Bahrain's third newspaper in the south Indian language of Malayalam, Gulf Thejas, was launched by Akhbar Al Khaleej editor-in-chief Anwar Abdulrahman at a ceremony held in Manama yesterday.

After inaugurating the daily's Bahrain edition, Abdulrahman said, "I am glad to note that the launch is taking place at a time when since 2008 not a single newspaper has been launched in the entire Western hemisphere, including the US."

The event, held at the Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam (BKS), Salmaniya, was attended by managing editor Prof P Koya and editor N P Chekkutty.

The daily already has four other offices in the region - in Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah and Doha.

"In fact, nearly 800 publications across the US and Europe have stopped publication. This shows that Indian writing, especially in Kerala, is marching forward," said Abdulrahman.

He pointed out that this also showed the high literacy in the state is paying dividends to the Indian economy. "People from Kerala have proven that they have the expertise to handle any profession they choose, be it on land, sea or in mid-air," he remarked.

Abdulrahman wished the publication a bright future. Later, BKS president P V Radhakrishna Pillai and Indian School Bahrain principal V R Palaniswami were felicitated on the occasion.-TradeArabia News Service