Month: December 2022

Sudan hosts one of the largest refugee populations in Africa. South Sudanese make up the majority. Many others fled violence and persecution in neighboring countries, including Eritrea, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, and Chad, but also the wars in Syria and Yemen pushed people to seek safety in Sudan. Most refugees live in out-of-camp settlements, host communities and urban areas, while others stay in 24 camps (10 at the East Sudan, 1 at Blue Nile State 10 at White Nile State, 2 at East Darfur State and 1 at the Central Darfur State). Sudan continues to generously host and receive additional asylum-seekers

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Manama, The Deputy King, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, today chaired the weekly Cabinet Meeting at Gudaibiya Palace.

The Cabinet highlighted His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s address which coincided with Bahrain’s National Day celebrations, in commemoration of the modern Bahraini State during the era of its founder, Ahmed Al Fateh, in 1783, as an Arab and Muslim country, and the anniversary of Bahrain joining the United Nations as a full-fledged member, as well as the Anniversary of His Majesty the King’s Accession to the Throne.

The Cabinet noted that the speech serves as a foundation for the government’s efforts in achieving His Majesty’s far-reaching vision and aspirations that benefit the Kingdom and its citizens.

The Cabinet congratulated His Majesty the King on the laying of the foundation stone of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s National Assembly building. In this regard, the Cabinet highlighted its continued commitment to further strengthening cooperation between the Executive and Legislative Authorities to enhance the Kingdom’s growth and development.

On the occasion of the upcoming new year, the Cabinet wished that 2023 would be a year of prosperity and development for Bahrain and its people, and that peace and security would prevail in the world.

The Cabinet reviewed a memorandum by the Minister of Finance and National Economy, that covered the quarterly economic report of the Kingdom of Bahrain for the third quarter of 2022. The report detailed developments in the implementation of the Economic Recovery Plan.

According to the report, Bahrain’s economy grew by 5.5% up to the third quarter, and the growth of the non-oil sector increased by 7.2% in that same time.

During the third quarter of 2022 Bahrain’s economy recorded a 4.2% growth, and the non-oil sector recorded 4.9% growth in that same time period.

Following a review of the memorandum by the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, the Cabinet followed up on the implementation of development projects and initiatives related to raising the quality and efficiency of government services, that have been approved by the Cabinet earlier this year.

The Cabinet discussed several memorandums during the meeting with the following outcomes:

The approval of the following memorandums:

1. A memorandum by the Minister of Interior regarding the establishment of the National Centre for Financial Investigations, by amending the Ministry of Interior’s organisational structure. The move aims to improve and support government efforts in this regard.

2. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs to amend the decision to establish customs departments.

3. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding a draft decision to amend some provisions of the executive regulations of the Buildings Regulation Law.

4. A memorandum by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs regarding an MoU between Bahrain and the African Union on official joint cooperation.

The Cabinet then took note of the ministerial reports regarding the participation in the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership, the visit of the Minister of Health to the United Arab Emirates, the participation in the launch of the Mustafa Endowment for the Seal of the Noble Qur’an in the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the participation in the fourth session of the Arab Council for Population and Development, the participation in the 39th meeting of Council of Arab Ministers of Housing and Reconstruction and the seventh Arab Housing Conference, and the visits of foreign delegations to the Kingdom of Bahrain in January 2023.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

The spark of inter-communal violence in September 2019 have led refugees from Central African Republic (CAR) to flee to safety in Sudan. With more than 10,000 refugees arriving in 2020 and the situation along the CAR-Sudan border remaining tense and volatile, UNHCR has revised its planning figure for arrivals from CAR to 10,000 individuals by end of 2021.

Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees

Across the region, millions of people are living in poverty and facing multiple daily threats to their food security. An estimated 146 million people are facing crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa. Climatic shocks, such as prolonged drought and recurrent flooding, conflict, desert locusts, and economic downturns, exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19, have combined to hit communities hard. The impact of global drivers is compounding the effect of pre-existing deep-rooted local drivers such as poverty and marginalisation.

The crisis has spread across all of Africa – from East Africa with the fourth consecutive failed rains in the Horn of Africa and extreme flooding for four successive years in South Sudan, to the Sahel region of West Africa plagued by insecurity and political instability, to Southern Africa where countries, such as Zimbabwe, are experiencing surging inflation. Unfortunately, this is not new and in 2010–2011, in spite of early warning signs that failed rains in East Africa would result in acute food insecurity and a loss of lives, the humanitarian response was too little and too late. History almost repeated itself in 2016–2017, but governments and humanitarian organisations mobilised a response sufficient enough to head off mass mortality.

