Author: News Desk

Manila : Typhoon Gaemi and a southwest monsoon brought heavy rain on Wednesday to the Philippine capital region and northern provinces, prompting authorities to halt work and classes, while stock and foreign exchange trading were suspended. The presidential office suspended classes at all academic levels and work in most government offices in the capital region, which is composed of 16 cities and home to at least 13 million people, because of the tropical storm. Gaemi, with maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometres per hour (96.3 mph) and gustiness of up to 190 kph, was heading towards Taiwan, the Philippines’ state…

Paris : The French Alps was named as the 2030 Winter Games host by the International Olympic Committee on Wednesday, though with conditions attached and signoff required. France previously hosted the Winter Games three times:  the inaugural 1924 edition in Chamonix, 1968 in Grenoble and 1992 in Albertville.

Manama : Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce, visited a number of factories in Mina Salman Industrial Park. Fakhro visited Hempel Paints Company and BFG International Factory and was briefed on their current situation and production processes and services. The visit aimed to review the latest developments and discuss future programmes.  This comes as part of the ministry’s efforts to follow up on the Kingdom’s factories and industrial zones. The minister underscored the government’s keenness to bolster the industrial sector and emphasised its role within the Kingdom.  He underscored the commitment to achieving the objectives outlined in…

Manama : The Ministry of Industry and Commerce announced the launch of the Consumer Friend initiative for the second year in a row in coordination and cooperation with food and commodity retailers around the kingdom, starting July to November 2024. Shaikh Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary for Domestic and Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, stressed that the Consumer Friend initiative aims to enhance social responsibility, by ensuring affordability of commodities and food products provided by the commercial sector to consumers, citizens and residents in Bahrain. Assistant Undersecretary for Domestic and Foreign Trade said that…

Manama : The Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA), in cooperation with the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), organised a field visit to Bahrain International Airport (BIA) to oversee the progress of the field team implementing the 2024 Tourism Survey launched in January and will continue to December 2024. Duaa Sultan Mohamed, iGA Deputy Chief Executive of Statistics and Population Registry, Dana Al Saad, BTEA Deputy Chief Executive of Resources and Projects, and several directors and officials from both authorities, were present. Duaa Sultan underscored the significance of this survey as a national project aligning with the government’s aspirations and…

Manama : The National Bureau for Revenue (NBR) reaffirms its continuous commitment to enhancing the level of business compliance within the local markets and ensuring adherence to all regulations and legislation for the effective implementation of VAT and Excise including the Digital Stamps Scheme. The NBR conducted 814 inspection visits within the local markets across different governorates in Bahrain during the first half of 2024. These visits aimed to monitor the market and provide high levels of protection for consumer rights and combat VAT and Excise evasion, along with spreading awareness about the rightful ways of implementation. The NBR has…

New Delhi : His Excellency Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA), met today with His Excellency Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, India’s Minister of Culture and Tourism, during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in New Delhi. The two officials discussed potential avenues for strengthening the cultural ties between the Kingdom of Bahrain and India, highlighting the deep-rooted historical relationship between the two nations. Both expressed a keen interest in developing joint programs aimed at fostering cultural exchange in diverse areas. Shaikh Khalifa expressed his gratitude…

Washington : Vice President Kamala Harris will campaign in the critical battleground state of Wisconsin on Tuesday for the first time as a presidential candidate after enough Democratic delegates pledged to endorse her, clearing her path to the nomination. Less than 36 hours after Biden endorsed Harris, she secured the nomination on Monday night by winning the pledged support of a majority of the party’s delegates who will determine the nomination, the campaign said. “Tonight, I am proud to have secured the broad support needed to become our party’s nominee,” Harris said in a statement late Monday night. “I look forward…

Manama  The National Bureau for Revenue (NBR) invites all individuals with economic and commercial activities and entities who are not yet registered with the NBR and exceeded or expected to exceed 37,500 BHD to join the workshops conducted by the NBR, to benefit from learning more about the VAT registration criteria and the implementation process to ensure effective implementation and compliance.  The NBR announced that it will hold a “VAT Registration” workshop which will be conducted on July 30. The workshop will cover the topics of VAT fundamentals, highlighting the requirements for VAT registration and the mechanisms of calculating the…

Rome : Flights serving the eastern Sicilian city of Catania were halted on Tuesday after an eruption from nearby Mount Etna, the airport operator said, bringing fresh travel woe during the peak summer tourist season. Etna, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, has seen intense activity in recent days, spewing hot ash and lava. The airport in Catania had already been closed earlier this month due to ash in the sky. It acts as a hub for the east of Sicily and attracts more arrivals than the capital, Palermo. The statement said that authorities had decided on “the suspension…