Author: News Desk

Nicaragua received a first batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses, Vice President Rosario Murillo said on Tuesday, touting the inoculations donated through the World Health Organization’s global vaccine-sharing COVAX program. Murillo said Covax had donated 137,000 doses and that the Nicaragua would receive more shots through the Covax mechanism at the end of March, but did not specify how many. In late February, Nicaragua received its first batch of vaccine doses from an initial donation of Russia’s Sputnik V product and has begun inoculating people with pre-existing conditions such as heart disease, kidney failure and cancer. India has also already donated…

Vietnam’s first domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine, called Nanocovax, is expected to be available by the fourth quarter of this year and put into use in 2022, the health ministry said on Wednesday. The announcement comes as more countries try to speed up development of homegrown vaccines amid tight global supply and concerns over the emergence of new strains of the virus. “The containment of the pandemic depends largely on the development of vaccines,” the ministry said in a statement. Four Vietnamese companies were engaged in vaccine research and production and two were undertaking human tests including on Nanocovax and the…

Taiwan will form its first travel bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the tiny Pacific nation of Palau, the government said on Wednesday. Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control thanks to early and effective prevention, but has kept its borders largely shut, and the bubble marks a small return to normality. Taiwan currently has only 29 active cases being treated in hospitals. Palau, one of only 15 countries to officially recognise the Chinese-claimed island’s government, and whose president plans to visit Taiwan, has reported zero cases. “I’m glad to announce the official launch of the Taiwan-Palau travel bubble,”…

A new mosque named after late Shaikha Sheikha bint Nasser Al-Suweidi was opened in Jid Ali, the Capital Governorate. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Shaikh Salman bin Ateyatalla Al Khalifa, Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatalla Al Khalifa, sons and grandsons of late Shaikha Sheikha bint Nasser Al-Suweidi. Addressing the ceremony, Dr. Al Hajeri stressed the importance of building mosques countrywide, to keep pace with the urban expansion plans. He paid tribute to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for his directives to develop such projects, hailing the support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa,…

US President Joe Biden will next week hold his first full press conference since taking office, journalists accompanying the president on a trip to Pennsylvania said Tuesday, citing the White House. Biden is to take reporters’ questions next week on Thursday, March 25, Deutsche press agency (dpa) reported. The US media has repeatedly noted that Biden has been taking his time to schedule his first press conference as president. The Democrat has been taking questions from reporters on the sidelines of appearances since he took office on January 20, but has not yet held a press conference. With his inauguration, however, Biden revived…

Uber drivers in Britain should receive the minimum wage from the time they log on until they log off from the app, two former drivers who led a successful court battle said after the firm granted workers’ rights on Wednesday. Following a Supreme Court defeat last month, the Silicon Valley-based company reclassified its more than 70,000 drivers in Britain as workers, meaning they are guaranteed entitlements such as holiday pay. On the minimum wage, which stands at 8.72 pounds ($12.13) per hour for those aged 25 and over, Uber said it would apply “after accepting a trip request and after expenses” and that…

North Korea so far has rebuffed entreaties from the United States to engage in dialogue, the White House said on Monday, as a chill in relations that began under then-President Donald Trump has extended into Joe Biden’s presidency. Nuclear-armed North Korea gave up on diplomacy with Trump even though he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had three high-profile summit meetings and exchanged a series of letters. Trump had refused North Korean entreaties to relax sanctions against Pyongyang unless Kim took steps to dismantle his nuclear program, which he refused to do. Biden White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told…

Listed companies in the UAE now need to have at least one female director on their boards, according to the Securities and Commodities Authority. The requirement for all companies on local markets came into force following a board meeting on Sunday by the market’s regulator. The UAE’s markets must be elevated “to meet the highest global standards”, the head of the SCA’s board and Minister of Economy Abdulla Bin Touq said in a statement. This “is a priority for the SCA and its board during the coming period and we will work with all partners to enhance the local investment…

Three days of voting began in the Netherlands on Monday in a parliamentary election seen as a referendum on the Dutch government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Mark Rutte, one of Europe’s longest-serving leaders, is widely expected to gain enough support to secure a fourth term. Four polls released this week showed Rutte’s conservative VVD taking 21-26% of the vote, compared with 11-16% for its closest rival, Geert Wilders’ anti-Islam Freedom Party, which leads the parliamentary opposition. With a ban on public gatherings, the election campaign focused on a series of televised debates in which Rutte maintained his…

Indian Naval Ship (INS) Talwar, a guided missile Frigate of the Indian Navy, arrived at Mina Salman Port on Monday. In the framework of the deep-rooted friendly ties, multi-faceted and growing cooperation between India and the Kingdom of Bahrain, Indian Naval Ships have been frequently visiting Bahrain.INS Talwar (F 40) (translated as ‘Sword’) is the lead ship of Talwar class Guided Missile Frigates and was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 18 June 2003. One of the potent warships of Indian Navy displaces about 3700 tons and is capable of speeds in excess of 30 knots (about 55 kmph). Equipped with an…