Habib Toumi

Bahrain and Thailand have agreed to bolster their cooperation on food security, Islamic finance, education, culture and construction.

In a joint communiqué at the end of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s two-day visit to Manama, the two countries said that they had convergent ideas and views on bilateral and multilateral cooperation, the situation in the Middle East and on closer consultations and ties between the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (Asean).

In an interview with the local media, Vejjajiva said that Manama and Bangkok have agreed to set up a food stockpile and distribution centre in Bahrain that will serve the GCC region. The centre will initially be used for food products such as sugar and rice, but will later distribute larger items, including building materials and car parts. The supply food will not be confined to Bahrain and will be distributed in the other Gulf countries, he said.

“This is a region with substantial purchasing power and good growth prospects where we have matching of demand and supply on the issue of food and we feel we can contribute to food security in the region,” Vejjajiva said. A feasibility study will determine the amount of investment and how the centre will contribute to overall trade. “We will need up to six months to complete the study.”

Vejjajiva said that the centre would help boost trade figures between Thailand and the GCC countries. “Our preliminary anticipation is that we can increase trade by three or four times quite easily, because GCC countries actually import 90 per cent of their food stuff and we currently only participate with less than five per cent,” he said. Thailand expects the Gulf countries to help it with its energy requirements. Trade volume between Bahrain and Thailand stands at around $360 million. continue reading…

A US Navy radar aircraft with four crew members on board crashed into the Arabian Sea at around 2 pm on Wednesday, the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet said in a statement.

“An E-2C Hawkeye from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121 stationed aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) crashed at sea while operating in the North Arabian Sea,” the Navy said. “Three of the four crew members have been recovered and search and rescue efforts for the fourth crew member are currently underway.”

According to the Navy, the E-2C was returning from “conducting operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) from Afghanistan when the aircraft experienced mechanical malfunctions and the crew performed a controlled bailout.” continue reading…

Russian weapon firms, encouraged by news that the Gulf Cooperation Council countries are willing to spend more on defensive equipment, are optimistic of striking deals in the region, a senior military official has said.

Dmitry V Matveev, from the Federal Service for Military Technical Co-operation (FSMTC) of Russia, told Qatari daily Gulf Times that Russians “are as hopeful as ever before.”

Matveev, chief of the fourth department on military-technical co-operation with Foreign States, said that he felt there was room for doing more business in the Middle East and North African (Mena) region, notably in the GCC states.

Speaking at the Second Doha International Maritime and Defence Exhibition (Dimdex), he said that the level of defence awareness in the region was increasing considerably and that Russian skill, expertise and competitiveness had won praise from the region.The GCC states have gone on record on their keenness to increase their defence spending in view of their ever growing requirements, especially in the naval sector, he was reported as saying by the newspaper.

The Doha showcase features more than 150 international companies from 35 countries that specialise in maritime defense. continue reading…

Qatar is mulling an amendment to its investment law that allows up to 100% foreign ownership in certain commercial enterprises, a local daily reported on Wednesday.

“The Minister of Business and Trade may now issue a resolution to allow the foreign ownership limit to exceed 49% in the sectors of business consulting, technical services, information technology, distribution services and cultural, sports and leisure services,” Gulf Times said.

Outside investors have since 2000 been exempt from the 49% capital ownership rule only if they were involved in agriculture, manufacturing, health, tourism, development and exploitation of natural resources, energy or mining. continue reading…

The bitter standoff between conservatives and liberals in Bahrain is likely to deepen among news that a municipal council is pushing for the closing of restaurants and cafés at midnight.

According to a report in Al Ayam daily, Manama Municipal Council has suggested that all restaurants and cafés should close at midnight.

“The suggestion by the Manama council will be discussed by the other councils on Thursday and then submitted to the minister of municipalities for application,” the daily said.

“This decision will have highly negative effects on tourism and business and will severely limit Bahrain’s openness. There is serious concern that the move will impact public freedoms as extremist forces are gaining ground,” Al Ayam, a liberal newspaper, said.

Cafés have traditionally been an important component of Bahrain’s social life and live communication and confined to men. However, with the mushrooming of international brands in malls, a new café culture has gripped Bahrain and an increasingly large number of girls and women today sit in public cafés. continue reading…

Bahrain has contributed $1 million to recovery efforts in Haiti, the United Nations has said.

