Author: News Desk

Russia summoned the European Union’s ambassador in Moscow on Tuesday, fuming over what it calls an illegal rail blockade of a Russian outpost on the Baltic Sea, the latest stand-off over sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine. On the ground in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s separatist proxies said they were advancing towards Kyiv’s main battlefield bastion. A Ukrainian official described a lull in fighting there as the “calm before the storm”. The latest diplomatic crisis is over the Kaliningrad enclave, a port and surrounding countryside on the Baltic Sea that is home to nearly a million Russians, connected to the…

Germany faces certain recession if already faltering Russian gas supplies completely stop, an industry body warned on Tuesday, as Italy said it would consider offering financial backing to help companies refill gas storage to avoid a deeper crisis in winter. European Union countries from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Adriatic coast in the south have been outlining measures to cope with a supply crisis after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put energy at the heart of an economic battle between Moscow and the West. The EU relied on Russia for as much as 40% of its gas needs…

The Kremlin said on Tuesday it did not know the location of two Americans captured while fighting in eastern Ukraine, but that they were mercenaries and could be sentenced to death in Russian-backed breakaway territories. Americans Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, went missing this month while fighting near Kharkiv. Russian state media later showed video interviews with the pair, saying they had been captured by Russian-backed forces. Citing an unidentified source, the Interfax news agency reported that the men were in the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine. Britons Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin and…

Soccer’s world governing body FIFA has moved to help protect foreign players affected by the conflict in Ukraine by allowing them to suspend their contracts until June 2023. Earlier this month, Andriy Pavelko, president of Ukraine’s football federation, revealed details of discussions with the heads of FIFA and UEFA about resuming men’s and women’s matches in the country in a safe manner in August. Foreign players contracted to Ukrainian clubs have mostly fled since Russia invaded the country back in February, with it remaining uncertain as to whether they will return, should the league begin again in two months time.…

Dmitry Muratov, the co-winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize and the editor of one of Russia’s last major independent newspapers, auctioned off his Nobel medal for a record $103.5 million to aid children displaced by the war in Ukraine. All proceeds from the auction, which coincided with the World Refugee Day on Monday, will benefit UNICEF’s humanitarian response for Ukraine’s displaced children, Heritage Auctions, which conducted the sale in New York, said in a statement. Muratov’s Novaya Gazeta newspaper, fiercely critical of President Vladimir Putin and his government, suspended operations in Russia in March after warnings from the state…

Saudi Arabia has removed the suspension of travel to Turkey, India, Ethiopia and Vietnam. A Ministry of Interior source said the decision was based on the follow-up to the epidemiological situation of the pandemic and on reports by the health authorities, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Aluminium Bahrain  (Alba)’s CEO Ali Al Baqali launched the company’s plant-wide Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Campaign ‘A Journey, Not A Destination’ with a welcome message that was broadcasted to all employees and contractors’ workers as well as representatives of other GCC smelters and Gulf Aluminium Council (GAC). The campaign aims to reinforce Alba ESG roadmap’s six priority areas aligned with Bahrain’s commitment to reach Net Zero Emissions by 2060. “We believe in producing responsibly and sustainably and we aim to establish a purpose-driven culture that is focused on long-term value creation for our stakeholders and the society we operate…

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary General Dr Nayef Al Hajraf said the pan-Gulf bloc is keen on providing relief and assistance to refugees in accordance with the humanitarian principles stated in international conventions and treaties. The assistance is based on the instructions of the Islamic religion to devote the spirit of fraternity, compassion and tolerance to help all the needy and distressed. Speaking on World Refugee Day, Al Hajraf said that the GCC countries spare no effort to aid refugees and provide health, food, social care and relief for them in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.…

Soldiers on small boats delivered relief material on Monday across flooded towns and villages in Bangladesh, after more than nine million people were marooned in the low-lying country and neighbouring India following heavy rains, officials said. At least 32 people have been killed in Bangladesh since late last week following monsoon downpours that triggered catastrophic flooding in the northeastern Sylhet administrative division, leaving around a quarter of its 15 million population stranded amid fast-rising waters and swollen rivers. “The flooding is the worst in 122 years in the Sylhet region,” Atiqul Haque, Director General of Bangladesh’s Department of Disaster Management,…