K. Rahmani is a Jadetimes news reporter covering sport.
Image Source: BOC
A Historic Return for the Asian Youth Games
The Asian Youth Games (AYG) 2025, officially the third edition of the Games, will be staged in the Kingdom of Bahrain from 22 to 31 October 2025. This will be the first time Bahrain hosts a continental multi-sport event, and it marks the return of the AYG after a 12-year hiatus.
The Games are expected to welcome over 4,000 athletes aged 14 to 18 from more than 45 Asian nations and regions, competing in 26 sports across 32 disciplines, with 259 medal events. Importantly, the AYG also serves as a qualifying pathway for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, making Bahrain 2025 a vital stepping stone for Asia’s next generation of Olympians.
Host Selection and Organization
The hosting rights for the 2025 AYG were originally awarded to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2019. However, in 2024 the Olympic Council of Asia reassigned the Games to Bahrain, citing the Kingdom’s readiness and infrastructure.
The event is being organized by the Bahrain Asian Youth Games Organizing Committee (BAYGOC) under the patronage of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, with oversight from the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA).
The main venue will be Exhibition World Bahrain, which will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as several indoor competitions. Other venues include Isa Sports City and the Bahrain National Stadium, both of which have undergone upgrades to meet international standards.
Sports Program
The 2025 AYG will feature a diverse program designed to reflect both traditional and emerging sports popular among Asian youth:
Aquatics: swimming, diving
Athletics: track and field events
Gymnastics
Martial Arts: judo, taekwondo, karate, wushu
Team Sports: football, basketball, handball, volleyball
Racquet Sports: badminton, table tennis, tennis
Cycling
Esports: making its debut at the Youth Games
Urban Sports: skateboarding and other youth-driven disciplines
In total, 26 sports and 32 disciplines will be contested, with more than 1,600 medals awarded.
Cultural and Youth Legacy
The AYG is not only about competition—it is also a cultural and educational platform. Bahrain 2025 will include:
Youth leadership forums to promote education, leadership, and cross-cultural dialogue
Volunteer programs engaging thousands of Bahraini students and young professionals
Cultural showcases featuring music, dance, and cuisine from across Asia
Sustainability initiatives, including eco-friendly venues and awareness campaigns on climate action
The Games’ official slogan, “Your Time, Your Game”, reflects the mission to empower young athletes and inspire future leaders.
Political and Regional Significance
For Bahrain, hosting the AYG is both a sporting milestone and a diplomatic opportunity. It strengthens the Kingdom’s reputation as a hub for sports tourism, youth development, and international cooperation.
Regionally, the Games highlight how smaller nations can successfully host large-scale events, proving that world-class infrastructure and organization are not limited to the largest economies. For Asia, the return of the AYG after more than a decade signals renewed commitment to youth sport as a foundation for the Olympic movement.
Bahrain’s Defining Moment
The Asian Youth Games 2025 in Bahrain will be more than a sporting event—it will be a continental celebration of youth, culture, and unity. With 4,000 athletes, 45 nations, 26 sports, and 259 medal events, the Games promise to inspire a new generation while showcasing Bahrain’s capacity to host global events.
As the countdown to 22 October 2025 begins, Bahrain is preparing not just to welcome Asia’s youth, but to write a new chapter in the history of sport and cultural diplomacy.
K. Rahmani is a Jadetimes news reporter covering politics.
Image Source: YURI KOCHETKOV
October 2025 is an active, still-unfolding month for Bahrain’s politics. The Kingdom is leaning into regional diplomacy on Gaza, deepening security coordination with allies, advancing technical work in international legal forums, maintaining economic policy continuity, and hosting a series of conferences that amplify its soft power. This comprehensive, go-to page consolidates verified developments and forward-looking context, framed in the present and near-future so the narrative stays current as the month progresses.
Regional diplomacy and official positions
Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs continues issuing statements aligned with Gulf diplomacy on Gaza throughout October. The emphasis remains on supporting implementation of a ceasefire plan, enabling humanitarian access, and encouraging de-escalation. These communications place Bahrain within a coalition of Arab and international actors seeking a controlled path toward ceasefire measures and civilian protection, while signaling steady engagement rather than headline-grabbing mediation.
