Author: News Desk

Melbourne: Oil prices were flat on Tuesday ahead of a meeting where major producers are expected to stick to plans to add supply in February, as soaring COVID-19 cases have yet to spark lockdowns in the biggest fuel-consuming countries. Brent crude futures gained 1 cent to $78.99 a barrel at 02:39 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped 2 cents to $76.06 a barrel. The two benchmark contracts both climbed more than 1% on Monday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and allies – together called OPEC+ – are due to meet…

Manama: The Kingdom of Bahrain strongly condemned the terrorist Houthi militia’s hijacking of a United Arab Emirates-flagged cargo ship, which was heading from Socotra Island to the port of Jizan, Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Ministry denounced the terrorist operating which targedt the cargo ship transporting equipment for a field hospital, describing the acts as a flagrant violation of the international law of the sea. It affirmed that terrorist Houthi militia had committed a maritime piracy that poses a great threat to the freedom of maritime navigation in Bab al-Mandab and the Red Sea. It said that the terrorist acts shows the militia’s terrorist…

Manama: The mother of His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Representative of His Majesty the King for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs, received at her Majlis a number of mothers affiliated with the Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF) who are contributors to “Nitaj” project. The meeting was held in the presence of RHF Secretary General Dr. Mustafa Sayed and a number of female affiliates to RHF and employees. She expressed sincere thanks and gratitude to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for his personal follow-up to support Bahraini widows and orphans registered with RHF. She commended the…

Manama: The Police Directorates in Governorates and Security Directorates have exerted tremendous efforts during the recent heavy rain in the Kingdom, included regulating traffic and dealing with cases received by the main operations room. The Operations Directorate activated the emergency plan in coordination with police directorates, civil defence and traffic that included field procedures that brought situations to normal. The Operations Room dealt with 292 cases from December 30 to January 2, including 100 cases related to rain floods. The concerned security authorities were contacted, and legal, and security procedures were taken. Traffic patrols dealt with 234 accidents, including 197…

Riyadh: The 2022 laureates of the renowned King Faisal Prize (KFP) will be announced on January 5 at a ceremony in the Saudi capital Riyadh. HRH Prince Khalid Al Faisal bin Abd Al Aziz, Chairman of King Faisal Prize Board, will launch the preparatory meetings to choose the winners in the prize’s five categories – Islamic Studies, Arabic Language & Literature, Medicine, Science and Service to Islam. The prize’s general secretariat said that the nominations are made by scientific institutions, universities, research centers as well as scientific and language councils and that a nominated individual is alive and his work…

Lisbon: The German operator of a cruise ship that has been stuck in Lisbon’s port due to an outbreak of the coronavirus among its crew pulled the plug on the voyage on Sunday after some passengers tested positive, port authorities said. The AIDAnova, with 2,844 passengers and 1,353 crew onboard docked in Lisbon on Dec. 29 while en route to the island of Madeira for New Year’s Eve celebrations, but was unable to continue the journey after 52 cases of COVID-19 were detected among the fully-vaccinated crew, Reuters reports. It had been allowed to leave port and head to the…

Jeddah: The Secretariat General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has expressed its strong condemnation of the pirating and hijacking of Houthi militia of a civil Emirati-flagged ship laden with equipment for the Saudi field hospital. In a statement posted by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), OIC considered this attack a criminal act that hinders the freedom of maritime and commercial navigation that is guaranteed by the international laws and covenants, adding that this act obstructs dispatching humanitarian and relief assistance to the brotherly Yemeni people. The Secretariat General also called for the immediate release of the ship.

Manama: Interior Ministry Undersecretary for Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs (NPRA), Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al Khalifa, has met a number of hotel managers. The Director of Visas and Residence, Shaikh Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa attended the meeting. The Interior Ministry Undersecretary welcomed the attendees, hailing the role of the hospitality sector in promoting economic growth. He listened to the remarks of the hotel representatives concerning streamlining procedures of processing all types of visas, especially for visitors of conferences or events that required fast processing of paperwork. The Undersecretary directed to allocate a hotline for ongoing interaction and to look…

London: Davinson Sanchez’s stoppage-time goal secured Tottenham a 1-0 victory over Watford on Saturday to enhance its pursuit of Champions League qualification. The Colombia defender headed a free kick from Heung-min Son past goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann in the sixth minute of added time to hand Watford a sixth successive loss. The match had been temporarily halted for a few minutes in the closing stages when a supporter in a stand became ill, reports AP. Tottenham moved two points behind fourth-place Arsenal, which lost 2-1 to Manchester City in the Premier League earlier Saturday, and Antonio Conte’s side has two games in…

Canberra: The research by Australian National University (ANU) found that of the world’s 7,000 recognised languages, around half are currently endangered – with 1,500 particularly at risk. “We found that without immediate intervention, language loss could triple in the next 40 years. And by the end of this century, 1,500 languages could cease to be spoken,” says co-author Professor Lindell Bromham. So what’s putting these mother tongues under pressure? The study identified as many as 51 new stressors on endangered languages. One surprising finding was that more years of schooling increased the level of language endangerment in some countries.…