Author: News Desk

The Trump administration is awarding more than $35 million in Justice Department grants to organizations that provide safe housing for survivors of human trafficking. The grants are being announced Tuesday at a White House event attended by Attorney General William Barr, presidential adviser Ivanka Trump, other administration officials, survivors of human trafficking and organizations that serve them. The $35 million in Housing Assistance Grants for Victims of Human Trafficking is being provided by the Office for Victims of Crime within the Justice Department’s Office of Justice Programs to provide housing and services to human trafficking survivors. ♦ Barron Trump’s private school to…

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that home caregivers who helped the elderly and people with disabilities during the pandemic will receive a bonus of up to 1,000 euros ($1,175) by the end of the year. During a visit to the French southern city of Toulon on Tuesday, Macron paid tribute to about 320,000 caregivers who provided essential at-home services to 1.1 million people in the country. He says the bonus will be financed by a 160-million euros package from the state and local authorities. ♦ France to launch ‘railway highways’ in push for greener economy ♦ France to enforce mask-wearing in banks…

The U.S. Census Bureau is cutting its schedule for data collection for the 2020 census a month short as legislation that would have extended the national head count’s deadlines stalls in the U.S. Senate. The move is worrying researchers, politicians and others who say the change will miss hard-to-count communities, including minorities and immigrants, and produce less trustworthy data. The Census Bureau said late Monday that the door-knocking and ability for households to respond either online, by phone or by mail to the questionnaire will stop at the end of September so that it can meet an end-of-the-year deadline to…

Amazon has started preparations to launch in Sweden, marking its first step to establish a local presence in a Nordic country. Swedish customers can already shop on Amazon through its websites in other European countries such as Germany, and get their purchases shipped to the country, but this often meant paying high delivery charges. “We are optimistic that, by focusing on the things we believe customers will place the greatest emphasis on – low prices, a wide range and fast deliveries – we will eventually be able to win the trust of Swedish customers,” Alex Ootes, vice president for EU…

Britain’s competition regulator on Tuesday cleared Amazon’s purchase of a 16% stake in online delivery group Deliveroo, following a provisional nod in June. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) gave its original clearance in April on the basis that Deliveroo could go out of business without the investment. It changed approach to focus on competition after criticism from rivals including Just Eat Takeaway and Domino’s Pizza. “Today’s final decision is the result of a thorough examination of this deal and the markets in which Amazon and Deliveroo operate,” said Stuart McIntosh, the inquiry chair. Amazon led a $575 million fundraising…

Privately held restaurant group PizzaExpress said it could shut nearly 15% of its UK restaurants, putting 1,100 jobs at risk, as part of a restructuring deal to help reduce debt and infuse capital. The company, which operates 449 restaurants in the UK and is currently owned by Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital, said it had started a sale process to find a new owner. PizzaExpress said it will soon launch a company voluntary arrangement in the UK as part of an agreement with some of its secured creditors and its majority shareholder. The deal includes reducing the company’s external…

Muhammad Mokaev made a huge impact on his professional debut last weekend, during BRAVE CF 37, in Sweden. The 23-0 amateur, who’s been labeled as the “new Khabib Nurmagomedov”, won via dominant and unanimous decision over a bitter rival in Ireland’s Glenn McVeigh. Hungry and ready for more, Mokaev made sure to ask for a quick turnaround and publicly stated he wanted to fight as soon as possible, preferably in one of the upcoming BRAVE CF cards in Europe within the next weeks. BRAVE CF President Mohammed Shahid listened carefully, and impressed by Mokaev’s potential, granted the Russian-British phenomenon his…

The health of Kuwait’s Emir Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah has shown “significant improvement”, parliament quoted the prime minister as saying in a tweet on Tuesday. “There is a significant improvement, thank God,” Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah was quoted as saying. ♦ Kuwait shuts down 46 shops for breaching health measures ♦ Kuwait bans flights to multiple countries to curb the spread of COVID-19 Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah is in the United States completing medical treatment following surgery for an unspecified condition in Kuwait.

The Abu Dhabi Emergency Crisis and Disasters Committee for COVID-19 Pandemic, in collaboration with the Department of Health-Abu Dhabi, has announced that there has been a major decrease in the prevalence of coronavirus in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The findings are based on the results of the rigorous virus screening initiatives and detection campaigns across the Emirate as part of the National Screening Programme. “The initiatives, along with precautionary and preventative measures, have resulted in curbing the spread of the virus, with the percentage of confirmed cases out of total tests carried out in all regions of the emirate…

President of the Bahrain Football Association (BFA), Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, has expressed sincere congratulations to HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, on the success of Team Bahrain McLaren in clinching the first place at the Circuito de Getxo race in Spain, and winning the second stage of the Route Aquitaine race which was held in France. Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa lauded HH Shaikh Nasser’s constant interest in sports in Bahrain, in general, and cyclism, in particular, noting that the team’s double victory is the fruitful outcome of his support. BFA president asserted that the…