Author: News Desk

Ankara : A 5.6 magnitude earthquake hit the Turkish Sulusaray district of Tokat province in the north of the country at 6.11 p.m. local time (1511GMT) on Thursday, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) reported. AFAD said the earthquake was felt in neighboring Samsun, Yozgat, Cankiri and Corum provinces, Anadolu Agency said. It reported: “As of the moment, a 2-storey house in Yozgat and five barns in Sulusaray have been affected.” Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said in a statement on X: “Our governor, AFAD and all the teams of our relevant institutions have started field scans.” In a…

London : Scotland on Thursday scrapped its target of cutting climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions by 75% by 2030, blaming the central British government, but said it still intends to meet a 2045 net zero target. The move came in response to a critical report published last month by the independent Climate Change Committee (CCC), which said Scotland was so far behind what was needed to meet the 2030 target that it was no longer credible. “We accept the CCC’s recent re-articulation that this parliament’s interim 2030 target is out of reach,” Mairi McAllan, the Net Zero Secretary for Scotland’s devolved…

Muscat : The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) participated in the Fifth session of the Government Forum for Combating Human Trafficking in the Middle East 2024, held in Muscat under the theme “Combating Human Trafficking through Legislation and Work Procedures.” Nibras Taleb, CEO of LMRA and Chairman of the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons, affirmed that since its inception in 2019, the forum has become a key annual regional platform to review and shape a combined vision for developing innovative solutions with realistic approaches. He highlighted that the Kingdom’s firm stance against the crime of persons trafficking,…

Riyadh : The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has further strengthened its positive outlook for the Saudi Arabian economy by revising its 2025 growth forecast upwards for the second time this year. In its April “World Economic Outlook” report, the IMF raised the expected growth rate for the Kingdom to 6%, up from the 5.5% projection issued in January 2024. This upward revision comes despite the IMF maintaining a stable global growth forecast of 3.2%. Consequently, Saudi Arabia is now projected to be the second-fastest growing economy in 2025, trailing only India’s anticipated growth rate of 6.5%. The fund’s report highlights…

London : FA Cup replays will be scrapped from the first round next season as part of a six-year agreement with the Premier League to strengthen the domestic competition, the Football Association (FA) announced on Thursday. The FA added that all FA Cup rounds will be played on weekends from next term, with the fourth and fifth rounds, plus quarter-finals, to be held exclusive of Premier League matches, Reuters reported. “The current format, which has no replays from the fifth round onwards, has been extended throughout the ‘Competition Proper’ in light of changes to the calendar driven by the expanded…

Cairo : Several Egyptian politicians have affirmed that His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s visit to Egypt, and talks with HE President Abdel Fattah El Sisi will lead to great political gains in the coming period. In statements to the “Al Youm Al Sabea” website, the “Tahya Misr” website, the “Sada El-Balad” news website, the “Al-Dustour” newspaper and the “El Watan” newspaper, they asserted that the two countries’ deep-rooted relations have flourished over the past years, noting that the growing regional challenges require unifying stances to serve the national security of Bahrain and Egypt and that of the…

Manama : Dr. Farzana Abdullah Al Maraghi, the Assistant Secretary-General of the Higher Education Council, received Dr. Anasse Bouhlal, Higher Education and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Programme Specialist at the UNESCO Regional Office for the Gulf States and Yemen. Dr. Mubarak Abdullah Butti, the Acting Secretary General of the Bahrain National Commission for Education, Science and Culture; and Dr. Zainab Ali Al Tooq, Director of Research and Policy at the General Secretariat of the Higher Education Council, attended the meeting. The meeting discussed enhancing cooperation between the Higher Education Council and UNESCO, including participation in the organisation’s…

Bahrain : The Embassy of India organized an Open House on 19 April, 2024, which waschaired by H.E. Mr. Vinod Kurian Jacob, Ambassador of India. The Embassy’s Consular team and panel of Lawyers were present. Ambassador took the opportunity to thank HM the King , HRH Crown Prince , Prime Minister and the Bahraini authorities for releasing Indian prisoners under Royal pardon. The Ambassador also thanked the Bahrain Government authorities including Ministry of Labour, LMRA and Immigration authorities for their prompt support and action concerning Consular and Community Welfare matters. Most of the cases raised during the last open house…

In a historic collaboration, Santamonica, in association with Bobscoedu Bahrain, unveiled their latest venture: Study Abroad and Tours and Travels in Bahrain. https://youtu.be/JO9W56TDNiI?si=XkcgHBTi13Z5ax18 Santamonica Group of Companies, a rapidly growing entity in India, specializes in study abroad programs, tours and travels, and forex operations, with a widespread presence across the nation and GCC countries. Notably, it was honored with the prestigious Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records awards in 2023. The launching ceremony, held at Al RAYA MALL, Juffair, was graced by esteemed guests, under the patronage of H.E. Shaikh Daij Bin Isa AlKhalifa, Chairman of ASEAN…

Bahrain : Ambassador of India H.E. Shri Vinod K. Jacob inaugurated the KarnatakaState Tourism and One District One Product (ODOP) walls at the Consular hall ofthe Embassy in presence of members of Karnataka Community living in Bahrain.These walls highlight touristic attractions as well as exquisite products identifiedunder ODOP scheme, of the state of Karnataka.Embassy of India, Bahrain has taken ‘focus state/union territory’ initiativeunder which touristic and OPOP products of a particular state are beingpromoted in Bahrain during a period of around one month. Karnataka is thefourth focus state to be featured at the State/Union Territory Wall in the Consularhall, after…