Author: News Desk

Bahrain: Deputy Chairperson of the Services Committee at the Shura Council, Hala Ramzi, has affirmed Bahrain’s unwavering keenness to carry on enhancing women’s empowerment and advancement across various fields. These efforts are made through enacting the necessary legislation and implementing a number of national initiatives and programmes that ensure women equal opportunities and participation as essential and indispensable partners in the comprehensive development march witnessed by the kingdom during the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the first supporter of Bahraini women, she said, paying tribute to Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa,…

Haiti: Kidnapped from church, shot at during an evening commute, chased out of their homes as flames licked up the street. Stories of abduction, lethal attack and indiscriminate destruction are endless in Haiti’s seaside city of Port-au-Prince, where everyone seems to know someone who barely made it out alive — and where many did not, in what rights organizations describe as a particularly dangerous year even before the assassination of former president Jovenel Moise drew the world’s attention. Haiti’s elite were congregating Friday in the historic northern port city of Cap-Haitien for Moise’s funeral. Once he is laid to rest…

A new tropical depression has formed over the open waters of the West Pacific, that could impact the Olympic games next week. Tropical Depression Nepartak has formed about 1,300 kilometers (800 miles) southeast of Japan,  currently has maximum sustained winds of 55 kph (35 mph), according to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. The forecast track from the JTWC brings the storm to mainland Japan by Tuesday, with Tokyo in the forecast cone. Nepartak is currently classified as a subtropical cyclone and is expected to remain subtropical through its forecast period. This means the strongest winds consolidated near the center of…

Tokyo: Deputy President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee and Head of Bahrain’s delegation to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, HH Shaikh Isa bin Ali bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, has lauded the strides made by Saudi Arabia in the sports field thanks to the support of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abduaziz Al Saud, and interest of Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister, HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. HH Shaikh Isa bin Ali made the statements while meeting here today the Saudi Sports Minister, President of the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee…

Kabul: The United States has carried out airstrikes to support Afghan government forces who have been under pressure from the Taliban as U.S.-led foreign forces carry out the final stages of their withdrawal from the country. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Thursday the airstrikes were in support of Afghan security forces in recent days but did not provide details. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the strikes were on Wednesday night on the outskirts of the southern city of Kandahar, killing three of their fighters and destroying two vehicles. “We confirm these airstrikes and we condemn this in the…

Tokyo: Six-time world champion Mary Kom and men’s hockey captain Manpreet Singh led the way as India made its way at the Parade of Nations during the Opening Ceremony of Tokyo Olympics on Friday at the Japan National Stadium. https://twitter.com/i/status/1418542532556824582

TOKYO: Donald Trump and Joe Biden: Japan’s leader has seen them both in action, and knows the big differences between their styles. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said that Trump used his “individual personality” to advance issues, whereas his successor favors a more collaborative approach. Biden “is a president who tries to build a consensus among allies and like-minded countries in order to advance policies,” Noting that he is on a first-name basis with Biden, who calls him “Yoshi,” Suga said that he believed the president placed “great importance” on the relationship between the two nations. He added, “Freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule…

Tokyo:  Five out of six U.S. athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics have been vaccinated against Covid-19, the team’s top doctor revealed Friday just before the Games officially begin. That information was culled from the health histories that 567 of the athletes filled out before they departed for Japan, said Dr. Jonathan Finnoff, who estimated that 83 percent of those competitors were fully vaccinated. “Eighty-three percent is actually a substantial number and we’re quite happy with it,” Finnoff, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s medical chief, said. That’s higher than the national rate, with about 56 percent of Americans have received at least one dose of a…

BERLIN — Germany’s national railway operator estimated on Friday that last week’s flooding caused damage worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to its network  Authorities are still working to determine the overall cost of the floods that did their worst damage in western Germany and eastern Belgium. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said this week that the damage is “immense” and will take a long time to repair. At least 180 people died in Germany in the flooding and a further 31 deaths were reported in Belgium, taking the overall death toll to 211. German railway operator Deutsche Bahn said that…

Singapore: Vaccinated individuals accounted for three-quarters of Singapore’s COVID-19 infections in the last four weeks, but they were not falling seriously ill, government data showed, as a rapid ramp-up in inoculations leaves fewer people unvaccinated. While the data shows that vaccines are highly effective in preventing severe cases, it also underscores the risk that even those inoculated could be contagious, so that inoculation alone may not suffice to halt transmission. Of Singapore’s 1,096 locally transmitted infections in the last 28 days, 484, or about 44%, were in fully vaccinated people, while 30% were partially vaccinated and just over 25% were…