Author: News Desk

Joint Municipal Services Assistant Undersecretary Shawqiya Humaidan reviewed Bahrain’s strategic afforestation plan. This came under Bahrain’s participation at the eleventh session of the World Urban Forum (WUF11) in Poland. The session is held under the patronage of the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) from June 26 to June 30. Humaidan explained that the strategy aims to double the number of trees in Bahrain by 2035 through the expansion of afforestation projects in various streets and intersections, and municipal and government projects. She said that the approved strategy aims to double the number of trees from 1.8 million currently to…

The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) has conducted an inspection campaign in the Southern Governorate. The campaign reported several violations of LMRA’s regulations, and necessary legal action was taken. The campaign was in cooperation with the Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) and Southern Governorate Directorate that included Governorate work sites. It reflects the LMRA, MoI’s and other government bodies efforts for the enhancing work environment. In addition to addressing LMRA close monitoring level in practices that affect the competitiveness, flexibility, justice of the labour market and their negative impact on social security. LMRA emphasized…

UAE President His Highness Shaikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued a Resolution granting children of Emirati mothers residing in the country the same benefits as other citizens with regard to education and health sectors. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs shall issue the necessary directives to implement the provisions of this resolution, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported. The Ministry of Presidential Affairs shall provide the necessary support to the federal and local government agencies to implement the provisions of this resolution and the decisions required in this regard. The President’s resolution comes in line with…

Bahrain and Egypt have signed 10 agreements, memoranda of understanding and joint executive programs in the fields of economy, science and technology, law and justice, logistics, urban development, trade and investment, in addition to tourism, education, and the environment. The deals were signed during a ceremony held at Al Sakhir Place, in the presence of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister. These agreements, memoranda of understanding and joint executive programs aim to enhance the solid bilateral cooperation between the two…

The son and namesake of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was sworn in as president of the Philippines on Thursday, completing a stunning comeback for one of Asia’s most famous political dynasties, 36 years after it was ousted in a popular uprising. Marcos Jr scored a rare landslide victory in last month’s election, helped by what his critics see as a decades-long effort to alter public perceptions of a family that lived lavishly at the helm of one of the world’s most notorious kleptocracies. In a speech that echoed his campaign slogans of unity, Marcos Jr, better known as “Bongbong”, vowed…

Hong Kong has overcome its challenges and “risen from the ashes”, China’s President Xi Jinping said on Thursday, as he arrived in the former British colony to celebrate 25 years since its return to Chinese rule. Xi is to swear in the global financial hub’s new leader, John Lee, on Friday during his first visit to the city since 2017, which is also his first known trip outside the mainland in more than two years, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Wearing masks, Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, stepped off a high-speed train to be greeted by children waving flowers and…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday rejected British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s charge that if he were a woman he would not have invaded Ukraine. Speaking at a news conference in the early hours of Thursday during a visit to Turkmenistan, Putin pointed to former British leader Margaret Thatcher’s decision to send troops into the Falklands as a rebuttal of Johnson’s theory. Johnson on Wednesday dubbed Putin’s decision to launch what Moscow calls a “special military operation” against Ukraine a “perfect example of toxic masculinity” and mocked Putin’s macho posturing. Hitting back, Putin told reporters: “I just want to recall…

Russian forces have withdrawn from Ukraine’s Snake Island, a strategic outpost in the Black Sea, Russia’s defence ministry and Ukraine’s president’s office said on Thursday. “KABOOM! No Russian troops on the Snake Island anymore. Our Armed Forces did a great job,” Andriy Yermak, head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s office, wrote on Twitter. Russia’s defence ministry confirmed Russian troops had withdrawn from Snake Island, calling it a “goodwill gesture” and saying the troops had fulfilled the tasks assigned to them. The Russian ministry added the move showed Russia was not impeding U.N. efforts to organise a humanitarian corridor to export…

Trade through Lithuania to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad could return to normal within days, two sources familiar with the matter said, as European officials edge towards a compromise deal with the Baltic state to defuse a row with Moscow. Kaliningrad, which is bordered by European Union states and relies on railways and roads through Lithuania for most goods, has been cut off from some freight transport from mainland Russia since June 17 under sanctions imposed by Brussels. European officials are in talks about exempting the territory from sanctions, which have hit industrial goods such as steel so far, paving…

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would respond in kind if NATO deployed troops and infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the U.S.-led military alliance. “With Sweden and Finland, we don’t have the problems that we have with Ukraine. They want to join NATO, go ahead,” Putin told Russian state television after talks with regional leaders in the central Asian ex-Soviet state of Turkmenistan. “But they must understand there was no threat before, while now, if military contingents and infrastructure are deployed there, we will have to respond in kind and create the same threats for…