Author: News Desk

Russia said on Friday a U.S. decision not to rejoin the Open Skies arms control pact, which allows unarmed surveillance flights over member states, is a “political mistake” ahead of a summit between the countries’ presidents. The original U.S. decision to quit the pact was taken last year by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, but Moscow had hoped his successor Joe Biden would reverse it. On Thursday, however, the Biden administration informed Moscow that it would not re-enter the pact, accusing Russia of violating it, something Moscow denied. Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said on Friday that…

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday inaugurated the Rashakai Special Economic Zone (SEZ) that would create at least 200,000 job opportunities and give new impetus to Pakistan’s export-oriented industrialisation. Rashakai, one of the nine SEZs under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), will begin a new era of industrialisation in Pakistan, PM Imran Khan said. The SEZ is being constructed in Nowshera, Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The zone is being built at the cost of $242 million with the collaboration of China’s state enterprise China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) and KP Economic Zone Development and Management Company (KPEZDMC).…

Saudi Arabia has announced radical changes to its education system by introducing new subjects that will be taught for the first time, local media reported. The new subjects that will be taught starting next year include digital skills, English for elementary grades, social studies, self-defense and critical thinking. Also, according to the new changes, the two-semester school system will now be converted into three with short vacations, in order to keep pace with international best practices, local media reported. Dr. Hamad Al Sheikh, Saudi Minister of Education, said that this transformation would also include the development of curricula and educational plans. “Over…

A man who smashed his way into another man’s flat and dragged him out of bed and beat him has been jailed. Callum Radcliffe, 30, previously admitted causing actual bodily harm. The court heard he and two friends smashed a glass panel on the back door of a flat on Wesley Terrace, Douglas before the attack at about 02:40 GMT on 2 November 2019. Deemster Graeme Cook sentenced him to 20 months in prison for the “sustained attack”. The court heard one of Radcliffe’s friends had received a text message from the victim’s girlfriend and the trio had decided to…

Africa urgently needs 20 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to make sure everyone who has had a first jab can get a second within the recommended eight- to twelve-week window, the World Health Organization (WHO) said. Another 200 million doses of any coronavirus vaccine are needed to get 10 percent of the continent’s population vaccinated by September, the WHO said. WHO data shows 28 million doses from various manufacturers have reached Africa, which corresponds to fewer than two doses per 100 people, the Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) reported. Meanwhile, 1.5 billion coronavirus vaccine doses have been administered globally.…

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday he planned to stand for a second term for the largely ceremonial post. A former foreign minister and senior adviser to centre-left Social Democrat (SPD) Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, the 65-year-old Steinmeier has occupied the president’s office since 2017, said dpa. A trained lawyer, Steinmeier’s term is due to expire in 2022, which is after the next election in September, when a new national parliament will to be voted in. Born in western Germany, Steinmeier also headed up the SPD’s election campaign in 2009 as the party’s chancellor candidate, losing to the conservative Christian Democrats headed by…

Biden orders review of COVID-19 origins (VIDEO) President Joe Biden ordered aides to find answers to the origin of the virus that causes COVID-19, saying on Wednesday that U.S. intelligence agencies are pursuing rival theories potentially including the possibility of a laboratory accident. Intelligence agencies are considering two likely scenarios but still lack strong confidence in their conclusions and are hotly debating which is more probable, Biden said. The conclusions were detailed in a report to Biden, who asked his team in March to detail whether the novel coronavirus “emerged from human contact with an infected animal or from a…

Zinedine Zidane has decided to leave his position as coach of Real Madrid, the Spanish club said Thursday in confirming weeks of speculation surrounding his future. “We must now respect his decision and express our gratitude for his professionalism, dedication and passion over the years and what he means to Real Madrid,” the club said in a statement. The French coach had a contract until June 2022, but had reportedly already told Real Madrid players earlier in May he would leave at the end of the 2020-21 season, dpa reported. “Zidane is one of Real Madrid’s great icons and his…

Speaker of the Council of Representatives and Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the Parliamentary Delegation, Fawzia bint Abdulla Zainal, has asserted that under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahrain has taken proactive steps since the spread of COVID-19, and charted its course of action based on the established national fundamentals in respecting human rights and public freedoms. As a result, the kingdom achieved fruitful results in mitigating the repercussions of the pandemic and providing the internationally-authorised vaccines for all the citizens and residents free of charge, earning the acclaim and admiration of other…

U.S. President Joe Biden’s $715 billion Department of Defense budget will shift funding from old systems to help modernize the nuclear arsenal to deter China, while also developing future warfare capabilities, people familiar with the budget said. The defense spending request, which will be sent to Congress on Friday, is expected to contain investments in troop readyness, space, the Pacific Deterrence Initiative aimed at countering China’s military build-up in the region and nuclear weapons technology, the people said. The budget request would buy ships, jets and pay for maintenance and salaries, but an additional $38 billion is earmarked for defense-related…