Author: News Desk

Mr. Trump’s tweet cast doubt on his confidence in the path to fighting the virus that he so reluctantly approved. For two months he largely dismissed the warnings that the virus would reach American shores, for fear of causing economic disruption, predicting that cases would go down from a handful to “zero” in a few days. Only when the disruption came anyway, in the form of a historic stock market sell-off, was he convinced to act. But there could be consequences for ending the measures too quickly. The recent rise of cases in Hong Kong, after there had been an easing of the spread…

The royal equestrian race which was scheduled for Friday has been canceled. This follows a directive by Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Representative of His Majesty King Hamad for Charity Work and Youth Affairs, National Security Advisor, Supreme Council for Youth and Sports chairman and honorary president of the Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation. The Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation said in a statement today that following the decision the royal equestrian season for 2019-2020 has come to an end. The move comes as part of national efforts to combat the spread of the Covid-19.

All retail outlets will be closed for two weeks starting from Thursday as part of Bahrain’s efforts to combat the spread of the Covid-19. Hypermarkets, cold stores, bakeries, pharmacies and banks have been exempted from the temporary shutdown, which will continue until April 9. Meanwhile, restaurants and cafes will continue to provide delivery and takeaway services. The decision was announced by Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Alzayani. He was speaking alongside Health Minister Faeqa Al Saleh, Public Security chief Lieutenant General Tariq Al Hassan, Covid-19 Control and Monitoring Committee head Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Manaf Al Qahtani and Covid-19 Task…

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived Monday morning in Kabul on an unannounced half-day visit, which will be dominated by meetings with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and his political rival, Abdullah Abdullah, who is attempting to form a parallel government. Pompeo and other officials traveling with him did not make any comments to accompanying journalists, but the flurry of announced meetings with Ghani and Abdullah suggested that Pompeo would seek to mediate between the two men. Both Ghani, the incumbent, and Abdullah, who holds the title of chief executive, both claimed to have won the presidency in September polls. The Afghan…

Anyone who violates the ban on public gatherings of more than five people would have to pay fines between BD1,000 and BD10,000. Article 121 of the Public Health Law establishes punishments for any person who refuses to implement any measures to prevent the spread of disease. The punishment for violating the law also carries a jail sentence of no less than three months. The ban on gatherings of no more than five people has been implemented in public places, including, but not limited to markets, public parks, and public beaches. People have also been asked to leave at least a…

The ruler of Iran has suggested that America created a new strain of the coronavirus intending to infect Iranians. According to the Independent newspaper, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has publicly declared that the United States created ‘a special version’ of the deadly coronavirus now ravaging the country. The deadly coronavirus has killed at least 1,685 Iranians, including 129 in the last 24 hours. Ayatollah Khamenei also rejected  US offers of help in a speech on Sunday marking the beginning of the Persian calendar year. He also suggested Washington would exploit any acceptance of American aid. In his speech, the Ayatollah said: ‘The American leaders have said…

The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in Italy has risen by 651 to 5,476. This is an increase of 13.5% but down on yesterday’s figure when 793 people died. The total number of cases in Italy rose to 59,138 from a previous 53,578, an increase of 10.4%, the Civil Protection Agency said. This is the lowest rise in percentage terms since the contagion came to light on 21 February. Of those originally infected nationwide, 7,024 had fully recovered by today, compared to 6,072 yesterday. There were 3,009 people in intensive care against a previous 2,857. The hardest-hit northern region of Lombardy…

German chancellor Angela Merkel has gone into quarantine after being informed that a doctor who administered a vaccine to her has tested positive for coronavirus. Merkel’s spokesman said the German leader was informed about the doctor’s test shortly after holding a news conference Sunday announcing new measures to curb the spread of the virus. Her spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said Merkel had received a precautionary vaccine Friday against pneumococcal infection. Seibert said in a statement that Merkel would undergo “regular tests” in the coming days and continue with her work from home for the time being. Merkel had earlier expressed her gratitude to…

Countries can’t simply lock down their societies to defeat coronavirus, the World Health Organization’s top emergency expert said on Sunday, adding that public health measures are needed to avoid a resurgence of the virus later on. “What we need to focus on is finding those who are sick, those who have the virus, and isolate them, find their contacts and isolate them,” Mike Ryan said in an interview. “The danger right now with the lockdowns … if we don’t put in place the strong public health measures now when those movement restrictions and lockdowns are lifted, the danger is the…

Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed Al Zayani has announced that all commercial shops will be closed from March 26. He said that all hypermarkets, cold stores, bakeries, pharmacies and banks are excluded from these. He added that the temporary closure until April 9 is part of preventive measures to combat the spread of Covid-19. This does not include offices and places of work.