Author: News Desk

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he spoke with the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Friday and Ukraine expects progress to be made on its application to join the European Union in the coming months. “Had substantial conversation with EC President,” Zelenskiy said on Twitter. “EC opinion on UA (Ukraine) application for #EU membership will be prepared within few months. UA Government and EC are instructed. Moving to our strategic goal together.”

A World Health Organization spokesperson said on Friday that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic was a long way off, citing a rise in cases in its latest weekly data. The U.N. health agency has previously said that the acute phase of the pandemic could end this year but it would depend on how quickly we meet its target to vaccinate 70% of the population in each country, among other factors. Asked by a journalist at a Geneva media briefing about the timing of the pandemic’s end, Margaret Harris said it was “far from over”. “We are definitely in the…

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a ceasefire in Ukraine during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday, a German government spokesperson said. In their nearly hour-long conversation, Scholz also stressed that the humanitarian situation needed to be improved and progress needed to be made in finding a diplomatic solution as soon as possible, said the spokesperson.

Ukraine’s food supply system is falling apart under Russia’s invasion, with infrastructure destroyed and shops and warehouses growing empty, the United Nations said on Friday. Russia fired missiles at an airport near Lviv on Friday, a city where hundreds of thousands found refuge far from Ukraine’s battlefields, as Moscow tries to regain the initiative in its stalled campaign against Ukraine. U.S. President Joe Biden was due to talk with Chinese president Xi Jinping, in an attempt to starve Russia’s war machine by isolating Moscow from the one big power that has yet to condemn its assault. More than three weeks…

Russia has lost any illusions about ever relying on the West and Moscow will never accept a world order dominated by the United States, which is acting like a sheriff seeking to call all the shots in a saloon bar, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. Western nations have imposed sweeping sanctions across Russia’s financial and corporate sectors in response to Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, plunging Russia’s economy into its gravest crisis since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union. Lavrov, President Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister since 2004, said the West’s reaction to what Moscow has called a “special…

A Chinese aircraft carrier sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Friday, Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said, just hours before the Chinese and U.S. presidents were due to talk. China claims democratically ruled Taiwan as its own territory, and has over the past two years stepped up its military activity near the island to assert its sovereignty claims, alarming Taipei and Washington. A source with direct knowledge of the matter, who was not authorised to speak to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity, told Reuters the carrier Shandong sailed close to the Taiwan-controlled island of Kinmen, which sits directly…

Mohammad Fakhreddine made combat sports history on Friday night at BRAVE Combat Federation’s first event of 2022, held in the Kingdom of Bahrain. “The Latest” defied all odds and became the first-ever Arab double division World Champion in the history of Mixed Martial Arts, knocking out bitter rival Mohamed Said Maalem and becoming the new Light Heavyweight World Champion of BRAVE CF. Middleweight world champion Mohammad “The Latest” Fakhreddine and top light heavyweight contender Mohamed “L’Ambience” Said Maalem, were scheduled to fight for the vacant light heavyweight world title at BRAVE CF 50 on April 1, 2021, but Fakhreddine contracted…

VIENNA: The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at US$127.93 a barrel on Tuesday, compared with US$126.51 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zafiro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

Manama: The National Guard headed by National Guard Staff Director Major General Shaikh Abdulaziz bin Saud Al Khalifa and the Pakistani army headed by Pakistani Foreign Military Cooperation Director Major General Majid Jahangir signed a Memorandum of Understanding. The National Guard Staff Director stressed that the MoU comes reinforces the military integration between the two sides through exchanging experiences, enhancing levels of training and implementing joint exercises. Shaikh Abdulaziz added that boosting cooperation with other military institutions reflects the objectives of the five-year strategic plans of the National Guard. It also strengthens the combat readiness of military personnel in perform their national duties. Major…

After a two-year long hiatus and crowdless events at BRAVE CF headquarters, BRAVE International Combat Week has returned to the Kingdom of Bahrain with a bang as the opening ceremony took fans by surprise at Khalifa Sports City.  The ceremony was launched with the screening of a special film that included the successes achieved by the Kingdom of Bahrain in Bahraini sports, thanks to the care and support it enjoys from the country’s King and the interest of His Highness the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister, and the distinguished efforts of His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa and…