Author: News Desk

The Group of 20 (G20) major economies aims to raise $1.5 billion this year for a fund set up to better prepare for future pandemics, the health minister of current G20 president Indonesia said on Friday. G20 countries have provisionally agreed to set up a multi-billion dollar fund that health officials have said will finance efforts like surveillance, research, and better access to vaccination for lower-to-middle income countries, among others. Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin said in an interview the United States, European Union, Indonesia, Singapore and Germany have pledged about $1.1 billion to the fund so far. “If…

The wife of Julian Assange vowed to fight using every possible legal avenue after British Home Secretary Priti Patel on Friday approved the WikiLeaks’ founder’s extradition to the United States to face criminal charges. Assange is wanted by U.S. authorities on 18 counts, including a spying charge, relating to WikiLeaks’ release of vast troves of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables which Washington said had put lives in danger. His supporters say he is an anti-establishment hero who has been victimised because he exposed U.S. wrongdoing in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and that his prosecution is a politically…

China launched its third aircraft carrier on Friday, the Fujian, named after the province opposite self-ruled Taiwan, sending a statement of intent to rivals as it modernises its military. President Xi Jinping has made overhauling the world’s largest armed forces a central part of his agenda, seeking to project power well beyond China’s shores, though the government says it has no hostile intent. Champagne, colourful ribbons, water cannons and smoke were deployed to celebrate the carrier’s launch and official naming at a ceremony at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai, state media reported. Dozens of navy personnel lined up in front…

Elon Musk was sued for $258 billion on Thursday by a Dogecoin investor who accused him of running a pyramid scheme to support the cryptocurrency. In a complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan, plaintiff Keith Johnson accused Musk, electric car company Tesla Inc and space tourism company SpaceX of racketeering for touting Dogecoin and driving up its price, only to then let the price tumble. Musk is CEO of both Tesla and SpaceX. “Defendants were aware since 2019 that Dogecoin had no value yet promoted Dogecoin to profit from its trading,” the complaint said. “Musk used his pedestal as World’s…

The European Union gave its blessing on Friday for Ukraine and its neighbour Moldova to become candidates to join, in the most dramatic geopolitical shift to result from Russia’s invasion. “Ukrainians are ready to die for the European perspective,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told a news conference, wearing Ukrainian colours – a yellow blazer over a blue blouse. “We want them to live with us the European dream.” It was only the start of a process that could take many years, but it puts Kyiv on course to realise a goal that would have been far beyond…

The World Trade Organization agreed the first change to global trading rules in years on Friday as well as a deal to boost the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in a series of pledges that were heavy on compromise. The deals were forged in the early hours of the sixth day of a conference of more than 100 trade ministers that was seen as a test of the ability of nations to strike multilateral trade deals amid geopolitical tensions heightened by the Ukraine war. Delegates, who had expected a four-day conference, cheered after they passed seven agreements and declarations just before…

An indicator of credit risk in the U.S. banking system may be showing signs of stress, as the Federal Reserve’s aggressive rate hike path ratchets up expectations of economic pain. The so-called FRA-OIS spread , which measures the gap between the U.S. three-month forward rate agreement and the overnight index swap rate, increased to 29.55 basis points on Thursday, its widest since May 23, according to data from Refinitiv. The measure was at -11.66 bps earlier in the week. Widely viewed as a proxy for banking sector risk, a higher spread reflects rising interbank lending risk. “The recent spike in…

In a massive boost to user convenience, LuLu Exchange – Bahrain’s leading remittance and money exchange company, has tied up with EazyPay – Bahrain’s trusted POS Acquirer to allow its customers the option to remit money or buy foreign currency using any debit card. The move is part of LuLu Exchange’s ongoing digital transformation drive towards achieving the vision of a cashless economy. With the introduction of this facility, customers now no longer need to search for an ATM, or wait in a queue for withdrawing cash for sending money to their loved ones back home. Instead, they can simply walk…

Manama: Interior Ministry Undersecretary for Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs Shaikh Hesham bin Abdulrahman and Information and Electronic Government Authority (iGA) Chief Executive Officer, Head of Taqyeem Committee, Mohammed Ali Al Qaid, visited the NPRA Service Centre in Isa Town, which obtained the gold category classification within the “Taqyeem” program in its third edition. The Undersecretary said the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and Crown Prince, and the follow-up of the Minister of Interior, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, the center has achieved 100% of the criteria Al Qaid praised the NPRA Service Centre’s…

Bahrain International Airport (BIA) was named as the World’s Best New Airport at the Skytrax 2022 World Airport Awards held at the Passenger Terminal EXPO in Paris, France. Skytrax is among the most prestigious awarding bodies in aviation and air freight, and the Awards are regarded as the quality benchmark for the world airport industry. The latest honor for BIA comes on the back of a series of accolades from Skytrax. The airport earlier received a 5-star Skytrax rating, becoming only the third airport in the Middle East to win this accolade, and another 5-star rating for its COVID-19 safety…