Portal:Bahrain

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The Bahrain Portal

Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain
Flag of the Kingdom of Bahrain
Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Bahrain
Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Bahrain
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Bahrain (/bɑːˈrn/ bah-RAYN, /bæxˈrn/; Arabic: البحرين, romanizedal-Baḥrayn, lit.'Two Seas', locally [æl bɑħˈreːn] ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, is an island country in West Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an additional 33 artificial islands, centered on Bahrain Island which makes up around 83 percent of the country's landmass. Bahrain is situated between Qatar and the northeastern coast of Saudi Arabia, to which it is connected by the King Fahd Causeway. The population of Bahrain is 1,501,635 as of May 14, 2023, based on elaborations of the United Nations data, of whom 712,362 are Bahraini nationals. Bahrain spans some 760 square kilometres (290 sq mi), and is the third-smallest nation in Asia after the Maldives and Singapore. The capital and largest city is Manama.

Bahrain is the site of the ancient Dilmun civilization. It has been famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world into the 19th century. Bahrain was one of the earliest areas to be influenced by Islam, during the lifetime of Muhammad in 628 AD. Following a period of Arab rule, Bahrain was ruled by the Portuguese Empire from 1521 until 1602, when they were expelled by Shah Abbas the Great of the Safavid Iran. In 1783, the Bani Utbah and allied tribes captured Bahrain from Nasr Al-Madhkur and it has since been ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family, with Ahmed al Fateh as Bahrain's first hakim.

In the late 1800s, following successive treaties with the British, Bahrain became a protectorate of the United Kingdom. In 1971, it declared independence. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a constitutional monarchy in 2002, and Article 2 of the newly adopted constitution made Sharia a principal source for legislation.

Bahrain developed the first post-oil economy in the Persian Gulf, the result of decades of investing in the banking and tourism sectors; many of the world's largest financial institutions have a presence in the country's capital. It is recognized by the World Bank as a high-income economy. Bahrain is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Gulf Cooperation Council. Bahrain is a Dialogue partner of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. (Full article...)

The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR; Arabic: مركز البحرين لحقوق الإنسان, romanizedMarkaz al-Baḥrayn li-Ḥuqūq al-Insān) was a Bahraini non-profit non-governmental organisation which works to promote human rights in Bahrain, which was founded by a number of Bahraini activists in June 2002. The centre was given a dissolution order after its former president Abdulhadi Al Khawaja was arrested in September 2004 a day after criticizing the country's Prime Minister, Khalifah ibn Sulman Al Khalifah at a seminar in which he blamed the Prime Minister for the failure of widespread economic development for all citizens. The BCHR is still banned by the government, but has remained very active.

In 2013 the organisation was awarded the Rafto Prize for its work. (Full article...)

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Skyline with roads, towers and harbour of Manama, Bahrain

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The 2014 Bahrain GP2 Series round was a pair of motor races held on 5 and 6 April 2014 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain as part of the GP2 Series. It was the first round of the 2014 GP2 Series and was run in support of the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix. The first race, a 32-lap feature event, was won by ART Grand Prix driver Stoffel Vandoorne after starting from second position. Julián Leal finished second for the Carlin team and DAMS driver Jolyon Palmer took third. Palmer won the shorter 23-lap sprint race from Rapax's Simon Trummer in second and Leal third.

Palmer took pole position in the feature race by recording the fastest lap in qualifying, but wheelspin at the start dropped him behind Vandoorne. A lap three crash between Axcil Jefferies and Kimiya Sato saw the safety car deployed for the next three laps and Vandoorne kept the lead at the restart. He retained it until his pit stop on the ninth lap. Nathanaël Berthon took the lead for nine laps before Trummer took over the position until his lap 30 pit stop. Vandoorne regained the lead and maintained it to win the feature race. Felipe Nasr started from pole position in the sprint race but lost it to Trummer due to a slow start. Palmer passed Trummer for the lead on the second lap and held it to win. (Full article...)

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More Did you know (auto-generated)

  • ... that the 2021 film West Side Story was banned in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, likely due to the transgender character Anybodys?
  • ... that as part of Bahrainization, the Bahraini government prohibited foreigners from driving taxis?
  • ... that Bahraini businesswoman Yara Salman founded a beauty salon, a medical center, an entertainment complex, and a restaurant in the past decade?
  • ... that Tala Bashmi played on the Bahrain women's national football team for seven years before opening a restaurant in a Manama hotel?
  • ... that infectious diseases specialist Jameela Al Salman has supported the development of medical robots and called their use in Bahrain a "pioneering experiment"?

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