Author: News Desk

Kuwait’s 91-year-old ruler Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah was admitted to hospital on Saturday for medical checks, and the country’s crown prince will temporarily carry out some of his duties, the state news agency KUNA reported. It said Sheikh Sabah, who has ruled the OPEC oil producer and U.S. ally since 2006, would undergo a number of medical checkups, but it gave no further details. A royal order was issued assigning Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmed al-Sabah, the emir’s designated successor, “to take over some constitutional jurisdictions of His Highness the Emir temporarily”, KUNA said in a separate statement. Last…

Saudi Arabia’s economy likely deteriorated more in the second quarter than in the first three months of the year, the Saudi central bank governor said on Saturday. Speaking at the end of a virtual meeting of G20 finance officials, Ahmed al-Kholifey said he did not expect the Saudi economy to have improved in the second quarter despite a pickup in June. Saudi Arabia’s economy shrank by 1% in the first quarter, as the coronavirus crisis and lower oil prices took their toll.

France will enforce mask-wearing in enclosed public spaces including banks, shops and indoor markets from July 20, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Saturday, as part of efforts to curb a resurgence of COVID-19 across the country. The government has accelerated plans to make it compulsory to wear masks after series of indicators have suggested the virus could be gaining momentum, especially in areas in western and southern France that had been relatively spared during the height of the outbreak between March and May. “From Monday, mask-wearing will be mandatory in closed spaces,” Veran said on Twitter. “That concerns shops,…

Vodafone Idea on Saturday said it has paid additional Rs 1,000 crore to the government towards the statutory dues, taking its total payment to an aggregate Rs 7,854 crore. The company had earlier deposited Rs 6,854 crore in three tranches, Vodafone Idea said in a regulatory filing. “In line with the above, the company has yesterday (July 17, 2020) paid a further sum of Rs 1,000 crore to the DoT (Department of Telecom) towards the AGR dues. The company had earlier deposited Rs 6,854 crore in 3 tranches,” the filing said. With this, the company has paid an aggregate amount…

Finance officials from the Group of 20 major economies are poised to recommend extending a freeze in official bilateral debt payments by the world’s poorest countries, according to sources briefed on a virtual G20 meeting taking place Saturday. Multiple sources said there was strong support for extending the Debt Service Suspension Initiative agreed in April into 2021, but the move would not be finalized until later in the year, when G20 leaders are due to meet. World Bank chief economist Carmen Reinhart told reporters on Friday that the move was “highly probable” since the novel coronavirus pandemic was more severe…

BRAVE Combat Federation, the only truly global MMA promotion, under the leadership of His Highness Shaikh Khaled bin Hamad Al Khalifa, is set to begin a marathon of events, which will take the Kingdom of Bahrain’s flag to the highest places in sports once again. There will be five incredible shows in Europe in the next five weeks, beginning with BRAVE CF 35, in Romania. The show is set to be headlined by Italy’s Enrico Cortese, one of the best-kept secrets in European MMA. “The Killing Machine” will be taking on Claudiu Alexe in the main event, as the experienced…

Lewis Hamilton took a record-extending 90th career Formula One pole position on Saturday as he led a Mercedes one-two in Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying. The six-times world champion is aiming to win the race for the eighth time at the Hungaroring on Sunday to equal retired Ferrari great Michael Schumacher’s record for victories at the same grand prix. Championship-leading Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas qualified second with the Mercedes-powered Racing Point cars of Canadian Lance Stroll and Mexican Sergio Perez together on the second row.

Saudi Arabia has reported 2,565 new cases and 40 deaths from coronavirus, taking the total cases to 248,416. The death toll raised to 2,447 after reporting the new deaths. Saudi is holding the 13th position for most coronavirus cases worldwide, just below Pakistan. Meanwhile, 3,057 patients fully recovered from the virus, bringing the total recoveries to 194,218. In line with recent trends, the majority of the new cases are in Makkah (224), followed by Riyadh (212) and Jeddah (189). https://twitter.com/media_ksa/status/1284466921589669889?s=20

All Pakistani pilots working for Vietnamese airlines have valid and legitimate licences and none have been involved in a flight incident or safety threat, the government said on Saturday. Vietnam last month grounded all Pakistani pilots working for local airline amid concern from global regulators that some pilots may have been using dubious licences. ♦ Pakistan validates licenses of 166 pilots working in foreign countries “All licenses administered by the Pakistani aviation regulator are legitimate and valid. There are no fake licenses, as mentioned by the media,” a government statement said, citing a note from the Pakistani Embassy to the Vietnamese…

UAE records 289 cases from coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the total cases in the country to 56,711. The new cases were found after conducting more than 46,000 coronavirus tests across the country. It’s one of the lowest daily cases since May. The death toll stays at 338, as one new death was reported. Meanwhile, 469 new recoveries were also announced, bringing the total recoveries to 48,917. This means that over 86 percent of the confirmed cases have fully recovered from the virus. Dubai has announced a new package to help the economy cope with the effects of the…