest in a $1.25 billion sovereign bond to help bridge a fiscal shortage.

Yet, there is the debacle of economic growth. Bahrain’s real GDP grew by a comfortable 4 per cent in 2010. In 2011, however, the growth level dropped to around 2.2 per cent, according to official statistics, and still lower to 1.8 per cent, as suggested by the International Monetary Fund.

The new growth figures are problematic for numerous reasons, including it being below the population growth rate. Still, the economy needs to grow to satisfactory levels to help address other problems, notably creating enough jobs for locals.

Nevertheless, there is evidence of promising developments, including the country’s ranking in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2012. The recently released report shows Bahrain’s ranking rising five positions to 41 globally. Only two GCC member states, Qatar and the UAE, outperform Bahrain on GII.

Not surprisingly, Bahrain’s strengths focus on human capital — sustained investments in training and education. In fact, this is a primary marketing point for Bahrain with regard to attracting foreign business. Certainly, this is no easy achievement as Bahrain needs to compete with giant regional economies. With a GDP of around $26 billion, Bahrain boasts the smallest economy in the region. For comparative purposes, values of the nominal GDPs of Saudi Arabia and the UAE amount to $633 billion and $357 billion respectively.

The hospitality industry for one should receive a boost following the opening of a new addition to Manama skyline in the next few years. I am referring to the 50-storey Four Seasons Hotel in the Bahrain Bay area of the capital. Happily, the area surrounding the upcoming skyscraper is undergoing major development in terms of infrastructure.

On a microeconomic level, the country has succeeded by virtue of being selected by Boston Analytics of the US to serve as its first branch in the Middle East. This is vital for Bahrain, not least for coming against a backdrop of exit and relocation of several financial institutions.

Bahrain has the capability to overcome its economic woes by leveraging its exceptional human resources.

The writer is a Member of Parliament in Bahrain. …source