Author: News Desk

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend a foundation-laying ceremony for a Hindu temple on Wednesday, organisers said, even though his interior minister has contracted COVID-19. Amit Shah, who is Modi’s top lieutenant as well as India’s interior minister, was admitted to a private hospital near Delhi on Sunday, four days after attending a cabinet meeting at which the prime minister was present. But preparations are continuing for Modi to visit a temple that is being built in honour of Hindu god-king Ram in the northern town of Ayodhya, said the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, which is building…

Tyson Foods said on Monday that President Dean Banks will become chief executive as the meatpacker faces unprecedented production challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. The novel coronavirus has infected thousands of employees at U.S. meatpacking plants and slowed production as companies like Tyson temporarily shut slaughterhouses in April and May. Plants have reopened, but absences among workers who are afraid of getting sick pose an ongoing challenge to an industry struggling to restore normal meat output. Tyson Foods, in an earnings report covering its fiscal third quarter, said it expects the pandemic will increase operating costs and hinder sales volumes…

Sharjah will reopen all public beaches in the emirate from today (August 3). The reopening was announced by the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Team in Sharjah. The authorities called on the public to strictly follow all the precautionary health measures to ensure the health and safety of community members. The public beaches in the emirate were closed as part of the precautionary measures taken to curb the spread of the virus.

Alphabet’s Google is buying a 6.6% stake in home security firm ADT for $450 million in a deal that will allow it to provide service to customers of its Nest home security devices. ADT said on Monday the companies will work to combine Nest products like cameras, thermostats, doorbells and alarm systems with ADT’s installation, service and professional monitoring network. ♦ Google extends work from home through June next year ♦ Google buys 7.7% of Reliance’s digital unit for $4.5 billion ♦ Google to commit $10 billion to India ADT expects to offer certain Google devices to its customers beginning this year and to…

Brazil’s central bank said on Monday that tests had begun to trial payments via Facebook Inc’s messaging service WhatsApp in the country, calling them an “important advance.” In a statement, the bank said that the tests involve no real money and are not part of the Facebook, Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc’s official requests to operate the payments system in Brazil. Those requests are still being analyzed, the central bank said. ♦ Zoom to shift to ‘partner-only’ model in China, suspend direct sales ♦ Facebook brings official music videos to users’ feed WhatsApp is working with Cielo, Brazil’s largest credit and debit…

The Department of Blood Bank Services (DBBS) has said that there is an urgent need for blood donors at the Central Blood Bank in Bawsher. DBBS said that the blood bank in the Bawsher area of Muscat is suffering from a sharp decrease in stocks of various types of blood. ♦ Over 60,000 expatriate students studying in Oman schools ♦ Oman stops more than 14 billion cyber attacks in 2019 The timings for blood donation at the Central Blood Bank in Bawshar during the Eid al Adha holidays are from 8 am to 5 pm from Saturday to Thursday. The deadline for…

Kuwait Municipality has shut down 46 shops during Eid Al-Adha for violating the precautionary health guidelines. Around 1,142 warnings were handed out amid inspection visits to 1,197 shops, the Municipality said in a statement. These inspectional rounds aimed to fend off street vendors, unlicensed butchers, livestock outlets and those found in breach of precautionary health measures. ♦ Kuwait bans flights to multiple countries to curb the spread of COVID-19 ♦ Kuwait crown prince receives reassuring call on HH Emir’s health ♦ Kuwait to reduce fees of private schools by 25 percent They resulted in 206 fines being released, for businesses found not adhering to…

Former Pope Benedict XVI, the first pontiff in 600 years to resign instead of ruling for life, is seriously ill, a German newspaper reported on Monday. The newspaper, Passauer Neue Presse, cited Benedict’s biographer, German author Peter Seewald, who met the 93-year-old emeritus pope at the Vatican on Saturday. A Vatican spokesperson had no comment on the report and the former pope’s personal secretary, Archbishop Georg Ganswein, did not immediately return a call asking for comment. Seewald said Benedict, who has been in frail health for some time, was now suffering from shingles, a viral infection that causes painful rashes…

Singapore researchers have developed “electronic skin” capable of recreating a sense of touch, an innovation they hope will allow people with prosthetic limbs to detect objects, as well as feel texture, or even temperature and pain. The device, dubbed ACES, or Asynchronous Coded Electronic Skin, is made up of 100 small sensors and is about 1 sq cm (0.16 square inch) in size. The researchers at the National University of Singapore say it can process information faster than the human nervous system, is able to recognise 20 to 30 different textures and can read Braille letters with more than 90%…

Zoom Video Communications will shift to a partner-only model in mainland China from Aug. 23, suspending direct sales to all customers in the region, the company said on Monday. Zoom customers in China received an email on Monday informing them of the change, and telling them it would provide users with “better local support.” In the email, Zoom listed Bizconf Communications, Suiri Zhumu Video Conference, and Systec Umeet – as partners that can offer its commercial service to customers in China. Zoom has been distancing itself from its China operations, which had come under the scrutiny of human rights activists and…