The Kingdom sustains multilateral engagement beyond conflict issues, including cultural diplomacy. Early October messaging congratulates regional partners on visible multilateral milestones, reinforcing ties in cultural institutions even as security and humanitarian agendas dominate. This balance—pairing security-oriented statements with cultural and institutional support—helps Bahrain project a consistent diplomatic identity during a complex month.
Bahrain also continues to reference long-standing relationships that frame its current foreign policy posture. Anniversaries and diplomatic milestones from late September carry into October’s narrative, underlining continuity in external ties while attention shifts to Gulf and Western coordination on immediate regional concerns. The cumulative effect is a steady, reliability-focused diplomatic stance that favors multilateral coordination and measured language.
Security and defense dialogues
Security coordination with allied partners is active this month. Senior Bahraini and UK officials meet to deepen bilateral security cooperation, extending a cadence of recent delegations and defense contacts. These engagements reflect Bahrain’s role as a Gulf partner engaged in practical security planning with Western allies, including maritime awareness, counter-terrorism coordination, and capacity-building.
Preparations for the 21st Manama Dialogue—one of the Middle East’s premier security summits—are in full swing, with the forum set to convene in Manama from October 31 to November 2, 2025. The summit is a high-level platform where ministers, chiefs, and senior decision-makers debate pressing defense and security challenges. Hosting this forum underscores Bahrain’s convening power and intent to anchor regional discussions on stability, maritime security, energy resilience, and great-power competition at month’s end. The lead-up typically includes agenda fine-tuning, bilateral scheduling, and thematic briefings that point toward expected focus areas.
Legal and economic governance signals
Bahrain is participating this month in international legal processes on dispute resolution in the digital economy, emphasizing the interpretation of the New York Convention for arbitral awards within digital contexts. By advancing technical proposals and engaging with peers, the Kingdom signals intent to contribute to shaping the rules environment for cross-border digital commerce and dispute enforcement. This strand of work is less visible than headline diplomacy but important for investors, practitioners, and policymakers.
On economic governance, Bahrain’s domestic minimum tax framework for multinational enterprises continues to shape professional discussions during October. The regime aligns with global standards on base erosion and profit shifting and is operational through 2025, prompting ongoing guidance, adviser engagement, and compliance planning. References to the framework appear in business forums and policy briefings, reinforcing regulatory predictability and signaling that Bahrain intends to marry investment attraction with rules-based alignment.
Bilateral consultations and diplomatic appointments
Bahrain’s bilateral engagement in October includes formal political consultations with European partners and practical coordination within the Gulf. Early in the month, Bahrain and Italy hold a new round of political consultations in Manama, co-chaired at the undersecretary level. The meeting references recent high-level engagements and focuses on strengthening cooperation in areas such as trade, culture, education, and security liaison, situating Bahrain’s October diplomacy within a broader network that extends beyond immediate regional security concerns.
In parallel, Bahrain is formalizing postings to key hubs—such as Dubai and the Northern Emirates—to reinforce its consular presence, economic diplomacy, and people-to-people ties. These moves complement political consultations and the month’s security dialogues by ensuring that Bahrain’s diplomatic infrastructure supports its policy aims across the Gulf, from investor services to citizen outreach.
Conferences and convening power across October
Bahrain’s soft power strategy benefits from a packed October calendar of sectoral conferences that showcase institutional capacity and international connectivity.
Health systems and climate resilience: Early in the month, Bahrain hosts an international conference on climate-resilient smart health systems, drawing health officials, practitioners, and multilateral partners. The programming centers on integrating resilience principles into health infrastructure, digital systems, and service delivery—aligning public health policy with environmental sustainability in a region sensitive to climate impacts.
Professional and medical forums: Mid-month, Manama hosts a dental conference and exhibition that convenes specialized medical communities, vendors, and educators. These sectoral events add texture to Bahrain’s October narrative by illustrating how professional diplomacy and technical communities are engaged under national development agendas.
