Author: News Desk

Berlin : The death toll linked to a powerful storm that swept across parts of Europe rose to five on Sunday, after more accidents linked to high winds were reported in Poland and the Czech Republic. A 27-year-old man died on Sunday in the northern Polish province of Pomerania when a tree fell on his car. Another person was injured in the accident. Across Poland, firefighters responded to thousands of calls to clear fallen trees from roads and safeguard roofs. According to authorities, around 680,000 households were without electricity due to damaged power lines. In the Czech Republic, a five-metre-high…

WASHINGTON :  The Biden administration on Monday issued a guidebook to help federal, state and local government officials know how to access the nearly $1 trillion made available by the bipartisan infrastructure deal. Mitch Landrieu, a senior White House adviser who is supervising the infrastructure spending, said the goal of the 461-page book is to ensure that all communities have the details on how to qualify for funding, no matter their size or politics. “It’s an absolute road map,” said Landrieu, a former mayor of New Orleans. The infrastructure package includes 375 distinct programs, of which 125 are new. And while the guidebook is more than…

Two drug kingpins have been killed in Europe, one of whom was to have been a witness in the trial of alleged Dutch crime lord Ridouan Taghi. Mr Taghi, who was arrested in Dubai in 2019, is facing trial over a number of alleged murders in the Netherlands and has been accused by prosecutors of plotting a violent prison break and ordering killings from his cell. Bledar Muca, 39, was shot dead outside his apartment in Antwerp, Belgium, on Saturday. He is believed to have been the right-hand man of two prominent Albanian drug dealers and had been living in London under…

Israel’s president visited Expo 2020 Dubai on Monday as his country marked a day of celebrations at the world’s fair. Isaac Herzog stood at Al Wasl Plaza for a ceremony at which the Israeli and Emirati national anthems were played. Mr Herzog and his wife, first lady Michal Herzog, were on the second day of a two-day visit to the Emirates — the first by an Israeli head of state. Mr Herzog was welcomed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai. “I welcome this exciting opportunity to see this…

Seoul : The Japanese Film Festival Online 2022 (JFF) will open for a two-week run next month, with 13 Japanese films to be screened free of charge, the event’s organizers said Saturday. Under the slogan “Online Trip To Japan,” the festival will start on Feb. 14 and run through Feb. 27 on its official website, according to the Japan Foundation Seoul. Among the 13-film lineup were the 1950 crime drama “Rashomon” by Akira Kurosawa, the comedy “Happy Flight” (2008), the animated film “Time of Eve” (2010) and the historical film “The Floating Castle” (2012). The JFF, an annual film festival…

Bahrain : The National Initiative for Agricultural Development (NIAD), in cooperation with Amazon Web Services Bahrain, have launched a project to plant trees in Block 801 in Isa Town as part of the “Forever Green” campaign. The campaign aims at expanding the green area, purifying the air, preserving the environment and supporting local and international efforts to reach zero-carbon neutrality by 2060. It also facilitates partnership between the public and private sectors towards the implementation of afforestation projects and encourages individuals, institutions and society to play their role in supporting national efforts to expand the green area. The greening of…

Seoul :  North Korea confirmed on Monday it had launched a Hwasong-12 ballistic missile, the same weapon it had once threatened to target the U.S. territory of Guam with, sparking fears the nuclear-armed state could resume long-range testing. The launch of the intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) was first reported by South Korean and Japanese authorities on Sunday. It was the seventh test conducted by North Korea this month and the first time a nuclear-capable missile of that size has been launched since 2017, Reuters reports. The United States is concerned North Korea’s escalating missile tests could be precursors to resumed…

Sydney : Australia reported its lowest daily COVID-19 deaths in two weeks on Monday while cases continued to trend lower as authorities braced for staff shortages in schools due to likely outbreaks as thousands of students return after their summer break. Most states will go through a staggered school reopening exercise this week as Australia battles the worst outbreak of the pandemic, with the fast-moving Omicron coronavirus variant spiralling cases to record level. “There will be challenges and there will be bumps over these first few weeks,” Victoria state Deputy Premier James Merlino said during a media briefing on Monday.…

Bahrain : Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) has announced that it has started the third batch registration volunteering for civilians to join the reserve force, for relatives of workers and retirees in BDF and the National Guard (military and civilians). Applicants must be Bahraini nationals, aged between 18 and 55, have good conduct and have not been convicted for a felony or a misdemeanor that breaches honor or trust, and medically fit for military service in the reserve force and successfully pass the medical examination prescribed according to the BDF military medical committees. The age limit does not apply to technicians…

Melbourne : French Open champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova added the Australian Open’s women’s doubles title to their resume on Sunday, with a 6-7(3) 6-4 6-4 win over Anna Danilina and Beatriz Haddad Maia. The number one seeds, who were beaten finalists at Melbourne Park last year, took time to hit their stride and were forced to come back from a set down to claim the title for the first time. The unseeded duo overpowered the Olympic champions in a tiebreak to win the first set, but the scores were levelled up at the end of the second, as…