Author: News Desk

Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook on Friday will take the witness stand to defend the App Store, a booming part of the iPhone maker’s business that “Fortnite” maker Epic Games says is a monopoly that Apple abuses. Cook is expected to spend more than two hours making what are likely to be his most extensive public remarks on the App Store business, which anchors Apple’s $53.8 billion services business. Epic has waged a public relations and legal campaign, arguing that Apple acts anticompetitively by only allowing apps it approves on the world’s 1 billion iPhones and by forcing developers to use…

Spain will allow all vaccinated travelers to visit the country from June 7, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on Friday, as the tourism hotspot aims to revive its virus-battered travel industry. “From June 7, all vaccinated people and their families will be welcome in our country, Spain, regardless of their country of origin,” Sanchez said at an international tourism fair in Madrid. He also announced that British travelers would be allowed to visit Spain for holidays from next week. “From next Monday, the 24th of May, Spain will be delighted to receive British tourists again into our country,” Sanchez said. He said…

Cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Hong Kong will have to be licenced by the city’s markets regulator and will only be allowed to provide services to professional investors, according to government proposals published on Friday. Governments and financial regulators around the world are still assessing whether and how they should regulate the cryptocurrency industry. Investor protection and preventing money laundering are particular concerns. Cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ether have been on a roller-coaster ride this week which has raised further questions about their potential as mainstream investments. Dozens of cryptocurrency exchanges operate in Hong Kong, including some of the world’s…

The Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA) announced on Friday that entry to Bahrain will be restricted, effective Sunday, to citizens, GCC nationals and holders of residence visas from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal. In a statement today, NPRA announced that passengers arriving from the aforementioned countries will have to be quarantined for 10 days, present a certificate confirming the result of a negative PCR test containing a QR code, no more than 48 hours before their arrival. “Political Prisoner” concept does not exist in Bahrain: Interior Ministry Bahrain welcomes ceasefire in Gaza Strip The Nationality, Passports and…

The Ministry of Interior has dismissed baseless allegations made by Al Jazeera Channel in a report on its website. In a statement, the ministry said that the report “Activists reveal the suffering of political detainees in Bahrain with COVID-19 outbreaks” is part of its ongoing incitement against Bahrain and its people. Refuting the allegations, the ministry said: “First: The records of the “Reformation and Rehabilitation” in Bahrain doesn’t know the “political prisoners” concept that comes out of the imagination of those promoting it, such as the inciting channel that works against Bahrainis and knows only the language of violence and…

Bahrain has welcomed the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip following the success of the efforts of Egypt in leading negotiations between both parties to reach a long-term truce in order to end the military operations in the Gaza Strip. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs commended the effective joint international efforts to stop the military operations between both sides to prevent the destructive operations in preparation for political negotiations to restore security and stability and work to deliver humanitarian aid and relief supplies to the residents of the Gaza Strip. The ministry stressed the importance…

European Union countries agreed on Wednesday to ease COVID-19 travel restrictions on non-EU visitors ahead of the summer tourist season, a move that could open the bloc’s door to all Britons and to vaccinated Americans. Ambassadors from the 27 EU countries approved a European Commission proposal from May 3 to loosen the criteria to determine “safe” countries and to let in fully vaccinated tourists from elsewhere, EU sources said. They are expected to set a new list this week or early next week. Based on data from the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Britain and a number of…

The CEO and co-founder of TikTok’s owner ByteDance has announced he will step down and transition to a new role by the end of the year. In a letter to employees, Zhang Yiming said he will be succeeded by fellow co-founder Rubo Liang. The move marks the biggest shake-up at the Chinese technology giant since its launch almost a decade ago. TikTok’s popularity has helped it become a global sensation but has also drawn scrutiny. “The truth is, I lack some of the skills that make an ideal manager. I’m more interested in analysing organizational and market principles, and leveraging…

A giant slab of ice bigger than the Spanish island of Majorca has sheared off from the frozen edge of Antarctica into the Weddell Sea, becoming the largest iceberg afloat in the world, the European Space Agency said on Wednesday. The newly calved berg, designated A-76 by scientists, was spotted in recent satellite images captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, the space agency said in a statement posted on its website with a photo of the enormous, oblong ice sheet. Its surface area spans 4,320 square km (1,668 square miles) and measures 175 km (106 miles) long by 25 km…

Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is seriously ill and his trial on charges of bribing witnesses should be temporarily suspended, a Milan prosecutor said on Wednesday. Berlusconi, 84, has been in and out of hospital this year after contracting COVID-19 last September, and speculation has mounted in recent days over a deterioration of his health. “We definitely believe Berlusconi is seriously ill and is suffering from a serious disease. This is what medical certificates and consultancies show,” prosecutor Tiziana Siciliano said. Speaking during a hearing for a case connected to one in which Berlusconi was acquitted of having sex…