Author: News Desk

A Briton who was detained by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine and accused of being a mercenary has died, an official in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said on Friday. The death of Paul Urey, 45, was confirmed by a British charity which described him as a humanitarian worker and denied he had any military background. Urey was captured in southeast Ukraine in late April while attempting to help a woman who had been given permission to travel to Britain leave Russian-controlled territory, said Presidium Network, a charity which had advised him on safety. He was stopped at a checkpoint,…

US President Joe Biden landed on Friday in Jeddah aboard a historic direct flight from Israel to Saudi Arabia, the latest stop on his first Middle East tour as US leader. Saudi state media showed images of Air Force One at the airport in the coastal city, making Biden the first US leader to fly directly from Israel to an Arab nation that does not recognise it. https://youtu.be/mW0fK4GgtwI Biden was greeted by Prince Khalid Al Faisal, the governor of Mecca province, where Jeddah is located. Other people in the Saudi greeting party including the Saudi ambassador to the United States,…

Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Friday the electric automaker could lower prices for cars if inflation calms down. Musk, who has over 100 million followers on Twitter, was replying to a tweet on Friday that asked if the company had any plans to lower prices that it had raised to beat the pandemic and supply chain woes. “If inflation calms down, we can lower prices for cars,” Musk said in a tweet. Tesla has raised car prices a number of times in the past few months by a few thousand dollars as costs of raw materials…

The European Commission on Friday approved a 5.4-billion-euro ($5.4 billion) hydrogen project jointly funded by 15 EU countries and 35 companies including Alstom and Daimler Truck, seeking to gain the edge in an innovative sector. Other participating companies include Ansaldo, Bosch, Enel, Fincantieri, Orsted and Plastic Omnium. The group will take part in 41 projects in the hydrogen scheme focusing on generation of hydrogen, fuel cells, storage, transportation and distribution of hydrogen and end-users applications, in particular in the mobility sector. “Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine has only underlined the need for Europe to diversify its energy sources and…

The United Arab Emirates on Thursday announced an investment of USD 2 billion to develop a series of integrated food parks across India as part of efforts by the four-nation grouping I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA) to help tackle food insecurity in South Asia and the Middle East. The decision was announced following the virtual summit held by the leaders of the grouping — Prime Minister Narendra Modi, US President Joe Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The I2U2 leaders, in a joint statement, said New Delhi will provide appropriate land and facilitate farmers’ integration into…

Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa signed two agreements between Bahrain and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) worth $41 million and the Abu Dhabi Export Office (ADEX) at a value of $51 million. ADFD Director General Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi and ADEX Acting Director General Khalil Fadel Al Mansoori are visiting the Kingdom to sign the two agreements to finance the project to develop water transmission networks associated with the second phase of the Al Dur station in Bahrain. Shaikh Salman emphasized the deep-rooted Bahrain-UAE relations and their continuous development thanks to the…

Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air has announced the launch in partnership with Option Town its Flight Pass system that will allow passengers to purchase flights in bulk. “We are constantly working to add new features that would add value to flying with Gulf Air, so we are delighted to add a new product that will provide our customers with more benefits and ease when traveling with the airline,” Gulf Air Acting Chief Executive Officer Captain Waleed AlAlawi said “Our professional team succeeded again in reaching for higher levels of travel comfort, and I thank them for achieving this goal.” The…

People living outside Saudi Arabia can apply for Umrah online starting July 14, the Hajj and Umrah Ministry has announced. The first successful applicants may arrive by July 30, the ministry said in a media release carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The date marks the start of the Umrah season following Hajj that concluded this week without incidents, accidents or disease outbreaks among pilgrims. Visa requirements and further details are available on https://haj.gov.sa/ar/InternalPages/Umrah, while Umrah performers from within the Kingdom will be issued through Ietamarna app, the statement added. People planning to acquire licenses to serve as agents…

Russian missiles struck the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia far behind the frontlines on Thursday in an attack which Ukrainian officials called a war crime and said had killed at least 20 people, including three children. The strike, which Ukraine said had been carried out with Kalibr cruise missiles launched from a Russian submarine in the Black Sea, came a day after a breakthrough in talks between Moscow and Kyiv to unblock Ukrainian grain exports and underscored how far the two sides remain from a peace settlement. “What is this, if not an open act of terrorism?” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy…

Wildfires raged across tinder-dry country in Portugal, Spain, France and Croatia on Thursday, burning homes and threatening livelihoods, as much of Europe baked in a heatwave that has pushed temperatures into the mid-40Cs in some countries. In Portugal’s central Leiria district, tired firefighters battled to control blazes that have been fanned by strong winds. Footage from the area on Wednesday showed smoke darkening the sky and billowing across a highway, while flames licked around the roofs of houses in one small village. “Yesterday was a very tough day,” Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said as he attended a briefing with…