Category: General

MADRID: A giant meteorite has been spotted across the skies of Spain and Portugal, Spain’s Público reported on Sunday.

According to the Spanish online newspaper, the meteorite lit up the skies of Portugal at around 23:46 WEST on Saturday. However, it is yet to be confirmed whether it touched down on earth, with the Portuguese civil defence projecting it to hit near Pereira village in northern Portugal.

Several videos of the meteorite are circulating on social media, showing it flashing blue and green.

Source: Emirates News Agency

Today, Sunday, a group of settlers attacked trucks loaded with food supplies that were on their way to the Gaza Strip, near the Tarqumiya crossing, west of Hebron.

Drivers reported that settlers stopped the trucks, after they left the Tarqumiya crossing on the Israeli side, and attacked them and destroyed the trucks’ loads.

For his part, Adel Amr from the Shipping Syndicate said that drivers are now afraid of settlers’ attacks on them and the destruction of the food contents of their trucks, in addition to the destruction and damage of their trucks.

One of the merchants said that the settlers’ terrorism and attacks on trucks are the reason for the increase in shipping costs from the Tarqumiya crossing to the Kerem Shalom crossing in Gaza from 5,000 shekels to 20,000 due to the great danger from the settlers. They do not only target food supplies, but they deliberately destroy the trucks with comprehensive destruction

Source: Maan News Agency

Gold Prices surged to USD 2,414 per ounce by last week, prompted by expectations of American interest rate decrease.

A report issued on Sunday by local company, Dar Al-Sabaek, told that the American Federal Reserve (the Central Bank), intends to lower interest rate by next September, thus prompting price increase of precious metals.

Central banks and investors all over the globe intensified gold purchases over the past few weeks, as it is a safe refuge in times of geopolitical tensions.

Silver also logged an unprecedented 4.8 percent increase to USD 315 an ounce last week, the first rise of its kind since February 2013.

The augmenting tensions in the Middle East and the ongoing Ukrainian crisis boosted the exponential rise of gold and silver prices, amplified by the Chinese Central Bank selling US bonds and purchasing gold.

Investors all over the world are keeping an eye out on remarks of US Federal Reserve officials as well as analyzing meeting minutes to determine date of interest rate decrease.

Local
ly, 24-karat gold is worth KD 23.9 (USD 73) per gram, while the 22-karat reached KD 21.9 (USD 66) per gram and silver closed at KD 350 (USD 1,147) per kilogram.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

HCM City: The second Ho Chi Minh City River Festival 2024 will take place from 31st May to 9th June, at Nha Rong-Khanh Hoi Wharf, Saigon Cruise Port, and other tourist venues, featuring a wide range of culture, cuisine, and entertainment activities, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported today.

This year’s festival is expected to turn the southern metropolis into a popular destination for waterway tourism. A signature show called ‘The Story of a River’, the highlight of the festival, will tell the story of historic boats associated with the locality.

The first river festival was held in 2023. More than 6,000 spectators took in five spectacular performances at the event, recreating cultural and economic activities, and lifestyles of river dwellers of Saigon – Cho Lon – Gia Dinh – Ho Chi Minh City about three centuries ago. This was the first time an art show had been performed on a stage built on the Saigon River with a diverse combination of performance technologies and a harmony of entertainment and historical
elements.

In a statement carried by VNA, Le Hai Yen, general director of this year’s festival, nearly 1,000 professional and amateur performers will participate in the event. The outdoor performance space at Nha Rong Wharf- Khanh Hoi – Saigon Port will be transformed into a large film studio, promising to wow spectators. The festival will tell modern historical stories about the special boats that used to come in and out of the Saigon River, associated with important milestones of the nation.

Nguyen Thi Anh Hoa, Director of the Municipal Department of Tourism, said that the city’s tourism sector expects this year’s festival will continue to attract a large number of domestic and foreign tourists, contributing to the growth of the sector in the time ahead.

