Saudi, UAE, Kuwait vow to avert Bahrain debt crisis

Arab News
June 28, 2018

Jeddah, Jun 28: Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait stepped in on Wednesday with pledges of financial support to avert a debt crisis in Bahrain.

The three Gulf allies said they were in discussions on an aid package and other options “to enable the kingdom of Bahrain to support its economic reforms and fiscal stability.”

The promise of support immediately eased fears that Manama may be unable to redeem a $750 million Islamic bond that will mature in November, and the dinar rose in value against the US dollar.

“We believe the package will include various measures to directly bolster Bahrain’s short-term financial position, which in turn will also be critical for restoring Bahraini access to the foreign debt capital market,” Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, told Arab News. 

“This will probably include GCC deposits with the Central Bank of Bahrain, alongside support for key projects in Bahrain.”

Bahrain’s bonds and currency have come under mounting pressure in recent days, amid concern at the state of the country’s finances, which have been hit hard by the fall in oil prices since 2014. 

Leading analysts told Arab News that support for Bahrain made both political and economic sense. Dr. Hamdan Al-Shehri, a Saudi political analyst and international-relations scholar in Riyadh, said Saudi Arabia had always stood “like a rock” behind Bahrain.

“When Bahrain was facing unrest engineered by Iran in 2011, it was Saudi Arabia that came to the rescue by sending troops as part of the Peninsula Shield Force,” he told Arab News.

“So it is not just economic support, but Saudi Arabia is with Bahrain politically, providing all support, including security cover.

“Bahrain is part of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and so the Gulf states, led by Saudi Arabia, will not let it fail on any front. The safety, security, financial stability and territorial integrity of Bahrain are paramount for Saudi Arabia and the UAE.”

Hafed Al-Ghwell, a senior adviser at the international economic consultancy Maxwell Stamp and the geopolitical risk advisory firm Oxford Analytica, said the pledge of support to Bahrain was “a smart and strategically important decision.”

“It will not only help Bahrain gain more control over its public finances, but it will also strengthen the united front of the Gulf countries during their defensive moves against the expanding role of Iran in the region,” he told Arab News.

“It will demonstrate with actions, not just words, their strong alliance in restoring investor confidence and financial stability.”

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News Network
April 27,2020

Dubai, Apr 27: Saudi Arabia has reported 1,289 new Covid-19 cases on April 27, its Ministry of Health tweeted.

Of the newly diagnosed cases, Jeddah recorded 294 infections, followed by Makkah (218) and Madinah (202).

The ministry also confirmed five additional coronavirus-induced deaths, spiking the total death toll to 144.

2,507 people are talking about this
Since the outbreak of the virus strain in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year, Saudi Arabia has reported a total of 18,811 Covid-19 infections.

As many as 2,531 patients have till now recovered from the virus.

Oman
The sultanate registered 51 new Covid-19 cases on April 27, including 37 nationals and 14 expatriates, spiking the total number of infections to 2,049, Oman News Agency tweeted.

Meanwhile, 10 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in the country.

Qatar
The Ministry of Public Health has reported 957 Covid-19 cases among the 3,420 people tested in the last 24 hours.

As many as 85,709 people have been tested for the virus across the country.

The total number of Covid-19 infections since the outbreak has now risen to 11,244.

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Agencies
July 19,2020

Occupied Jerusalem, Jul 19: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial resumed on Sunday.

Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals in which he is alleged to have received lavish gifts from billionaire friends and exchanged regulatory favors with media moguls for more agreeable coverage of himself and his family.

Netanyahu denies wrongdoing, painting the accusations as a media-orchestrated witchhunt pursued by a biased law enforcement system.

The trial opened in May. Just before appearing in front of the judges, Netanyahu took to a podium inside the courthouse and flanked by his party members bashed the country’s legal institutions in an angry tirade.

Netanyahu was not expected to appear at Sunday’s hearing, which is taking place at an occupied Jerusalem court and is mostly a procedural deliberation.

The trial resumes as Netanyahu faces widespread anger over his government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis.

While the country appeared to have tamped down a first wave of infections, what’s emerged as a hasty and erratic reopening sent infections soaring. Yet even amid the rise in new cases Netanyahu and his emergency government — formed with the goal of dealing with the crisis — appeared to neglect the numbers and moved forward with other policy priorities and its reopening plans.

It has since paused them and even re-impose restrictions, including a weekend only lockdown set to begin later this week.

Netanyahu’s government has been criticized for a baffling, halting response to the new wave, which has seen daily cases rise to nearly 2,000. It has been slammed for its handling of the economic fallout of the crisis.

His trial thus comes at inopportune timing. Netanyahu had hoped to ride on the goodwill he gained from overcoming the first wave of infections going into his corruption trial, but the increasingly souring mood has affected his approval rating and may deny him the public backing he had hoped for. The anger has sparked protests over the past few weeks that have culminated in violent clashes with police.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Abu Dhabi, May 17: Another 731 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the UAE, pushing the total number of COVID-19 infections to 23,358, the Ministry of Health and Prevention announced on Sunday.

Six more deaths from the novel coronavirus have been also confirmed, taking the country’s death toll to 220.

The ministry also announced the full recovery of 581 new cases after receiving the necessary treatment, taking that number up to 8,512 of total recovered patients.

New tests conducted

The latest coronavirus patients, all of whom are in a stable condition and receiving the necessary care, were identified after conducting more than 40,000 additional COVID-19 tests among UAE citizens and residents over the past few days, the ministry said.

It expressed its sincere condolences to the families of the deceased and wished a speedy recovery to all patients, calling on the public to cooperate with health authorities and comply with all precautionary measures, particularly social distancing protocols, to ensure the safety and protection of the public.

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