Author: News Desk

South Korea :  A K-pop star has been jailed for three years for crimes including providing prostitutes to foreign businessmen and embezzling funds. Seungri, a former member of boy band Big Bang, was also fined 1.15 billion won (£714,000), South Korea’s Defence Ministry said. Before his fall from grace, the singer had been one of K-pop’s biggest stars, with a huge fan base in Asia and around the world. He was sentenced by a military court in Yongin, near Seoul, on Thursday and taken into custody after the ruling. He appeared in court in a combat uniform and shook his head repeatedly…

The world’s appetite for oil will be lower than expected this year as the ongoing spread of the coronavirus Delta variant continues to drag on global economies, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). The global watchdog has slashed its oil demand forecasts for the rest of this year and predicted that crude supplies may outstrip demand next year to leave a glut of unwanted oil in the market. It said its forecasts for oil consumption in the second half of the year had been “appreciably downgraded” and would fall below its early forecasts by more than 500,000 barrels a…

UK : Facebook could be forced to sell gif creation website Giphy after an investigation by the UK competition regulator found its takeover could harm competition among social media companies and the digital advertising market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an in-depth investigation earlier this year into Facebook’s acquisition of Giphy, the largest supplier of animated gifs to social networks such as Snapchat, TikTok and Twitter, after identifying a number of concerns about the $400m (£290m) deal which was struck last year. Gifs are embeddable clips, usually no more than a few seconds long. The most popular gif of 2020 was Thank…

India : India’s main opposition party is accusing Twitter of stifling freedom of speech after the company took action against hundreds of tweets that identified the family of a child who was allegedly raped and murdered. Twitter’s (TWTR) decision followed a call from India’s child protection agency to block access to tweets it said identified a 9-year old girl who was killed in Delhi earlier this month. Police are investigating allegations of rape made by the victims’ family and neighbors. The girl was a member of the Dalit community, the most oppressed group in India’s Hindu system of caste hierarchy. Four men have been arrested,…

TikTok today becomes the latest tech company to roll out increased protections for minors on its platform in the wake of increased regulatory scrutiny. The company says it will introduce a series of product changes for teen users aged 13 to 17, aimed at making their TikTok experience more private, safer and less addictive. TikTok’s news follows similar moves recently announced by other tech companies catering to teens, including Google and YouTube, as well as Instagram. The changes TikTok plans to roll out over the coming months will address in-app messaging, the public nature of users’ videos, the default download settings for videos…

Jamaica : t’s a situation we can all relate to: You get on the wrong bus, lose track of time and come close to missing an important appointment — or in the case of Hansle Parchment, almost don’t make your semifinal in the 110 meters hurdles at the Olympic Games. Jamaica’s gold medal-winning hurdler narrowly avoided embarrassment thanks to a volunteer who gave the athlete money for a taxi after he accidentally traveled to an aquatics arena instead of Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium on the day of his race. And now Parchment has gone viral after tracking down the woman, repaying her for the…

Bahrain  Jaffari Endowments Chairman Yousif bin Saleh Al Saleh expressed thanks and appreciation to to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, for his annual gift to societies, community centres and Hussainiyas marking the New Hijri Year 1443. Al Saleh stressed that HM the King’s  interest in supporting and caring for houses of worship and religious occasions, particularly the Ashoora Commemoration season, reinforces what was inherited and cared for by grandparents and fathers of this season. The chairman extended his thanks and appreciation to His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, for…

MEXICO CITY: Mexico is building a towering replica of the Templo Mayor, the Aztec civilisation’s most sacred site, in the downtown of Mexico City to mark 500 years since the Spanish conquest of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. The mostly white mock temple will be on show in Mexico City’s bustling main square, the Zocalo, close to the ruins of the real Templo Mayor, where the Aztecs venerated two main deities with elaborate pageantry and sacrificial offerings. The temple was destroyed by Spanish forces after their 1521 conquest and subsequent razing of Tenochtitlan, which became Mexico City. A colonial-era Roman Catholic…

Bahrain : Labor and Social Development Minister Jamil bin Mohammed Ali Humaidan and Yusuf bin Ahmed Kanoo Company Board of Directors Chairman Khalid Mohammed Kanoo signed an agreement to build “Mubarak Kanoo Comprehensive Social Center” in the Capital Governorate. The project aims to provide social and development services to all Bahrainis and enhance community cohesion through various programs and projects. It also seeks to strengthen community partnership with the governmental, civil and private sectors and achieve the goals of sustainable development. Humaidan stressed the ministry’s keenness to enhance the comprehensive development process through cooperation with various government, private and civil…

US : After pulling out of the hard-court tournament in Toronto this week, Rafael Nadal said Wednesday he was also withdrawing from the upcoming event in Cincinnati because of an injured left foot that has troubled him for months. The decision by the 20-time Grand Slam champion means he is unlikely to play before the U.S. Open. Nadal won the U.S. Open in 2019, the last time he entered, reports AP. Milos Raonic, who has a heel injury, also pulled out of Cincinnati on Wednesday. Other stars not playing include Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Sofia…