8th October 2013

BAHRAIN MEDIA ROUNDUP

Formula One teams relaxed about Bahrain tests
Formula One teams say they have no qualms about scheduling crucial preseason tests in Bahrain next February after the restive Gulf kingdom's grand prix went ahead without incident this year. The 2011 race had to be cancelled, due to civil unrest and the crushing of an anti-government uprising that cost at least 35 lives, and some rights activists have since urged teams and sponsors to stay away. Teams have argued in their defense that Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone draws up the calendar and they are contractually obliged to race wherever he decides. Read More al-Ahsa oasis, which together with Qatif is the main center of Shiite settlement in Saudi Arabia. In these towns and surrounding villages, some side streets have no pavement, old city centers are decaying, and youth unemployment is high. For decades, Shiites have also complained of sectarian discrimination in religious practices, government employment, and the judicial system, all of which contributes to the feeling that they are being treated like second-class citizens. Read More

You Won't Believe Bahrain's Pathetic Excuse For Locking Up These Peaceful Protesters
On Sunday, a Bahraini court sentenced 50 protesters to prison for allegedly spying for Iran and planning vandalism and rioting to further support the Iranian government. The 50 convicts, who were sentenced to anywhere from 5 to 15 years of imprisonment, were involved with 14 February Coalition, an opposition group that plans protests online. Since the start of

protests in February 2011, political activists and human rights defenders have continuously protested for democracy and human rights in Bahrain. Subsequently, the Bahraini monarchy has become persistent in removing such voices from social media and the streets and forcing the activists into prison. The Bahraini court based its evidence on extracted confessions gathered while the activists were detained. According to Amnesty International, Bahraini authorities allegedly used torture methods such as electric shock to gain information. Read More Joint Chiefs of Staff of an American plan to destabilize Bahrain and Egypt had been fabricated. The Bahraini Communications Ministry denied reports in the Gulf Arab kingdoms media that quoted [Ret.] Gen. Hugh Shelton as saying that Washington was working against the regimes in Cairo and Manama, Middle East Newsline reported. Read More

The Sectarian Gulf vs. the Arab Spring

I rst visited the Eastern Province in 2008 while on a eldwork trip. Traveling on a railroad built by the Americans for King Abdulaziz al Saud, the founder of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as a favor in return for the right to explore Saudi oil reserves, I left the shiny skyscrapers and crowded streets of the capital Riyadh and arrived in Hofuf in the

Bahrain, U.S. embassy deny reports of statements attributed to Gen. Shelton

Bahrain has denied a report in its state-controlled media that the United States was plotting against Arab governments. The Manama government said remarks attributed to a former U.S. chairman of the

Plots against GCC bound to fail, Bahrain PM says

Bahrains Prime Minister has reiterated the signicance of the Gulf union in bolstering achievements and success stories in the region. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has succeeded in becoming an outstandingly robust and

highly signicant entity that is capable of defeating all conspiracies against it, thanks to the awareness of its people, Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa said. The Gulf union remains the most effective means to protect and increase Gulf accomplishments and gains, the prime minister, one of the most prominent champions of the union between the GCC countries, Read More