Author: News Desk

Bahrain has updated international arrival procedures for passengers above the age of 6 arriving through Bahrain International Airport from, or transiting through India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, effective from 27 April 2021. All incoming passengers arriving from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh must provide proof of negative PCR test with a QR code conducted not more than 48 hours before departure. All existing travel-related procedures remain in force. All returnees and visitors must undergo PCR testing upon arrival, and test again on their 5th and 10th day, activate the ‘BeAware Bahrain’ application and sign a self-isolation agreement, which requires passengers to quarantine…

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of Denmark, and representative to the European Union and NATO, Dr. Bahia Jawad Al-Jishi, participated in the meeting of the delegation of relations with the peninsula to the European Parliament which was held on April 22, 2021 under the theme “Expatriate Workers in the Gulf: Cross-border Issues and the Current and Future Situation”. The virtual meeting was attended by a number of deputies of the European Parliament, ambassadors from the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, and representatives of various international…

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said on Friday that he is ending his weekslong hunger strike. The announcement comes days after the Russian opposition leader was transferred to a prison hospital due to his deteriorating health. “I do not withdraw the requirement to admit the necessary doctor to me — I am losing sensitivity in parts of my arms and legs, and I want to understand what it is and how to treat it, but taking into account the progress and all the circumstances, I am starting to get out of the hunger strike,” Navalny said in a message shared by his…

Kuwaiti singer Shams has said she buried herself to experience the “idea of death” and felt safe. “I wanted to experience the idea of death, be alone and live fear,” she said on a TV show. The 40-year-old singer said she had buried herself under seaside sands for 20 minutes. “I felt safe and peaceful. I felt that life is a mere deception and a lie. I started to hold myself to account,” she told “The Fortune Teller” show aired on the Egyptian private TV Al Mehwar. “I felt that Allah’s mercy is larger than my mistakes.” Shams said she…

India reported the world’s highest daily tally of coronavirus infections for a second day on Friday, surpassing 330,000 new cases, as it struggles with a health system overwhelmed by patients and plagued by accidents. Deaths in the past 24 hours also jumped to a record 2,263, the health ministry said, while officials across northern and western India, including the capital, New Delhi, warned most hospitals were full and running out of oxygen. The surge in cases came as a fire in a hospital in a suburb of Mumbai treating COVID-19 patients killed 13 people, the latest accident to hit a…

The governments of the Bahrain and Israel on Friday reached an agreement regarding mutual recognition of vaccination and green passport. This agreement is the first of its kind between the two countries and represents a global precedent for a bilateral agreement on mutual recognition of vaccination certificates. This agreement has been reached after recent week-talks between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Israel, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, and his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, as well as after contacts have been signed between the Israeli Embassy in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the…

Manama: Three mosques in the Southern Governorate have been shut down temporarily for failure to comply with COVID-19 health regulations. The Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, in coordination with the National Taskforce for Combating Coronavirus (COVID-19), decided to close the mosques for one week to enable the competent teams to track infections, carry out the disinfection operation and ascertain proper compliance and implementation of the precautionary procedures. The decision was taken out of keenness on ensuring the safety of all after the officials in charge of the mosques failed to abide by the health regulations by allowing unvaccinated worshippers…

Abu Dhabi:  Emirates will resume four weekly services to Mexico City (MEX) via Barcelona (BCN) from 2nd July 2021. The BCN-MEX route will be operated with a two-class Emirates Boeing 777-200LR. The resumed service between Dubai-Barcelona-Mexico will serve Emirates’ customers in Mexico and offer more choice to travellers heading from Europe, India, South East Asia and the Middle East via Dubai or Barcelona. The service will also provide additional connectivity to global markets for Mexican exports such as avocados, berries, mangoes, automotive parts and medical supplies. Emirates SkyCargo has been flying freighters to/from Mexico City since 2014 already, marking seven years of operations to the…

Dubai: A wearable device that warns when social distancing is not being respected and a Jordanian programme helping vulnerable communities grow online businesses during lockdown are among five new projects selected from a call for COVID-19-related proposals from Expo 2020 Dubai’s Global Best Practice Programme. The hand-picked initiatives join 45 existing best practice projects, whose simple, effective and locally based solutions solve some of the world’s biggest challenges, including those laid out in the Sustainable Development Agenda – 17 global targets designed to achieve peace and prosperity for people and the planet, according to a press release on Wednesday, The Associated…

Washington: President Joe Biden pledged on Thursday to cut US greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade as he opened an online summit of 40 world leaders on climate change. “Scientists tell us that this is the decisive decade. This is the decade we must make decisions that will avoid the worst consequences of the climate crisis,” Biden said. The two-day meeting is aimed at rallying major economies to set more ambitious carbon-slashing goals and is seen as important preparation ahead of the UN climate conference in Glasgow in November, dpa reported. Biden said the US would do its…