Author: News Desk

Afghanistan : The first British troops have begun deploying to Afghanistan to assist in the evacuation of UK nationals who remain in the country. Members of 16 Air Assault Brigade, who will provide force protection, are leaving over the weekend – with the Ministry of Defence confirming Operation Pitting started yesterday. About 600 troops are expected to take part in the operation, which will also help with the relocation of Afghans who face reprisals from the Taliban because they helped British forces. The insurgent group seized more of the country on Saturday, with authorities confirming that Logar province, just south…

The UK government must show leadership over the unfolding crisis in Afghanistan, the Labour leader has said, as a former head of the British army called on the prime minister to launch an urgent humanitarian aid operation. Keir Starmer said there was a risk of a global terror group taking control of the country after the withdrawal of British and US forces, while Richard Dannatt said there was still time to show Afghans they were not being completely abandoned. What I want to see is our government stepping up and leading this, and calling for an urgent meeting of Nato and an urgent…

Tokyo : Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Friday urged people to refrain from travelling as COVID-19 cases spiked to new records in Tokyo and nationwide, heaping pressure on the medical system. His comments follow health expert recommendations to strengthen states of emergency now in place in the capital and other hot spots, Reuters reported. Days after the end of the Tokyo Olympics, Paralympic organisers decided to hold the event mostly without spectators to limit infection risks, local media reported. Suga said the government will strive to restrain the flow of people in commercial areas, and he urged residents to…

Berlin :  Germany’s Olympic champion Alexander Zverev will return to the tennis court at the Cincinnati Masters next week with a first round tie against South Africa’s Lloyd Harris or a qualifier, following the draw made late Friday, said dpa international. Zverev, 24, claimed a stunning gold medal at the recent Tokyo Games and sat out this week’s Masters event in Toronto to recover. But he will begin his build up for the US Open, from August 30 in New York, at the tournament where he has made six first round exits. In contrast, world number one Novak Djokovic will…

Bahrain : Gulf Air, Bahrain’s national carrier, has extended the IATA Travel Pass trial to include more routes after the initial kick-off on flights from Bahrain to Athens, London and Singapore. Starting from today, the airline will include flights from Bahrain to Dubai, Frankfurt and Paris flights to the IATA Travel Pass trial project to expand to more passengers and more destinations. Another milestone will be added to the extended list of destinations in which passengers with non-biometric passports on both iOS and Android devices will be able to take part in the trial to simplify and manage COVID-19 travel…

Manama : Bahraini women trio Mariam Al A’ali, Amrita Amin and Fatima Al-A’ali bagged the silver medal after beating Kuwait and Jordan by the three straight sets (3/0) respectively. The Egyptian team won the gold medal in the Arab Table Tennis Championship, being held in Amman, Jordan. Bahraini men-only national team players Mohammed Abbas, Rashid Sanad, Elyas Al Yassi and Mortadha Hussein also won the bronze medal. In the U-15 category, Mohammed Nader, Majeed Naji, and Jassim Abdulla bagged another bronze medal for Bahrain after losing in the semi final to Egypt. The achievements are the the fruit of the…

Bahrain : His Majesty King Hamad bin isa Al Khalifa received a cable of congratulations from Youth and Sports Minister Aymen bin Tawfiq Almoayyed on Bahrain’s success in winning the  Fiba Asia Under-16 Gulf Basketball Association Qualifier 2021, which was held in the Kingdom on August 7-13. In the cable, he said that the success of the national basketball U-16 team in clinching the trophy for the sixth time in its history is the fruit of HM the King’s support to sports and national teams, particularly basketball. He paid tribute to His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa,…

Abu Dhabi :  Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee, in collaboration with Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, and the Abu Dhabi Public Health Centre, has updated the home quarantine guidelines for those in contact with a COVID-19 positive case, to protect the health and safety of all community members. Effective from Sunday, 15 August 2021, those vaccinated must quarantine for 7 days and take a PCR test on day 6. If the PCR test result is negative, they can remove the wristband and end quarantine on day 7. Those who are not vaccinated must quarantine for 10 days…

Bahrain ;  As part of the ongoing efforts towards developing the cross-border payment systems in the Kingdom of Bahrain and adopting the latest technologies into retail payment systems, the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), along with the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA), joined the Arabian Gulf System for Financial Automated Quick Payment Transfer (AFAQ) that was launched on the 10th of December 2020. The system is operated by the Gulf Payment Company (GPC) in Riyadh, which was established based on the decisions made by the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to build and operate the GCC Real Time…

Turkey : A huge search-and-rescue operation is under way in northern Turkey after flash floods along the Black Sea coast killed at least 40 people. Kastamonu province is the worst-hit area. Several buildings in the town of Bozkurt were destroyed when the Ezine river burst its banks. This month Turkey has also had to battle huge wildfires in the south.