Meanwhile, Da Nang has undertaken landscape planning on both sides of Han River, to improve local tourism development. The city will rebuild the area into an urban centre with administrative-political offices, a financial centre, and a gateway to riversid
e and coastal tourism. The area is also being upgraded to host both national and international conventions and conference centres.

The central city is implementing a nearly VND400 billion (US$15.7 million) project to light up the Han River with horizontal bridges. In 2024, the two banks of the Han River will be the venues for 55 periodic and annual cultural events and festivals organised by agencies, units and localities. The Han River, the “heart”of the city, is blowing fresh air into Da Nang tourism.

Source: Emirates News Agency

Minister of Finance Omar Al-Bitar received a delegation from the Palestine Islamic Bank headed by Dr. Imad Al-Saadi, Director General of the Bank, in a visit during which ways and mechanisms for enhancing joint cooperation between the two sides were discussed.

At the beginning of the meeting, His Excellency the Minister of Finance stressed the Ministry’s keenness to strengthen cooperation with the private sector in general and the banking sector in particular, in a way that contributes to moving the economic wheel in light of the difficult circumstances and challenges that our people and their institutions are experiencing.

In turn, Al-Saadi said that the bank is keen to strengthen cooperation relations with the Ministry of Finance and the rest of the government sector institutions in a way that serves the public interest and contributes to the development of services provided to citizens.

Al-Saadi also stressed the bank’s support for the efforts made by the Ministry of Finance to deal with difficult finan
cial conditions and mitigate their effects, stressing the importance of cooperation between the banking sector and the government to maintain the economic cycle and achieve the required growth rates.

The meeting was attended by the Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance, Muhammad Rabie, and from the bank’s side, the Assistant General Manager for Financial and Administrative Affairs, Rami Taha, and the Director of the Finance Control and Follow-up Department, Zuhair Al-Bazour.

The mission and vision of the Palestine Islamic Bank are centered on excellence in providing modern and secure banking and investment solutions in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia. It also develops a well-thought-out strategy to proceed with the process of digital transformation, which has resulted in the launch of pioneering digital services through an easy and safe environment that enhances the digital experience for individual and corporate customers. The bank also considers The largest Islamic banking network
in Palestine, including 43 branches and offices and more than 100 ATMs

Source: Maan News Agency

The Kuwait Cabinet approved Sunday a draft decree forming the Civil Service Council and a decree to form a supreme committee for investigating Kuwaiti citizenship.

This came during its weekly meeting at Seif Palace, presided by His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

His Highness the Prime Minister thanked the ministers for accepting the participation in the newly formed government, calling them to devote themselves to work and implement what was stated in the contents of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber’s speech.

His Highness the prime minister called on the ministers to cooperate and continuously coordinate between all government agencies to unify efforts and harness energies to accelerate the implementation of strategic development projects in the country.

He also urged every ministry and government agency to submit reports to the cabinet on the current executive position of each project.

The First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Min
ister of Interior, Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah, in response to the speech of His Highness the Amir, stressed that the ministers are aware of the extent of responsibility, honesty, and the national role on their shoulders towards the nation and its citizens.

Sheikh Fahad also stressed the importance of working hard to establish justice, fight corruption, preserve national identity, preserve unity, and defend and protect the nation’s security.

He also stressed the importance of preserving the nation’s wealth and developing it, accelerating the pace of implementation of projects, developing e-government services, and consolidating the principles of justice and transparency.

On the other hand, the cabinet approved a draft decree forming the Civil Service Council, and a draft decree forming the Supreme Committee to investigate Kuwaiti citizenship, and submitted them to His Highness the Amir.

The cabinet also approved the formation of ministerial committees.

Kuwait’s cabinet praised the national team play
er Faisal Al-Rajhi’s achievement of winning the gold medal in a 5,000-meter race in a wheelchair race at the Japan World Para Athletics Championships 2024.

Source: Kuwait News Agency