Author: News Desk

Council of Representatives Speaker Fawzia bint Abdulla Zainal met Senator James E. Risch, Chairman of Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, on the sidelines of her official visit, along with a parliamentary delegation, to the United States of America. She stressed the importance of stepping up parliamentary cooperation and building on strategic alliance and historic relations binding the Kingdom of Bahrain and the USA. The Speaker highlighted Bahrain’s development and democratic strides, led by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, stressing efforts to promote human rights and the values of tolerance, coexistence, dialogue and moderation. She underscored the importance…

The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), the UAE’s independent nuclear regulator, has today issued the Operating Licence for Unit 3 of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant to Nawah Energy Company (Nawah), the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation’s (ENEC) subsidiary responsible for the operation of the nuclear power plant located in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi Emirate. The licence, with an estimated duration of 60 years, authorises Nawah to commission and operate Unit 3 of the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, Emirates News Agency (WAM) repored. The decision to issue the licence is a culmination of efforts made by FANR…

Lebanon will sign a “final” agreement to import gas from Egypt on June 21, its energy ministry told Reuters, after months of delays to a plan viewed as critical to boosting power supplies for Lebanon’s stricken economy. The plan, first floated in summer 2021, is part of a U.S.-backed effort to address Lebanon’s crippling electricity shortages using Egyptian gas supplied via Jordan and Syria, Reuters reported. A U.S. official said earlier this week that final approval of the agreement between the countries would allow Washington to evaluate whether the deal was in compliance with U.S. sanctions on Syria, after which…

The Egyptian Supreme Committee for the Management of the Epidemiology and Health Pandemic Crisis has announced the lifting of  all COVID-related entry restrictions that had been imposed on Egyptians and foreign travellers. This came during a meeting organised by the Committee under the chairmanship of Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, with the participation of a number of ministers and officials concerned.

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…