Bahrain king gifts $4.7m to UK military academy

Sandhurst, the UK's elite officer training academy, has accepted a GBP 3m (US$4.7m) donation from the King of Bahrain. The donation will be used to build a sports hall, which is due to open early next year, and will be named in the country’s honour, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reported.

The academy accepted the donation in January, which is said to be part of a long-standing relationship between the Bahraini royal family and Sandhurst.

King Hamad bin Essa Al Khalifa trained at the world-famous academy, which also trains a select group of military personnel from the Gulf state. King Hamad has been patron of the Sandhurst Foundation, the academy’s alumni charity, since 2007.

Bahrain has been in crisis since a revolt led by mainly Shi'ite Muslims began 18 months ago to demand democracy in the Sunni-ruled kingdom. (...)