Author: News Desk

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday said it supported Japanese measures to counter COVID-19 and was confident the Tokyo Olympics would be a “historic” event, despite wide public opposition. With less than three months to go before the Games begin on July 23, Japan is battling a surge in coronavirus infections. A majority of its population wants the Olympics cancelled or postponed for a second time, according to several polls, with about 70% of the 10,500 athletes — about 7,800 — already qualified for the Games. “We are now very much in an implementation phase with 78 days to…

U.S. House of Representatives Republicans on Wednesday removed Liz Cheney from their leadership, punishing her for rejecting what she called former President Donald Trump’s “big lie” that last year’s election was stolen from him through election fraud. The action signaled that Trump, despite his decisive election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in November, has solidified his hold over House Republicans as he jockeys to play a major role in the 2022 congressional elections and flirts with another run for the presidency in 2024. After her ouster as the No. 3 House Republican was carried out in mere minutes in a…

The Information and eGovernment Authority (iGA), in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, has added a new feature to the ‘BeAware Bahrain’ application, enabling users to update their COVID-19 vaccination and recovery status. The iGA said it continues to ease the process of validating COVID-19 vaccination data to facilitate entry into venues restricted to vaccinated or recovered persons. Vaccinated persons only become eligible for entry 14 days after they have completed the vaccination process. The new feature has been made available in the application’s latest version for all IOS and Andriod users. Read More: Bahrain’s firm support to Palestinian issue…

Bahrain on Tuesday approved the emergency use of the new single-dose Sputnik Light vaccine produced by the Gamaleya National Center for Epidemiological and Microbiology Research, at the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation. The decision to approve the new Sputnik vaccine and allow its use was based on the thorough analysis data provided by the manufacturing company. On receipt of the vaccine files and the results of the expanded study, the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) undertook a review and evaluation process, including the evaluation of efficacy data, safety throughout the clinical trials and vaccine manufacturing quality and product…

Speaker Fawzia bint Abdullah Zainal will participate on Wednesday, in the emergency session of the Arab Parliamentary Union to discuss the situation in Jerusalem (Al-Aqsa Mosque). The virtual meeting is scheduled to be attended by heads of councils and parliaments in the Arab countries, will be held to discuss developments in the situation regarding the Palestinian issue. Read More: Zoho plans to open office in Bahrain Bahrain Youth Minister receives EDB Advisor Gulf Air to support airlift of urgent medical supplies to India

The UAE tourism sector has continued to recover during Q1, 2021, with the average hotel occupancy rates across the country nearing 63 percent, according to initial data released by the local tourist authorities. Average length of stay in hotels during Q1 increased 27.6 percent to 4.3 nights as compared to the same period last year, with March recording a growth of 34 pct in the number of hotel guests comparatively with March 2020, Emirates News Agency reported. UAE nationals accounted for 25.6 percent of total guests in the reference period -one million guests- with March seeing a thumping 112 pct…

China’s weak population growth is falling closer to zero as fewer couples have children, government data showed Tuesday, adding to strains on an ageing society with a shrinking workforce. The population rose by 72 million people over the past 10 years to 1.411 billion in 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics announced after a once-a-decade census. It said annual growth averaged 0.53%, down by 0.04% from the previous decade, according to The Associated Press (AP). Chinese leaders have enforced birth limits since 1980 to restrain population growth but worry the number of working-age people is falling too fast, disrupting efforts…

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday said it expanded the emergency use authorization for the use for the BioNTech/Pfizer coronavirus vaccination to include children and adolescents aged 12 to 15. The vaccine by German vaccine maker BioNTech and its US partner Pfizer had previously only been approved in the country for people aged 16 and older. Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock called the expansion “a significant step in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.” “Today’s action allows for a younger population to be protected from COVID-19, bringing us closer to returning to a sense of normalcy and to…

11 people have been killed and many more wounded after one or more gunmen opened fire in a school in the Russian city of Kazan, the RIA news agency reported on Tuesday, citing the emergency services ministry. Two children could be seen leaping from the third floor of the four-storey School Number 175 as gunshots sounded, in a video filmed by an onlooker that was circulated by RIA. Some Russian news agencies reporting two teenage gunmen were involved and others said a sole shooter took part. RIA said one 19-year-old gunman had been detained and that an explosion had been…

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will present Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s post-pandemic agenda on Tuesday in a speech written by the government that will set out the new laws that ministers intend to pass in the coming year. The grand ‘State Opening of Parliament’, a heavily choreographed and costumed ceremony led by the 95-year-old monarch, will this year involve face masks, social distancing, and fewer guests. The speech will set out Johnson’s policymaking priorities as he plans Britain’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to fulfil the promises he made to voters in 2019 on creating new opportunities for left-behind regions…