Bahrain’s new normal: looking bleak | beyondbrics – FT.com

The restoration of calm in central Manama, which last month was a battleground between police and protesters, has allowed a sense of normality to return to the capital – even if stability is characterised by armoured personnel carriers parked outside five-star hotels.

The Saudi-backed security grip has not let up in Bahrain’s restive Shia villages since the police violently cleared Pearl roundabout, where protesters largely from the majority Shia community demanded change in a country dominated by minority Sunnis.

But shopping malls, once empty and forced into offering cut-price bargains, are now getting busier again.