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Saudi Prince Alwaleed’s Alarab News Channel To Go Live On Feb 1

The Arabic language news channel, based in Bahrain, was initially slated to begin airing in end-2012.

Bahraini Telco Viva Eyes Data Growth As Per-User Call Income Falls

Voice calls accounted for 64 per cent of the operators’ revenues in 2013, data was 18 per cent, text messaging four per cent and subscription payments 14 per cent in Bahrain.

Bahrain Can Veto Qatar F1 Race, Says Formula One Boss Ecclestone

ahrain became the first Middle East country to host a grand prix in 2004 and Abu Dhabi followed in 2009.

Bahrain Activist Sentenced To Additional Jail Terms

Zainab al-Khawaja was also sentenced to three years in jail and fined 3,000 dinars in December for tearing up the king’s photograph.

Blast Near Manama Kills Bahraini, Wounds Expatriate

The attack was the second fatal one in the Gulf Arab state in two days.

Policeman Killed In “Terrorist” Attack In Bahrain – Interior Ministry

Police were investigating the attack in an area called Damistan, the ministry said in a statement.

Bahrain’s BMI Bank Says CEO Hazeem Resigns For Personal Reasons

Jamal al-Hazeem departure was “mutual and amicable” from the role he took up in 2010, the bank said.

UK Says Signs Deal To Expand Naval Presence In Bahrain

Under the agreement, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said onshore facilities at the Mina Salman Port in Bahrain would be improved.

Bahraini Activist Jailed And Fined For Tearing Up King’s Photo

Zainab al-Khawaja is the daughter of jailed activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja.

Bahrain’s GFH Plans Asset Manager Purchases With New Debt -CEO

GFH plans to acquire established regional companies to build a broader wealth management platform, rather than offer new business lines.

Bahrain To Develop Central Sharia Board For Islamic Banks

The central bank will introduce new sharia governance rules to expand the internal sharia review and audit functions.

Bahrain Activist Maryam Al-Khawaja Jailed In Absentia For Assault

Khawaja, director of advocacy at the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was detained in August and later freed on bail.

Bahrainis Vote In Second Round Of Parliamentary Election

Bahrain said participation in the first round was 53 per cent.

Bahrain’s Batelco Hires Citigroup To Sell Jordan Unit

The Bahraini telecom operator paid $416.2 million for a 96 per cent stake in Umniah in 2006.

Two Policemen Injured By Bomb At Shi’ite Village In Bahrain

The Interior Ministry said the explosion in the small Shi’ite village of Deraz, west of the capital Manama, was a “terror blast”, but provided no further details.

Bahrain Holds Elections, Shi’ite Opposition Boycotts Vote

Some 419 candidates are running, 266 for parliament and 153 for municipal councils in the Kingdom.

Best Western Opens Remote Bahrain Resort

The 44-room Hawar Resort Hotel is located 45 minutes by boat from Bahrain’s Al Dur jetty.

Bahrain Releases Pro-Democracy Activist Awaiting Trial

Zainab al-Khawaja fell foul of the judge last month during an appeal hearing into two cases.

Bahrain’s GFH Completes Capital Reduction Plan, Cuts Losses

Accumulated losses on GFH’s balance sheet had been reduced by $134.4 million under the measure.

Bahraini Fund Mumtalakat Launches $600m Seven-Year Sukuk

The sukuk pricing was last revised to 210 basis points, plus or minus five bps, over midswaps, after being marketed initially at 220 bps over the same benchmark guidance.

Bahrain Investment Firm Arcapita Completes $100m Fundraising

The money will help Arcapita to make investments in the Gulf region as well as in international markets including United States, Asia and Europe, it said in a statement.

Bahrain’s Mumtalakat Sets Initial Price Guidance For Up-To-$600m Sukuk

The firm has set initial price thoughts in the area of 237.5 basis points over midswaps for the sukuk, which is expected to price on Tuesday.

Bahraini Fund Mumtalakat To Price Benchmark-Sized Sukuk On Tuesday

Price indications have yet to be confirmed, the document said on Monday.

Saudi Arabia, UAE And Bahrain End Rift With Qatar, Return Ambassadors

The three countries withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar in March, accusing it of undermining their domestic security.

Bahrain’s Ahli United Bank Says IFC To Convert Debt Into Shares

The bank did not disclose how much debt would be converted, however 118.61 million new ordinary shares with a value of $0.8431 per share would be issued to IFC subject to regulatory approval.

Bahrain’s Gulf Finance House Swings To Q3 Profit

The firm suffered $3.2 million loss in the same period last year.

Aluminium Bahrain Q3 Profit Jumps 502%

The smelter made a third-quarter net profit of BD29.5 million ($78.25 million) in the three months to Sept. 30, up from BD4.9 million in the year-ago period.

Mumtalakat Hires Banks For Potential Dollar Sukuk Issue

Roadshows start in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday before moving to Singapore, Abu Dhabi and Dubai and closing in London on Nov. 17.

Bahrain’s Justice Ministry Ends Action Against Waad Opposition

The Justice Ministry in July asked a court to suspend the National Democratic Action Society, known as Waad, for three months.

Bahrain’s Flexible Visa Scheme To Boost Investments

Bahrain’s new visa policy is expected to boost the nation’s tourism sector and attract more investment to the local economy.