Author: News Desk

Iceland will this week open its borders to all visitors who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 without mandatory testing or quarantine, as it hopes more tourists will help revive its coronavirus-hit economy. “The Icelandic government has announced that all those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to travel to Iceland without being subject to border measures, such as testing and quarantine,” the government said in a statement late on Tuesday. The North Atlantic country, which will become one of the first countries to open its borders since the beginning of the pandemic, had until now allowed…

Head coach Herve Renard has called up a 26-strong squad for Saudi Arabia’s matches against Kuwait and Palestine later this month. Saudi Arabia will meet Kuwait in a friendly on March 25 before playing Palestine in Group D of the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) reported. A win over Palestine will take Saudi Arabia to top of the group, with Uzbekistan the current leaders with nine points. Renard’s side are one behind. The Saudis will prepare for the two matches in camp at the King…

Nicaragua received a first batch of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses, Vice President Rosario Murillo said on Tuesday, touting the inoculations donated through the World Health Organization’s global vaccine-sharing COVAX program. Murillo said Covax had donated 137,000 doses and that the Nicaragua would receive more shots through the Covax mechanism at the end of March, but did not specify how many. In late February, Nicaragua received its first batch of vaccine doses from an initial donation of Russia’s Sputnik V product and has begun inoculating people with pre-existing conditions such as heart disease, kidney failure and cancer. India has also already donated…

Vietnam’s first domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine, called Nanocovax, is expected to be available by the fourth quarter of this year and put into use in 2022, the health ministry said on Wednesday. The announcement comes as more countries try to speed up development of homegrown vaccines amid tight global supply and concerns over the emergence of new strains of the virus. “The containment of the pandemic depends largely on the development of vaccines,” the ministry said in a statement. Four Vietnamese companies were engaged in vaccine research and production and two were undertaking human tests including on Nanocovax and the…

Taiwan will form its first travel bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the tiny Pacific nation of Palau, the government said on Wednesday. Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control thanks to early and effective prevention, but has kept its borders largely shut, and the bubble marks a small return to normality. Taiwan currently has only 29 active cases being treated in hospitals. Palau, one of only 15 countries to officially recognise the Chinese-claimed island’s government, and whose president plans to visit Taiwan, has reported zero cases. “I’m glad to announce the official launch of the Taiwan-Palau travel bubble,”…

A new mosque named after late Shaikha Sheikha bint Nasser Al-Suweidi was opened in Jid Ali, the Capital Governorate. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Shaikh Salman bin Ateyatalla Al Khalifa, Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatalla Al Khalifa, sons and grandsons of late Shaikha Sheikha bint Nasser Al-Suweidi. Addressing the ceremony, Dr. Al Hajeri stressed the importance of building mosques countrywide, to keep pace with the urban expansion plans. He paid tribute to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa for his directives to develop such projects, hailing the support of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa,…

US President Joe Biden will next week hold his first full press conference since taking office, journalists accompanying the president on a trip to Pennsylvania said Tuesday, citing the White House. Biden is to take reporters’ questions next week on Thursday, March 25, Deutsche press agency (dpa) reported. The US media has repeatedly noted that Biden has been taking his time to schedule his first press conference as president. The Democrat has been taking questions from reporters on the sidelines of appearances since he took office on January 20, but has not yet held a press conference. With his inauguration, however, Biden revived…

Uber drivers in Britain should receive the minimum wage from the time they log on until they log off from the app, two former drivers who led a successful court battle said after the firm granted workers’ rights on Wednesday. Following a Supreme Court defeat last month, the Silicon Valley-based company reclassified its more than 70,000 drivers in Britain as workers, meaning they are guaranteed entitlements such as holiday pay. On the minimum wage, which stands at 8.72 pounds ($12.13) per hour for those aged 25 and over, Uber said it would apply “after accepting a trip request and after expenses” and that…

North Korea so far has rebuffed entreaties from the United States to engage in dialogue, the White House said on Monday, as a chill in relations that began under then-President Donald Trump has extended into Joe Biden’s presidency. Nuclear-armed North Korea gave up on diplomacy with Trump even though he and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had three high-profile summit meetings and exchanged a series of letters. Trump had refused North Korean entreaties to relax sanctions against Pyongyang unless Kim took steps to dismantle his nuclear program, which he refused to do. Biden White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told…

Listed companies in the UAE now need to have at least one female director on their boards, according to the Securities and Commodities Authority. The requirement for all companies on local markets came into force following a board meeting on Sunday by the market’s regulator. The UAE’s markets must be elevated “to meet the highest global standards”, the head of the SCA’s board and Minister of Economy Abdulla Bin Touq said in a statement. This “is a priority for the SCA and its board during the coming period and we will work with all partners to enhance the local investment…