Author: News Desk

Over half a million people – nearly one-third of the population – have completely vaccinated against COVID-19 in Bahrain. A total of 646,919 people have taken the first jab, while 509,887 individuals have taken two jabs as of Friday. Bahrain had approved a total of 4 vaccines (Astrazeneca, Pfizer, Sinopharm and Sputnik). (Data as of 23 April 2021)

China will hold discussions on building a defence system against near-Earth asteroids, a senior space agency official said on Saturday, as the country steps up its longer term space ambitions. Zhang Kejian, head of the China National Space Administration, did not provide further detail in his opening remarks at a ceremony for China’s space day in the eastern city of Nanjing. China has made space exploration a top priority in recent years, aiming to establish a programme operating thousands of space flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tonnes of cargo and passengers by 2045. The European Space…

A four-astronaut team arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour, NASA said, after becoming the first crew ever to be propelled into orbit by a rocket booster recycled from a previous spaceflight. The Endeavour capsule, also making its second flight, was launched into space on Friday atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX is the Elon Musk’s commercial rocket company. The Endeavour docked to the space station complex at 5:08 a.m. EDT (0908 GMT) while the spacecraft were flying 264 miles (425 km) above the…

Bahrain has updated international arrival procedures for passengers above the age of 6 arriving through Bahrain International Airport from, or transiting through India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, effective from 27 April 2021. All incoming passengers arriving from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh must provide proof of negative PCR test with a QR code conducted not more than 48 hours before departure. All existing travel-related procedures remain in force. All returnees and visitors must undergo PCR testing upon arrival, and test again on their 5th and 10th day, activate the ‘BeAware Bahrain’ application and sign a self-isolation agreement, which requires passengers to quarantine…

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of Denmark, and representative to the European Union and NATO, Dr. Bahia Jawad Al-Jishi, participated in the meeting of the delegation of relations with the peninsula to the European Parliament which was held on April 22, 2021 under the theme “Expatriate Workers in the Gulf: Cross-border Issues and the Current and Future Situation”. The virtual meeting was attended by a number of deputies of the European Parliament, ambassadors from the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, and representatives of various international…

Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said on Friday that he is ending his weekslong hunger strike. The announcement comes days after the Russian opposition leader was transferred to a prison hospital due to his deteriorating health. “I do not withdraw the requirement to admit the necessary doctor to me — I am losing sensitivity in parts of my arms and legs, and I want to understand what it is and how to treat it, but taking into account the progress and all the circumstances, I am starting to get out of the hunger strike,” Navalny said in a message shared by his…

Kuwaiti singer Shams has said she buried herself to experience the “idea of death” and felt safe. “I wanted to experience the idea of death, be alone and live fear,” she said on a TV show. The 40-year-old singer said she had buried herself under seaside sands for 20 minutes. “I felt safe and peaceful. I felt that life is a mere deception and a lie. I started to hold myself to account,” she told “The Fortune Teller” show aired on the Egyptian private TV Al Mehwar. “I felt that Allah’s mercy is larger than my mistakes.” Shams said she…

India reported the world’s highest daily tally of coronavirus infections for a second day on Friday, surpassing 330,000 new cases, as it struggles with a health system overwhelmed by patients and plagued by accidents. Deaths in the past 24 hours also jumped to a record 2,263, the health ministry said, while officials across northern and western India, including the capital, New Delhi, warned most hospitals were full and running out of oxygen. The surge in cases came as a fire in a hospital in a suburb of Mumbai treating COVID-19 patients killed 13 people, the latest accident to hit a…

The governments of the Bahrain and Israel on Friday reached an agreement regarding mutual recognition of vaccination and green passport. This agreement is the first of its kind between the two countries and represents a global precedent for a bilateral agreement on mutual recognition of vaccination certificates. This agreement has been reached after recent week-talks between the Kingdom of Bahrain and Israel, led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, and his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, as well as after contacts have been signed between the Israeli Embassy in the Kingdom of Bahrain and the…

Manama: Three mosques in the Southern Governorate have been shut down temporarily for failure to comply with COVID-19 health regulations. The Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments, in coordination with the National Taskforce for Combating Coronavirus (COVID-19), decided to close the mosques for one week to enable the competent teams to track infections, carry out the disinfection operation and ascertain proper compliance and implementation of the precautionary procedures. The decision was taken out of keenness on ensuring the safety of all after the officials in charge of the mosques failed to abide by the health regulations by allowing unvaccinated worshippers…