Author: News Desk

A fire sparked by an oxygen tank explosion killed at least 82 people and injured 110 at a hospital in Baghdad that had been equipped to house COVID-19 patients, an Interior Ministry spokesman said on Sunday. “We urgently need to review safety measures at all hospitals to prevent such a painful incident from happening in future,” spokesman Khalid al-Muhanna told state television, announcing the toll. The fire erupted on Saturday at the Ibn Khatib hospital in the Diyala Bridge area. Ali Bayati, a member of Iraq’s semi-official High Commission for Human Rights, had said earlier a final death toll had…

India set a new global record of the most number of COVID-19 infections in a day, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged all citizens to be vaccinated and exercise caution, saying the “storm” of infections had shaken the country. India’s number of cases surged by 349,691 in the past 24 hours, the fourth straight day of record peaks, and hospitals in Delhi and across the country are turning away patients after running out of medical oxygen and beds. India’s total tally of infections stands at 16.96 million and deaths 192,311 after 2,767 more died overnight, health ministry data showed. “We…

Manama: HRH Crown Prince’s Court Chief Shaikh Khalifa bin Daij Al Khalifa congratulated HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, His Majesty’s the King’s Representative for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs on the royal decree issued by HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. appointing him as Board of Directors Chairman of the Oil and Gas Holding Company B.S.C (Nogaholding). He said that the appointment reflects the royal trust in HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and his key role and achievements in serving the nation, wishing him every success to carry out HM the King’s visions. He stressed the vital…

The Saudi Central Bank announced its intention to issue a 200 denomination of the Saudi currency, on the occasion of the 5-year Anniversary of launching “Kingdom’s Vision 2030”, in the reign of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. The Saudi Central Bank clarified that the Two-Hundred Saudi Riyal Banknote will be put into circulation by Sunday together with other current banknotes in all its denomination as official legal tender. The Central Bank stated that the new Two-Hundred denomination was printed according to the latest standards in the field of banknote printing. The new denomination…

1 Billion Covid vaccine doses administered globally More than one billion doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered worldwide, less than five months after the first mass inoculation programmes began to be rolled out, according to an AFP tally on Saturday. The one billion doses have been administered in 207 countries and territories, according to the tally compiled from official sources. More than half, or 58 percent, have been given in three countries: the United States with 225.6 million doses, China with 216.1 million doses and India with 138.4 million. (Starvision News 3D Pro) US lifts pause on using J&J’s…

More than one billion doses of coronavirus vaccines have been administered worldwide, less than five months after the first mass inoculation programmes began to be rolled out, according to an AFP tally on Saturday. At least 1,002,938,540 doses have been administered in 207 countries and territories, according to the tally compiled from official sources. More than half, or 58 percent, have been given in three countries: the United States with 225.6 million doses, China with 216.1 million doses and India with 138.4 million.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday said the 1915 massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire constituted genocide, a historic declaration that infuriated Turkey and is set to further strain frayed ties between the two NATO allies. The largely symbolic move, breaking away from decades of carefully calibrated language from the White House, will likely to be celebrated by the Armenian diaspora in the United States, but comes at a time when Ankara and Washington have deep policy disagreements over a host of issues. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey “entirely rejects” the U.S. decision which he said was…

Over half a million people – nearly one-third of the population – have completely vaccinated against COVID-19 in Bahrain. A total of 646,919 people have taken the first jab, while 509,887 individuals have taken two jabs as of Friday. Bahrain had approved a total of 4 vaccines (Astrazeneca, Pfizer, Sinopharm and Sputnik). (Data as of 23 April 2021)

China will hold discussions on building a defence system against near-Earth asteroids, a senior space agency official said on Saturday, as the country steps up its longer term space ambitions. Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, did not provide further detail in his opening remarks at a ceremony for China’s space day in the eastern city of Nanjing. China has made space exploration a top priority in recent years, aiming to establish a programme operating thousands of space flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tonnes of cargo and passengers by 2045. The European Space…

A four-astronaut team arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour, NASA said, after becoming the first crew ever to be propelled into orbit by a rocket booster recycled from a previous spaceflight. The Endeavour capsule, also making its second flight, was launched into space on Friday atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX is the Elon Musk’s commercial rocket company. The Endeavour docked to the space station complex at 5:08 a.m. EDT (0908 GMT) while the spacecraft were flying 264 miles (425 km) above the…