Author: News Desk

Move permits can be now claimed during the National Disinfection Programme through the Abu Dhabi police website, www.adpolice.gov.ae. Those going out for absolute necessity, including visiting hospital or pharmacy, or buying essential needs, and don’t have move permits during the Programme timing, have to provide evidence on the reasoning behind their emergency. All the entities, whose employees can’t abide by the National Disinfection Programme timings due to the nature of their work, have to provide the National Crisis & Emergency Management Authority with lists of the names of these employees and their car plate numbers, to exempt them automatically from…

China has issued a lengthy rebuttal of what it said were 24 “preposterous allegations” by some leading U.S. politicians over its handling of the new coronavirus outbreak. According to Reuters, the Chinese foreign ministry has dedicated most of its press briefings over the past week to rejecting accusations by U.S. politicians, especially Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, that China had withheld information about the new coronavirus and that it had originated in a laboratory in the city of Wuhan. A 30-page, 11,000-word article posted on the ministry website on Saturday night repeated and expanded on the refutations made during the…

The White House has begun informal talks with Republicans and Democrats in Congress about next steps on coronavirus relief legislation, a top economic adviser to President Donald Trump said on Sunday, reported Reuters. “It’s not that we’re not talking. We are. It’s just informal at this stage,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told ABC’s “This Week” program. “We’re collecting ideas for next steps, which will undoubtedly be data-driven.” Kudlow said that he joined a Friday conference call with lawmakers from both parties in the House of Representatives and planned to do the same on Monday with members of the…

The second Indian repatriation flight from Doha to Trivandrum got cancelled today. The reason for the cancellation is not clear, reported the Qatar Peninsula. A senior Indian embassy official said that the cancelation is due to technical reasons. It is not clear if the flight will be rescheduled to a later date or cancelled completely. The Air India Express flight was expected to carry around 180 passengers to Trivandrum this afternoon. Yesterday another flight carrying 178 passengers left for Kochi.

Indian Ladies Association (ILA) donated BD 501 to Feena_Khair, the national fundraising campaign to fight COVID-19. The amount was collected from the members as part of the ILA’s Workers Welfare Subcommittee’s monthly donation drive. ILA  commends the efforts of the Government of Bahrain for their excellent efforts in combating COVID-19. Indian Ladies Association also donated over 600 face masks to expatriate workers in the Kingdom of Bahrain, as part of labour day. ILA’s President Ms. Reena Sreedhar handed over the masks to the ICRF Chairman Mr. Arul Das in the presence of other ICRF and ILA officials.

Over 400,000 users have downloaded Bahrain’s “BeAware” contact tracing app since its launch. The Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA), in collaboration with the National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19 launched the “BeAware Bahrain” application in late March. The application complements efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by advancing contact tracing efforts to swiftly identify and keep track of all active cases and their contacts. This app is the National platform for all the information related to the virus, instructions, guidelines and additional new features including government resolutions. The app was listed as one of the best Middle Eastern COVID-19…

Five pilots of Air India tested positive for novel coronavirus during the pre-flight Covid-19 test which is carried out 72 hours before they are rostered for flight duties. All of them are asymptomatic and based in Mumbai. They had undertaken cargo flights to China, said sources. India has reported a total of 62,939 COVID-19 cases and 19,358 have recovered. Over 2,109 people have died from the virus.

The Bahrain Ministry of Health announced that it has registered 16 active cases of the virus among a single Bahraini family, including parents, siblings and infants, who were exposed to the virus by one of their family members (case no. 2930 under the contact tracing mechanism). The ministry underlined that the family member was experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and had not called the designated hotline no. (444) or self-isolated. Furthermore, the individual failed to comply with government-issued social distancing measures, which include limiting social gatherings during Iftar and wearing masks whilst out in public. The ministry underscored that strictly adhering to…

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called on people to exercise “total caution” ahead of a partial relaxation of the country’s lockdown. More than half of the country, about 23 million people, will start “phase one” of the strategy to ease nationwide social-distancing measures on Monday. Restaurants and bars will be able to serve people outdoors, non-essential shops will be allowed to open and gatherings of up to 10 people will be permitted. But, in places where the lockdown is loosened, people should “take precautions as if they were infected”, Sanchez said. “The virus has not disappeared. It is still…

Pioneering rock ‘n’ roll singer Little Richard has died at the age of 87. The musician’s family has confirmed his death. Little Richard’s hits included Good Golly Miss Molly, which made the UK charts in 1958. The Beatles, Elton John and Elvis all cited him an influence. The singer, born in Georgia as Richard Wayne Penniman, was among the first group inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. His other well-known songs include Tutti Frutti and Long Tall Sally. The star, who sold more than 30 million records worldwide, was known for his exuberant performances, shrieks,…