1 hour ago
Stephen Bunting from England was this evening crowned champion of the 2025 Bahrain Darts Masters at Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) in Sakhir. Bunting, the World Number Five a former Masters Champion, secured the title after defeating World Number Nine and 2021 World Champion Gerwyn Price of Wales 8-4 in a hugely exciting final, played in front of a sold-out and energetic crowd that packed the BIC Dome. Following the title-decider, which was played best-of-15 legs, Bunting was presented with the tournament’s glittering champion’s trophy, molded in the form of a palm tree. BIC chief executive Shaikh Salman bin Isa Al Khalifa and CBX CEO Carlo Boutagy were on hand for the awarding. Bunting has now joined recently crowned World Champion and last year’s victor in the Kingdom, Luke Littler, and Michael Smith as champions in the Bahrain Darts Masters. In this evening’s exciting final, Bunting took a 4-1 lead, but Price won the next two legs and got back to within one. Bunting replied with back-to-back legs for a commanding 6-3 advantage, but Price stayed alive with the ensuing leg. But Bunting was not to be denied, taking the next two in style to close things out for his historic […]
1 hour ago
The High Sharia Court has granted a divorce to a woman in her twenties after her husband accused her of infidelity, a claim the court rejected. The couple, married for less than four years and with a young child, had been embroiled in a bitter dispute. According to Dr Mohammed Al Kooheji, the wife’s lawyer, the husband’s behaviour changed dramatically three years into the marriage. He evicted his wife from their home, preventing her from seeing their infant child, whom he kept with his mother. The lawyer attributed the husband’s actions to marital disagreements, including interference from family members, accusations of infidelity, and the husband’s failure to provide adequate housing and financial support. These issues prompted the wife to file for divorce on grounds of harm. “He failed to provide a safe and stable home environment, financially support her, and treat her with the respect and consideration she deserved as his wife; instead, he subjected her to public humiliation and emotional abuse,” the lawyer argued during the court hearing. The court investigated the case, allowing both the wife and husband to present evidence, including witness testimonies. The wife’s witnesses testified that the husband publicly accused her of having relationships with […]
1 hour ago
The High Criminal Appeals Court has upheld a three-year prison sentence for a repeat offender who has a history of deliberately targeting food delivery drivers with his vehicle. The defendant’s appeal was dismissed due to his failure to appear in court. The case centres around an incident in Saar where the defendant, known for his history of similar offenses, deliberately rammed his vehicle into a food delivery driver’s motorbike. This resulted in a 1% permanent injury to the driver and damage to the motorbike. The court found that while the defendant did not intend to cause such a severe injury, the act of deliberately striking the motorbike was intentional. The victim testified that a minor traffic dispute escalated when the defendant deliberately collided with his motorbike, causing him to fall and sustain injuries. An eyewitness confirmed this account, stating he saw the defendant’s vehicle intentionally strike the motorbike before fleeing the scene. “I saw it all happen. There was a little bit of a traffic jam, but nothing that would justify what he did. He didn’t just bump into the motorbike; he aimed straight for it and hit it hard. The delivery guy went down, and the driver just sped […]
1 hour ago
After a two-year legal battle, a court has ordered a seller to refund BD1,600 for selling two fridges that did not meet the agreed-upon specifications. The fridges, which had a sticker price of BD2,000, were purchased by the buyer after paying 80% of the price, amounting to BD1,600 in instalments. However, upon discovering that the fridges were not as initially promised, the buyer refused to accept delivery or pay the remaining balance. In response, the seller filed a lawsuit demanding BD2,600 for the products, as well as rent for the space occupied by the fridges, claiming that they were preventing him from renting out the shop. The buyer filed a counterclaim, seeking BD1,800 in compensation, stating that the seller had initially agreed to refund him after the complaint but had delayed for two years. A witness who inspected the fridges, while the buyer was abroad, testified that the appliances did not meet the seller’s specifications, supporting the buyer’s demand for a refund. The seller, on the other hand, argued that the fridges had caused financial harm by blocking the rental of his shop. However, the court found that the seller had already rented out the shop, and the fridges were […]
2 hours ago
The recurring theft of manhole covers and fiber optic cable covers in the Northern Governorate is raising serious safety concerns, particularly for athletes and horse riders. Abdullah Ashoor, a member of the Northern Governorate Municipal Council, is calling for innovative and permanent solutions to curb this escalating problem, heighlighting to the Daily Tribune the repeated thefts along Road 12 in Salmabad and Shaikh Zayed Highway in the sixth constituency of the Northern Governorate.He expressed concern that even recent welding efforts to secure manhole covers in Buri near the tunnel and the road adjacent to Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Highway haven’t deterred thieves. “The recent spate of manhole cover thefts in the Buri-A’ali agricultural area has created a truly dangerous situation for our community. Joggers, walkers, and especially horse riders are at significant risk of serious injury or even death from falling into these uncovered holes. “This isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a matter of public safety. Addressing this requires a collaborative effort between residents, the municipality, and other relevant authorities. We need to work together to find a lasting solution, and I urge all residents to report any incidents of missing manhole covers to the authorities immediately,” Ashoor stated to […]
