Author: News Desk

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden goes before the United Nations this week eager to make the case for the world to act with haste against the coronavirus, climate change and human rights abuses. His pitch for greater global partnership comes at a moment when allies are becoming increasingly skeptical about how much U.S. foreign policy really has changed since Donald Trump left the White House. Biden plans to limit his time at the U.N. General Assembly due to coronavirus concerns. He is scheduled to meet with Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday and address the assembly on Tuesday before shifting the rest…

Manama:  Bahraini Youssef Falah finished first in the men’s category in the first late Abdulla Nass Open Bowling Championship, which concluded Saturday.  He was followed by Omani Khalid bin Isa and Saudi Adel Al Barqi, who finished second and third respectively. In the women’s category, Bahraini Nadia Aqeel put on a great performance to finish first, followed by compatriot Laila Janahi and Filipina Uella Marcia. First Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports (SCYS), Chairman of the General Sports Authority and President of the Bahrain Olympic Committee, HH Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa attended the final…

New York:  Warning of a potential new Cold War, the head of the United Nations implored China and the United States to repair their “completely dysfunctional” relationship before problems between the two large and deeply influential countries spill over even further into the rest of the planet. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke to The Associated Press this weekend ahead of this week’s annual United Nations gathering of world leaders — a convening blemished by COVID, climate concerns and contentiousness across the planet. Guterres said the world’s two major economic powers should be cooperating on climate and negotiating more robustly on…

Madrid: A volcano erupted on the Spanish island of La Palma on Sunday, with several violent explosions in the El Paso municipality in the south of the island forcing at least 5,000 people to flee the area, according to local media. The volcano spewed rock fragments and red-hot lava into the air, while sending up large amounts of brown and white smoke following an initial eruption at 3:12 pm (1412 GMT), according to El Pais newspaper. The Guardi Civil have evacuated at least 5,000 people affected by the eruption, the El Pais reported online. Among those evacuated from…

Stung Treng: Researchers are collecting samples from bats in northern Cambodia in a bid to understand the coronavirus pandemic, returning to a region where a very similar virus was found in the animals a decade ago. Two samples from horseshoe bats were collected in 2010 in Stung Treng province near Laos and kept in freezers at the Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (IPC) in Phnom Penh, according to Reuters. Tests done on them last year revealed a close relative to the coronavirus that has killed more than 4.6 million people worldwide. “We hope that the result from this study can help…

Three Rivers: Flames have reached a grove of sequoia trees in California as firefighters battled to keep fire from driving further into another grove, where the base of the world’s largest tree has been wrapped in protective foil. Fire officials on Sunday warned that hot, dry weather and stronger winds were contributing to “critical fire conditions” in the area of the KNP Complex, two lightning-sparked blazes that merged on the western side of Sequoia National Park in the Sierra Nevada. The fire reached Long Meadow Grove, where the Trail of 100 Giant Sequoias is a national monument. Fire officials haven’t…

Manama: Bahrain has strongly rejected the false allegations in the resolution issued by the European Parliament on the United Arab Emirates. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that the European Parliament’s resolution is based on incorrect information, lacks credibility, and ignores the outstanding achievements of the UAE regarding human development, preserving human rights, promoting principles of justice and equality, and providing a decent life for all citizens and residents in compliance with its constitution and national laws. The ministry highlighted in a statement the UAE record of human rights protection and adherence to the values of equality, justice and non-discrimination, in addition…

Dublin : Ireland’s data privacy regulator said it had asked Facebook to demonstrate that an LED indicator light on the social media giant’s newly launched smart glasses is “an effective means” to let people know they are being filmed or photographed. Ireland’s Data Privacy Commissioner (DPC) is the lead regulator of Facebook under the European Union’s strict data privacy laws as the firm’s European headquarters are based in Dublin. Facebook smart glasses, which were created in partnership with Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica, allow wearers to listen to music, take calls or capture photos and short videos and share them across Facebook’s…

Abu Dhabi : The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has published the ‘Typologies in the Financial Sector’ report, produced by the Supervisory Authorities Sub-Committee, which is chaired by CBUAE. The Supervisory Authorities Sub-Committee includes Abu Dhabi Global Market and Dubai Financial Services Authority, the Executive Office for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT), and the UAE Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). The report aims to identify and raise awareness of the emerging risks in the financial sector and enable the concerned supervisory authorities and Financial Institutions (FIs) to remain vigilant and address these risks in a timely…

India: The Indian Premier League (IPL), whose 31 cricket matches are to be played in the UAE starting Sunday, has described the opening game at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium as a “momentous occasion as it will welcome cricket fans back to the stadiums.” The IPL management said to media that “matches will be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi with limited seating available, keeping in mind the COVID-19 protocols and UAE government regulations,” according to Emirates News Agency (WAM). In the IPL’s history, this will be the third time that its matches are being played in the UAE…