Author: News Desk

18 new cases of COVID-19 have been registered today in Bahrain. This takes the total number of cases reported today to 54. Bahrain has also recovered 242 people this day. Bahrain tested a total of 97796 until now. There are 994 active cases. These include 992 stable cases and 2 critical cases. 1026 people have been discharged. Only 7 deaths have been reported until now. This takes the total cases in Bahrain to 2027. Read the New Guidelines in Bahrain – Click Here The Ministry of Health announced the death of a 60-year-old Bahraini citizen on 14th April, who has underlying…

Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister, Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, has extended congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, on the holy month of Ramadan. The minister also congratulated the Bahraini people, as well as the Arab and Islamic nations on the same occasion. The Justice Minister praised HM the King’s endorsement of the decision to re-open the Al-Fateh Mosque for the Friday prayers,…

Oman’s central bank has asked banks and financial institutions to freeze repayments of personal and housing loans for three months to help workers overcome the coronavirus crisis, state news agency ONA reported. The decision will take effect in May and no additional commission fees will be required from customers, ONA said, adding that banks should restructure loans if needed.

Netflix Inc said on Wednesday it plans to raise about $1 billion in debt, a day after the streaming pioneer doubled its own projections for new customers as stuck-at-home users binged on original shows, reported Reuters. The company plans to use the proceeds to fund original shows, acquire content, and for possible acquisitions, at a time when major U.S. studios are halting production and delaying film releases due to the coronavirus-led lockdowns. Most programming for 2020, and much of 2021, has already been filmed and is being finished remotely in post-production, Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said on Tuesday, adding…

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday faced a call for an inquiry into his government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis after failing to fully explain partial death data, limited testing, or the lack of equipment for hospitals. The novel coronavirus outbreak, the worst health crisis since the 1918 influenza pandemic, has left governments across the world grappling with stressed populations, a stalled global economy, and overloaded health services, Reuters reported. Johnson initially refrained from approving the stringent controls that other European leaders imposed but he later closed down the country when projections showed a quarter of a million people…

Dubai Airports, which owns and manages Dubai International and Dubai World Central, is preparing for resuming operations once the coronavirus lockdowns are lifted. The airport’s operator said on Wednesday that it is working closely with its aviation and commercial partners for a “gradual remobilisation” once travel restrictions are no longer in place. However, Dubai Airports did not provide further details on how and when operations will restart. It is also offering assistance to affected businesses, including tenants and concessionaires, to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. The aviation industry is badly hit by the current crisis with various airlines losing…

Mass immunization with a newly developed vaccine against the COVID-19 coronavirus disease could start in Switzerland in October, according to immunologist Martin Bachmann. The national regulatory body Swissmedic confirmed that it was in talks with scientists including Bachmann, who works at the Bern University Hospital, Deutsche press agency (DPA) reported. “The time schedule is extremely optimistic, but it is not totally far-fetched,” Swissmedic spokesman Lukas Jaggi told DPA this week. “Given the urgency of the coronavirus pandemic, we are talking about weeks, not months of approval procedures,” he added. If the vaccine meets all requirements, a decision to green-light it…

Australia’s latest bush fires released far more carbon dioxide in one season than the country’s annual greenhouse gas pollution, according to a government estimate. An estimated 830 million tons of carbon dioxide were released into the atmosphere between September and February due to the devastating fires, according to a preliminary estimate by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy, and Resources released this month, Deutsche press agency (DPA) reported. Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are about 540 million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent per year, according to a policy brief published in October by the Australian National University. But the fire-affected temperate forests…

A regional lawmaker in Berlin is proposing that a 1,000-bed field hospital being built in the German capital should be used to treat coronavirus patients from Italy. Catherina Pieroth-Manelli told public broadcaster rbb Wednesday that the move would send a signal of solidarity to Italy, which has been hardest-hit in Europe by the pandemic, The Associated Press reports. Pieroth-Manelli, a member of the Greens that are part of a three-party governing coalition in Berlin state, said the offer would depend on how the number of infections develops in Germany. Even without the field hospital, which will be completed at the…

Chairman of Bahrain Chamber Sameer Nass invited registered members of the Chamber to participate in the Ordinary General Assembly Meeting, which will be held virtually via electronic means of communication which will be held today in accordance with Article (15) of Decree-Law No. (48) for the year 2012 with regard to Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In this regard, the Chamber explained that the meeting will be held virtually due to the exceptional circumstances as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, and in line with the directives and national efforts to combat the virus and curb its spread. The…