I. Headlines:
· PM orders probe into Isa Town Souq blaze incident.
· Discussion is to set up the Arab Human Rights Tribunal.
· Bahrain’s theatre construction stepped up.
II. Political:
Discussion is to set up the Arab Human Rights Tribunal.
The committee in charge of following up on the implementation of HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s proposal to set up an Arab Human Rights Tribunal held yesterday its second meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ General Court. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Foreign Ministry Undersecretary for Regional and GCC Affairs Mr. Hamad bin Ahmed Abdulaziz Al Amer. Representatives of the Social Development Ministry, the Justice and Islamic Affairs Ministry, the Constitutional Court, the Legislation and Legal Opinion Commission and the National Institution for Human Rights took part in the meeting.
III. Economic, Trade, Business:
PM orders probe into Isa Town Souq blaze incident.
A fire broke out on yesterday in the afternoon at the Isa Town Local Souq causing extensive damage to the shops and hundreds of makeshift vendors’ platforms. HRH Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa issued his urgent directives to set up a probe committee to investigate the blaze causes. HRH the Premier ordered the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the Ministry of Municipalities Affairs to assess the losses and damages and submit an urgent report.
BBK’s net profit hits $62m in H1.
Bahrain-based BBK, one of the leading retail and commercial bank, reported a net profit of BD23.3 million ($61.8 million) for the first six months of 2012 compared to BD23.1 million for the same period last year. Chairman of BBK Murad Ali Murad said that the bank stood through the financial crisis and has been recording a steady performance over years. He added that BBK is confident that it will continue its prominent performance in the future by adopting flexible strategies that acclimatize to changes in the market. Chief executive Abdulkarim Bucheery said that the bank has taken several initiatives during the year that enabled it to record these pleasant results.
Dr. Mirza attends BASEL Programme 2012.
Under the patronage of H.E. Minister of Energy and the Chairman of the National Oil & Gas Authority , Dr. Abdulhussain Ali Mirza, Bapco has recently opened the 3rd run of Bapco Scholars Enhanced Learning (BASEL) as part of Bapco’s ongoing support to the community and in line with Bahrain vision 2030. The event was opened by the Chief Executive, Mr.Gordon Smith with a five-day workshop.
IV. Social, Culture, Tourism, Environment:
Bahrain’s theatre construction stepped up.
Extra workers have been drafted in to ensure Bahrain’s first national theatre, a BD19 million waterfront facility near the Diplomatic Area, opens on schedule. Construction of the theatre has been going on for 12 months and is scheduled to be completed by mid-November. Spanning 11,669m, it will be able to accommodate more than 1,000 people and hopes to attract some of the world's top performers to the kingdom. It will be equipped to stage opera, drama, modern and classical dances and symphonic concerts, and features a flexible theatre. Minister of Works Essam Khalaf said work was going on round-the-clock and he revealed that nearly 700 people were now working on the project, including around 625 people during the day and another 70 at night.
Bahrain launches ad violations eService.
The Ministry of Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning joined forces yesterday with the eGovernment Authority (eGA) to launch the “View Advertisement Violations” eService on the eGovernment portal. Sawsan Hussain AlSaffar, the ministry’s Information Systems Directorate director, stated that the new eService enables advertisers, who are registered in the advertisement permits system, to view any existing violations; with an option of viewing or printing details. She also pointed that the eService listed under “Issue of Advertisement Permits” services will help advertisers in checking with various municipalities of any violations related to their advertisements.
V. Photo of the Day:
HRH the Premier Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa presiding over the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday, where the Minister of Works Engineer Essam Kahalf informed the Cabinet that 139 development projects (roads, sanitary networks and buildings projects) have been awarded in the first half of the year with the estimated cost of BD126.5 million. 15th June 2012 Al-Wasat.
Issued by:
Embassy of Malaysia,
MANAMA
16th July 2012