Author: News Desk

One protester was killed as security forces confronted thousands of people protesting against military rule in Sudan’s capital Khartoum on Sunday, medics linked to the demonstrations said. The 27-year-old, Mohamed Yousef Ismail, was hit in the chest, the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) said. There was no immediate statement from the military rulers who have been trying to contain a series of protests across Sudan since they took power on Oct. 25. Security forces fired tear gas to try to disperse the crowds who were marching in defiance of a ban on demonstrations.

Bahrain :  AlMabarrah AlKhalifia Foundation (MKF) announced that the registration for the Rayaat Scholarship Program and the Late His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Scholarship for the coming academic year 2022 – 2023, will be on February 6-15. This year, AlMabarrah AlKhalifia Foundation is allocating a number of bachelor degrees with partnering universities, namely the University of Bahrain and Bahrain Polytechnic, as part of Rayaat program. Under the umbrella of the late HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Scholarship program, the Foundation also provides seven scholarships for bachelor degrees at the British University of Bahrain, Ahlia…

Bahrain :  His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Economic Development Board (EDB), today remotely chaired the EDB board meeting. Bahrain’s economic progress was discussed in light of the exceptional circumstances imposed by the COVID 19. His Royal Highness highlighted the importance of continuing joint efforts to achieve the Kingdom’s economic recovery goals aimed at further creating opportunities to support the national economy and enhance the Kingdom’s competitiveness in accordance with the visions and aspirations of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. His Royal Highness highlighted the successful…

Melbourne : Australia will seek to be included in consultations about a trade dispute between the European Union and China launched by the EU at the World Trade Organisation, the Australian trade minister said on Saturday. Thursday’s EU challenge accuses China of discriminatory trade practices against Lithuania, saying they threatened the integrity of the single market, Reuters reports. “Australia has a substantial interest in the issues raised in the dispute brought by the European Union against China … and will request to join these consultations,” Trade Minister Dan Tehan said in a statement. China, which regards self-governed Taiwan as its…

Melbourne :  Ash Barty will no longer need to overthink the 1970s when she prepares for the Australian Open. The top-ranked Barty recovered from 5-1 down in the second set to beat Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the final on Saturday night, ending a 44-year drought for Australian women at their home Grand Slam tournament, AP reports. Barty is the first Australian women’s singles champion since Chris O’Neil in 1978. She was the first homegrown player to reach the final since Wendy Turnbull in 1980. The pressure is off the 25-year-old Aussie, who has made a remarkable career comeback…

Pittsburgh : A 50-year-old bridge collapsed in Pittsburgh early Friday, requiring rescuers to rappel down a ravine and form a human chain to reach a few occupants of a municipal bus that plummeted along with the span. No deaths were reported. The collapse came hours before President Joe Biden arrived in the city to promote his $1 trillion infrastructure law, which has earmarked about $1.6 billion for Pennsylvania bridge maintenance. At least four people required hospital treatment. Five other vehicles were also on the bridge at the time. The cause was being investigated, and crews searched under the debris for…

BANGKOK : In  multiple bomb attacks in Thailand’s southern province of Yala, one person was injured ,  police said on Saturday. Around  13 small explosions struck the town of Yala late on Friday  on roadsides in front of convenience stores, shops, a market, an animal hospital and a car care shop, said deputy police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen. Police on Saturday found  three unexploded improvised explosive devices, made of spray cans and metal pipes with timers attached. Kissana said police suspect the explosions were aimed at causing a disturbance more than damage or injuries. A decades-old separatist insurgency in predominantly Buddhist…

ANKARA : President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday threatened Turkish media with reprisals if they disseminated content that damaged the country’s core values, in a move that might be a prelude to further censorship in the sector. In a notice published in the Official Gazette, he said measures were needed to protect Turkey’s “national culture” and prevent its children’s development “from being adversely affected as a result of exposure to harmful content on all written, verbal and visual media.” Erdogan did not specify what such content was, but said legal action would be taken against “overt or covert activities through the…

Berlin : The last head of East Germany’s foreign spying agency is dead, his daughter confirmed on Friday. Werner Großmann was 92. Großmann had insisted on the righteousness of the work of the communist East German dictatorship right up until the collapse of that country’s government in 1989, when multiple communist regimes fell apart in Eastern Europe. He called his agents operating in the West “scouts of freedom.” Großmann was arrested on October 3, 1990, the day of German unification, but only spent one day in jail. Courts ruled that efforts to prosecute East German spies would be unconstitutional. An…

Air India embarked on a new voyage Friday after the Tata Group took over the airline from the Government of India. I took a 9pm flight from Mumbai to find out whether anything had changed since the Maharaja’s takeover. One of the things the new management will focus on is better on-time performance of flights. Our flight took off around 9:10 pm and reached Goa at 10:05 pm — an almost on-schedule arrival. A special announcement by the pilots took place before landing. This announcement is a part of an official order by the operations department. The announcement goes: “Dear…