Author: News Desk

China : All Tibetans should embrace Communist party rule and share the “cultural symbols and images of the Chinese nation”, a senior Chinese official has said at an event celebrating 70 years since the People’s Liberation Army invaded Tibet. Wang Yang, a member of the politburo standing committee, China’s most powerful political body, made the remarks during a lavish ceremony in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the sacred home of Tibet’s traditional Buddhist leaders. It comes amid a crackdown on border regions home to ethnic minorities, such as Tibet, and the practice of non-Han cultures and religions. Thursday’s ceremony involved a…

Malaysia’s King Al-Sultan Abdullah has named Ismail Sabri Yaakob as the new prime minister, the palace said in a Friday statement. Ismail will be Malaysia’s third prime minister in three years. He will be sworn in on Saturday after receiving the support of 114 members of parliament, the palace said. That’s more than the 111 required for a simple majority. Ismail’s predecessor Muhyiddin Yassin resigned on Monday after a little over 17 months in power. Muhyiddin had lost majority support in parliament due to infighting within his ruling political coalition. The appointment of Ismail, who was deputy prime minister under Muhyiddin, would…

Afghanistan : Afghan mothers were spotted throwing their babies over barbed wire to British troops at Kabul airport, hoping their children can survive and be away from the chaos in Afghanistan. The scene took place at the entrance to Baron hotel near the Kabul airport, which has become a focal point for Afghans to seek refuge in the UK. “The mothers were desperate, they were getting beaten by the Taliban. They shouted, ‘save my baby’ and threw the babies at us, some of the babies fell on the barbed wire,” said a Parachute Regiment officer. “It was awful what happened.…

China : China’s top legislature has postponed a vote on extending an anti-sanctions law to Hong Kong, as global banks and other financial institutions fret over the impact it could have on their operations, according to reports. Beijing was expected to formally approve the law for the Chinese-ruled city on Friday to counter actions by foreign governments amid escalating geopolitical tensions. A mainland source said the central government “hopes to listen to further views on the matter.” Financial firms have been closely watching a meeting this week of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, the highest body of China’s parliament,…

Singapore : Asian stock markets were mostly lower Friday as worries surrounding the spread of the delta variant again took center stage, reports AP. Tokyo’s benchmark Nikkei 225 lost 0.7% to 27,082.20 and Seoul’s Kospi fell 0.6% to 3,078.71. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 1.5% to 24,936.15. The Shanghai Composite Index gave up 1.2% to 3,423.08. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added under 0.1% to 7,467.10, however. Benchmarks in Singapore and Indonesia rose while New Zealand’s fell. Traders are watching mounting infections around the world, including in New Zealand, which is in lockdown after reporting its first outbreak in six…

Wellington : New Zealand Rugby has announced the cancellation of two home tests between the All Blacks and Springboks after a community COVID-19 outbreak sent the country into lockdown. The All Blacks also will not immediately travel to Perth for an Aug. 28 test against Australia because of uncertainty over the remainder of the Rugby Championship schedule, reports AP. In a statement Friday, NZR said it had received government advice that the World Cup champion Springboks will not be admitted to New Zealand for matches at Dunedin on Sept. 25 and Auckland on Oct. 1. The Dunedin match was to…

Japan : : Much of Japan kicked in its government “state of emergency” to curb COVID-19 infections Friday, as well as a less stringent “quasi-emergency,” although worries remained about their effectiveness. Those requiring hospitalization grew to more than 168,000 people, and complaints have surfaced about hospitals turning patients away, reports AP. The emergency, which lasts through Sept. 12, requests restaurants to close at 8 p.m., and shopping malls to limit crowd size. New daily COVID-19 cases totaled 25,146 people nationwide, averaging 20,307 a day this week, up from 14,729 last week, the Health Ministry said. The government decided earlier this…

Abu Dhabi :  The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT- Abu Dhabi) has issued the updated ‘Green List’ for travel to Abu Dhabi. Below is the full list of ‘green’ countries, regions and territories that you can travel from if planning a trip to Abu Dhabi, without having to quarantine. Albania, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium ,Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada ,China, Czech Republic Germany, Hong Kong, (SAR) Hungary M,alta Mauritius Moldova, New Zealand, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Province of China, Ukraine, The list is subject to change based…

China :  China’s National People’s Congress on Friday officially passed a law designed to protect online user data privacy and will implement the policy starting November 1. The law’s passage completes another pillar in the country’s efforts to regulate cyberspace and is expected to add more compliance requirements for companies in the country. The law states that handling of personal information must have clear and reasonable purpose and shall be limited to the “minimum scope necessary to achieve the goals of handling” data. It also lays out conditions for which companies can collect personal data, including obtaining an individual’s consent,…

Bahrain :  His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa today received a cable of thanks and gratitude from the Interior Minister, General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, marking the conclusion of this year’s Ashoora season. The Minister extended, on behalf of himself and all the affiliates of the Interior Ministry, deepest thanks and gratitude to HM the King for HM’s praise, in his statement marking the end of this year’s Ashoora season, of the tireless efforts exerted by the Ministry’s personnel to carry out their patriotic duties of protecting the safety of everyone. The Interior Minister stressed that…