Author: News Desk

Facebook rolled out its own version of social media rival TikTok in the United States and more than 50 other countries on Wednesday, embedding a new short-form video service called Reels as a feature within its popular Instagram app. The debut comes days after Microsoft said it was in talks to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations from China’s ByteDance. ByteDance has agreed to divest parts of TikTok, sources have said, under pressure from the White House which has threatened to ban it and other Chinese-owned apps over data security concerns. The launch of Reels escalates a bruising fight between Facebook and…

British retailer WH Smith said on Wednesday it could cut up to 1,500 jobs as part of a restructuring of its UK store operations, due to significantly fewer customers at its travel and high street shops despite easing coronavirus restrictions. Founded more than 200 years ago as a news vendor in London, WH Smith expanded at a host of major airports to take advantage of rising passenger numbers, helping offset the decline of the British high street. The company said 53% of its UK travel store estate is open with a focus on increasing average transaction value now that sales have…

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health stated in its tweet that urgent shipment of medical aid, including equipment, medicines and supplies were sent to Lebanon on Wednesday on the directives of HH Deputy Amir, Shaikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The huge explosion hit Beirut Port yesterday afternoon leaving 100 dead and nearly 4,000 injured. The ministry had announced joint coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare and transport the shipment in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense via a military plane, noting the direct follow-up from the Minister of Health Sheikh Dr. Basel AI-Sabah to complete the various procedures…

A U.S. judge on Tuesday sentenced former Google engineer Anthony Levandowski to 18 months in prison for stealing a trade secret from Google related to self-driving cars months before becoming the head of Uber Technologies rival unit. U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco said Levandowski, who was convicted on Tuesday following a March plea agreement, said Levandowski could enter custody once the COVID-19 pandemic has subsided. Alsup said a sentence short of imprisonment would have given “a green light to every future brilliant engineer to steal trade secrets,” comparing what Levandowski took to a “competitor’s game plan.” ♦ Google…

India reported on Wednesday 52,509 new cases over the novel coronavirus, taking its tally of infections to more than 1.91 million, nevertheless authorities eased restrictions aimed at limiting its spread, allowing gyms and yoga studios to open. India is one of the world’s hardest-hit countries, with nearly 40,000 people dead of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. But the health ministry said India’s fatality rate was now 2.10%, the lowest since the outbreak first appeared. The government has been struggling to stop the spread of the virus while also trying to minimise the economic damage and the hardships lockdowns…

For Bahrain, fighting Iran’s financing of terror is not simply a battle of ideals waged in the shadows, but also an ongoing campaign for transparency and global stability, the Kingdom’s Ambassador to the U.S., Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashid Al Khalifa, has stressed. In a commentary he wrote for the US News & World Report, Shaikh Abdullah highlighted how Bahrain is fighting terror through transparent banking laws. “The United States government rightly labels Iran as the world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism. Its clerical regime exercises direct or indirect control over most of the country’s largest financial and commercial institutions to allegedly…

The Bahrain Ministry of Education will be giving parents of children studying in government schools an option to allow their children to study from school, learn through virtual learning or a mixture of both. The ministry will be giving the parents a form to select learning options. The virtual learning classes will allow the students to continue their daily schedule, log into the online classes on time, follow the timetable and complete educational tasks or projects before due date.

The Kingdom of Bahrain expressed its deep regret regarding the horrific explosion that took place today in a warehouse near Port of Beirut, resulting in the death and injury of numerous civilians and causing severe material damage to the outskirts of Beirut. The Foreign Ministry stressed Bahrain’s solidarity  with the brotherly people of Lebanon during these terrible times. The Ministry also extended its sincere condolences to the families of the victims and the Lebanese government and wished those injured a speedy recovery.

Young people who are hitting nightclubs and beaches are leading a rise in fresh coronavirus cases across the world, with the proportion of those aged 15 to 24 who are infected rising three-fold in about five months, the World Health Organization said. An analysis by the WHO of 6 million infections between Feb. 24 and July 12 found that the share of people aged 15-24 years rose to 15% from 4.5%. Apart from the United States which leads a global tally with 4.8 million total cases, European countries including Spain, Germany and France, and Asian countries such as Japan, have…

The Supreme Council for Women (SCW) and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism (MOICT) have announced their new collaboration through “Export Bahrain” in developing and intensifying Bahraini exports and facilitating entry into the global markets. The aim is to support Bahraini women-owned projects by providing them with facilities and consultations to develop their products and services in order to enhance their participation in regional and international trade. Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism and Chairman of SME Development Board Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani commended the new collaboration inked between MOICT and SCW. “Bahraini women enjoy a global outlook,…