Author: News Desk

GCC nations, the top oil exporters in the Middle East, are expected to post an aggregate negative growth of 3.9 percent in 2020, IMF’s said in its latest World Economic Outlook report noting that low oil prices will have a huge impact on exporters. Due to the economic fall out of the coronavirus pandemic, the global economy is expected to shrink by 3 percent during this year, marking the steepest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the report said. However, a partial rebound is expected in 2021, with the world economy growing at 5.08 percent rate but it…

Japan urged its citizens on Wednesday to stay home, as media reports warned that as many as 400,000 of them could die of the coronavirus without urgent action, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came under pressure to hand out more cash, reported Reuters. Japan, which tests only people with symptoms of the coronavirus, has so far recorded more than 8,000 infections with nearly 200 deaths. Reports in Japanese media citing an undisclosed health ministry projection said fatalities could reach the 400,000 mark without mitigation measures. It also estimated that as many as 850,000 people could need ventilators. Japan has seen…

Britain was initially too slow to respond to the novel coronavirus outbreak and did not learn quickly enough from other countries, opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said on Wednesday. Prime Minister Boris Johnson initially refrained from approving the stringent controls that other European leaders imposed but then closed down the country when projections showed a quarter of a million people could die in the United Kingdom. So far, more than 12,000 people with COVID-19 have died in British hospitals, though new official data indicates the true death toll could be much larger. “I think that some of the decisions…

American Chamber of Commerce in Bahrain (AmCham Bahram) today announced it will host a live webinar on “Business Communications for the New Normal: How to Stay Connected with Clients and Partners” in cooperation with FinMark Communications on the 19th of April. With the outbreak of COVID-19 and its continued impact on the way we work and live, the session will see senior partners from the firm’s Bahrain and London offices talk about how businesses can get momentum back into their communications and proactively reach out to audiences with a consistent and credible message in this new landscape. Commenting, Zahraa Taher,…

On 14 April, India has permitted for Malaysia to import 89,100 tablets, Malaysia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kamarudin Jaffar told Reuters on Wednesday. India has agreed to sell hydroxychloroquine tablets to Malaysia for use in the treatment of COVID-19 patients with New Delhi partially lifting its bar on exports of the anti-malarial drug reported Reuters. India is the world’s largest producer of hydroxychloroquine, sales of which have soared across the world including in the United States, especially after President Donald Trump touted it as a potential weapon against COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. New Delhi had last month…

US President Donald Trump announced he was halting funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday and accused the world body of failing in its response to the coronavirus pandemic. He said US taxpayers provide between 400 and 500 million dollars a year to the organization. However, it is unclear how Trump plans to halt the funding, which is largely appropriated by Congress, Deutsche press agency (DPA) reported. Trump said the US has a “duty to insist on full accountability” and will stop payments while a 60- to 90-day review takes place to assess the WHO’s “role in severely…

Australia’s rate of new COVID-19 infections has been sustained at levels much lower than other countries for weeks, but the country has so far retained strict social distancing rules that have closed businesses and confined people to their homes, Reuters reports. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison warned on Wednesday the nation’s children could become the silent victims of the coronavirus pandemic, as officials investigate new nursing home cluster. Morrison urged teachers to return to classrooms across the country to join “great heroes” like the medical staff and supermarket workers, stressing the risk that children from disadvantaged families, in particular, lose…

China reported 46 new confirmed cases on Tuesday compared with 89 cases a day earlier, according to the National Health Commission. Of the new cases, 36 involved travellers arriving in China from overseas, compared with 86 a day earlier, Reuters reports. The 10 remaining cases were new locally transmitted infections, with Heilongjiang province accounting for eight of them and southern Guangdong province two. China reported a decline in new confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the mainland on Wednesday, but there was an increasing number of local transmissions in its far northeast bordering Russia. The northeastern province of Heilongjiang has…

Millions of children are at increased risk of harm as their lives move increasingly online during the lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic, UNICEF and partners said today. “The coronavirus pandemic has led to an unprecedented rise in screen time,” said Global Partnership to End Violence Executive Director Dr. Howard Taylor. “School closures and strict containment measures mean more and more families are relying on technology and digital solutions to keep children learning, entertained and connected to the outside world, but not all children have the necessary knowledge, skills, and resources to keep themselves safe online.” More than 1.5 billion children…

In response to the directives of the Representative of His Majesty the King for Humanitarian and Youth Affairs, National Security Advisor and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Humanitarian Foundation (RHF) HH Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa on launching a donation account to support the efforts of combating the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the Bahrain Chamber announced contributing BD 300,000. In this regard, Chairman of the Bahrain Chamber Sameer Nass hailed the national initiative and expressed pride in the strenuous efforts exerted to combat and eradicate coronavirus. He also voiced confidence in the support of the private…