Engineering and computing: At month’s end, the American University of Bahrain hosts an international engineering and computing conference, featuring regional and international keynote speakers. This academic-industry convening strengthens Bahrain’s profile in engineering, AI, and digital technologies—fields that intersect with the Kingdom’s legal agenda (international arbitration and digital-economy rules) and economic modernization (investment policy and diversified growth). Collectively, these conferences position Bahrain as a venue where technical and academic dialogues complement political strategy.
Human rights and civic space context
The rights backdrop informs Bahrain’s diplomatic messaging and engagements during October. International monitoring organizations’ annual reports highlight a mixed picture: substantial amnesties and releases during the previous year, alongside continuing concerns about arbitrary detentions and death sentences. This context often surfaces in policy dialogues and media narratives around major convenings, including conferences and security summits, shaping how international partners frame discussions on governance, reform, and civil society through the autumn period.
In response, Bahraini statements continue to underscore themes of dialogue, tolerance, respect for sovereignty, and peaceful coexistence. These messages aim to bridge domestic realities with regional and international expectations as Bahrain hosts high-visibility events and participates in multilateral forums. The diplomatic language is calibrated to maintain cooperative channels while acknowledging the sensitivities that accompany rights discourse.
Positions beyond the Gulf and wider diplomatic alignment
Bahrain reiterates supportive positions beyond immediate Gulf issues during October. The Kingdom reaffirms its support for partners’ territorial integrity frameworks and political processes, including positions in North Africa. Such stances articulate Bahrain’s broader diplomatic identity while its October attention remains focused on Gaza, security summits, and technical multilateral work. They also reinforce alignment with key partners and signal consistency in how Bahrain approaches sovereignty questions and conflict resolution.
Bahrain’s participation in regional leaders’ meetings earlier in the season and its regular Cabinet-level coordination with allies provide continuity into October. Statements and bilateral engagements reflect a bridge-building approach between Gulf partners and international stakeholders on crisis management, economic diversification, and institutional cooperation. This alignment helps Bahrain thread the needle between immediate security needs and longer-term integration in global policy networks.
October 2025 schedule and quick reference
Official positions on Gaza: Ongoing Ministry of Foreign Affairs communiqués track implementation steps, humanitarian access, and de-escalation throughout October, shaping the month’s diplomatic tone.
UK–Bahrain security coordination: Senior defense consultations deepen bilateral security cooperation and link into Manama Dialogue preparations, maintaining operational readiness.
Multilateral cultural engagement: Early October congratulations and cultural-institution signals reinforce soft-power ties even as security concerns dominate.
International legal process: Bahrain advances technical proposals on digital-economy arbitration and interpretation of cross-border enforcement rules, contributing to global frameworks.
Economic policy continuity: The domestic minimum tax regime remains a reference point in business forums and advisory notes, indicating predictable regulation and international alignment.
European consultations: A new round of political consultations with Italy in Manama strengthens ties across policy areas and sustains dialogue with EU partners.
Health systems convening: Climate-resilient smart health systems programming brings multilateral and regional health stakeholders together in Bahrain.
Medical and professional event: A dental conference and exhibition convene professional communities and add sectoral depth to October’s convening power.
Engineering and computing: An international conference at the American University of Bahrain showcases academic–industry collaboration and tech diplomacy.
Security summit: The Manama Dialogue opens October 31, anchoring the month’s political calendar and elevating Bahrain’s role in regional security discourse.
Outlook for the remainder of October
Diplomatic statements and implementation monitoring: Expect continued updates on ceasefire measures, detainee issues, and humanitarian corridors, reflecting Bahrain’s support for de-escalation and lawful humanitarian access.
Summit diplomacy crescendo: As delegations arrive, Bahrain’s bilateral meetings with Gulf partners and Western allies intensify, with maritime security, energy stability, technology transfer, and regional balance high on the agenda.
Legal-technical influence: Bahrain’s engagement on digital-economy dispute resolution positions the Kingdom to contribute to global frameworks with commercial and governance implications into late October.
Economic governance continuity: References to the tax framework continue appearing in investment discussions, signaling alignment with international standards and predictability for multinational enterprises.
