Author: News Desk

Washington : U.S. President Joe Biden joined Pope Francis and a leading Sunni imam on Friday in calling for greater global cooperation to fight the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and other world crises on the second anniversary of a landmark Christian-Muslim peace initiative. The Vatican released a statement from Biden marking the International Day of Human Fraternity, a U.N.-designated celebration of interfaith and multicultural understanding inspired by a landmark document signed on Feb. 4, 2019, in Abu Dhabi by Francis and Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayyeb, the imam of the Al-Azhar center for Sunni learning in Cairo. The document called for greater mutual…

Netherlands : Chinese President Xi Jinping has backed Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in his standoff with the West over Ukraine as the two leaders met before the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing. The leaders used a joint statement to call out what they called a “minority on the world stage” for advocating “unilateral approaches to resolving international problems and resort to military policy.” Meanwhile, the leaders of European Union powerhouses France and Germany announced plans to head to Moscow and Kyiv soon for talks aimed at easing tensions. Here are things to know Friday about the international…

BEIJING : The U.S., Britain and a handful of others aren’t sending dignitaries to the Beijing Winter Games as part of a diplomatic boycott, but the Chinese capital is still attracting an array of world leaders for Friday’s opening ceremony.  President Vladimir Putin is meeting Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping ahead of the opening ceremony, underscoring closer ties between Beijing and Moscow as they both face Western criticism and pressure.  Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vucic have growing frictions with the West over their authoritarian policies and human rights records. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s…

BEIJING :  The country where the coronavirus outbreak emerged two years ago launched a locked-down Winter Olympics on Friday, proudly projecting its might on the most global of stages even as some Western governments mounted a diplomatic boycott over the way China treats millions of its own people. The opening ceremony began just after the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach at the same lattice-encased National Stadium that hosted the inaugural event at the 2008 Olympics. With the dimming of the lights and a countdown in fireworks, Beijing became the first city to host both…

China : When Madison Chock looks outside here in the Chinese capital, the U.S. Olympic ice dancer sees glimpses of herself, the Associated Press (AP) reported. “Every time I’m on the bus, I’m just looking out and studying the city and just imagining my roots are here, my ancestors are here,” says Chock, whose father is Chinese-Hawaiian, with family ties to rural China. “And it’s a very cool sense of belonging in a way, to just be on the same soil that your ancestors grew up on and spent their lives on.” She adds: “It’s really special, and China holds…

Bahrain : Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, the Board Chairman of Bahrain Tourism and Exhibition Authority (BTEA), honoured today 16 cadres from BTEA with the “Prince Salman bin Hamad Medal for Medical Merit”, in the presence of the authority’s Chief Executive, Dr. Nasser Qaedi. The medal was presented in implementation of the royal order and in line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, to all the competent authorities to grant the medal to the frontliners from the medical cadres, Bahrain Defence…

Bahrain : Following approval by the Kingdom of Bahrain’s Vaccination Committee, the National Medical Taskforce for Combatting the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has announced that a second booster shot has been made available by choice for adults aged 60 years and above, and frontline medical professionals. The Taskforce explained that eligible individuals may receive any vaccine as a second booster shot, three months after receiving the first booster shot. The Taskforce also noted that the green shield will not change to yellow on the ‘BeAware’ application for this age group if they do not receive a booster shot. The Taskforce highlighted that…

Abu Dhabi :  The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) in collaboration with the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre (SZGMC) has issued 1,971 silver commemorative coins for the centre. The issuance of this commemorative coin aims to showcase Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque, named after the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as a religious, national, and cultural iconic landmark that mirrors the United Arab Emirates’ identity which become a global destination. It consolidates the founding father’s vision for the mosque to become a platform for cultural dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence amongst different faiths in the UAE, that hosts more…

Bahrain :  The joint Bahraini-Emirati satellite “Light-1” was successfully launched into its orbit in cooperation with the Japanese Aerospace Space Agency (JAXA) to start its scientific mission in monitoring and studying the emissions of terrestrial gamma rays resulting from thunderstorms and cumulus clouds. The collected scientific data will be available for research and scientific studies and will serve as a reference for different research in the same field. The data could also be shared with different research centers across the world as a global contribution by Light 1 to serve humanity and its development. “I would like to extend my…

Bahrain : The Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) has conducted an inspection campaign in the Southern Governorate, in cooperation with the Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs of the Ministry of Interior and the Southern Governorate Directorate. The campaign that covered several work sites found violations related to the provisions of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority Law and the Residence Law in Bahrain. Legal action was taken against workers who were violating regulations and laws. The authority pointed out that the campaign reinforces the intensive efforts made by LMRA in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior and relevant government entities to…