Category: Life & Style

On Tuesday, Belgian King Philippe, Queen Mathilde, and Prime Minister Alexander De Croo will visit the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a historic visit to the central African country. The seven-day official visit is the monarch’s first since he ascended the throne in 2013.

On Wednesday the sovereign will address the Congolese parliament with Tshisekedi, then on Friday, he will address students at the University of Lubumbashi in the south of the country.

The nation was cruelly exploited by King Leopold II, the brother of Philip’s great-great-grandfather, who ruled the nation as his personal property between 1885 and 1908. Later, it became a Belgian colony and is now the DRC. The Belgian colonization of the Congo in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was one of the harshest that the European powers imposed on most of Africa.

The visit comes two years after Philippe wrote to Felix Tshisekdedi, expressing his “deep regret” for the “wounds of the past.” It was originally planned for June 2020 to mark the 60th anniversary of the DRC’s independence. However, the visit was rescheduled for 2022 due to the coronavirus outbreak. This was again postponed from March to June due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Nepal started to export electricity to India through its power exchange market last week to strengthen cross-border collaboration. The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) spokesperson Suresh Bhattarai confirmed selling the surplus energy to the Indian market.

In an interview, he said, “We started selling 37.7MW of electricity to Indian buyers starting from 12.15 am on Thursday”. The electricity produced from the 15MV Devighat and 24MW Trishuli power plants was sold on Thursday.

The NEA earned Rs.10 million through its sale of electricity on Thursday by keeping the average price of Rs, 6 per unit. The nation is selling electricity to India for the second year in a row through its exchange market from its same two projects in November last year.

NEA called Indian companies for a bid last month to sell its 200MW surplus energy under the long-term power purchase agreement. The sale of the surplus energy will be from June 1 to November 29. Meanwhile, India allowed 346MW sales in the open market which Nepal aims to increase in the future.

Nepal’s hydel power installations produced excess power post the monsoon season, enabling the Nepal Electricity Authority to sell the excess power.

On Friday, India’s “neighborhood first” policy was once again put into action to help Sri Lanka during its economic crisis as its High Commissioner to Colombo, Gopal Baglay, handed over 3.3 tons of essential medical supplies to the 1990 Suwaseriya Ambulance Service.

The External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, visited the Suwaseriya Headquarters in Colombo in March 2022 and was informed of the looming shortage of medical supplies faced by the Foundation. According to the High Commission, the Indian Naval Ship Gharial was specially deployed for the consignment of urgent medical needs.

Along with the Suwaseriya Foundation, INS Gharial also carried the medical supplies for Teaching Hospital, General Hospital Hambantota, Jaffna, Peradeniya, and Teaching Hospital.

Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka tweeted, “Another promise to the people of #SriLanka delivered! During his visit in March, EAM @DrJaishankar was apprised of the shortage of medicines faced by @1990SuwaSeriya. High Commissioner handed over 3.3 tons of medical supplies today to help the vital lifeline run smoothly”.

In the last two months, the Government of India has donated more than 25 tons of drugs and medical supplies worth about SLR 370 million. Additional humanitarian supplies like rice, milk powder, and kerosene were included in addition to the USD 3.5 billion in economic assistance.

India and Bangladesh flagged off a new passenger train service called the Mitali Express, via the newly renovated Haldibari-Chilahati rail link on Wednesday. This will strengthen the relations and connectivity between the two neighboring countries.

The train service that was virtually inaugurated by the prime ministers of both countries on March 27 last year, saw a virtual flag off by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav and his Bangladeshi counterpart Mohammad Nurul Islam Sujan. The train service got delayed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The train will run on Sunday and Wednesday from New Jalpaiguri at 11.45 am and arrive at Dhaka at 10.30 pm on the same days and depart from Dhaka at 9.50 pm on Monday and Thursday and arrive at New Jalpaiguri at 7.15 am on Tuesday and Friday, covering a distance of 595 kilometers.

The train will have three classes- AC First (Cabin) Sleeper, AC First (Cabin) seat, and AC Chair car, and the ticket will cost USD 44, USD 33, and USD 22 respectively.

Mitali Express will foster tourism in both countries and provide Bangladesh citizens access to Nepal via India by rail.

Two other trains also run between India and Bangladesh-Kolkata-Dhaka-Kolkata Maitree Express (five days a week) and Kolkata-Khulna-Kolkata Bandhan Express (twice a week).

Saudi Arabia plans to build the world’s largest buildings in an area largely unpopulated as part of an entirely new $500 billion development called Neom.

People familiar with the matter said the project is the brainchild of Saudi Crown Prince and de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman panning to build twin skyscrapers 1,640 feet (500 meters) tall stretching horizontally for dozens of miles. Already home to the world’s tallest building Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, Neom will be built in stages based on people’s demand.

In 2017, Price Mohammed announced his plan to turn a remote region of the country into a high-tech semi-autonomous state that re-imagines urban life. He aims to attract foreign investments and aid in boosting the Saudi economy other than oil dependency.

According to the prince last year, the car-free linear city that will form Neom’s spine will cost up to $200 billion to build. However, that was before it was decided to include gigantic horizontal buildings.

