Author: News Desk

The global economy warrants caution due to uncertainty over coronavirus vaccinations and variants, though Japan’s economy shows signs of recovery with low infections, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday. Speaking to reporters after attending a virtual meeting of Group of 20 financial leaders, Aso also urged the major economies to unite in backing low income countries given widening disparities of economic growth and vaccinations. “To support low income countries, Japan will back a new allocation of SDRs (Special Drawing Rights),” Aso said, referring to the International Monetary Fund’s resources. (Reuters)

Facebook ended a one-week blackout of Australian news on its popular social media site on Friday and announced preliminary commercial agreements with three small local publishers. The moves reflected easing tensions between the U.S. company and the Australian government, a day after the country’s parliament passed a law forcing it and Alphabet Inc’s Google to pay local media companies for using content on their platforms. The new law makes Australia the first nation where a government arbitrator can set the price Facebook and Google pay domestic media to show their content if private negotiations fail. Canada and other countries have…

Indonesia has authorised one of the world’s first private vaccination schemes to run alongside its national programme so that companies can buy state-procured vaccines to inoculate their staff in Southeast Asia’s biggest country. The initiative, approved by a government regulation, has drawn criticism from some health experts who warn it could worsen inequity. The world’s fourth most populous country has launched an ambitious programme to vaccinate 181.5 million people for free in about a year, but business had been pushing for a way of inoculating staff faster to open up the economy. The regulation stipulates that companies can buy vaccines…

The draw on the fifth edition of the Khalifa bin Salman Basketball will be held on Tuesday (March 2). The Bahrain Basketball Association (BBA) is stepping up preparations for the draw which will be held at the BBA arena in Umm Al Hassam. The association has lined up a special programme for the draw on the cup which bears the name of late His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. BBA-affiliated clubs have been invited to designate one representative each to attend the event. Mandatory precautionary measures for combating the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) will be respected.

The government of the south Indian state of Kerala has made the on-arrival COVID-19 RT-PCR test free for those coming from abroad. Kerala Health minister K.K. Shailaja made the announcement in Kerala and said all international passengers will continue to be tested on arrival as per the latest travel protocol announced by India’s federal government. The new requirement of mandatory COVID-19 RT-PCR test came into effect on February 23, following which, several expats had sought exemption from the test fee, which is charged at different rates at different airports in India. In Kerala, the cost of the test was capped…

Bitcoin fell as much as 6% on Friday to its lowest in two weeks, as a rout in global bond markets sent yields flying and sparked a sell-off in riskier assets. The world’s biggest cryptocurrency slumped as low as $44,451 before recovering some of its losses. It was last trading down 1.3% at $46,588. The sell-off echoed that in equity markets, where European stocks tumbled as much as 1.5%, with concerns over lofty valuations also hammering demand. Asian stocks fell by the most in nine months. Bitcoin has risen about 60% from the start of the year, hitting an all-time…

ABU DHABI: NIMR, the leading manufacturer of combat-proven wheeled military vehicles, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ST Engineering, a global technology, defence, and engineering group, to build innovative hybrid electric drive (HED) systems to underpin NIMR’s commitment to HED technology, aspiring to be the first manufacturer in the Middle East region to integrate the game-changing power systems to reinforce its leading status as a pioneer in the armoured vehicle industry. Abri du Plessis, CEO of NIMR, and Daniel Lam, Head, Middle East of ST Engineering, signed the MoU at the five-day International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2021)…

ABU DHABI: His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, visited the final day of the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) 2021, held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC). During his tour, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed toured several national, Arab and international pavilions, where he was briefed by their officials and representatives about the key products and technologies showcased at the event. He spoke to them about the importance of participating in international exhibitions, such as IDEX, which is a key global…

ABU DHABI: H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince of Ras Al Khaimah, today visited the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2021) and the Naval Defence and Maritime Security Exhibition (NAVDEX), held under the patronage of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), with wide local and international participation. Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud toured the pavilions of several national, Arab and international companies and met with several exhibitors and participants, who briefed him about the products they are showcasing and the latest defence industry products and…

Frankfurt: The Olympic Games could return to Australia in 2032 after Brisbane and the state of Queensland was installed as the preferred bidder for the event by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) following an executive committee meeting on Wednesday. IOC president Thomas Bach told a news conference the decision “was not a decision against anybody, according to dpa international. “This is just a decision in favour of one interested party at this moment in time.” Preferred status means the IOC will negotiate exclusively with the Australian bid in a blow to a possible German bid with the Rhine-Ruhr area. “I’m very pleased that very early on…