Author: News Desk

Health experts put Tokyo on the highest alert for coronavirus infections on Wednesday, alarmed by a recent spike in cases to record levels, while the governor of the Japanese capital said the situation was “rather severe”. The resurgence of the virus in Tokyo could add to the growing pressure on policymakers to shore up the world’s No.3 economy, which analysts say is set to shrink at its fastest pace in decades this fiscal year due to the pandemic. “It is a fact that the number of patients is going up quite a bit and exceeding peaks,” said Norio Ohmagari, director…

Oman has registered eight deaths and a huge increase of 1,679 new cases of coronavirus, of which the majority of the cases are from citizens by 1,313 and the rest 366 from foreigners. This takes the total COVID-19 cases in the sultanate to 61,247. The death toll reached 281 after reporting the new deaths. ♦ Oman to start allowing citizens to travel abroad Meanwhile, 1,051 new recoveries were announced, bringing the total to 39,038. 613 tests were conducted across the sultanate in the past 24 hours. So far 253,444 COVID-19 tests have been conducted. In March, Oman began to introduce lockdowns…

Bahrain has announced two more death from coronavirus, a male citizen aged 71 and a male expatriate aged 41. The death toll has soared to 114. It’s the third death recorded from COVID-19 today. The MOH expressed its condolences to the family of the deceased. ♦ Bahrain adds $470 million in coronavirus impact spending to 2020 budget ♦ Incoming passengers must shoulder the cost of mandatory COVID-19 testing ♦ What are the side effects of post COVID-19?, explains Dr. Jameela Al Salman The total cases have driven to 34,078, which means that over 87 percent of the confirmed cases have recovered from the…

Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG) announced the winners of the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Business Leadership Awards 2020. Organised by the ADSG, and launched in 2015, the Awards are the region’s only independent annual awards for sustainability achievements. They are designed to showcase sustainability best practices and to raise awareness about the benefits of sustainable management practices for organisations. The winners this year are: Abu Dhabi Ports – Best Energy Management Initiative Award Abu Dhabi Nation Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) – Best Sustainability Initiative Award. Yusuff Ali MA, Chairman, Lulu Group – Sustainability Leader of the Year Award. Shayma Al Mazrouei, of…

Spotify on Tuesday launched its music streaming service in Russia, the fastest growing international market for music, and 12 other regions as part of its expansion strategy after breaking into India last year. It will begin offering free and subscription services in 13 new markets, which include Albania, Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Moldavia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Ukraine. Spotify Chief Executive Daniel Ek has discussed Spotify’s goal of launching in Russia and South Korea during the company’s first-quarter earnings call, but he did not specify the timing. Spotify will be in 92 global markets after these…

Oman will start allowing its citizens to fly outside the country, but they must apply with authorities to do so and quarantine upon their return, state television reported on Tuesday. Oman TV also said on its Twitter account that the Gulf Arab state had decided to maintain a lockdown on two regions, Dhofar and Masirah, without specifying for how long. The sultanate has been gradually easing coronavirus restrictions that were imposed in March. Oman TV did not specify when Omani citizens would be able to travel abroad.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday will lay out an ambitious climate plan that would seek to spend $2 trillion in his first term as president investing in clean-energy infrastructure while vowing to cut carbon emissions from electrical power to zero in 15 years. The plan, which Biden will detail at a campaign event in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, signifies a more aggressive approach on climate policy than he adopted during the Democratic presidential primary – a nod to progressives within the party who have been clamoring for swift action. Biden frequently refers to climate change as “an…

Ty Gibson, 20, of Greensboro, North Carolina, brushed off speculation last week on TikTok that his favorite video sharing platform was going to be banned. By Thursday, users panicked after a glitch on the service erased video views, a measure of video popularity. Suddenly, news reports of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s threats to block Chinese-owned apps like TikTok hit home as he watched other users flood the app with goodbyes. U.S. lawmakers have raised national security concerns over TikTok’s handling of user data, and said they were worried it would be required to share data with the Chinese…

Ukraine’s parliament passed a bill on Tuesday ending a decade-long ban on gambling in a move aimed at boosting budget revenues by almost $150 million a year. Ukraine’s economy has been gutted by a six-year-long military conflict with Russia-backed separatists in the east and is under additional pressure from the coronavirus pandemic. The government expects casinos, bookmakers and slot machine operators to contribute at least four billion hryvnias (about $148 million) to the state budget annually through taxes and licence fees. Lawmaker Oleh Marusyak, a member of the president’s Servant of the People party and author of the bill, said…

Kuwait has reported 666 new coronavirus cases, of which 421 are citizens, taking the total confirmed cases in the country to 56,174, according to the health ministry. 3 patients died of the virus in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of deaths to 396. Kuwait has the world’s 34th highest number of coronavirus infections just over UAE. Meanwhile, 805 new recoveries have been reported in the country, raising the total recoveries to 46,161. Kuwait has done 3,721 NP swab tests in the past 24 hours, as the country ramps up its efforts to test more people and detect cases early.…