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. Al
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
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 count
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,
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. Th
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 qu
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 24th 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 i
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
India sends its first consignment of a $16 million humanitarian aid package to Sri Lanka. Gopal Baglay, the Indian envoy to Sri Lanka, delivered the donation to help mitigate the severe shortage caused by the country’s worst economic crisis in recent years. The cargo ship carried goods worth $5.6 million including 9,000 MT of rice, 50 MT of milk powder and more than 25 MT of drugs and other supplies. It was delivered from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu to Colombo Sri Lank which was received by Sri Lanka’s Foreign Minister Gamini Peiris. The Indian embassy released a stateme
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is ranked third by the World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft (WDMMA) Global Air Powers Ranking for 2022. The report was released after assessing the total combat capabilities of all the air services worldwide and ranked them accordingly. To consider the values associated with the total combat strength of various countries' air forces, the WDMMA employs the formula generating the ‘TrueValueRating’ (TVR). This aid WDMMA in separating each power based on its overall strength and elements like modernisation, guard abilities, assaults, and calculated help.