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Dubai restricts numbers in hotels and malls in bid to slow COVID-19

A man and a woman walk at the Dubai Mall after the Emirati authorities eased some of the restrictions that were put in place in a bid to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, in Dubai, on May 27, 2020. (AFP/File)
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Updated 02 February 2021
Arab News
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Dubai restricts numbers in hotels and malls in bid to slow COVID-19

  • UAE records nine deaths and 2,730 new cases in previous 24 hours
  • Kuwait records 586 cases, Bahrain reports 525 cases and 1 death
Updated 02 February 2021
Arab News

DUBAI: Dubai has cut the number of people allowed in shopping malls and hotels as part of new measures to halt a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections.
From Tuesday, bars will close and cinemas, cafes and restaurants will also face restrictions.
The measures come as the UAE is increasingly concerned by the rise in cases since December.
The Emirates on Monday recorded nine deaths and 2,730 new coronavirus infections from the previous 24 hours. While the figures have reduced from last week’s record highs of almost 4,000 cases a day, they remain far higher than in May when the UAE entered a strict lockdown.

Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management said the new measures, that will be in place until the end of the month, were taken in response to “daily reports (that) have shown a marked increase in the number of violations being committed.”
Indoor seated venues such as cinemas and sports arenas can now only operate at half their capacity, while hotels and shopping malls must cut the number of visitors to 70 percent.
Pubs and bars have closed completely and restaurants and cafes must close by 1 a.m.
The committee said it would intensify inspection visits and tougher penalties would be imposed on violators.

The public have been encouraged to report any violations by individuals or businesses to Dubai Police.
“Enforcing preventive protocols and observing health and safety guidelines remains the most effective method to combating the virus,” the committee said.
The total number of cases in the UAE since the pandemic began had reached 306,339, while the death toll is now 859.
But the Emirates has been one of the fastest countries in the world to roll out its vaccination program.
The health ministry said 106,615 people were vaccinated in 24 hours and that the total number of doses administered had reached 3.448 million.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Kuwait reported 586 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total in the country to 165,843.

Oman’s health ministry confirmed 198 new cases and three deaths, bringing the national totals to 134,524 and 1,524, respectively.

In Bahrain the death toll stands at 376 after one new death was reported. The number of confirmed cases in the country increased by 525.

Topics: Dubai Coronavirus (COVID-19) Malls

Israel lacks ‘credible plan’ to safeguard Rafah civilians, says Blinken

Displaced Palestinians, who fled Jabalia after the Israeli military called on residents to evacuate, travel in a cart.
Updated 57 min 21 sec ago
Reuters
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Israel lacks ‘credible plan’ to safeguard Rafah civilians, says Blinken

  • Blinken said Biden determined to help Israel defend itself and shipment of 3,500 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs was only US weapons package being withheld
Updated 57 min 21 sec ago
Reuters

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday defended a decision to pause a delivery to Israel of 3,500 bombs over concerns they could be used in the Gazan city of Rafah, saying Israel lacked a “credible plan” to protect some 1.4 million civilians sheltering there.
Speaking to ABC News’ This Week, Blinken said that President Joe Biden remains determined to help Israel defend itself and that the shipment of 3,500 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs was the only US weapons package being withheld.
That could change, he said, if Israel launches a full-scale attack on Rafah, which Israel says it plans to invade to root out fighters of the ruling Hamas militant group.
Biden has made clear to Israel that if it “launches this major military operation to Rafah, then there are certain systems that we’re not going to be supporting and supplying for that operation,” said Blinken.
“We have real concerns about the way they’re used,” he continued. Israel needs to “have a clear, credible plan to protect civilians, which we haven’t seen.”
Rafah is hosting some 1.4 million Palestinians, most of them displaced from elsewhere in Gaza by fighting and Israeli bombardments, amid dire shortages of food and water.
The death toll in Israel’s military operation in Gaza has now passed at least 35,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The war was triggered by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which some 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 people taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel says 620 soldiers have been killed in the fighting.

Topics: War on Gaza US Secretary of State Antony Blinken rafah Israel

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Dubai laboratory develops AI technology to detect Legionella bacteria

Updated 12 May 2024
Arab News
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Dubai laboratory develops AI technology to detect Legionella bacteria

  • The AI system works by pinpointing live colonies of the bacteria
Updated 12 May 2024
Arab News

DUBAI: Dubai Central Laboratory has developed an artificial intelligence technology able to detect Legionella pulmonary bacteria, the first of its type in the Middle East region, the Emirates News Agency reported on Sunday.

The system works by pinpointing live colonies of the bacteria, which causes a variety of acute respiratory infections, and delivers examination results with an accuracy rate in quantifying bacterial counts of 99 percent, the report said.

The technology also streamlines work processes by reducing reliance on laboratory supplies, leading to faster completion times.

“This revolutionary method of detecting Legionella pulmonary bacteria is among the latest to be accredited globally by the European Water Testing Network. It also has a certificate of recognition from AOAC International,” Hind Mahmoud Ahmed, director of the Dubai Central Laboratory Department, said.

