Author: News Desk

Information Affairs Minister Ali bin Mohammed Al Romaihi hailed His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s care for Bahraini youth, who represent the nation’s real wealth, honouring the Kingdom across all fields. He praised the Government, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for its drive to bolster the role of Bahraini youth in supporting the Kingdom’s development through their creative potential and achievements in all fields. He lauded the fruitful efforts of His Majesty the King’s Representative for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs, His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad…

Labour Fund (Tamkeen) Chief Executive Officer Hussein Mohammed Rajab expressed thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for declaring the Bahrain Youth Day, which will be celebrated on March 25 annually. He also hailed the support of the Government, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prime and Prime Minister, praising royal support to Bahrain youth to highlight their efforts and achievements which contribute to the Kingdom’s progress and prosperity. Tamkeen CEO commended the role of creative youth competences which succeeded in honouring the Kingdom of Bahrain across all…

Ukrainian troops are recapturing towns east of Kyiv and Russian forces who had been trying to seize the capital are falling back on overextended supply lines, Britain said on Friday, one of the strongest indications yet of a shift in momentum in the war. The mayor of a suburb east of Kyiv said Ukrainian troops had recaptured a nearby village and thousands of civilians were leaving the area in response to a call from the authorities to get out of the way of the counter-attack. A month into their assault, Russian troops have failed to capture any major Ukrainian city.…

China’s state-run Sinopec Group has suspended talks for a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia, sources told Reuters, heeding a government call for caution as sanctions mount over the invasion of Ukraine. The move by Asia’s biggest oil refiner to hit the brakes on a potentially half-billion-dollar investment in a gas chemical plant and a venture to market Russian gas in China highlights the risks, even to Russia’s most important diplomatic partner, of unexpectedly heavy Western-led sanctions. Beijing has repeatedly voiced opposition to the sanctions, insisting it will maintain normal economic and trade exchanges with Russia,…

It is “foolish” to believe that Western sanctions against Russian businesses could have any effect on the Moscow government, Russian ex-president and deputy head of security council Dmitry Medvedev was quoted as saying on Friday. The sanctions will only consolidate the Russian society and not cause popular discontent with the authorities, Medvedev told Russia’s RIA news agency in an interview. The West has imposed an array of sanctions on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, but one month into the war, the Kremlin says it will continue the assault until it accomplishes its goals of Ukraine’s “demilitarisation and denazification”. Some…

Finland’s national railway operator will suspend services between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg in Russia on Monday, closing one of the last public transport routes to the European Union for Russians. Given sanctions on Russia, the operator VR had been directed by the state that it was no longer appropriate to run the service to Saint Petersburg, known as the Allegro, its head of passenger traffic Topi Simola said in a statement on Friday. “So we are suspending the traffic for the time being,” Simola said. Trains from Russia to Finland’s capital Helsinki have been full of Russians since the invasion…

Russian stocks fell on Friday in their second day of trading after a near month-long suspension, with losses led by flag carrier Aeroflot, which has lost more than a quarter of its value over two days to plunge to its lowest since 2009. Commodity stocks led a resurgent market on Thursday, many making double-digit gains, but securities slid lower across the board on Friday. The benchmark MOEX stock index closed 3.7% lower at 2,484.13 points. It had closed 4.4% higher on Thursday. The dollar-denominated RTS index fell 2.7% to 829.6 points. Prior to Thursday, stocks had not traded on Moscow’s bourse…

North Korea’s latest launch was a big, new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), state media reported on Friday, in a test leader Kim Jong Un said was designed to demonstrate the might of its nuclear force and deter any U.S. military moves. The Thursday launch was the first full ICBM test by nuclear-armed North Korea since 2017. Flight data indicated the missile flew higher and longer than any of North Korea’s previous tests before crashing into the sea west of Japan. Called the Hwasong-17, the ICBM would be the largest liquid-fuelled missile ever launched by any country from a road-mobile launcher,…

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said he wouldn’t resign, rejecting opposition calls to step down ahead of a no-confidence move against him in his toughest challenge since coming to power in 2018. Pakistan’s parliament will convene on Friday to start proceedings into the no-confidence motion, that could take seven days to actually go for voting to decide whether Khan will be removed. The no confidence move has risked constitutional, administrative and economic crises amid a pending International Monetary Fund review to issue next tranche of a $6 billion rescue package, which was scheduled this week but has yet to happen.…

Japan does not know how Russia will handle the required rouble payments for its energy sold to “unfriendly” countries, the finance minister said on Thursday. Japan accounted for 4.1% of Russia’s crude oil exports and 7.2% of its natural gas exports in 2021. “Currently, we’re looking into the situation with relevant ministries as we don’t quite understand what is (Russia’s) intention and how they would do this,” Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said in a parliament session. The government will also coordinate with Japanese companies to collect information about the move, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a Thursday news conference.…