Author: News Desk

Seoul : The Japanese Film Festival Online 2022 (JFF) will open for a two-week run next month, with 13 Japanese films to be screened free of charge, the event’s organizers said Saturday. Under the slogan “Online Trip To Japan,” the festival will start on Feb. 14 and run through Feb. 27 on its official website, according to the Japan Foundation Seoul. Among the 13-film lineup were the 1950 crime drama “Rashomon” by Akira Kurosawa, the comedy “Happy Flight” (2008), the animated film “Time of Eve” (2010) and the historical film “The Floating Castle” (2012). The JFF, an annual film festival…

Bahrain : The National Initiative for Agricultural Development (NIAD), in cooperation with Amazon Web Services Bahrain, have launched a project to plant trees in Block 801 in Isa Town as part of the “Forever Green” campaign. The campaign aims at expanding the green area, purifying the air, preserving the environment and supporting local and international efforts to reach zero-carbon neutrality by 2060. It also facilitates partnership between the public and private sectors towards the implementation of afforestation projects and encourages individuals, institutions and society to play their role in supporting national efforts to expand the green area. The greening of…

Seoul :  North Korea confirmed on Monday it had launched a Hwasong-12 ballistic missile, the same weapon it had once threatened to target the U.S. territory of Guam with, sparking fears the nuclear-armed state could resume long-range testing. The launch of the intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) was first reported by South Korean and Japanese authorities on Sunday. It was the seventh test conducted by North Korea this month and the first time a nuclear-capable missile of that size has been launched since 2017, Reuters reports. The United States is concerned North Korea’s escalating missile tests could be precursors to resumed…

Sydney : Australia reported its lowest daily COVID-19 deaths in two weeks on Monday while cases continued to trend lower as authorities braced for staff shortages in schools due to likely outbreaks as thousands of students return after their summer break. Most states will go through a staggered school reopening exercise this week as Australia battles the worst outbreak of the pandemic, with the fast-moving Omicron coronavirus variant spiralling cases to record level. “There will be challenges and there will be bumps over these first few weeks,” Victoria state Deputy Premier James Merlino said during a media briefing on Monday.…

Bahrain : Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) has announced that it has started the third batch registration volunteering for civilians to join the reserve force, for relatives of workers and retirees in BDF and the National Guard (military and civilians). Applicants must be Bahraini nationals, aged between 18 and 55, have good conduct and have not been convicted for a felony or a misdemeanor that breaches honor or trust, and medically fit for military service in the reserve force and successfully pass the medical examination prescribed according to the BDF military medical committees. The age limit does not apply to technicians…

Melbourne : French Open champions Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova added the Australian Open’s women’s doubles title to their resume on Sunday, with a 6-7(3) 6-4 6-4 win over Anna Danilina and Beatriz Haddad Maia. The number one seeds, who were beaten finalists at Melbourne Park last year, took time to hit their stride and were forced to come back from a set down to claim the title for the first time. The unseeded duo overpowered the Olympic champions in a tiebreak to win the first set, but the scores were levelled up at the end of the second, as…

Kuwait : Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, participated in the Arab consultative meeting, which was held today in the State of Kuwait. Kuwaiti Foreign Minister, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, President of the 156th session of the Council of the League Arab countries Dr. Shaikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah chaired the session, in the presence of Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit. Dr. Al Zayani called for unified Arab efforts to stop the deteriorating security situation in the region and protect the interests of its people, warning from the threats imposed by terrorist militias that target regional…

Bahrain : Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) Secretary-General Fares Mustafa Al Kooheji stressed the importance of stepping up preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The drive followed directives from Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS) First Deputy Chairman, General Sports Authority (GSA) Chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee (BOC) President Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa. Kooheji stressed keenness in Bahrain’s participation in 2024 Paris Olympic Games, to build on the success achieved in the previous editions, which were held in London (2012), Rio (2026) and Tokyo (2020). This came as he received Bahrain Judo Federation Chairman Faisal Kanoo, Bahrain…

A 14-year-old girl in Andhra Pradesh’s Vijayawada committed suicide after alleged sexual harassment by TDP leader Vinod Jain. The girl who jumped from the fifth floor of a building was studying in class 10. She wrote in a suicide note mentioning that she was ending her life due to sexual harassment by TDP leader Vinod Jain.

A Christian priest was shot dead and another wounded by unidentified gunmen who opened fire on them as they were returning home from Sunday mass in Pakistan’s northwestern Peshawar city, police said. Bishop William Siraj was shot multiple times and died on the spot, while Father Naeem Patrick was wounded in the attack in the Gulbahar neighbourhood of Peshawar, police said. The police immediately rushed to the spot and started the search operation. A strict security has been made at the entry and exit points to nab the culprits. No group has immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest…