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The world continues to bear the loss of human lives and revenue amid coronavirus crisis

Above, a boarded up shop in San Francisco, California as the US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 5,000 late on April, 1, 2020. (AFP)
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Updated 03 April 2020
Arab News
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The world continues to bear the loss of human lives and revenue amid coronavirus crisis

  • US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 5,000 late Wednesday
  • Arab airlines incurred over $8 billion in losses since the outbreak of coronavirus
Updated 03 April 2020
Arab News

DUBAI: The world continues to bear the burden of loved ones and revenue as the coronavirus pandemic rages on.

In the United States, the death toll topped 5,000 late Wednesday, lower than those of Spain and Italy but above China where the virus conflagration first emanated in December, and now leads the world in the number of coronavirus cases.

Middle East governments meanwhile continue to implement measures to contain the spread of coronavirus and mitigate its devastating effects to the private sector and its residents.

Thursday, April 2 (All times in GMT)

19:53 - Egypt reported 86 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday bringing the total number of cases to 865. Six people have also died of the virus, with 58 people dying in total.

18:43 - Qatar reported 114 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases to 949. 

18:09 - The World Bank on Thursday approved a plan to roll out $160 billion in emergency aid over 15 months to help countries deal with the impact of the global coronavirus pandemic.
The board of the Washington-based development lender announced the first set of fast-track crisis funding, with an initial $1.9 billion going to projects in 25 countries, and operations moving forward in another 40 nations, the bank said in a statement.
India will be the largest beneficiary of the first wave of programs with a facility for $1 billion, followed by Pakistan with $200 million and Afghanistan with a little over $100 million, but funding is going to countries on nearly every continent, the bank said.

17:51 -  Britain is looking at issuing immunity certificates to people who have developed resistance to the coronavirus, but there needs to be more research into the science behind it, health minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday.
People who have had COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, develop antibodies to fight the virus, but it is unclear how long any immunity they develop lasts.
"(An immunity certificate) is an important thing that we will be doing and are looking at but it's too early in the science of the immunity that comes from having had the disease," Hancock said at a news conference.
"It's too early in that science to be able to put clarity around that. I wish that we could but the reason that we can't is because the science isn't yet advanced enough." 

17:45 - The number of cumulative known deaths from coronavirus in France surged to nearly 5,400 on Thursday as the country started including fatalities in nursing homes in its data.
Jerome Salomon, head of the public health authority, said the number of coronavirus-related deaths in hospitals rose 12% on Thursday to 4,503 from a day earlier.
He added that a provisional tally showed that a cumulative 884 people in total had died in nursing homes. This makes for a total of 5,387 lives lost to coronavirus in France.
Salomon said the number of known infections rose to 59,105 from 56,989 in France. The number of patients requiring life support rose to 6,399 from 6,017 on Wednesday.

17:19 -  Jordan reports 21 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 299.

17:15 -  Morocco reports 49 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 691. 

16:43 – Jordan imposes a complete curfew from midnight.

16:20 – Death toll from coronavirus in Italy has climbed by 760 to 13,915, slightly higher than the daily rise of 727 registered a day earlier.

15:47 – Tunisia records 33 more cases of coronavirus infections, bringing the tally to a total of 455.

15:30 – Egyptian Prime Minister says that while the country has 850 cases of coronavirus infections and they are "still far from the dangerous stage," while also announcing that a number of villages have been locked down.

15:20 – Iran’s parliament says speaker Ali Larijani has tested positive for the new coronavirus and is in quarantine.

14:06 – President Vladimir Putin ordered most Russians to stay off work until the end of April due to the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday.

14:00 – Four soldiers in West Africa have tested positive for coronavirus, the French army said on Thursday.
The army also said that three of the infected soldiers have been repatriated to France. 

13:09 – The United Kingdom's death toll from the coronavirus rose 24 percent to 2,921 as of April 1.
As of 0800 GMT on April 2, a total of 163,194 people had been tested of which 33,718 tested positive, the health ministry said.
"Of those hospitalised in the UK who tested positive for coronavirus, 2,921 have sadly died," the health ministry said.

12:25 – The number of deaths caused by an infection with the new coronavirus in the Netherlands has increased by 166 to 1,339, health authorities said.

12:15 - Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior implemented a 24-hour curfew in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah on Thursday to limit the spread of coronavirus, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

11:21 – More than a half of Britons think Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government was too slow to order a lockdown to slow the spread of coronavirus, according an opinion poll published on Thursday. READ THE STORY

10:23 – Europe has recorded over 500,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. Over 95 percent who died in Europe due to coronavirus were over 60, the World Health Organization said.

09:43 – Iran’s total number of infected people with coronavirus increases to 50,468, while deaths have risen 3,160.

WATCH: Our web-shooting super hero Spider-Man pays residents of Stockport in the UK a visit while they stay at home, and stay safe from coronavirus.

09:40 – Spain’s coronavirus death toll rose to 10,003 on Thursday from 9,053 on Wednesday, while total cases increased 110,238 from 102,136 a day earlier.

09:34 – The UAE council of ministers has decided to reduce the daily maximum limit for the decline of shares to 5 percent from 10 percent to support the economy during the coronavirus pandemic.

09:16 – Kuwait has recorded 25 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infected patients to 342.

09:13 – Palestine has confirmed 21 new coronavirus cases.

09:12 – Belgium has reported 183  new coronavirus deaths bringing the total to 1,111.

09:00 – The Philippines’ health ministry on Thursday recorded 11 new deaths and 322 additional cases from the coronavirus outbreak.

08:58 – Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum has said the airline has received approval to resume a limited number of passenger flights starting April 6.

08:25 – The venture capital arm of Abu Dhabi state investor Mubadala plans to launch a health care fund next year to tap into increased demand for investment in life sciences and digital health technology following the coronavirus outbreak. FOR THE STORY

08:25 – Russia has recorded six deaths and 771 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total to 30 deaths and 3,548 cases.

08:22 – Spain has shed close to 900,000 jobs, more than half of them temporary, since it went into lockdown in mid-March to fight the coronavirus outbreak, social security data showed on Thursday. READ TTHE STORY

08:02 – Kuwait’s central bank announced a stimulus package on Thursday to support vital sectors and small and medium enterprises amid the fallout from the coronavirus epidemic.

WATCH: Tennis world number one Novak Djokovic gets creative to pass the time and stay in shape as the coronavirus pandemic brought the tennis season to a halt.

08:00 – The Philippines’ ambassador to Lebanon Bernardita Catalla has died of coronavirus, the Philippine foreign affairs ministry said.

07:57 – Thailand will implement a nationwide curfew between 10p.m. and 4a.m. starting Friday, a government statement said.

07:48 – Morocco recorded 22 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total at 676.

07:17 – The head of Israel’s Mossad has been quarantined after being in contact with the health minister who tested positive for coronavirus. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also remain in quarantine until next Wednesday.

07:12 – Bahrain has confirmed 241 new coronavirus cases; all patients arrived from Iran.




Hand sanitizers are packed at Dhaman Medical Company in Hidd, Bahrain in this March 25, 2020 photo. (Reuters)

06:59 – Oman has recorded 21 new coronavirus cases.

06:57 – China’s Foreign Ministry, asked about US doubting accuracy of China’s coronavirus data, said US officials have been making shameless comments and their actions are immoral.

06:20 – New York rushed to bring in an army of medical volunteers as the statewide death toll from the coronavirus doubled in 72 hours to more than 1,900, while the global number of people diagnosed with the illness edged closer to 1 million on Thursday. READ THE STORY

06:02 – Australia’s national science agency said on Thursday it has commenced the first stage of testing potential vaccines for COVID-19, as it joins a global race to halt the coronavirus pandemic. READ THE STORY

06:00 – British Airways has been in talks with its union about a plan to suspend around 32,000 staff in response to the coronavirus pandemic, a person familiar with the situation said.
The British flag carrier has cut flights and warned it will need to cut jobs to survive the outbreak as the battered aviation sector frantically seeks to cut costs.

05:55 – The US Navy is evacuating thousands of sailors from the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt in Guam after its captain warned a coronavirus outbreak was threatening the lives of the crew.

05:55 – Kuwait confirmed one new coronavirus recovery, bringing total to 81. The country has reported 317 cases so far.

05:42 – Thailand reported 104 new coronavirus cases and three new deaths.




Medical staff dressed in protective gear test a woman for the COVID-19 novel coronavirus at a drive-through testing centre at Vibhavadi Hospital in Bangkok on March 25, 2020. (File/AFP)

05:29 – North Korea remains totally free of the coronavirus, a senior health official in Pyongyang has insisted, despite mounting skepticism overseas as confirmed global infections near one million.

05:09 – Israel’s coronavirus deaths reached 30, officials said.




Israeli police talk to a driver at a checkpoint in the city of Bnei Brak, a city near Tel Aviv with a largely ultra-Orthodox population, on March 31, 2020. (File/AFP)

04:56 – Australia announced free childcare for six months as part of a bid to keep businesses operating through the coronavirus pandemic, as data on new infections supported early signs of “flattening the curve.” READ THE STORY

04:56 – Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman and his wife have tested positive for the coronavirus and have undergone quarantine, his office said late Wednesday.

02:48 – The US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 5,000 late Wednesday, according to a running tally from Johns Hopkins University.

At about 0235 GMT Thursday, 5,116 people had died, the tally showed, on the same day the United States set a one-day record of 884 people killed in 24 hours.

LOOK: The usually bustling streets of Saudi Arabia have gone silent as the Kingdom’s curfew measures remain in place to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

02:12 – A woman from the Kokama ethnic group in the Amazon rainforest is the first indigenous person in Brazil to test positive for the new coronavirus, authorities said.  The coronavirus pandemic has fueled fears about the possible impact for indigenous peoples in the Amazon, who are particularly vulnerable to imported diseases.

01:31 – IAG-owned British Airways is expected to announce a suspension of about 36,000 of its employees, BBC News reported.

The airline has reached a broad deal with Unite union that will include suspension of jobs of 80 percent of BA’s cabin crew, ground staff, engineers and those working at head office, the news agency reported, adding that no staff were expected to be made redundant.

01:04 – Singapore suffered its fourth coronavirus-related death on Thursday, a day after the city-state reported a record number of new cases that took the island-state’s total infections to 1,000.

00:00 – A British man accused of smuggling a phony coronavirus cure into the United States was charged Wednesday with a federal crime, prosecutors said. Frank Richard Ludlow, 59, of West Sussex was charged in Los Angeles federal court with introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce and could face up to three years in federal prison if convicted, according to the US attorney’s office.

Wednesday, April 1 (All times in GMT)

23:00 – Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has signed a declaration that Tahya Misr (Long Live) Egypt, a donation-based national fund, will take care of the expense of quarantine for Egyptians evacuated from abroad over the novel coronavirus. Sisi’s decision comes a day after many Egyptian nationals who arrived from Britain and Kuwait refused to be quarantined for 14 days at their expense.

16:00 – Arab airlines incurred over $8 billion in losses since the outbreak of coronavirus, the Arab Air Carriers’ Organization said. “In the Arab world, millions of reservations have been canceled so far with airlines and hotels in various countries, and the flow of pilgrims to the world’s leading Arab tourist destinations has stopped. Thousands of flights to Arab airlines have been canceled, and 800 aircraft belonging to them have been stopped at airports so far,” a statement said.

Topics: Coronavirus

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Israel’s warfare in Gaza consistent with genocide, UN committee finds

Updated 15 November 2024
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Israel’s warfare in Gaza consistent with genocide, UN committee finds

  • Committee’s report states ‘Israeli officials have publicly supported policies that strip Palestinians of the very necessities required to sustain life’
  • It raises ‘serious concern’ about Israel’s use of AI to choose targets ‘with minimal human oversight,’ resulting in ‘overwhelming’ casualties among women and children
Updated 15 November 2024
Ephrem Kossaify

NEW YORK: Israel’s methods of warfare in Gaza, including the use of starvation as a weapon, mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions deliberately inflicted on Palestinians in the territory, are consistent with the characteristics of genocide, the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices said in a report published on Thursday.

“Since the beginning of the war, Israeli officials have publicly supported policies that strip Palestinians of the very necessities required to sustain life: food, water and fuel,” the committee said.

Statements from Israeli authorities and the “systematic and unlawful” blocking of humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza make clear “Israel’s intent to instrumentalize life-saving supplies for political and military gains,” it added.

The committee, the full title of which is the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian people and other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, was established by the UN General Assembly in 1968 to monitor the human rights situation in the occupied Golan heights, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. It comprises the permanent representatives to the UN from three member states, currently Malaysia, Senegal and Sri Lanka, who are appointed by the president of the General Assembly.

Its latest report, which covers the period from October 2023 to July 2024, mostly focuses on the effects of the war in Gaza on the rights of Palestinians.

“Through its siege over Gaza, obstruction of humanitarian aid, alongside targeted attacks and killing of civilians and aid workers, despite repeated UN appeals, binding orders from the International Court of Justice and resolutions of the Security Council, Israel is intentionally causing death, starvation and serious injury, using starvation as a method of war and inflicting collective punishment on the Palestinian population,” the committee said.

The “extensive” Israeli bombing campaign has wiped out essential services in Gaza and caused an “environmental catastrophe” that will have “lasting health impacts,” it adds.

By early 2024, the report says, more than 25,000 tonnes of explosives, equivalent to two nuclear bombs, had been dropped on Gaza, causing “massive” destruction, the collapse of water and sanitation systems, agricultural devastation and toxic pollution. This has created a “lethal mix of crises that will inflict severe harm on generations to come,” the committee said.

The report notes “serious concern” about Israel’s use of artificial intelligence technology to choose its targets “with minimal human oversight,” the consequence of which has been “overwhelming” numbers of deaths of women and children. This underscores “Israel’s disregard of its obligation to distinguish between civilians and combatants and take adequate safeguards to prevent civilian deaths,” it adds.

