23-07-2021 Bureau Report NEW DELHI: Shares in Indian food delivery app Zomato have soared by more than 80% in their stock market debut. The listing was pushed forward by four days and comes as India’s stock market nears all-time highs. The stellar performance reflected strong investor interest in internet-based start-ups …
Read More »China rejects WHO plan for new COVID origin probe
23-07-2021 BEIJING/ GENEVA: China has rejected the next stage of a World Health Organization (WHO) plan to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic. The WHO wants to audit laboratories in the area where the virus was first identified but Zeng Yixin, deputy health minister, said this showed “disrespect for …
Read More »South Africa unrest death toll jumps to 337
23-07-2021 JOHANNESBURG: Rioting in South Africa this month has claimed 337 lives, the government said on Thursday, marking a further jump in the death toll from the 276 announced the previous day. “The South African police have revised the total number of deaths in Gauteng [province] to 79 and KwaZulu-Natal …
Read More »Major Websites hit by global outage
23-07-2021 LONDON/ PARIS/ NEW YORK: Many popular websites fell offline on Thursday in a widespread global outage of service. Visitors attempting to reach some sites received DNS errors, meaning their requests could not reach the websites. Affected services included Airbnb, UPS, HSBC bank, British Airways and the PlayStation network used …
Read More »Indian tax authorities raid media companies critical of Modi Govt
22-07-2021 Bureau Report + Agencies NEW DELHI: Indian tax authorities have raided a prominent newspaper and a TV channel that have been critical of the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, triggering accusations of intimidation. There was no official comment from authorities on the raids on Thursday against Hindi-language daily …
Read More »Dubai creates artificial rain to overcome hot weather
22-07-2021 DUBAI: Dubai makes it own fake rain with drones to tackle 50°C heatwave, Dubai has been drenched by heavy downpours, brought on partly by cloud-seeding initiatives that are creating ‘enhanced rain.’ The United Arab Emirates metropolis has been present process a sweltering summer time with temperatures recurrently surpassing 50C. …
Read More »Iran opens oil terminal to bypass strategic Strait of Hormuz
22-07-2021 TEHRAN/ DUBAI: Outgoing President Hassan Rouhani has said Iran opened its first oil terminal in the Gulf of Oman, a move that will allow it to avoid using the Strait of Hormuz shipping route that has been a focus of regional tension for decades. “This is a strategic move …
Read More »India’s BJP urges converting Jinnah House into cultural centre
22-07-2021 MUMBAI: The Mumbai unit of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party is urging Union Home Minister Amit Shah to convert the historic Jinnah House in Mumbai to a cultural centre, The Stateman reported Wednesday. The report, citing a BJP leader, said that the party wants to convert the Jinnah House into the South Asia …
Read More »China flood terror as train carriage submerged
22-07-2021 BEIJING: As floodwater crashed through a busy subway station in China on Tuesday, desperate passengers tried to flee while others were swept helplessly off platforms. In one train carriage, water seeped in and rose from ankle, to waist, to neck-height. Panicked commuters stretched upwards to breathe, while others lifted …
Read More »Pakistan Rangers, India’s BSF exchange sweets on Eid
22-07-2021 Bureau Report + Agencies ISLAMABAD/ NEW DELHI: The Border Security Force (BSF) and Pakistan Rangers on Wednesday exchanged sweets at various points along the border on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha, the first time since Pakistani side shunned the custom in 2019. The Pakistani side had unilaterally stopped the exchange …
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