Author: News Desk

Dhaka : Authorities in Bangladesh and Myanmar prepared to evacuate hundreds of thousands of people Friday, warning them to stay away from coastal areas as a severe cyclone churned in the Bay of Bengal. Cyclone Mocha is expected to hit land on Sunday with wind speeds of up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) per hour and gusts up to 175 kph (110 mph) between Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh and Kyaukpyu in Myanmar, India’s Meteorological Department said. Bangladesh, a delta nation with more than 160 million people, is prone to natural disasters such as floods and cyclones. The evacuation of nearly…

Zurich : A FIFA fund to compensate for unpaid wages helped 225 players in the latest round of payments, including 61 in Portugal and 50 in Greece, the governing body of soccer said Friday. The $16 million FIFA Fund for Football Players was created in 2020 with the FIFPRO player union. Some clubs were suspected of closing down to avoid paying salaries and then re-started anew as a “phoenix” operation. The payments included 22 for players from Greek club Doxa Drama, plus 19 from CD Aves and 18 from Uniao da Madeira in Portugal. Cases in China came from Shanghai…

Manama: The announcement regarding the appointment of the new ambassador was made in a press release issued by the Union Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday. Vinod K Jacob has been appointed as the new Indian ambassador to Bahrain. The appointment follows the completion of the tenure of the current ambassador, Piyush Srivastava. Vinod K Jacob, a 2000 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, is currently serving as the Deputy High Commissioner at the Indian High Commission in Colombo. Apart from Sri Lanka, he has also served in Indian Missions in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Geneva. He has also…

Doha : Bahrain Football Association (BFA) Chairman Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa today attended the draw of the 2023 Asian Cup finals which was  conducted in Doha, Qatar. BFA Secetary-General Rashid Al Zubi and National Football Team Assistant Coach Ahmed Isa also attended the draw ceremony. Shaikh Ali lauded the role of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), led by AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, hailing his efforts to promote Asian football. He commended 2023 AFC Cup draw ceremony, which reflects the development work undertaken in support of Asian federations. In a statement, the BFA…

President Sheikh Mohamed arrived in Paris on Thursday evening for high-level talks with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron. The two leaders arrived for a working dinner reception at the Elysee presidential Palace. They are expected to discuss the long-standing friendship and well-established ties between the two countries, as well as other issues of common concern. State news agency Wam confirmed Sheikh Mohamed’s arrival shortly before 10pm. It said Sheikh Mohamed and Mr Macron would review the strategic partnership between their nations and explore ways to expand links across all fields. It marks Sheikh Mohamed’s second trip to France in 12 months after he…

The US coastguard has seized $80 million worth of heroin from a fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman, America’s Central Command has said. Wednesday’s seizure of the contraband — about two tonnes in total — was the second by the USCGC Glen Harris this week. The ship was raided as it transited international waters after departing from Chah Bahar in Iran. “Glen Harris also seized $30 million worth of methamphetamine and heroin two days ago from another fishing vessel that departed the same port,” the Central Command said. US authorities impounded 580kg of methamphetamine and 35kg of heroin on May…

London : The World Health Organization said Thursday that the global outbreak of mpox, which initially baffled experts when the smallpox-related disease spread to more than 100 countries last year, is no longer an international emergency, after a dramatic drop in cases in recent months. Last July, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus declared mpox, also known as monkeypox, to be an “extraordinary” situation that qualified as a global crisis. In doing so, he overruled WHO’s expert committee, which didn’t recommend the emergency designation. He said at a media briefing on Thursday that his expert committee had concluded that the recent…

Dubai : The Housing and Urban Planning Ministry’s new housing finance programme won the Best Innovative Programme Award for year 2023, which is granted by the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) in the Middle East and North Africa region. This award recognizes the ministry’s efforts, in collaboration with Eskan Bank, to provide innovative housing solutions and programmes. The Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, Amena bint Ahmed Al Romaihi, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Eskan Bank, said the launch of the finance programme last year in August, was in line with the vision of His Majesty King Hamad bin…

Copenhagen : Sweden-based Volvo Cars (VOLCARb.ST) is delaying production of its Volvo EX90 model for more software development and testing, the carmaker said on Thursday. It now expects to start production in the first half of 2024, it said in a statement. Volvo Cars, majority owned by China’s Geely (0175.HK), unveiled its Volvo EX90 model, a fully electric SUV, towards the end of last year. The company previously said it would begin production of the EX90 at the end of 2023.

Manama : Interior Ministry Undersecretary for Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA), Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, presented the Prince Salman bin Hamad Medal for Medical Merit to NPRA directors. The presentation of the merit comes per the order of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to all concerned authorities to hand over the merit to medical teams and other concerned organisations. He handed the merit to the Director of Research and Follow Up, Col. Talal Taqi, the…