DUBAI: Middle East countries continue to ease lockdown restrictions amid steady coronavirus cases being reported.
Saudi Arabia will resume sports activities starting June 21, allowing clubs to continue their practices, state news agency SPA reported. The decision was made following a coordination with a committee responsible for following up the status of coronavirus in the state, the Ministry of Sport said.
Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s mosques except those in Makkah and Jeddah, have reopened for Friday prayers.
Friday, June 12, 2020 (All times in GMT)
13:12 – Beijing closed two markets and delayed the return of primary school students after three fresh coronavirus cases emerged in the capital — the first after two months of no infections in the city. READ MORE
13:00 – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised people not to attend demonstrations this weekend, and said that anyone attacking public property or the police would face “the full force of the law”. “My message to everybody is that for all sorts of reasons they should not go,” he told Sky News.
12:55 – Prosecutors questioned Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte over his handling of the coronavirus emergency, his office confirmed.
12:50 – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday showed up at a ceremony marking the national holiday — the first big public event he has attended since announcing a nationwide lockdown more than two months ago. Putin observed the hoisting of the national flag at a memorial park in western Moscow and then took part in an award ceremony. He wasn't wearing a mask, and neither did most of those he awarded with Hero of Russia medals.
President Vladimir Putin says the "absolute majority" of Russians back his controversial plan to change the constitution, as he makes his first public appearance after weeks of lockdown. Putin greeted his compatriots at an open-air flag-raising ceremony in western Moscow to mark Russia Day, a public holiday. (AFP)
12:47 – Saudi Arabia reported 3,921 new coronavirus cases, bringing total infections to 119,942. The total number of patients who recovered meanwhile rose to 81,029 with 1,010 patients cleared from COVID-19. The death toll rose to 893 after 36 new fatalities were reported.
12:30 – Dubai has permitted the reopening of pools and the resumption of water sports activities as efforts to ease coronavirus restrictions continue.
11:49 – Iran reported 75 deaths and more than 2,000 new cases of coronavirus Friday as calls mounted for all people to wear masks in public.
Nearly one in five Iranians may have been infected with the coronavirus since the country’s outbreak started in February, a health official said. (AFP)
11:07 – The president of the French Council of the Muslim Faith, Mohamed Moussaoui, called on Muslims in France to postpone their Hajj pilgrimage until next year. READ MORE
10:57 – Kuwait has recorded 520 new coronavirus cases, increasing the toll of infected people to 34,952.
10:23 – Qatar has confirmed 1,517 new coronavirus cases, bringing total number of infected people to 76,588.
10:14 – Britain’s economy shrank by a fifth in size during April as the coronavirus lockdown shuttered factories, offices and shops, official data showed. READ MORE
09:57 – The Philippines reported 615 more coronavirus infections, bringing its total number of confirmed cases to 24,787.
09:10 – Oman has confirmed1,117 new coronavirus cases, bringing total number of infected people to 21,071.
08:15 – Russia reported 8,779 new coronavirus cases, bringing its nationwide tally of infections to 511,423.
07:28 – British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair said on Friday they have launched legal action against the UK government over what they said was a “flawed” coronavirus quarantine system.
05:58 – Kuwait’s Higher Committee for Re-operating Flights at Kuwait International Airport will consider proposals for a gradual resumption of commercial flights, state news agency KUNA said.
05:46 – Dubai carrier Emirates will operate flights to repatriate Egyptian citizens to Cairo amid the coronavirus outbreak, state news agency WAM reported.
05:32 – Turkish Airlines will resume some international flights this month to China, South Korea and the United States among other destinations, a day after it began restarting such services.
05:25 – Thailand will lift nationwide curfew on June 15 as coronavirus situation has improved, an official said.
04:54 – The UAE has recorded 479 new coronavirus cases overnight after conducting additional 45,000 tests, raising the country’s caseload to 40,986, health ministry officials said.
04:14 – India reported a total of 297,535 coronavirus infections, surpassing the United Kingdom to become the fourth worst affected country in the world.