“Bahrain’s ambassador to the United Nations, Tawfeeq Al Mansoor presented a cheque of $ 1 million to United Nations Development programme (UNDP) Administrator Helen Clark as Bahrain’s contribution to recovery efforts in Haiti,” the United Nations Information Centre in Manama said. “UNDP will be using these funds for the Haiti Recovery Programme and the contribution will go to the UNDP Cash for Work Programme to help the people of Haiti.”

The cash-for-work programme is being used by the UNDP to boost recovery efforts in Haiti.

“It makes cash available to most needy Haitians, so they can purchase goods and services of their choosing at this time of crisis, thereby having a positive impact on the local economy whilst directly benefiting families,” the centre said. “Once enrolled, each person is hired for 24 working days. So far the project has put 75,916 Haitians to work: 62,213 who completed their 24 working-day cycle; and another 13,703 workers are currently enrolled in an ongoing cycle.”

Each worker is paid around $4.50 for six hour’s labour, slightly more than Haiti’s minimum wage. continue reading…

Gulf Air will increase flights to Iraq and Iran and will start flying to Alexandria and Aleppo from June 2010, the airline said on Tuesday.

Services to the Egyptian sea city of Alexandria will start on June 2 with four flights per week, while flights to Aleppo in Syria will begin on 17 June with three flights per week.

Gulf Air said that there would be additional flights and more capacity on key destinations as part of its new summer schedule.

Flights to Tehran, Shiraz and Mashad will be daily while Baghdad and Erbil will be served five times and three times weekly respectively.  The airline will also increase flights to Kuala Lumpur and will offer a daily service.

Gulf Air will also deploy larger aircraft on key destinations across the Levant region including Beirut to meet the expected strong seasonal demand. continue reading…

The poster announcing the concert

Thousands of music lovers in Bahrain have expressed disappointment after the sell-out concert of Saudi star Mohammad Abdoo scheduled for Tuesday evening in Manama was cancelled.

In a brief statement, the organizers of the Spring of Culture Festival said that the open-air concert in a historic fort, considered by most Bahrainis and Gulf nationals as the major event of the month-long celebrations, was cancelled after the star suffered health problems.

No details about the singer’s conditions were provided, but the organizers said that those who had bought tickets will have until April 6 to get their refund. continue reading…

A 23-year-old Kuwait woman was on Tuesday sentenced to death for causing a fire that killed 57 women and children attending a wedding party in a tent in Al Jahra, 45 kilometres west of Kuwait City.

Judges Adel Al Sagr, Ahmad Abu Al Amayem and Khalid Abdul Hadi said that Nasra Yusuf Mohammad Al Enezi was guilty of “premeditated fire” and “premeditated murder of the fire victims.”

The death sentence, if approved by the court of appeals and the supreme court, would be carried out by hanging.

Nasra, who was arrested on August 16, 2009, one day after the inferno, initially confessed that she had started the fire to exact revenge on her husband for taking a new wife and on her sisters-in-law for ruining her life. She said that her intention was not to kill, but to spoil the festivities in the tent set up near her husband’s family home.

She said that she took two taxis to reach the tent and that on the way she purchased a bottle of fuel from a petrol station.

However, she later retracted her confessions, and at the first hearing, she insisted that she was innocent and that she was at home when the fire broke out. Her earlier confessions were due to the initial shock she felt upon hearing the news on television, she said. Nasra later complained that she had been ill-treated at time and that she was pregnant when she was arrested and that she was forced to have an abortion.   continue reading…

Fatima Al Beloushi

More than 135 children suffered abuses in Bahrain in 2009, the social development minister has said.

“According to the records, 27 children did not receive any care, eight were abused psychologically, 32 abused physically and 70 abused sexually,” Dr Fatima Al Beloushi said.

The minister said that the promulgation of a law is an urgent necessity.

“A draft law is now being discussed at the Shura Council (upper chamber) and its focus on the state’s interest in protecting children and offering them proper care and the adequate conditions that will ensure them a healthy upbringing,” said Al Beloushi, the third woman minister to enter the cabinet. continue reading…