2 hours ago
A young man left bedridden with fractures and an 8% permanent disability following an accident has been awarded BD4,000 in compensation by the court, with the insurance company held liable for the damages. The court also instructed the company to pay BD500 for emotional distress suffered by the victim. In addition to the compensation, the insurance company was ordered to pay 2% interest on the awarded sum from the date of the claim until the full amount is settled. The company was also directed to cover BD90 for the medical committee’s fees and BD500 in legal costs. The victim had filed a lawsuit seeking BD6,000 in compensation, claiming that his car was struck by another vehicle driven carelessly. Lawyer Salah Al Jaber, representing the victim, stated that the injuries left the young man unable to work, causing mounting medical bills and lost earnings, which prompted the lawsuit. The court agreed to the plaintiff ’s request to involve the Ministry of Health’s Medical Commissions. A report from the Medical Commission confirmed that the victim suffered a fractured humerus requiring surgery, a leg laceration treated conservatively, and a 30 cm scar on his arm. The report also stated that his elbow movement […]
2 hours ago
The unfortunate saga of Pakistani state persecution against former Prime Minister Imran Khan continues, as a Pakistani court on Friday sentenced Khan and this wife to 14 and seven years in prison after finding them guilty of corruption. He had already been held in jail for a couple years, despite many months of huge protests in various places by supporters demanding his release, after he and his wife were accused of accepting a gift of land from a real estate tycoon in exchange for laundered money, amid many additional pending graft investigations. Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party reject the allegations, and the former prime minister had pled non-guilty in the case. “Whilst we wait for a detailed decision, it’s important to note that the Al Qadir Trust case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi lacks any solid foundation and is bound to collapse,” PTI’s foreign media wing asserted in a statement. PTI plans to challenge the verdict in higher courts, with Khan pledging after this conviction: “I will neither make any deal nor seek any relief.” Khan has meanwhile insisted that his arrest in 2023 was simply politically motivated, designed by his rivals and enemies to keep the popular politician from power. According to a […]
2 hours ago
Something unprecedented is happening in southern Syrian areas being occupied by Israel’s military. In the wake of Bashar al-Assad’s overthrow, Israel is actually stealing or in its words “confiscating” former Syrian Army weaponry and heavy equipment, even tanks. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) acknowledged in a statement Wednesday that soldiers operating in Syria have taken more than 3,300 weapons and other gear belonging to the Syrian Army. An IDF statement on X featured video of transporting an abandoned tank from Syria. ⭕️Over 3,300 weapons have been confiscated from Syrian territory so far. Our troops continue their mission of frontline defense in Syria to ensure the safety and security of Israeli residents. Syrian Armed Forces tanks, anti-tank missiles, RPGs, mortars and observation… pic.twitter.com/mXAqUFkZt9 — Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) January 15, 2025 Assad fled the country as the al-Qaeda linked group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham entered the environs of Damascus on December 8 of last year. Since then Israel has mounted literally hundreds of attacks degrading and destroying former Syrian military complexes, bases, and weaponry. Israeli officials have explained that this is to prevent Syria’s advanced weapons from ever being used against Israeli again, or from falling into the hands of the Iranians or their […]
2 hours ago
TikTok announced on Friday that it would disable access to its app for more than 170 million American users starting Sunday unless the Biden administration provides assurances that the company will not face penalties for violating the recently upheld ban. This follows a decision by the US Supreme Court earlier on Friday to uphold the controversial ban, which requires TikTok to sell its US operations to American buyers by January 19 to avoid being banned. The legislation, signed into law by President Joe Biden in April with strong bipartisan support, has drawn widespread debate over its implications for free speech and data security. In a statement, TikTok criticized the Biden administration’s response, calling it insufficient to reassure service providers responsible for maintaining the app’s availability in the US. “The statements issued today by both the Biden White House and the Department of Justice have failed to provide the necessary clarity and assurance,” TikTok said. “Unless the Biden administration immediately provides a definitive statement… TikTok will be forced to go dark on January 19.” President-elect Donald Trump, set to be inaugurated Monday, has suggested he may not enforce the ban and has requested the Supreme Court to delay its implementation to […]
10 hours ago
A Cameroonian man was sentenced in absentia by Dubai Court of Misdemeanours for using a fake online pet adoption scheme to defraud a UAE resident. The incident, which took place in late 2022, involved the man falsely advertising a kitten for adoption and tricking the victim into transferring Dh6,200. According to court documents, the victim came across an online advertisement offering kittens for adoption. She told prosecutors she selected a kitten from the website and was redirected to a WhatsApp conversation with the scammer.
