Author: News Desk

NATO’s 30 allies signed an accession protocol for Finland and Sweden on Tuesday to allow them to join the nuclear-armed alliance once allied parliaments ratify the decision, the most significant expansion of the alliance since the mid-1990s. “This is truly an historic moment,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said alongside the foreign ministers of the two countries. “With 32 nations around the table, we will be even stronger.” The protocol means Helsinki and Stockholm can participate in NATO meetings and have greater access to intelligence but will not be protected by the NATO defence clause that an attack on one ally…

Saudi Arabian Health Ministry stated that the number of pilgrims who received medical services through hospitals and health centers in Makkah and Madinah started from reached 43,425. Hospitals and health centers provided specialized treatment to pilgrims, including five open-heart surgeries, 66 cardiac catheterizations, 182 dialysis procedures, 95 surgical operations, and the admission of 297 pilgrims, SPA reported One birth was registered by the ministry, and the Virtual Health Hospital provided a number of virtual services, including four-stroke diagnoses, and 743 pilgrims benefited from instant counseling services (Sehaty). The ministry prepared its health facilities in Makkah, Al Madinah, and the holy…

The Two Holy Mosques Affairs General Presidency president Dr. Abdulrahman Al Sudais announced that all preparations have been finalized to cover the Kaaba with the kiswa this year. Al Sudais stressed that the Saudi leadership is proactive in every measure that would raise the level of services provided in the Two Holy Mosques, with Kaaba on the leadership’s top concern through maintaining its Kiswa and replacing it with a new one on yearly basis, SPA reported. He launched a campaign titled “In Your Languages, We Welcome You,” which aims to serve pilgrims at the Grand Mosque and guide them in…

South Korea will expand its generation of nuclear power to more than 30 percent of its total energy creation by 2030 as part of efforts to boost energy security and better meet carbon neutrality goals, the industry ministry said Tuesday. The Yoon Suk-yeol government has pledged to reverse the nuclear phase-out policy of the previous administration, rebuild the industry and support its expansion overseas, South Korean News Agency (Yonhap) reported. The comparable figure came to 27.4 percent as of 2021. According to the comprehensive energy plan announced Tuesday, the government will resume the construction of the Shin-Hanul No. 3 and…

The overall volume of trade exchanges between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Federative Republic of Brazil topped $2.2 billion in 2021. “Brazil is considered the first trading partner of the Kingdom in general in terms of the value of imports in the second and third quarters of 2021”, said Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Chairman Sameer Abdulla Nass. Addressing the opening session of the Arab-Brazil Economic Forum, he stressed Bahraini private sector’s keenness to expand partnerships with its counterparts, stressing the importance of strengthening cooperation in the technological sector, which is witnessing a remarkable development at the global…

Foreign Affairs Ministry said that it is closely following the case of Bahraini woman in Turkey, in which she appeals to officials through social media to expedite her return to Bahrain. Bahrain’s embassy in Ankara learned on May 24 from the citizen’s father that she was arrested while entering Turkey, and she was released pending further proceedings in the case. The Turkish court issued a travel ban against the citizen until the date of the hearing in her case on September 29. The ministry explained that the embassy has followed up the citizen’s issue starting from the arrest, as it…

Russian forces set their sights on their next objectives in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk province on Tuesday after President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in neighbouring Luhansk province and the five-month long war entered a new phase. The capture of the city of Lysychansk on Sunday completed the Russian conquest of Luhansk, one of two regions in Donbas, the industrialised eastern region of Ukraine that has become the site of the biggest battle in Europe in generations. Both sides have suffered heavy casualties in the fight for Luhansk, particularly during the siege of the twin cities of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk. Both cities…

IKEA will open for business for a final time in Russia on Tuesday, with customers permitted to buy goods in an online-only fire sale before the Swedish furniture company winds down its operations in a market to which it hopes one day to return. “From July 5 for a few weeks you can buy IKEA goods only on ikea.ru,” IKEA said on its Russian website. “Goods will be on sale for as long as they are in stock.” It was not possible to add items to the online basket as of 11:00 a.m. in Moscow (0830 GMT). IKEA’s Russian press…

Austria’s gas supply situation has improved, with deliveries from Russia at about 60% of agreed volumes, oil and gas group OMV said on Tuesday as the head of the country’s regulator said he saw no need to declare an alert level. OMV said the reduction in deliveries was at around 40% compared with around 50% previously. The energy market has become part of an economic war between Moscow and the West since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 OMV said in June that Russia’s Gazprom had informed it of a reduction in gas deliveries, but that at the time supply for customers…

Russian businessman Vladimir Potanin, the largest shareholder at Nornickel, said he was ready to discuss a possible merger of the mining giant with aluminium producer Rusal , in part as a defence against Western sanctions. Potanin told RBC TV he had sent a letter on Monday confirming his agreement to start merger discussions “because this allows the creation of a national champion. This allows us to even further diversify the shareholder base.” He said the need to “acquire extra stability against sanctions” and the potential requirement for state support for projects in Russia were among reasons to discuss the deal,…