Author: News Desk

London : Gun salutes rang out in London and Edinburgh on Monday to mark the official start of Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee year, as the 95-year-old monarch prepared for a busy season of public duties. Britain’s longest-serving monarch, Elizabeth became queen on the death of her father, King George VI, at age 56 on Feb. 6, 1952. The monarch doesn’t celebrate the anniversary of the date she became queen, known as Ascension Day, as it is also the anniversary of her father’s death. In a statement released Saturday, the queen remembered the death of her father and recalled the…

Manama: The Kingdom of Bahrain today announced the launch of the ‘Golden Residency Visa’ for residents and non-residents with immediate processing of the applications electronically upon meeting the prescribed criteria. The move is a part of the Kingdom’s strategy that will serve as a catalyst for attracting foreign investments. https://youtu.be/Vi2ZVn_zluQ A Press Conference held at the Officers’ Club in Al-Qudhaibiya and jointly addressed by Shaikh Hisham bin Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Undersecretary for Nationality, Passports and Residency Affairs at the Interior Ministry and Shaikh Ahmed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary at Nationality, Passports and Residency Affairs at the Interior…

Australia said on Monday it will reopen its borders to vaccinated travellers this month, ending two years of misery for the tourism sector, reviving migration and injecting billions of dollars into the world No. 13 economy. The move effectively calls time on the last main component of Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which it has attributed to relatively low death and infection rates. The other core strategy, stop-start lockdowns, was shelved for good in December. The country had taken steps in recent months to relax border controls, like allowing in skilled migrants and quarantine-free travel arrangements – “travel bubbles”…

French President Emmanuel Macron, the top Western leader to visit Moscow since Russia began massing troops on the border with Ukraine, told Vladimir Putin at the start of talks in the Kremlin on Monday that he aimed to avoid war and build trust. Macron, who is expected to seek re-election in April, has positioned himself as a potential mediator on Ukraine with Paris voicing scepticism about predictions by Washington, London and other Western capitals that a Russian assault is imminent. Macron told the Russian president he was seeking a “useful” response “that of course allows us to avoid war and…

Seoul :  Ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said Sunday he aims to launch a new airport in the southern port city of Busan by 2029. In February last year, the National Assembly approved a bill on a multi-billion-dollar state project to build the new airport on Gadeok Island, the biggest island of Busan, to handle growing air traffic demand and facilitate prosperity in the country’s southeast region. Unveiling campaign pledges for Busan, Lee said he will speed up procedures for construction of the new airport from March, when a feasibility study for the new airport is completed. The project…

Bahrain :  Bahrain Real Estate Investment Company (Edamah), the real estate arm of Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), announced that the general masterplan for the 1.3 million square meter mixed-use mega project “Bilaj Al Jazayer development” has been approved by Bahrain’s Higher Urban Planning Committee chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister. Edamah’s Chairman, Khalid Al Rumaihi, affirmed that the approved general masterplan is designed to achieve a balance between economic and social development and environmental sustainability in line with the Kingdom’s commitment to bring carbon emissions to net zero…

London :  Teenager Harvey Elliott returned from five months out injured and scored his first Liverpool goal in a 3-1 victory over Cardiff in the FA Cup on Sunday, Elliott produced a brilliant swivelled finish in front of the Kop in the 76th minute for Liverpool’s third goal, capping the 18-year-old midfielder’s recovery from a left ankle fracture dislocation. Diogo Jota’s 15th goal of the season had made the breakthrough in the 53rd against the second-tier side, heading in a free kick from Trent Alexander-Arnold. New Liverpool signing Luis Diaz was brought off the bench for his debut in the…

UK’s Indian-origin Chancellor Rishi Sunak has admitted to attending Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s lockdown birthday party in 2020 but refused to say what happened when he entered the room and claimed that he was there for a meeting to discuss the COVID-19 situation. His comments came after Johnson’s five aides, including longstanding policy chief Munira Mirza, chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, principal private secretary Martin Reynolds and communications director Jack Doyle, resigned from their posts within hours of each other on Thursday. They stepped down after a damning investigation revealed that multiple parties took place at Downing Street while the rest of…

Acclaimed singer Lata Mangeshkar breathed her last at Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai on Sunday. She was 92. The singer, called the Nightingale of India, was laid to rest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park with full state honours. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Vidya Balan among others paid their last respects to Mangeshkar. PM Modi said, “I consider it my honour that I have always received immense affection from Lata Didi. My interactions with her will remain unforgettable. I grieve with my fellow Indians on the passing away of Lata Didi. Spoke to her family and expressed condolences. Om Shanti.” Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh…

President Joe Biden’s national security adviser says the United States “did not go around the world knocking on every country door” trying to organize a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics in China. The U.S. did not send a delegation of dignitaries to Beijing but is allowing American athletes to complete. Major U.S. allies like Britain, Australia and Canada followed suit, also citing human rights abuses by the Chinese government. But an array of world leaders did attend the opening ceremonies. Sullivan told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the Biden administration made “a statement of principle about what…