“The technology is very accurate and quick to produce results, typically needing 48 hours as opposed to the 14 days that traditional methods require.”

Laboratories conduct more than 100,000 tests every year to ensure the safety of various goods sold in Dubai.
 

Topics: Dubai

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UN chief calls for ‘immediate’ Gaza ceasefire, hostage release

Updated 12 May 2024
AFP
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UN chief calls for ‘immediate’ Gaza ceasefire, hostage release

  • Israeli strikes on Gaza continued Sunday after it expanded evacuation order for Rafah operation
  • Gaza war tearing families apart, rendering people homeless, hungry and traumatized, says UN chief
Updated 12 May 2024
AFP

KUWAIT CITY: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged an immediate halt to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the return of hostages and a “surge” in humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.
“I repeat my call, the world’s call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and an immediate surge in humanitarian aid,” Guterres said in a video address to an international donors’ conference in Kuwait.
“But a ceasefire will only be the start. It will be a long road back from the devastation and trauma of this war,” he added.
Israeli strikes on Gaza continued on Sunday after it expanded an evacuation order for Rafah despite international outcry over its military incursion into eastern areas of the city, effectively shutting a key aid crossing.
“The war in Gaza is causing horrific human suffering, devastating lives, tearing families apart and rendering huge numbers of people homeless, hungry and traumatized,” Guterres said.
His remarks were played at the opening of the conference in Kuwait organized by the International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) and the UN’s humanitarian coordination organization OCHA.
On Friday, in Nairobi, the UN head warned Gaza faced an “epic humanitarian disaster” if Israel launched a full-scale ground operation in Rafah.
Gaza’s bloodiest-ever war began following Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive that has killed more than 34,971 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Topics: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Gaza Ceasefire

UN chief calls for ‘immediate’ Gaza ceasefire, hostage release

Updated 12 May 2024
AFP
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UN chief calls for ‘immediate’ Gaza ceasefire, hostage release

  • UN chief: ‘The war in Gaza is causing horrific human suffering, devastating lives, tearing families apart and rendering huge numbers of people homeless, hungry and traumatized’
Updated 12 May 2024
AFP

KUWAIT CITY: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged an immediate halt to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, the return of hostages and a “surge” in humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory.
“I repeat my call, the world’s call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and an immediate surge in humanitarian aid,” Guterres said in a video address to an international donors’ conference in Kuwait.
“But a ceasefire will only be the start. It will be a long road back from the devastation and trauma of this war,” he added.
Israeli strikes on Gaza continued on Sunday after it expanded an evacuation order for Rafah despite international outcry over its military incursion into eastern areas of the city, effectively shutting a key aid crossing.
“The war in Gaza is causing horrific human suffering, devastating lives, tearing families apart and rendering huge numbers of people homeless, hungry and traumatized,” Guterres said.
His remarks were played at the opening of the conference in Kuwait organized by the International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) and the UN’s humanitarian coordination organization OCHA.
On Friday, in Nairobi, the UN head warned Gaza faced an “epic humanitarian disaster” if Israel launched a full-scale ground operation in Rafah.
Gaza’s bloodiest-ever war began following Hamas’s unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel launched a retaliatory offensive that has killed more than 34,971 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Topics: War on Gaza UN Israel Gaza Antonio Guterres

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Iran conservatives tighten grip in parliament vote

Updated 12 May 2024
AFP
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Iran conservatives tighten grip in parliament vote

  • Elected members are to choose a speaker for the 290-seat parliament when they begin their work on May 27
  • Conservatives won the majority of the 45 remaining seats up for grabs in the vote held in 15 of 31 provinces: local media
Updated 12 May 2024
AFP

TEHRAN: Iran’s conservatives and ultra-conservatives clinched more seats in a partial rerun of the country’s parliamentary elections, official results showed Saturday, tightening their hold on the chamber.

Voters had been called to cast ballots again on Friday in regions where candidates failed to gain enough votes in the March 1 election, which saw the lowest turnout — 41 percent — since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Candidates categorized as conservative or ultra-conservative on pre-election lists won the majority of the 45 remaining seats up for grabs in the vote held in 15 of Iran’s 31 provinces, according to local media.
For the first time in the country, voting on Friday was a completely electronic process at eight of the 22 constituencies in Tehran and the cities of Tabriz in the northwest and Shiraz in the south, state TV said.
“Usually, the participation in the second round is less than the first round,” Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi told reporters in Tehran, without specifying what the turnout was in the latest round.
“Contrary to some predictions, all the candidates had a relatively acceptable and good number of votes,” he added.
Elected members are to choose a speaker for the 290-seat parliament when they begin their work on May 27.
In March, 25 million Iranians took part in the election out of 61 million eligible voters.
The main coalition of reform parties, the Reform Front, had said ahead of the first round that it would not participate in “meaningless, non-competitive and ineffective elections.”
The vote was the first since nationwide protests broke out following the September 2022 death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, arrested for allegedly breaching the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
In the 2016 parliamentary elections, first-round turnout was above 61 percent, before falling to 42.57 percent in 2020 when elections took place during the Covid pandemic.
 

Topics: Iran Elections 2024 Iran

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