Author: News Desk

The Omani Ministry of Health has said that the administration of the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine will be postponed until June 2021. The available vaccines will be given to the high diploma students prior to their final examinations. As of May 5, over 72,000 people have received the second dose vaccine. https://twitter.com/OmaniMOH/status/1391671938641285121?s=20

The group accused of a ransomware attack that crippled the leading U.S. fuel pipeline operator said in a news release on Monday that its goal was to make money and not to sow chaos. The group calling itself DarkSide has been blamed by the FBI for the digital extortion attempt against Colonial Pipeline, a firm responsible for funneling fuel to a huge chunk of the East Coast. The ransomware outbreak prompted the company to shut down its network, potentially causing extraordinary disruption as gasoline deliveries dry up. The terse news release posted to DarkSide’s website on Monday did not directly mention Colonial Pipeline…

The UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) and the National Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) have announced that entry from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka will be suspended for all incoming passengers on national and foreign carriers, as well as those carrying transit passengers, starting from 23:59 on Wednesday, 12th May, 2021. According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the decision exempts transit flights coming to the UAE and heading towards these countries. This decision is applicable to the entry of travellers who were in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka in the last 14 days before…

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrived in Riyadh on Sunday for a two-day visit. He will discuss bilateral matters and regional issues in talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. https://twitter.com/MFATurkey/status/1391686796434710530?s=20

A man in China was left dangling from a bridge after its glass panels were damaged in high wind. The man was visiting the 100m-high bridge (330 ft) in the Piyan Mountain, in the north-east of the country, when the incident occurred on Friday. Several pieces of the glass floor were blown away by winds that reached up to 150km/h (90mph). It is thought that China has about 2,300 glass bridges and a number of glass walkways and slides. They are designed to attract thrill-seeking tourists and capitalise on China’s growing domestic tourism. An image widely shared on social media shows…

Dubai Police have arrested one of the UK’s most wanted fugitives after eight years on the run, after Interpol issued a Red Notice. Michael Paul Moogan, 35, from Liverpool in the UK, had been on the National Crime Agency-UK wanted list for his alleged role in a large-scale international drug trafficking plot to import drugs from Latin America to Europe, state news agency WAM reported. Moogan had evaded arrest by using false identities after escaping a police raid on a café in the Netherlands, believed to be a front for a drug cartel. It is claimed that Café de Ketel…

If Sweden’s government gets its way, Bromma airport on the western edge of Stockholm will shut down and be used to build around 30,000 new homes, helping to ease a housing shortage that has sent prices in the capital soaring. Sweden is not alone in seeking innovative ways to boost the supply of housing and, ultimately, reduce a build-up of mortgage debt that threatens the wider economy. In many big European cities, prices have been rising for decades, pushed higher by a cocktail of low interest rates, land shortages and construction that cannot keep pace with demand. At Berlin’s former…

Zoho, a provider of cloud-based business software, will open an office in Bahrain to bolster its support to start-ups and businesses across the board. “The Bahrain market has a lot of potential, and we hope this year we can open an office here,” Ali Shabdar, Regional Director, MEA, Zoho Corp, said. “We have been working on a couple of good initiatives, making sure that we will continue to help Bahraini businesses. Next year there will be good news for Bahrain.” The opening of an office in Bahrain is a step in the right direction and reinforces Bahrain’s position as a…

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that if wealthy nations hogged COVID-19 shots while millions in poor countries died waiting for them it would amount to “vaccine apartheid”. South Africa and India have been pushing for a waiver on some intellectual property (IP) rights for vaccines and medicines at the World Trade Organization. U.S. President Joe Biden backed the proposal last week, though it may still take months to reach a deal. Ramaphosa called on South Africans to support the waiver in a weekly newsletter, saying vaccines should be “a global public good”. “It is about affirming our…

Calls grew for India to impose a nationwide lockdown as new coronavirus cases and deaths held close to record highs on Monday, increasing pressure on the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The 366,161 new infections and 3,754 deaths reported by the health ministry were off a little from recent peaks, taking India’s tally to 22.66 million with 246,116 deaths. As many hospitals grapple with an acute shortage of oxygen and beds while morgues and crematoriums overflow, experts have said India’s actual figures could be far higher than reported. Sunday’s 1.47 million tests for COVID-19 were this month’s lowest yet,…