Author: News Desk

MOGADISHU: Al Shabaab militants attacked two military bases belonging to the Somali National Army early on Saturday morning, witnesses and the militants said. Al Shabaab, which is linked to al-Qaeda, is made up of Islamist militants who have waged years of attacks and levied tolls on trade in a campaign to introduce strict religious law, Reuters reported. There was no immediate official comment or details on casualties but one military officer in the army confirmed the attacks. “We are on the way as reinforcement,” Ahmed Abdullahi told Reuters by phone, adding that the attacks occurred at the Bariire and Awdhigle…

Manama: Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) President Shaikha Mai bin Mohammed Al-Khalifa received Advisor to the Economic Development Board (EDB) Ian Lindsay and discussed cooperation. Shaikha Mai highlighted BACA-EDB cooperation over the past years to supports cultural projects, include the Spring of Culture Festival. She underlined BACA-led efforts to ensure the success of Bahrain’s participation in the 2020 Dubai Expo, which will be held in October 2021. Lindsay praised BACA-led role in promote the cultural landscape in Bahrain, looking forward to continuing joint cooperation.

Manama: A coordination meeting was held today to prepare for the third meeting of the Bahrain-India High Joint Commission (HJC), to be held in New Delhi on April 7. The coordination meeting was chaired by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for International Affairs, Dr. Shaikh Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, and the Secretary (CPV&OIA) of the Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India, Sanjay Bhattacharyya. During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the existing partnership frameworks between the two countries, the progress made in the fields of health, space science, computing, trade and investment, and security and…

MANAMA: Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) is set to host back-to-back nights of exciting karting battles on Thursday and Friday (April 1 and 2) as the action never stops at “The Home of Motorsport in the Middle East” in Sakhir. BIC’s world-class karting facility, Bahrain International Karting Circuit (BIKC), will be the setting of the second and third rounds of the 2021 Bahrain Karting Sprint Championship (BKSC), featuring the Bahrain Rotax Max Challenge (BRMC). High-octane racing will be held along BIKC’s 1.414-kilometre CIK-FIA track and it will feature competition in the BRMC’s various categories, including the Senior Max, Max Masters, Junior…

MANAMA: The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, met on Tuesday with the Minister for the Middle East and North Africa at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, James Cleverly, in the Kingdom to participate in the Bahrain-UK Joint Working Group. Al Zayani praised the close historical friendship between the two kingdoms and the growth it is witnessing in various fields. He also noted in this regard the advanced level of bilateral cooperation and coordination that serve their shared interests. He stressed the importance of the constructive role of the Bahrain-UK Joint Working Group, the relentless…

BERLIN: BioNTech said on Tuesday that it and partner Pfizer would increase manufacturing capacity of their COVID-19 vaccine to 2.5 billion doses by the end of 2021, unveiling for the first time projected sales of close to 10 billion euros ($11.73 billion) from the product this year. Pfizer previously said the two partners would likely produce between 2.3 billion and 2.4 billion doses this year. BioNTech cited its new facility in the German city of Marburg and an expansion of the pair’s network of third-party manufacturers and suppliers as drivers behind the larger volumes. “Additional measures and discussions with potential…

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will be announcing the launch of a new program meant to strengthen the partnership with the private sector in the Kingdom. The Crown Prince announced the “Saudi Arabia’s Partner Program” with the private sector during a virtual meeting with a number of ministers, as well as senior businessmen and heads of major companies in the Kingdom. He stressed that building a vibrant and prosperous private sector is one of the Kingdom’s national priorities, given the importance it represents, and a vital role, as a major partner in the prosperity and development of…

KUWAIT CITY: The Centre for Government Communication (CGC) announced that Kuwait will be opening a drive-thru vaccination centre at the South Island of Al Jaber causeway bridge. The announcement comes as Kuwait is looking to ramp up its vaccination efforts, to achieve its goal of vaccinating two million people by September. So far 1,106,000 residents and citizens have registered for the vaccine, of which half a million have received at least the first jab. According to local media, in the past few days on average 25,000 people have been receiving the vaccine daily.

BRASILIA: Brazil’s economy added a net 401,639 formal jobs in February, Economy Ministry figures showed on Tuesday, the highest monthly figure since the data series began in 1992, led by a surge in the dominant services sector. Some 1.69 million positions were created and 1.29 million were cut, the ministry said, meaning that in the first two months of this year the economy created a net 659,780 formal jobs, also the highest in years. “These figures show that we are definitely on the right road with regard to the recovery of economic activity,” Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said in an…