Author: News Desk

Bahrain :  The Labour and Social Development Ministry today held a ceremony to honour outstanding workers and entrepreneurs, in the presence of the Chairman of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Sameer Abdulla Nass, representatives of workers’ trade unions and several officials. Addressing the ceremony, Labour and Social Development Minister, Jameel bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan, conveyed greetings from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to the honourees, as well as HM’s pride in the national workforce, the main engine of the comprehensive development in the kingdom. The minister highlighted HM the King’s constant keenness to appreciate…

Dubai’s Emirates airline has announced the suspension of passenger services from eight destinations until further notice, starting from December 28, 2021. A statement issued on the carrier’s website said that restrictions have been placed on entry and transit through Dubai from eight destinations in Africa, as well as on flights from Conakry to Dakar. Luanda (Republic of Angola),  Conakry (Republic of Guinea), Nairobi (Republic of Kenya),  Dar es Salaam (United Republic of Tanzania),  Entebbe (Republic of Uganda) Accra (Republic of Ghana), Abidjan (Republic of Cote d’Ivoire),  Addis Ababa (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia),  Entebbe (Republic of Uganda),  Accra (Republic of Ghana), Abidjan (Republic of Cote d’Ivoire),  Addis Ababa (Federal Democratic Republic…

Kuwait : Kuwaiti Amir, His Highness the Amir Shaikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah today approved an Amiri order on the formation of a new cabinet led by His Highness the Prime Minister Shaikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. According to the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), the cabinet lineup is as follows 1 – Hamad Jaber Al-Ali AlSabah — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense. 2 – Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. 3 – Dr. Mohammad Abdullatif Al-Fares — Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Oil, and Minister of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy. 4…

MOSCOW :  A court in Moscow on Wednesday granted a request to shut down another prominent human rights organization amid a sweeping crackdown on Russian rights groups, independent media and opposition supporters. The Moscow City Court’s decision to shut down the Memorial Human Rights Center came a day after Russia’s Supreme Court revoked the legal status of its sister organization, Memorial, a human rights group that drew international acclaim for its studies of political repression in the Soviet Union. Russian authorities previously declared both organizations as “foreign agents” — a designation that brings additional government scrutiny and carries strong pejorative…

Dubai Airport is carrying out random PCR tests on arrival for some flights as part of efforts to limit the spread of Covid-19. Screening on arrival is already mandatory on Emirates flights from more than 50 countries, including Brazil, India, Pakistan and Russia. But authorities have confirmed additional testing is being carried out on flights not included on this list. “PCR tests are mandatory for the flights mentioned on Emirates’ website,” said a Dubai Media Office statement. Residents returning to Dubai in recent days posted on social media about how they had been asked to complete PCR tests on arrival at Dubai International…

Brasilia : A total of 116 cities in the northeastern Brazilian state of Bahia were in a state of emergency because of flooding on Tuesday due to heavy rains that have been pounding the region since the end of November. Cities in at least five other states in Brazil’s north and southeast have also been flooded in recent days. In Bahia, flooding has affected more than 470,000 people. In at least 50 cities, water surged into homes and businesses, and people were forced to abandon their belongings. Official data from the state government say 34,163 people have been made homeless…

Berlin :  The World Health Organisation says the number of COVID-19 cases recorded worldwide increased by 11% last week compared with the previous week, with the biggest increase in the Americas. The gain followed a gradual increase since October. The U.N. health agency said in its weekly epidemiological report released late Tuesday that there were nearly 4.99 million newly reported cases around the world from Dec. 20-26. Europe accounted for more than half the total, with 2.84 million, though that amounted to only a 3% increase over the previous week. It also had the highest infection rate of any region,…

Bahrain : The National Portal, bahrain.bh now provides 32 eServices for ID cards and civil records, which meets 95% of the government’s digital transformation target, said Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) Acting Chief Executive and Deputy CE for Electronic Transformation, Dr. Zakariya Ahmed Alkhaja. The digital transformation move is in line with the vision and directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, and the support of the Minister of Interior, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa. Al Khaja said that the digital transformation process began gradually, accelerating over the…

Bahrain : Bahrain International Airport (BIA), which is operated and managed by Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) has been certified with the highest 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating in recognition of the airport achieving the highest standard of hygiene and safety protocols to prevent the spread of coronavirus. It places BIA in the top 5% of airports worldwide for cleanliness and hygiene. This 5-Star COVID-19 Airport Safety Rating was awarded to BIA following a detailed audit of COVID-19 safety standards conducted by Skytrax, the international air transport rating organisation, in December 2021. This safety accreditation is regarded as a global benchmark…

Geneva: The World Health Organization (WHO) will miss its target to vaccinate 40 per cent of the population in every country by the end of the year, with the shortfalls especially serious in Africa. Of the WHO’s 194 member countries, about half of them will not meet the goal. In about 40 countries not even 10 per cent of the population had been vaccinated. The WHO has pinned much of the blame on vaccine hoarding, particularly among a handful of wealthy Western countries which are already administering booster jabs. Worldwide, more than 8.6 billion vaccine doses had been administered by…