The Health Ministry will send a medical team to follow up on the condition of 12 members of a family who were involved in a crash in Quway’iyah, 200km off Riyadh.

Two were killed and 10 others injured in the accident that occurred on Wednesday evening as they were returning to Bahrain after performing Umrah. Four people who sustained serious injuries were transferred to the Imam Abdulrahman Al Faisal in Riyadh for treatment.

Some injured left hospitals after receiving treatment, three were discharged from the intensive care unit after their condition became stable, while one case remained under observation.

The delegation, which includes Dr Ali Dhaif, Dr Mohammed Arafa and Khalil Abdulla, will assess the condition of the injured and decide whether they will continue treatment in Saudi Arabia or return to Bahrain.

This comes as the accidents, and overseas emergencies committee convened following directives from Health Minister Faeqa Al Saleh.

Bahrain Embassy in Riyadh, in co-operation with Saudi authorities, has completed formalities to repatriate bodies of the two citizens, said diplomatic adviser to the embassy Abdulaziz Al Ameeri. The bodies are expected to reach Bahrain early this morning, he told our sister paper Akhbar Al Khaleej.

Illegal meetings warning

The Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Ministry yesterday warned members of dissolved political societies against holding illegal meetings. Such meetings are considered banned activities and will be dealt with in accordance with the law, the ministry’s office of political societies’ affairs said. It was commenting on news on social media indicating that some individuals belonging to dissolved political societies had held secret meetings to conduct illegal political activities. The office stressed that Bahrain’s law ensures the right to exercise legitimate political activities for authorised political societies and affirmed the unwavering keenness to preserve the kingdom’s democratic gains as well as firmly counter attempts seeking to target national gains and the integrity of the electoral process. It pointed out that these societies were dissolved by judicial rulings for their practices that aimed to undermine the rule of law and violating the principle of citizenship that is based on co-existence, tolerance and respect for others. They were also found guilty of providing an incubator for terrorism, extremism and violence environment.

Murder suspects held

Two people have been arrested on suspicion of attacking and murdering a man in Gudaibiya, the Interior Ministry said yesterday on its official Twitter account. It said the body was found dumped in a deserted house.

Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (Baca) president Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa met Bahrain Club directors, led by chairman Nabil Al Saie, and discussed plans to revamp the iconic building, which dates to the late 1920s. The delegation visited Bu Maher Fort Centre as part of the Pearl Route project, which has been listed as a heritage site. They also toured Bahrain National Museum.

Ministry clarifies stand

THE Interior Ministry has responded to an audio recording circulating on social media. The recording relayed the plea of a Bahraini citizen asking to meet Interior Minister Lieutenant General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa. “The citizen was interviewed on July 15 when he asked for a passport for the daughter of his wife’s brother who was born in Syria to a Syrian mother,” the ministry said on its official Twitter account. “A study of the case showed the child’s father had joined terrorist groups and his nationality had been revoked on January 29, 2015. “Since the child was born after the revocation of her father’s nationality, it is illegal to issue a Bahraini passport for her.” It added that the meeting with the citizen was in line with directives from Shaikh Rashid to look into all citizen complaints and requests.

Centre to host seminars

THE Bahrain Meditation Centre is organising a series of seminars throughout the month. Guest speaker Jagruti Patel from London will be addressing a lecture, ‘Virtues for Modern Age’, at the centre’s premises in Umm Al Hassam on Tuesday from 7pm to 9pm. ‘Letting go of the past baggage and moving on’ will be held on September 17, from 7pm to 9pm, and the centre will host guest speaker B K Sudesh from Germany while ‘Ways to be Strong’ will be held on September 25 from 7pm to 9pm. An Arabic translation will be available for all seminars while a drop-in meditation session will be held every evening from 7pm to 7.30pm.

Medical examiner testifies

A medical examiner testified in the trial of three people accused of attacking a woman at a nightspot in Bahrain. The defendants – a 23-year-old man who works as party organiser and two Bahraini women – are standing trial for assault at the High Criminal Court. The alleged attack took place following a dispute at a nightspot in Manama in July last year. The Bahraini women, aged 23 and 31, allegedly attacked the 32-year-old Saudi woman after accusing her of slandering them. The male defendant, a Bahraini national, is then said to have punched the victim in the face before one of his friends attacked her with a brick. The Saudi woman is also said to have attacked the defendants. All three defendants have denied the charges in court. A medical examiner testified in court that the victim sustained a fractured nose in the attack. “The attack caused her to suffer from trauma and a fractured nose,” the 40-year-old Bahraini said in court. “She can undergo an operation to fix her nasal passage but it will not return to the position it was before. “The attack was severe and several punches caused her to blackout.”

The trial was adjourned to October 1 for the victim to testify in court.

Hospital work on track

Preparations are in full swing for the restoration of Jidhafs Maternity Hospital as part of the Health Ministry’s strategy to upgrade its healthcare facilities, the ministry said yesterday. Work on the revamp and maintenance project will be limited to maternity services for the time being. Clinics and Paediatric wings will continue to receive patients, and other healthcare services will be provided to patients.

The upgrade and maintenance project is expected to take one year. Maternity services will be gradually transferred from Jidhafs Maternity Hospital to Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) from Sunday until end of the month. SMC has taken all necessary measures to handle normal childbirth and urgent cesarean section cases transferred by Jidhafs Maternity Hospital until the revamp is completed. The ministry will also co-ordinate with King Hamad University Hospital to accommodate a number of C-section cases during the maintenance period.

Banks and ATMs ‘safe’

All banks and ATMs in Bahrain are secure and haven’t been subjected to cyber attacks, said Central bank of Bahrain (CBB) Governor Rasheed Al Maraj. He stressed the importance of taking precautionary measures to protect banks and citizens’ money from any cyber-attack. He was speaking on the sidelines of the first edition of SmartSec Conference on Cyber Security and Blockchain, at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay.