Bahrain said on Wednesday that its Gulf neighbours Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will offer new aid to strengthen the country's "fiscal stability" amid concerns over its economy.
A statement early on Wednesday carried by the state-run Bahrain News Agency quoted Finance Minister Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa as saying that its three GCC peers are "set to announce a new programme designed to strengthen Bahrain's fiscal stability".
It did not give further details of the financial aid package or when it is expected to be announced.
Meanwhile, a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency said the countries are committed “to consider all options to support the Kingdom of Bahrain and to finalise an integrated programme".
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Read more:
High oil prices do not eliminate risks to GCC sovereign ratings
S&P affirms Abu Dhabi's ratings and forecasts economic growth for 2018
Saudi non-oil sector regains momentum in May
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The move seemed aimed at calming markets on concerns about Bahrain's economy. Bahrain’s credit risk rose the most in emerging markets this month. The cost of insuring the nation’s debt against default for five years jumped 170 basis points on Monday to 609. The dinar, whose peg to the dollar has been effectively unchanged since 1980, fell on Tuesday in the onshore market to the weakest level since at least 1988, according to a Bloomberg report.
The central bank's foreign exchange assets plummeted to a 2001 low of about US$1.2 billion last year. They have almost doubled since, helped by cash raised through bond sales, but the government has about $2bn (Dh7.35bn) of interest payments on bonds through 2019, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Bahrain's central bank said on Tuesday that it's committed to keeping the dinar's peg, spurring a decline in the yield on Bahrain's dollar bonds due in 2022.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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SPECS
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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Long Shot
Director: Jonathan Levine
Starring: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogan
Four stars
