Author: News Desk

India captain Virat Kohli has declared Jasprit Bumrah as “the most complete bowler in world cricket” after the quick’s stellar performance in their 2-0 series sweep against West Indies. Set an improbable target of 468 late on day three, West Indies lost their final six wickets for 51 runs and were bowled out of 210 to hand India a 257-run win in the second Test at Sabina Park on Monday. Bumrah finished as the leading wicket-taker in the series with 13 dismissals at an exceptional average of 9.23, which follows his impressive performance at this year’s World Cup. “There is…

 Two bear cubs were found dead at a landfill site in Dena county, the southwestern province of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, the provincial department of environment (DOE) chief has announced. “We dispatched rangers to the area as soon as the report was received,” Mehr news agency quoted Mohsen Bastaminejad as saying on Wednesday. Lack of wildlife protection culture among people as well as awareness, and a lack of conservation forces are among the issues led to such tragic events, he lamented. Both cubs were female aged 1 to 2, which have been shot by hunting weapons in their head and chest,…

Iran exported $17.8 billion of non-oil commodities during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22). The country exported 60.737 million tons of non-oil commodities in the mentioned time span. Iran’s total foreign trade stood at $35.5 billion in the mentioned five months. The top five importers of Iranian goods in the mentioned period were China, Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan, respectively, which imported a total of more than $13.377 billion worth of commodities together. The country imported 14.126 million tons of commodities worth $17.739 billion in the said period. China, UAE, Turkey,…

Doha Zoo welcomed two rare and endangered guests to its fold recently. A night monkey (also known as owl monkey) and black-bearded marmoset Monkey gave birth in the zoo, the ministry said in a tweet. “The Doha Zoo has witnessed the birth of rare and endangered species such as the night monkey and black-bearded marmoset Monkey recently. Ministry of Municipality and Environment has designed a special program for breeding, feeding and providing the right environment for them. Let’s welcome the new guests,” the tweet said. As part of efforts to preserve rare animal species and breeds, these species are subject…

 The Greek government has announced emergency measures to deal with what it calls “huge waves” of asylum seekers arriving from Turkey amid mounting fears of the 2015 migrant crisis being replayed on the country’s shores. With boatloads of men, women, and children once again arriving on the Aegean islands, the new center-right administration vowed to bolster patrols along sea borders that are being targeted with renewed vigor by people-smugglers. “We are seeing huge waves being brought in by traffickers using new methods and better and faster boats,” the country’s civil protection minister, Michalis Chrysochoidis, said after the measures were announced at…

At least six people have been killed and one person is missing in Kenya after flash floods at a national park swept away their tour group, according to authorities. The incident on Sunday occurred at Hell’s Gate National Park in the Rift Valley region, Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) said on its Twitter account. “Six bodies of the flash flood victims have been recovered, leaving one tourist missing. The search and rescue operation continues as we reach out to next of kin to share details of the sad incident and plan together next course of action,” KWS tweeted on Monday. The group…

The Sultanate’s national carrier, Oman Air, has announced that it has canceled over 300 flights in September 2019. The company made the decision following the Public Authority of Civil Aviation’s directive that suspended all activity of the Boeing 737 Max airliner. “As a result of the Public Authority for Civil Aviation directives on suspending operations of Boeing 737 Max, we have canceled certain flights in the period between July 7 to October 1, 2019. We are rebooking guests on alternative/next available flights to their destinations. We advise all our guests who are due to travel during the same period to…

Oman’s budget deficit has dropped to the lowest level in five years, bolstered by a rise in government revenues and a slight decrease in spending, according to figures released by the sultanate’s National Centre for Statistics and Information (NSCI). Oman’s budget deficit declined by 53 percent to RO 660.6 million ($1.71mn) in the first half of 2019, compared to RO 1.4 billion ($3.63bn) during the same time last year. Largely due to higher revenues from oil, gas and corporate tax, total government revenues rose 11.4 percent to RO 5.515 billion ($14.32bn) between January and June, up from RO 4.948 billion…

The Ministry of Education will not sign contracts with expatriate teachers and will cover shortages by hiring Kuwaiti graduates, children of Kuwaiti women and Bedoons who have valid security IDs, official sources said. This decision was made in an attempt to prevent a problem that happened last year when the ministry hired teachers living in Kuwait but later discovered violations in work permits given to them before coming to Kuwait. The education ministry had then to terminate expat teachers’ contracts at the instructions of the Civil Service Commission and Public Authority for Manpower, the sources said. “One of the terminated contracts belonged…

High utility bills are reported to be weighing down on residents, expats, and businesses as many claims they are unable to cope with the rising costs. Speaking to Gulf Insider, MP Ahmed Al Ansari said that “It is worthless to live in a place where your entire salary is going towards expenses. As a Bahraini, even I struggle to pay my bills. The rise has affected both Bahrainis and expats alike,” According to a Gulf Daily News front-page headline last month, the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) received a record 195,000 calls in the past four months, sparked due to increased…