Author: News Desk

Tokyo 2020 organizers on Wednesday said the consumption of alcohol at Olympic venues will be banned as part of efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, the Kyodo news agency reported. Health guidelines released on Wednesday also said that people with Covid-19 symptoms or a body temperature above 37.5 degrees Celsius will not be allowed into Olympic venues, the agency said. The Olympic competitions will be held in about 40 arenas in Tokyo and other Japanese regions, according to Deutsche press agency (dpa). The Games were delayed by a year because of the global health crisis. The Olympics are…

Bahrain’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows increased by  $1.007 billion  in 2020, according to the latest World Investment Report (WIR 2021) from the UN Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The annual report charts global investment flows, analyses trade trends, and examines government policies that seek to expand world trade. The report highlighted that global FDI contracted by 35% to $1 trillion in 2020, with an expectation for flows to bottom out and increase by 10-15% in 2021. Despite global trends, Bahrain experienced a 3.3% increase in inward FDI stocks, reaching $31.7 billion in 2020. Also highlighted was Bahrain’s stock…

Riyadh: President of Human Rights Commission (HRC) Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad met today with The Philippines’ Special Envoy and Presidential Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Chief of Presidential Protocol (PAFA) Robert E.A. Borje. During the meeting, they discussed issues of common interest and means of enhancing bilateral relations, especially in the field of human rights.

SHARJAH: Throughout the spring semester, Sharjah Sustainable City (SSC) and American University of Sharjah (AUS) hosted a four-part webinar series focused on sustainability and the built environment. The webinars brought together practitioners from SSC and academics from AUS to discuss energy and climate change, smarter mobility, eco-districts and sustainable materials. The webinar series provided an opportunity for students to expand their knowledge beyond classroom discussions and theoretical ideas to how SSC is implementing sustainable practices on the ground. The students were able to learn about the successes and challenges faced in the development of sustainable housing and communities. “Collaborations such…

DUBAI: The challenges posed by the spread of Covid-19 pandemic have shown the incessant need to digital shifts in customs services and procedures to better serve global travel, trade and supply chains, according to Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, Director General of Dubai Customs. He made the remarks at a virtual ceremony on the launch of Dubai Customs’ ‘iDeclare’ smart application. “Digital transformation is at the core of Dubai Customs’ strategies and plans to ensure streamlined passenger traffic and trade. For this, the smart iDeclare Application is gaining more importance these days supporting Dubai International Airport in its mission as one of…

Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation has begun implementing its seasonal programme, “Eid Clothing”, ahead of Eid Al Adha. Hamad Salem bin Kordous Al Ameri, Director-General of the Foundation, said that the foundation aims to achieve its goals in charitable work based on its social responsibility in line with the approach established by the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He added that the Foundation – with the generous follow-up of H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation; and H.H. Sheikh Omar bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy…

South Korea said Wednesday it has agreed to additionally contribute $2 million to funds operated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in a bid to boost cooperation with the lending body. The agreement was reached after Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki and EBRD President Odile Renaud-Basso held a virtual meeting Tuesday, according to Seoul’s finance ministry, Yonhap News Agency reported. Under the agreement, South Korea will additionally contribute the money to two EBRD trust funds designed to support the transition into the market economy by eastern European and Central Asia nations. The meeting was arranged to exchange views…

Poland is introducing a mandatory seven-day quarantine for all travellers from Britain in a bid to curb the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, the health ministry said on Tuesday. Britain is currently seeing a rise in cases due to the more contagious Delta variant, which was first identified in India. “The decisions made on quarantine for travelers arriving from Great Britain are intended to reduce the risk of transmission of the Delta coronavirus variant from the endangered area,” Health Minister Adam Niedzielski was quoted as saying by state news agency PAP. “We must take care of our citizens…

Bogota: Colombia reached 100,000 confirmed deaths from COVID-19 this week, becoming just the tenth country in the world to hit the grim milestone. The South American nation of 50 million has been registering a growing number of daily cases since April and over the past seven days it had the world’s third-highest per capita death rate from COVID-19, according to data published by Oxford University, the Associated Press (AP) reported. On Monday night, President Iván Duque blamed anti-government protests that began at the end of April for many of the fatalities, saying that “more than 10,000 deaths could have been avoided”…

Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs has announced that an update of the entry procedures via Bahrain International Airport will take effect on June 25th, 2021. According to the new regulations, all passengers, vaccinated or unvaccinated, arriving in Bahrain, aged 6 or above, have to present an approved (PCR) test certificate with a (QR Code) before boarding the plane. The test has to be undergone 48 hours before departure for passengers authorized to enter the kingdom and who are coming from countries on the red list. Passengers coming from countries that are not on the red list have to undergo the PCR…