Author: News Desk

Manila :  A powerful typhoon left at least 19 people dead, knocked down power and communications in entire provinces and wrought widespread destruction mostly in the central Philippines, officials said Saturday. A governor said her island province has been “leveled to the ground.” Typhoon Rai blew away Friday night into the South China Sea after rampaging through southern and central island provinces, where more than 300,000 people in its path were evacuated to safety in advance in a pre-emptive move officials say may have saved a lot of lives. At its strongest, Rai packed sustained winds of 195 kilometers (121…

 Mohammed Ben Sulayem took on Lewis Hamilton, mighty Mercedes and the troubles of beleaguered Formula 1 but still had a word for a young Emirati karting superstar. The 60-year-old Emirati walked into the record books as the first non-European president of the sport’s governing body, the FIA, winning more than two-thirds of the vote. “How many people have talent but do they have opportunity? If we can bring the two together, it might even be talented people somewhere else. There are so many regions, I am not biased for my region. That’s to put it mildly. A passion for motor…

London : U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party has suffered a stunning defeat in a parliamentary by-election that was viewed as a referendum on his government amid weeks of scandal and soaring COVID-19 infections. Liberal Democrat Helen Morgan overturned a Conservative majority of almost 23,000 votes from the last election to win Thursday’s contest in North Shropshire, a rural area of northwest England that has been represented by a Conservative almost continuously since 1832. The election was called after the former Conservative member of Parliament resigned amid a corruption scandal. The result will heap pressure on Johnson just two…

UAE : Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai,  led tributes following the death of a leading UAE businessman Majed Al Futtaim. Majid Al Futtaim was one of Dubai’s commercial pioneers and was among those who spearheaded Dubai’s growth as a global city. Most prominent in his many achievements was the establishment of the Majid Al Futtaim group in 1992. The group oversaw the development of Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, which is known across the world for its indoor ski slope. Sheikh Mohammed said he was one of the emirate’s “most important merchants and senior men”.…

Actor Chris Noth has been accused of sexually assaulting two women in separate encounters that took place in 2004 and 2015. The women’s identities were withheld by The Hollywood Reporter in order to protect their privacy, said the trade publication, which used pseudonyms for them instead. Noth said “The accusations against me made by individuals I met years, even decades, ago are categorically false. These stories could’ve been from 30 years ago or 30 days ago — no always means no — that is a line I did not cross.” One, with the pseudonym Zoe, said the revival of Noth’s “Sex and…

Kerala  had reported five  more Omicron cases, one of them the traveler from . Since  passenger from the Democratic Republic of Congo, turned positive for the Omicron variant of Covid-19, the Kerala Health Department  decided to strictly implement self-observation for all international passengers arriving in the state. Health Minister Veena George said more samples of passengers who turn positive for Covid-19 would be sent for genome sequencing. Along with the samples of positive cases who reach from high-risk countries, the samples of passengers from other countries would also be sent for genome sequencing if they are found to be positive for Covid-19 during…

South Africa : South African former President Jacob Zuma has been ordered to return to jail. The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled on Wednesday that a prior decision to release him on medical parole was “unlawful.” His legal team has filed a request to appeal Judge Elias Matojane’s decision. Zuma served two terms as president between 2009 and 2019, he was granted medical parole in September just two months into a 15-month prison sentence for contempt of court. Zuma was found guilty of contempt in June after refusing to obey a court order to appear before a commission probing…

India : The Health Ministry on Friday said 101 cases of Omicron variant of Covid-19 infection have been recorded across 11 states so far. Health Ministry Joint Secretary Lav Agrawal said, “Omicron variant reported in 91 countries in the world. WHO has said that Omicron is spreading faster than the Delta variant in South Africa where Delta circulation was low. It’s likely Omicron will outpace Delta variant where community transmission occurs.  ICMR DG Dr Balram Bhargava said, “This is the time to avoid non-essential travel, mass gatherings and it is very important to observe low-intensity festivities.” India logged 7,447 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally…

A woman has been arrested after two sets of twin boys, aged three and four, died in a devastating house fire in south London. The 27-year-old has been held on suspicion of child neglect, the London Metropolitan Police said. Fire crews were called to a mid-terrace house in Collingwood Road, Sutton, shortly before 7pm on Thursday and found a “very well-developed” blaze, with the four boys inside, said Richard Mills, deputy commissioner of the London Fire Brigade. He told reporters at the scene on Friday: “I can confirm that they are two sets of twins, ages four and ages three.” Asked if…

Bahrain : Representative of HM the King for Humanitarian Work and Youth Affairs His Highness Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, said that Commemoration Day on December 17, launched by HM King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, is a special and patriotic occasion to recall the loyalty and sacrifices of the fallen servicemen from the Bahrain Defense Force, the Ministry of Interior and the National Guard. These fallen heroes had performed their patriotic duties with devotion and dedication in Bahrain and abroad and sacrificed themselves for the sake of the nation and its security. Commemoration Day is an eternal occasion…