Month: August 2023

An earthquake measuring 5.0 magnitude on the Richter scale hit the northeastern part of Papua New Guinea’s West New Britain Province on Tuesday.

The US Geological Survey (USGS) stated that the epicenter of the quake was about 72 km of Kimbe, at a depth of 119 km.

So far, there have been no reports of casualties or material damage due to the earthquake.

On June 20th, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake struck the Angoram region in Papua New Guinea, at a depth of 9 km.

Papua New Guinea is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. This region includes 90% of the active volcanoes in the world. In February 2018, it witnessed a devastating earthquake that killed at least 100 people and caused landslides that buried dozens of villages. (QNA)

Source: Qatar News Agency

A total of 11 people have died and 27 others remain missing during rainstorms in Beijing, local authorities said Tuesday.

The deceased include two in Fangshan, the worst affected districts. Other fatalities include four in Changping District and one in Haidian District, China’s (Xinhua) news agency reported citing the city’s flood control and drought relief headquarters.

The flood control in China’s Haihe River Basin has entered a critical period as 13 rivers, including the mainstream and tributaries of the Yongding River, have exceeded warning levels by Monday, Minister of Water Resources Li Guoying said.

The Haihe River Basin is densely populated and involves many large and medium-sized cities, including Beijing.

The ministry has maintained a Level-II emergency response to floods in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in the north of the country and deployed 10 work teams for the flood response in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, and other provinces and municipalities.

The State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters on Sunday also raised the emergency response for flooding to Level II in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shanxi, and Henan. (QNA)

Source: Qatar News Agency

At least 17 workers were killed and three others were injured early Tuesday after a crane collapsed on them at a bridge construction site in India’s Maharashtra state.

Indian media reported, quoting the police, that the crane collapsed on a group of workers, killing at least 17 of them and injuring three others, adding that the search and rescue operation is still ongoing to find those trapped.

The accident took place in Shahapur in Maharashtra state, around 80 km from Mumbai.

Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced financial compensation for the families of the victims.

In 2020, at least 11 people were killed and five others were injured after a huge crane collapsed at a shipbuilding yard in southern India. (QNA)

Source: Qatar News Agency

Dozens of settlers Tuesday morning broke into the compounds of Al-Aqsa Mosque under heavy protection from the Israeli occupation police.

The settlers carried out provocative tours in the courtyards of the Mosque, listened to explanations about the alleged “temple”, and performed Talmudic rituals in the eastern part of it.

The occupation police stationed at the entrances of Al-Aqsa Mosque confiscated worshipers’ IDs before allowing them to enter.

Al-Aqsa Mosque is subjected to daily incursions by settlers, except for Friday and Saturday, in an attempt to divide it temporally and spatially. (QNA)

Source: Qatar News Agency

France announced its preparation to evacuate its nationals from Niger starting Tuesday following the overthrowing of President Mohamed Bazoum.

The French embassy sent a message to the French nationals stating that with the deterioration of the security situation in Niamey, an air evacuation operation is being prepared from Niamey and will begin Tuesday. France is also offering to evacuate other European nationals wanting to leave.

In Paris, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Tuesday morning that preparatory work is underway. According to the Ministry’s data, there are between 500 and 600 French citizens in Niger.

Last Sunday, the leaders of the ECOWAS group threatened to resort to force if the President of Niger, who is being held by the coup leaders, Mohamed Bazoum, was not released, and set a week to return to constitutional order in the country.

The group imposed immediate and strict restrictions and measures by closing the land and air borders with Niger and stopping all flights and commercial and financial dealings with it.

For its part, the African Peace and Security Council gave the coup leaders in Niger 15 days to relinquish power and return to the military barracks and allow elected President Mohamed Bazoum to carry out his duties.

Last week, the leader of the coup in Niger, General Abd al-Rahman Chiani, announced the dismissal of the country’s president, Mohamed Bazoum, the closure of borders, the imposition of a curfew, and that he would head a transitional military council in the country. (QNA)

Source: Qatar News Agency

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that the agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Government of Japan regarding mutual exemption from visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and private passports has entered into force on August 1, 2023.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed that this agreement is part of its tireless efforts to strengthen Bahrain’s relations with various countries of the world.

It also reflects the mutual desire of the Government of Bahrain and those of friendly countries to invest in the available areas of cooperation, including facilitating movement, the Ministry added.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

The Labour Fund (Tamkeen) signed a partnership agreement with the Canadian training provider, “Think Tank Training Centre” to train 72 Bahrainis in 3D visualization and video game development. The training aims to provide the local market with qualified talent specialized in visual effects, sound engineering, animations and more in demand skills related to the field. This initiative comes in line with Tamkeen’s plan to train Bahrainis and upskill them in high potential sectors to enhance their competitiveness locally and internationally.

The Bahraini trainees will attend an immersive 16-month program to learn about character design and visual effects for films and video games, while also building various specialized skills in the field through a custom online learning management system and portal. The Think Tank team will continue to work with the trainees after they complete the program to identify training opportunities in prestigious international companies to implement the skills they learned through their training.

Commenting on this partnership, Her Excellency Maha Mofeez, Chief Executive of the Labour Fund (Tamkeen) emphasized the importance of developing the skills and competencies of the national workforce and providing them with quality training opportunities in the creative industries sector. She stated: “this partnership with Think Tank will help us stay abreast of market changes and provide Bahraini talent with the skills required to compete within the creative industries sector both locally and internationally, especially in the rapidly growing gaming and film industry.” She added: “we continue our commitment of driving economic growth in the Kingdom by focusing on upskilling the national workforce to help them become the first choice of employment for the private sector.”

The Kingdom of Bahrain’s focus on the creative industries is due to its growing importance globally, and the opportunities it provides to identify and highlight innovative local talent across various creative fields, in addition to enhancing the Kingdom’s position as an entrepreneurial hub for creativity globally, and the economic value it adds as studies have shown that creative industries contribute up to 7% to GDPs internationally. Bahrain boasts an environment conducive to creativity and innovation that reflects its importance in enhancing tourism activity in the Kingdom, especially due to the presence of passionate creative professionals as well as the national efforts to empower the local workforce to pursue entrepreneurship, provide quality job opportunities for Bahrainis and a plethora of local and global investment opportunities.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Think Tank, Mr. Marty Hasselbach welcomed this partnership with Tamkeen as he stated: “We are proud to partner with Tamkeen to deliver this program to Bahrainis and we look forward to working with passionate Bahraini talent within the filmmaking and video gaming industries. According to a survey we conducted, we found 600 Bahrainis interested in training in the video gaming field such as 3D, animation, game development and sound engineering, which shows the readiness of Bahraini youth to establish careers in this growing sector.”

Applications for the program will be accepted on Think Tank’s website (https://thinktankonline.tttc.ca/bahrain-application-en/) according to the program’s eligibility criteria. A detailed list of terms and conditions can be viewed on Think Tank’s official website.

This initiative comes as part of Tamkeen’s strategy for this year which is focused on four key priorities: facilitating the increased economic participation of Bahrainis, providing training that is aligned with the labor market needs in new and emerging skills, as well as enterprise and ecosystem development, all of which drive positive economic impact and sustainable growth.

Source: Bahrain News Agency