Soft power through convenings: Health, dentistry, engineering, and computing conferences enhance Bahrain’s image as a convener of expertise. These events dovetail with political messaging on resilience, innovation, and cooperation, strengthening Bahrain’s brand as October culminates in the security summit.
Quick reference table: October 2025 key items
Area
Event/Action
Dates
Why it matters
Gaza diplomacy
MoFA communiqués on implementation and humanitarian access
Ongoing in October
Positions Bahrain within Gulf diplomacy and signals support for de-escalation
UK security ties
Senior defense consultations
October
Deepens bilateral security cooperation and readiness
Cultural multilateralism
Congratulatory signals to regional partners
Early October
Reinforces soft-power ties amid security focus
International legal process
Technical proposals on digital-economy arbitration
October
Builds legal-technical credibility and influence
Tax policy
Domestic minimum tax regime referenced in forums
Ongoing in 2025; active in October
Aligns with global standards; investor confidence and compliance clarity
European consultations
Bahrain–Italy political consultations in Manama
Early October
Strengthens European ties and cooperation agenda
Health systems
Climate-resilient health conference
Early October
Links health policy to sustainability; multilateral partners involved
C. Janith is a Jadetimes news reporter and sub-editor covering science and geopolitics.
US President Donald Trump stated that a decision to supply Tomahawk cruise missiles to Ukraine has been practically made. However, he did not explain what this decision entails and emphasized that he does not seek to escalate the situation.
Tomahawk cruise missile, one of the biggest prides of the American Navy. Credit: (Engineering Secrets YT)
President Donald Trump has recently said, “I’ve sort of made a decision on that. I would have to ask the question, Where are they sending them?” regarding giving Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine. President Trump is a smart and savvy businessman; he must refuse to be reckless or naïve. He has to know where the Kiev regime will send the Tomahawks, against targets deep inside Russia, probably against strategic/nuclear assets and civilian/political targets, in what would be a major escalation. This must not be allowed to happen. Trump should show the world he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize and resist and refuse this escalation no matter the pressure coming from his deep state advisers.
In classic and textbook Trump style, President Donald Trump has essentially made it clear he has decided to furnish Tomahawks to Ukraine, with the caveat he is concerned about where/how the Ukrainians will use the missiles.
Donald Trump, while very intelligent, is not exactly a classically educated intellectual; he is a businessman and a negotiator. He is savvy at making deals and understanding situations. If a real estate developer were to express interest in buying seemingly worthless swampland in Louisiana or Florida, it would stand to reason the developer has an angle and a plan to develop. Likewise, if an oil and gas company were buying seemingly worthless desert land in New Mexico or Texas, it would stand to reason such a buyer had a vision for what he was intending to do with the land. If the seller said, “I will sell you the land, but I need to be sure you’re not going to develop or explore for oil and gas,” that seller would be naïve. The seller would have to know the only reasons for the buyer to want those lands would be development (in the first example) and exploration for oil and gas (in the second example).
Donald Trump is a smart and clever businessman; he has to know how Ukraine is going to use those Tomahawks. He is too savvy to not know. He should not feign ignorance or naivety, which in a way he does when he says, “I would have to ask the question where they are sending them,” because he already knows the answer to that question.
Ukraine has already shown a willingness and eagerness to attack strategic Russian assets, such as the early warning radar systems.
Ukraine has also shown similar willingness and eagerness to attack Russian civilians deep inside the Russian Federation, whether with drones, missiles, rockets, or through cowardly assassination attacks such as the bomb attacks against journalist Darya Dugina and the bomb attack against blogger Vladlen Tatarsky. As a side note to the mention of such cowardly assassinations, the West has lectured the world on journalistic freedom and then empowered Ukraine to assassinate journalists and bloggers inside of Russia because the journalists and bloggers dared to write and speak things that were distasteful or inconvenient for the regime in Kiev. We can reasonably conclude that a Ukraine armed with Tomahawk missiles, which, depending on the variant, may have a range in excess of 1,300 miles, will use the missiles to engage in targeted assassinations, attacks on civilian/industrial infrastructure, and attacks on strategic nuclear assets (whether actual nuclear warhead storage sites, TEL bases, siloes, or early warning sites).
