Author: News Desk

Saudi Arabia announced it would hold a “very limited” hajj this year, with pilgrims already in the kingdom allowed to perform the annual ritual as it moves to curb the coronavirus pandemic. But the decision to limit the hajj, scheduled for late July, is fraught with political and economic peril and comes after several Muslim nations pulled out of the ritual. “It was decided to hold the pilgrimage this year with very limited numbers… with different nationalities in the kingdom,” the official Saudi Press Agency said, citing the hajj ministry. “This decision is taken to ensure the hajj is performed…

The record levels of new daily COVID-19 cases are due to the fact that the pandemic is peaking in a number of big countries at the same time and reflect a change in the virus’ global activity, the World Health Organization said. At a media briefing on Monday, WHO’s emergencies chief Dr. Michael Ryan said that “the numbers are increasing because the epidemic is developing in a number of populous countries at the same time.” Some countries have attributed their increased caseload to more testing, including India and the U.S. But Ryan dismissed that explanation. “We do not believe this…

Bahrain has announced the death of an 87-year-old male citizen from coronavirus. The total deaths have soared to 65. It’s the second death recorded on Monday. The MOH expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased. The total cases have driven to 21,764 of which 16,419 have recovered, which means that over 74 percent of the confirmed cases have recovered from the virus. Currently, there are 5,280 active cases. Also, there are 169 COVID-19 cases receiving treatment, of which 31 are in a critical condition. So far the country has conducted 477,788 tests, as per the government statics. Also Read: Bahrain…

UAE records 378 cases, and 1 fatality from coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the total cases in the country to 45,303, according to the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP). The new death takes the total fatalities to 303. 631 new recoveries were also announced, bringing the total recoveries to 33,046. This means over 72 percent of the confirmed cases have fully recovered from the virus. The new cases were found after conducting more than 40,000 coronavirus tests across the country. Abu Dhabi has eased restrictions to allow movement between its cities for all residents starting on Tuesday but…

Hours after a Pakistan Cricket Board doctor admitted that the England tour is dangerous under the current circumstances due to the coronavirus pandemic, three players have tested positive for the virus, the board confirmed. The PCB said on Monday evening that Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan – have tested positive for Covid-19. The PCB medical team is in touch with the players who have been advised to immediately go into self-isolation, PCB said in a statement. The players had shown no symptoms until they had been tested in Rawalpindi on Sunday ahead of the Pakistan men’s national cricket…

Saudi Aramco’s acquisition of petrochemical maker SABIC will accelerate the company’s downstream strategy and transform it into a global petrochemical player, an official of the state oil giant told al-Arabiya TV. “We expect long-term demand for petrochemicals to grow, with the sector expected to record the fastest growth in oil demand to 2040,” said Abdulaziz al-Gudaimi, a senior vice president at Aramco. Also Read: Saudi Arabia records 3,393 new cases Saudi Arabia to block 231 websites that violate laws Saudi Arabia to launch $4 billion tourism development fund

As part of relentless efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, Dubai authorities are continuing to increase the provision of COVID-19 testing across government and private hospitals and drive-through centres. The emirate’s various testing facilities have completed a total of over 612, 000 COVID-19 tests as of 19 June, according to the COVID-19 Command and Control Centre. Ensuring the widespread availability of COVID-19 testing is part of an integrated plan to further curb the spread of the virus and offer immediate medical care to infected people at hospitals, accredited facilities and quarantine centres. Comprehensive measures are undertaken by the emirate to…

Amin “Fierceness” Ayoub hasn’t been afraid to call out the top names in BRAVE Combat Federation’s Lightweight division. The French-Tunisian athlete made a statement in his promotional debut by submitting Djamil Chan and is ready for the biggest challenges in his division. And they don’t come bigger than Cleiton “Predator” Silva, the reigning world champion. Ayoub has recently hinted he would love to challenge “Predator” for the title very soon, as he feels his resume matches up well with that of the champion. Amin has been a double-weight champion in his previous promotion and will look to get his first…

Bahrain International Airport (BIA) is rolling out additional health and safety measures to protect the wellbeing of passengers and staff at the terminal, Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) announced. It is in line with Bahrain Civil Aviation Affairs Advisory Circular, the Kingdom’s aviation regulator. The CAA guidelines are in line with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) latest guidelines for combating the coronavirus (COVID-19) and support preventative measures recommended by the Ministry of Health (MOH). The measures will be regularly updated based on new scientific findings as the situation evolves. “BAC has implemented a number of precautionary measures recommended by the Ministry…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday marked the date of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union by meeting with veterans and visiting a new military church. Putin laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin wall and greeted World War II veterans. He also visited the newly built main cathedral of the Russian military on Moscow’s western outskirts. Nazi Germany invaded the USSR on June 22, 1941, starting nearly four years of fighting that killed 27 million Soviet people and left the western part of the country in ruins. “It was a terrible and…