Warnings of the current situation were given as early as 12 months ago when African Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies started to launch hunger crisis emergency appeals. So far, 17 African National Societies have responded to the hunger crisis across the region with the limited resources they have. However, to respond to the rapidly escalating humanitarian needs and scale up, for the National Society response, funding for the crisis needs to be urgently increased. The IFRC, in turn, must quickly and massively scale-up life-saving assistance to millions of people facing crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity, of which hundreds of thousands are at immediate risk of or experiencing catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity, but also to decisively address the root causes of this crisis through longer-term commitments.

The report details how the African Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies plan to scale up life-saving assistance to millions of people and the response efforts since the launch of the emergency appeal. At the same time, through longer-term programming, African National Societies will address the root causes of food insecurity. IFRC will build on our previous successes and work in support of government plans and frameworks to improve the resilience of the most impoverished communities, including displaced populations.

Source: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies

The death toll from a fuel tanker explosion in a South African city east of Johannesburg has risen to 15, the health minister said Sunday.

“Yesterday [Saturday], the death toll was at 10 people and now we are sitting at 15 as of this morning,” Joe Phaahla told reporters at Tambo Memorial Hospital.

The tanker, transporting liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), was caught beneath a bridge close to the hospital and houses on Saturday morning in Boksburg, east of Johannesburg.

The minister said three hospital employees, two nurses and a driver, died later from severe burn injuries.

Thirty-seven people were injured, including 24 patients and 13 staff members who were in the hospital’s accident and emergency unit at the time of the blast.

They “sustained severe burns and have been diverted to neighboring hospitals”, Phaahla said.

Others were hit by shattered glass, he added, while some were hurt as they were in the parking lot or in front of the hospital.

Videos on social media showed a huge fireball under the bridge, which the tanker appeared to have been too high to go under.

It was carrying 60,000 liters of LPG gas, which is used especially in cooking and gas stoves, and had come from the southeast of the country.

The health minister said the blast severely damaged the hospital’s accident and emergency unit and X-ray departments, adding the roof was also damaged.

Source: Voice of America

Manama, Export Bahrain celebrates the addition of its 5th and 6th international awards – ‘Best SME Export Development Solutions – MENA 2022’ by UK based Capital Finance International and the ‘Most Innovative Export Platform Bahrain 2022’ by the International Business Magazine Award to its awards shelf.

The accolades come as a global acknowledgement of Export Bahrain’s diligent efforts and its tailor-made solutions for Bahrain based businesses since its inception. Over the last four years, Export Bahrain has launched a number of solutions to meet the needs of SMEs and facilitate their journey to international markets. The global awards echo Export Bahrain’s belief in the significance of the SME sector and their vital role in shaping the Kingdom’s future by diversifying its economy.

Since its inception, the award-winning national export entity has successfully facilitated the export of 65 products and services across 12 different sectors valued at over 300M USD to 68 international markets that include the GCC region, Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

It is noteworthy that the annual awards, which are exclusively presented to recognize excellence in finance, international trade, and other entrepreneurial enablers around the world, acknowledge the role of Export Bahrain in facilitating exports of Bahrain-based businesses, providing them with a range of diverse solutions to meet their needs and aspiration and ensuring to enable businesses in specific to unlock more potentials through exporting.

Commenting on the occasion, Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, stated: “We are pleased to receive the two respectable awards which come as a recognition of Export Bahrain’s exceptional role in supporting SMEs. The accolades endorse our ongoing commitment to providing SMEs with bespoke solutions tailored for every phase of their export journey and our endeavors to encourage a national export culture. We strive to build on our success and broaden our reach by maintaining our eagerness to assist Bahrain based businesses and developing innovative, high-quality services and solutions across various economic sectors.”

Commenting on the occasion, Export Bahrain Chief Executive Officer, Safa Sharif A.Khaliq stated: “We are extremely honored to see that the Export Bahrain’s efforts have been acknowledged on an international scale. This award reaffirms the company’s endeavors toward uplifting this vital sector by supporting SMEs and encouraging Bahrain based businesses to access international opportunities. This recognition represents the national acknowledgement of not only Export Bahrain’s devoted efforts towards SMEs, but also their well-deserved success around the world.”

Source: Bahrain News Agency