10 hours ago
Bahrain’s men’s national handball team lost 35-24 to Egypt in Group H of the IHF World Men’s Handball Championship, currently held in Croatia, Denmark, and Norway. The result leaves Bahrain needing a win against Argentina on Sunday to secure qualification to the main round, while Egypt will face Croatia to decide the group leader.
10 hours ago
For the first time since attacks in the Red Sea began in 2023 in response to the Israeli military onslaught in Gaza due to Oct.7, Yemen’s Houthis have signaled they will stop their attacks if the new Gaza truce and hostage exchange deal holds. Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al-Houthi in his first announcement since the impending truce, which is expected to take effect Sunday, said that his group plans to respect the agreement but that attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping could continue. “We will continue to follow the stages of implementing the agreement,” Al-Houthi said in a speech Thursday. On Friday the deal was still moving past the final bureaucratic hurdles in Israel with an expected full cabinet vote. “Any Israeli breach, massacre, or siege — we will be immediately ready to provide military support to Palestinians,” he continued, strongly suggesting that if the ceasefire collapses then Houthi attacks would be back on. He said his movement, formally known as Ansar Allah, will “confront any aggression, whether by the Israelis, the Americans, or their allies, or any attempts to divert our country from its liberated jihadist path.” The Houthis have indeed been seeking to target American, British, and coalition warships – […]
10 hours ago
Weaker fuel demand and depressed refining margins in 2024 resulted in the first annual decline in China’s refinery throughput in over 20 years, excluding the pandemic lockdown year of 2022, government data showed on Friday. Chinese refiners processed on average 14.13 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil last year, down by 1.6% compared to the record 14.7 million bpd processed in 2023 when China emerged from the pandemic lockdowns, per data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics cited by Reuters. Oil demand in China was lackluster in 2024, with consumption growth slowed, due to weaker economic performance and a shift to electric vehicles (EVs) and LNG-fueled trucks. Although some of the weakness is attributable to weaker economic performance, the shift toward EVs and LNG trucks is removing some road fuel demand permanently, analysts say. The rise of electric vehicles and the growing use of LNG in trucking have combined with slower-than-expected economic growth and activity to dent China’s oil demand growth and undermine earlier forecasts of global oil demand for 2024. Crude oil imports into China also declined last year, for the first time in some 20 years, excluding the pandemic lockdown period. The average import level stood at 11.04 million bpd in 2024, down by 1.9% […]
11 hours ago
President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran on Friday signed a 20-year pact between their countries at the Kremlin, just three days before Trump’s inauguration. Dubbed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty, the Kremlin is hailing it as bringing relations with the Islamic Republic to a new level, enshrining the two countries’ status as strategic partners. Putin hailed the “real breakthrough, creating conditions for the stable and sustainable development of Russia, Iran and the entire region.” Russian media has described it covers all spheres, including defense, counter-terrorism, energy, finance, transport, industry, agriculture, culture, science and engineering. The allies are also working on linking their national payment systems: “According to the Russian leader, in 2024, the share of transactions in Russian rubles and Iranian rials exceeded 95% of all bilateral trade operations,” TASS noted. Putin further said in a press conference with Pezeshkian, “Our countries firmly uphold the principles of the supremacy of international law, the sovereignty of states, non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries.” As for Pezeshkian, he said the following: “We witness a new chapter of strategic relations,” the Iranian president said, adding that the countries were set to expand trade ties and also boost the “level of security cooperation.” The […]
11 hours ago
On Saturday, Gaza ceasefire talks were down to the wire, and President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy wanted to hash out the deal once and for all with Benjamin Netanyahu, but the Israeli leader’s office said he could not be roused during Shabbat. Steve Witkoff allegedly gave a “salty” reply, making it clear he didn’t care if it was the Sabbath, the Jewish day of rest. In the words of one report from Haaretz, Witkoff said Trump expected Israel to agree to the ceasefire, and “things that Netanyahu had termed life-and-death issues…suddenly vanished.” So, who is Witkoff, Trump’s new man in the Middle East? Witkoff is a Republican and a billionaire Jewish-American real estate developer. His soft, slightly nasally voice masks his reputation as a hard-charging negotiator who developed the nerve for leveraged loans as a teenager betting at the racetrack. When he was starting off in the cut-throat world of New York City real estate in the 1990s, he wore a handgun strapped to his ankle, according to a Wall Street Journal expose from the time. Witkoff has been praised for pushing the ceasefire across the finish line. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani credited him in a speech announcing the deal on Wednesday, albeit […]