Author: News Desk

Saudi Education Minister Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed Al Al-Shaikh received the Ambassador-designate of Bahrain to Saudi Arabia Shaikh Ali bin Abdulrahman bin Ali Al Khalifa. The meeting reviewed the historical relations between the two kingdoms, and their steady growth in all fields. They discussed aspects of cooperation in the field of education, especially in the exchange of scholarships, and the promotion of opportunities to study and exchange students in the two brotherly countries to Bahraini and Saudi universities. The two sides emphasized the importance of exchanging scientific expertise and educational activities in a way that serves common interests and meets…

New Zealand will remove many of its COVID-19 pandemic mandates over the next two weeks as an outbreak of the omicron variant begins to wane. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Wednesday that people will no longer need to be vaccinated to visit places like retail stores, restaurants and bars from April 4. Gone, too, will be a requirement to scan QR barcodes at those venues. A vaccine mandate will be scrapped for some workers including teachers, police officers and waiters though it will continue for health care and aged care workers, border workers and corrections officers. Also gone from Friday…

A delegation from the parliament participating in the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU)’s 144th assembly met with a delegation from the Indian parliament in Bali. Shura Council First Deputy Chairman Jamal Mohammed Fakhro represented the delegation. The delegation noted that the growing Bahraini-Indian relations reflect the leaderships’ keenness to strengthen of the economic cooperation, trade exchange and exchange of experiences in various fields. The Indian delegation praised the friendly relations and cooperation between the two countries.

Chief of Public Security Lt-General Tariq Al Hassan participated in the meetings of the Arab forum to reinforce international anti-corruption cooperation in the Saudi capital Riyadh. Lt-General Al Hassan highlighted Bahrain’s remarkable regional and international achievements in its fight against corruption, and affirmed the importance of such meetings in reinforcing the exchange of anti-corruption expertise and successful experiences. The forum included three sessions that focused on promoting joint Arab work and efforts to promote integrity and combat corruption. Al Hassan and President of the Saudi National Anti-Corruption Commission (Nazaha) Mazen Al Kahmous signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The Chief said…

Japan lifted a power-supply warning for Tokyo and surrounding areas as supply stabilized, a day after the government had warned of possible blackouts in the aftermath of an earthquake last week. The warning was lifted at 11:00 JST (02:00 GMT), after the government issued an urgent call the previous day to save energy, to which businesses and households responded by dimming lights and turning down thermostats. Although Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), which powers the capital and its surrounding areas, had warned that as many as 3 million households could lose power in the evening on Tuesday, Japan managed to…

Speaker Fawzia bint Abdullah Zainal held a talk session with Indonesian People’s Representative Council Speaker Puan Maharani, during her participation in the 144th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly. The Speaker affirmed the keenness to strengthen Bahraini-Indonesian cooperation and expressed pride in the development of relations thanks to the support of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Indonesian President Joko Widodo. She valued the government efforts headed by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to strengthen partnership and to boost bilateral relations. Zainal praised Bahrain’s legislation and advanced regulations that…

Russia’s security policy dictates that the country would only use nuclear weapons if its very existence were threatened, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN in an interview on Tuesday. The comment, nearly four weeks after Russia sent its forces into Ukraine, came amid Western concern that the conflict there could escalate into a nuclear war. Peskov made the comment in an English-language interview when asked whether he was confident President Vladimir Putin would not use nuclear weapons. “We have a concept of domestic security and it’s public, you can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used. So…

British inflation shot up faster than expected last month to hit a new 30-year high, worsening a historic squeeze on household finances that finance minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to ease in a budget update later on Wednesday. The Office for National Statistics said consumer prices rose by 6.2% in February after a 5.5% rise in January, its highest rate since March 1992. The median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a reading of 5.9% and only three of the 39 respondents had expected such a strong reading. The ONS highlighted household energy bills -…

Russian energy giant Gazprom said on Wednesday it was continuing to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers. The company said requests stood at 106.5 million cubic metres for March 23, down from 108 million cubic metres for March 22.

Heavy rain in southern China on Wednesday halted the search for victims and flight information black boxes that could tell why a China Eastern Airlines passenger plane plunged into a mountainside two days earlier with 132 people on board. Rain water was filling the depression in the soft soil caused by the impact of the crash, state television reported, and the local weather bureau said there were risks of landslides, torrents and high winds as conditions deteriorated in the mountains of Guangxi region. The wet weather was forecast to last for the rest of the week. Flight MU5735 was en…