Author: News Desk

Tokyo : Japan concluded the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games with a record haul of 27 gold medals, far exceeding the previous high of 16 at the 2000 Athens Olympics. Mitsugi Ogata, general manager for Japan’s national delegation, lauded the athletes on Sunday, saying he was “happy we could deliver some uplifting news.” There were concerns about the Games being written off as “unnecessary” amid a pandemic, but with the performances of the Japanese athletes, organizers “have gradually gained the understanding of the public,” he said at a news conference, Reuters reports. Japan’s total medal tally stands at 58, also a…

Bahrain :  His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, today sent a cable of congratulations to the President of the Republic of Singapore, HE Halimah Yacob, on the occasion of Singapore’s National Day. His Royal Highness wished HE the President good health and happiness, and further prosperity and development for the people of Singapore. His Royal Highness sent a similar cable to the Prime Minister of Singapore, HE Lee Hsien Loong.

France : Fully vaccinated people can now visit France without quarantining on their return to the UK, after travel rule changes came into force at 04:00 BST. Brittany Ferries said it had received a “surge” of bookings following the rule changes announced. But travel agents said the relaxation of quarantine for one of the UK’s most popular destinations came “too late to save the summer”. Meanwhile, travelers in Mexico had to rush back to avoid hotel quarantine. Under the latest changes to the UK’s traffic light system for travel, the rules have been relaxed for a dozen countries. France moved…

BEIJING: The city of Beijing has rolled out a range of measures to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic by imposing restrictions on travellers from regions with relatively high virus transmission rates. According to Chinese state media Global Times, people from medium or high-risk regions who are planning to return to Beijing will be prevented from buying tickets for air and railway services. This comes as several cities in China are witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases. The delta-driven outbreak grew to over 500 symptomatic cases scattered across 15 provinces and municipalities. Beijing Daxing International Airport has announced the suspension of flight routes from 15 cities…

India : India reports 39,070 new Covid-19 cases and 491 deaths in the last 24 hours. India’s active caseload currently stands at 4,06,822. The country’s recovery rate was recorded at 97.39%. TOI

Bahrain :  Parliament Affairs Minister Ghanim bin Fadl Al Buainain received the outgoing Omani Ambassador to Bahrain Abdullah bin Rashid bin Ali Al Medilwi. The minister praised the ambassador’s efforts in strengthening the relations between the two countries, wishing him success in his future duties. The ambassador expressed his appreciation to the Kingdom and its leadership for the support he received throughout his mission.

Cairo: King Khufu’s Boat, an ancient vessel that is the oldest and largest wooden boat discovered in Egypt, has been painstakingly moved from its longstanding home next to the Giza pyramids to a nearby giant museum, officials said on Saturday. The 4,600-year-old vessel, also known as the Solar Boat, was moved to the nearby Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), due to be inaugurated later this year, Reuters reported. “The aim of the transportation project is to protect and preserve the biggest and oldest organic artifact made of wood in the history of humanity for the future generations,” the tourism and antiquities…

Seoul: South Korea may have received disappointing results at the Tokyo Olympics, which closes Sunday, recording its lowest gold medal haul of six in 37 years. But some of its players pulled off their best performances at the world’s biggest sporting competition, breaking one Olympic record and setting four national records. Archer An San, who won three of the country’s six gold medals in Tokyo, set new Olympic records in the women’s ranking round on July 23 with a total of 680 points, Yonhap News Agency reported. It is the first time the record has been broken in 25 years…

US : U.S. President Joe Biden has ordered B-52 bombers and Spectre gunships to target Taliban positions in Afghanistan “in an effort to protect allies,” as the militants advance towards key cities. U.S. B-52 Stratofortress bombers launched airstrikes on the Taliban forces in Sheberghan, the capital city of Jawzjan province in northern Afghanistan, Afghan Defense Ministry spokesperson Fawad Aman said. U.S. Air Force confirmed the operation, saying the U.S. forces “have conducted several airstrikes in defense of our Afghan partners in recent days,” U.S. Air Force Major Nicole Ferrara, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, told media via email. CGTN

New Jersey : Dennis Thomas, one of the founder members of 1970s and 80s soul-funk band Kool & the Gang, has died aged 70. He died “peacefully in his sleep” in New Jersey on Saturday, the band said in a Facebook statement. Described as the “cool cat” in the group, he was its sax player, flutist, percussionist as well as master of ceremonies at shows. The band became one of the era’s most popular and influential with hits such as Celebration and Get Down On It. Their music also featured in several films including Saturday Night Fever, for which they…