General

Power Privatisation

The restructuring of Bahrain’s power and water sector has brought the country its largest ever privatisation deal. This week, a consortium of three companies bought the al-Hidd power and water plant from the government at a cost of $738m, one of the largest power privatisations signed in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) area to date. …

Wake-up alarm over FTA delays

Bahrain could be throwing away the huge advantages of its Free Trade Agreement with the US, as legal hitches, politics and bureaucracy delay its implementation. SARA HORTON reports THE upcoming Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US has been heralded as a breakthrough for Bahrain’s economy. It will tear down the vast majority of trade …

Fortune-telling clamp sought

SORCERERS and fortune tellers in Bahrain could face a two-year jail term or BD500 fine if a new proposal is passed by Parliament. The additional article to the country’s Penal Code establishes specific punishment against people practising the “dark arts”. MP Ali Matter, who is proposing the new article, says the Penal Code does not …