Member of Neom’s advisory board, Ali Shihabi said, “When people talk about The Line, they see a futuristic Hyperloop, Star Wars-type of entity, but when The Line was presented to the board, I saw a highly intelligent, well-thought-out sustainable modern city that will accommodate from laborers to billionaires and that will be built in stages, so it will follow demand”.

The Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD) has initiated a ban on single-use plastic bags in the country from June 1. The EAD also organized a virtual workshop on Monday to impart training to inspectors from EAD, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development Abu Dhabi (DED), and Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA), to help them implement the policy which will gradually scale down the use of single-use plastic products throughout the capital and promote alternative reusable products.

However, certain bags like those designated to carry medicines in pharmacies, laundry bags, bag rolls for vegetables, chicken, fish, meat, grains, and bread, have been exempted from the ban. Large shopping bags used to carry electronic gadgets and toys, waste packet bags, and those used to transport plants and flowers have also been exempted from the ban.

In March 2020,  the EAD announced its decision to ban the use of all plastic bags by the end of 2021. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the ban policy measures were affected and delayed.

According to estimates, the UAE gets through 11 billion plastic bags annually which is more than a thousand per resident and approximately three times the global average.

Britain is gearing up for Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign this week with four days of celebration. It will feature pomp and pageantry, mounted troops, solemn players, and dancing mechanical corgis.

During the jubilee pageant, dancers representing London’s African Caribbean community will wear giant flamingos, zebras, and giraffe costumes to re-enact the moment in 1952 when Princess Elizabeth found out she had become queen at a Kenyan game park. There will also be Bollywood-style dancing to celebrate weddings around the Commonwealth and the queen’s 1947 marriage to Prince Philip.

There is a drive behind brass bands, street parties, and a queen’s appearance on Buckingham Palace’s balcony to show that the royal family remains relevant after seven decades of change.

Over the past 70 years, the Queen has traveled around the globe, embodying the values of diversity and change that she has demonstrated during her jubilee celebrations. In addition, the royals want to show that their support comes from all parts of modern Britain, which has become more multicultural since the arrival of immigrants from the Caribbean, South Asia, and Eastern Europe.

Queen recently recovered from COVID-19 and started walking using a stick.

After a two-year break, Japan will finally open its gates to tourists from 98 nations. Japan was one of the few countries in the world that followed strict COVID-19 protocols and shut entry for foreign visitors even for the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

However, a few restrictions will be imposed such as visitors must enter the country as part of a tour group. According to Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs the 98 countries and regions, which include the UK, have been divided into three risk zones – red, yellow, and blue – which will determine whether or not tourists will serve a quarantine measure.

Travel restrictions for foreign residents and business travelers had already been relaxed and tour groups will be permitted entry into the country from June 10. From June 1, 20,000 foreigners can arrive in the country on a daily basis. Foreign students have also been allowed entry since mid-March.

Tourism which accounts for a major part of Japan’s economy fell more than 90% in 2020, hitting hard the tourism industry. The news has given respite to travel agencies who are expecting a huge inflow of foreign tourists as soon as borders open fully.

After a wait of three and a half years, London’s Crossrail named the Elizabeth line in honour of Queen Elizabeth has finally opened to passengers on Tuesday 24^th May 2022. The $24 billion Crossrail whose work started in 2009 is expected to help commute 200 million passengers annually. Over 10,000 people have been employed in the construction of the 118 km long  Elizabeth Line which is considered one of  Europe’s largest construction projects. Safety testing issues, new software and a lack of signalling systems caused the delay in the opening of the railway line.

The first train is scheduled for departure at 06:30 BST on Tuesday from Abbey Wood to Paddington. As of now, trains will run from Monday to Saturday from 06:30 to 23:00 from Abbey Wood to Paddington, From Heathrow airport to Paddington and from Shenfield to Liverpool Street. However, passengers will be able to travel directly from one end to the other only from May 2023 onwards. London’s mayor Sadiq Khan described the new line as “ spacious, silent, comfortable and a game-changer”.  The new railway line that was expected to open in December 2018 will increase London’s rail capacity by 10%. This 22^nd-century fit railway line is welcomed as a boon to the city and its residents.

On Sunday, India’s one million all-women ASHA workers were honoured by the World Health Organization (WHO) for providing direct access to healthcare in rural areas and for their indefatigable efforts to rein in the COVID pandemic in the country.

The Accredited Social Health Activist Workers (ASHA) are directly affiliated with the Indian government’s healthcare system in rural areas and are the first point of contact for rural residents. They gained fame during the peak of the pandemic for keeping track of coronavirus patients and conducting door-to-door checks. They also provide maternal care and immunization for children against vaccine-preventable diseases, treatment for hypertension and tuberculosis, community health care, and health promotion for nutrition, sanitation, and healthy living.

As WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said while presenting the award, “Among the honourees is ASHA, which means hope in Hindi. More than 1 million female volunteers in India were honoured for their crucial role in linking the community with the health system to ensure those living in rural poverty get access to primary health care services, as shown throughout the COVID-19 pandemic”.

According to him, the awardees demonstrate lifelong dedication to social causes, tireless advocacy, and a commitment to equity, as well as selfless service to humanity.