President Trump must certainly know that if he arms Ukraine with these Tomahawk missiles, then he will not be on the road to earning a Nobel Peace Prize (nor would he be deserving of one by that point), but he will be further on the road to a dangerous escalation with Russia. At some point the Russians might do something that the West will consider drastic, but would be measured and justified in light of what Ukraine will likely do with the Tomahawk missiles.
Sophistry and hypocritical verbal fraud
Perhaps Russia would be far more likely to do something to communicate clearly to NATO that Russia will not tolerate NATO attacking Russia under the guise of “Ukraine did it; we didn’t do it,” which is technically correct, but it is sophistry. I am a lawyer. I know the law, I know legal principles and legal theories, and I often contemplate questions of philosophy of law. If Bob hands a mask and a pistol to John, intending, knowing, suspecting, or when he should reasonably know that John is going to use the mask and pistol to rob a bank, then Bob is an accomplice in the robbery and is possibly guilty of conspiracy as well. It is not a defense for Bob to claim, “Well, yes, I gave John the mask and the pistol, but I did not enter the bank; I am not an accomplice.” It is enough that Bob armed and equipped John, knowing what was likely going to be done with the equipment.
On a basic level of morality, if you equip and empower somebody to conduct an attack, knowing or expecting they will carry out the attack, you are morally culpable for the results of that attack along with the attacker who actually conducted the attack.
In that sense, the ongoing Western noise of, “Yes, we armed Ukraine, but we aren’t responsible for drone strikes across Russia, acts of sabotage across Russia, ATACMs strikes inside Russia, or bandit raids into Kursk Oblast,” is really just sophistry and disingenuous wordsmithing. It is like a comic-book villain who promises a hostage, “Cooperate and *I* won’t kill you,” and then the hostage cooperates and the villain tells his sidekick, “Kill him for me.” While technically keeping his word that he himself was not the one who killed the hostage, he outsourced the atrocity and violated the spirit of the understanding and agreement not to kill the hostage. The West is outsourcing the dirty hands-on work to Ukraine and then claiming it is blameless.
Where does President Trump think Ukraine will send the Tomahawks? What would Bob have reasonably thought John was going to do with a mask and a pistol in my above example? President Trump knows precisely what Ukraine is going to do or is likely to do with the Tomahawks if the US furnishes such weapons to Ukraine. If President Trump wants to earn a Nobel Peace Prize and be remembered as a visionary leader with the qualities of a true statesman and not just “a businessman who got into politics,” then he must make some major course corrections, because he is presently lost at sea. If he furnishes Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine, then he has charted a course for inevitable disaster.
President Trump is too smart to want to chart a course for disaster. Giving Tomahawks to Ukraine is the sort of move that only a senile old fool such as Joe Biden would approve of while sleeping in the Oval Office, looking forward to an ice-cream cone, and letting his handlers and advisers handle the details of it. President Trump has promised the American people he is better than that. He even promised to end the war in 24 hours after the election, before being inaugurated. That hasn’t happened, and I didn’t expect it would happen in 24 hours; I knew that was rhetoric, but I was expecting progress. I was expecting a scaling back of weapons deliveries to Ukraine, not an escalation into newer and more dangerous categories and types of weapons. Mr. President, where is the progress?
Will the world escalate into nuclear war?
This is perhaps a defining moment for President Trump’s second term, where he can either make a strong case for an eventual Nobel Peace Prize or he can mishandle everything and take the world dangerously close to a nuclear war, or at least into tactical low-yield nuclear escalation. Russia is unlikely to tolerate direct attacks on its nuclear assets by American-supplied Tomahawks that were physically and technically launched by Ukrainians, nor should Russia tolerate such things. How the US responds to the inevitable Russian retaliation will dictate whether the world escalates into nuclear war. However, there doesn’t have to be Russian retaliation if the US never furnishes the Tomahawks in the first place. The US can stop upward advancement along the escalation ladder right now, today.
