Author: News Desk

The head of rugby league’s players’ union has warned it will consider legal action against clubs who try to blacklist players resisting widespread pay cuts. Garreth Carvell, the former Great Britain prop who leads the Rugby League Players Association, said he had explained to clubs, in light of rumours suggesting some would excommunicate rebel players, that the union will not react kindly to such a move. Carvell said: “We heard that rumour and we had a frank conversation with all the chief executives telling them in no uncertain terms that actions like blacklisting players is illegal and if we got…

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says the initial reports on the shots fired from North Korea into South Korea on Sunday morning indicate they were “accidental.” “I’ve seen that reporting too. I’ve seen some of our internal information as well. We can confirm at least the initial reports are that you’ve described are just about right. A handful of shots that came across from the North. We think those were accidental. South Koreans did return fire so far as we can tell there was no loss of life on either side,” Pompeo said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.” North Korea fired gunshots at…

Hackers put more than half a million login details for the teleconferencing app Zoom on the dark web, the Sunday Times newspaper reported. The logins were put up for sale at 1 pence (1.25 cents) each and were discovered and bought by cybersecurity intelligence company Cyble, the paper said. Cyble purchased the logins from a Russian-speaking person on the Telegram messaging service, which allows anonymous messaging. Zoom Video Communications Inc. has seen global usage of its service surge during coronavirus shutdowns, but has come under increasing pressure over vulnerabilities in the app’s software encryption. The company has been sued amid accusations it hid…

A national development strategy for the post-COVID-19 era will soon be started to deal with the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic and prepare for the future. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai gave instructions to develop the strategy during a video conference meeting of the Cabinet on Sunday. Sheikh Mohammed ordered that an emergency plan be developed to increase the productivity and competitiveness of the medical industries sector as part of preparation for the post-COVID-19 era in the country. A work team chaired by the Minister…

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Sunday that there was “enormous evidence” that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a laboratory in Wuhan, China. “There is enormous evidence that this is where it began,” he said on ABC’s “This Week.” But while highly critical of China’s handling of the matter, Pompeo declined to say whether he thought the virus had been intentionally released. President Donald Trump has been increasingly critical of China’s role in the pandemic, which has infected nearly 3.5 million people and killed more than 240,000 around the world. He has insisted that Beijing recklessly concealed important information…

Bahrain Journalists Association (BJA) Board of Directors extended sincerest thanks and respect to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa for their noble messages marking the World Press Freedom Day. In a statement, the board lauded the royal address, describing it as a roadmap for journalists and media persons in the upcoming phase to perform their duties freely, transparently and responsibly. It also praised the unlimited royal support to local press, stressing that HM the King’s message reflects his enlightened thought and noble will which launched the…

As part of monitoring and analyzing social changes in the Sultanate, the Social Observatory Research Program of The Research Council (TRC) has carried out a seminar titled “The Omani Family in Light of the COVID-19 Crisis” to understand how Omani families are facing the COVID-19 pandemic from social and psychological standpoints. The seminar was conducted virtually by Dr Said Al Dhafri, Director of the Social Observatory, and managed by Safiya Al Hashmi, Research Specialist at the Social Observatory, with the participation of a group of academics, specialists and professionals from various institutions. The discussion revolved around the most prominent psychological,…

Pope Francis called on Sunday for international scientific cooperation to discover a vaccine for the coronavirus and said any successful vaccine should be made available around the world. Francis, who has been delivering his Sunday address from the papal library instead of St. Peter’s Square because of the lockdown in Italy, thanked all those around the world who were providing essential services. He encouraged international cooperation to deal with the crisis and combat the virus, which has infected nearly 3.5 million people and killed more than 240,000 people worldwide. “In fact, it is important to unite scientific capabilities, in a…

The Kingdom of Bahrain joins the countries of the world in marking the World Press Freedom Day on May 3. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) chose “journalism without fear or favour” as this year’s theme. The theme asserts the importance of maintaining independent and professional journalism standards. It also addresses political, ideological or economic control and defamatory attacks on journalists, as stated in the message by UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. Bahrain takes pride in the history of its press throughout the decades. The constitutional guarantees for the freedom of press and expression are in line with…

On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, celebrated every year on 3 May, UNESCO and its Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, will host an online discussion on the importance of free media in providing the public with reliable independent information, vital in times of crisis. The debate will address the danger of what the UN Secretary-General has described as the “dangerous epidemic of misinformation.” It will advocate the need for a free press in countering disinformation which is putting lives at risk and undermining the response to the COVID-19 pandemic by promoting false cures, conspiracy theories and myths. UNESCO’s flagship event…