In addition, Israel’s escalating censorship of the media and targeting of journalists are “deliberate efforts” to block global access to information, the committee found, and the report states that social media companies have disproportionately removed “pro-Palestinian content” in comparison with posts inciting violence against Palestinians.

The committee also condemned the continuing “smear campaign” and other attacks on the reputation of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, and the wider UN.

“This deliberate silencing of reporting, combined with disinformation and attacks on humanitarian workers, is a clear strategy to undermine the vital work of the UN, sever the lifeline of aid still reaching Gaza, and dismantle the international legal order,” it said.

It called on all states to honor their legal obligations to stop and prevent violations of international law by Israel, including the system of apartheid that operates in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and to hold Israeli authorities accountable for their actions.

“Upholding international law and ensuring accountability for violations rests squarely on member states,” the committee said.

Failure to do this weakens “the very core of the international legal system and sets a dangerous precedent, allowing atrocities to go unchecked.”

The committee will officially present its report to the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly on Monday.

Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

Updated 15 November 2024
Reuters
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Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

  • National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized for interfering in police matters
Updated 15 November 2024
Reuters

JERUSALEM, Nov 14 : Israel’s Attorney General told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reevaluate the tenure of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his apparent interference in police matters, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
The news channel published a copy of a letter written by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in which she described instances of “illegitimate interventions” in which Ben-Gvir, who is tasked with setting general policy, gave operational instructions that threaten the police’s apolitical status.
“The concern is that the government’s silence will be interpreted as support for the minister’s behavior,” the letter said.
Officials at the Justice Ministry could not be reached for comment and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultra-nationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, wrote on social media after the letter was published: “The attempted coup by (the Attorney General) has begun. The only dismissal that needs to happen is that of the Attorney General.”

Topics: War on Gaza Itamar Ben Gvir Benjamin Netanyahu Israel

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Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Updated 15 November 2024
Arab News
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Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

  • Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities
Updated 15 November 2024
Arab News

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished the office of the Palestinian Al-Bustan Association in occupied East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Silwan, whose residents are under threat of Israeli eviction orders. 

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Culture condemned on Thursday the demolition of Al-Bustan by Israeli bulldozers and a military police force. 

The ministry said that “(Israeli) occupation’s arrogant practices against cultural and community institutions in Palestine, and specifically in Jerusalem, are targeting the Palestinian identity, in an attempt to obliterate it.” 

Founded in 2004, the Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities alongside hosting meetings for diplomatic delegations and Western journalists who came to learn about controversial Israeli policies in the area. 

Al-Bustan said in a statement that it served 1,500 people in Silwan, most of them children, who enrolled in educational, cultural and artistic workshops. In addition to the Al-Bustan office, Israeli forces also demolished a home in the neighborhood belonging to the Al-Qadi family. 

Located less than a mile from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s southern ancient wall, Silwan has a population of 65,000 Palestinians, some of them under threat of Israeli eviction orders.  

In past years, Israeli authorities have been carrying out archaeological digging under Palestinian homes in Silwan, resulting in damage to these buildings, in search of the three-millennial “City of David.” 

Topics: Silwan Jerusalem Israel Occupation

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Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

Updated 14 November 2024
Reuters
AFP
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Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

  • Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack
Updated 14 November 2024
Reuters AFP

CAIRO: An Israeli strike killed 12 people after it hit a civil defense center in Lebanon’s city of Baalbek on Thursday, the regional governor told Reuters adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Lebanese city, health ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civil defense official Samir Chakia said: “The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek has been targeted, five Civil Defense rescuers were killed.”
Bachir Khodr the regional governor said more than 20 rescuers had been at the facility at the time of the strike.

Topics: Battlefield Lebanon Baalbek Israeli strike Lebanese Civil Defense

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‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

Updated 14 November 2024
Arab News
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‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

  • Workers complete reconstruction of 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque
  • Tower and mosque were blown by Daesh extremists in 2017
Updated 14 November 2024
Arab News

High above the narrow streets and low-rise buildings of Mosul’s old city, beaming workers hoist an Iraqi flag into the sky atop one of the nation’s most famous symbols of resilience.

Perched precariously on scaffolding in high-vis jackets and hard hats, the workers celebrate a milestone in Iraq’s recovery from the traumatic destruction and bloodshed that once engulfed the city.

On Wednesday, the workers placed the last brick that marked the completed reconstruction of the 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque. The landmark was destroyed by Daesh in June 2017 shortly before Iraqi forces drove the extremist group from the city.

Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the 45-meter-tall minaret, which famously leant to one side, dominated the Mosul skyline for centuries. The tower has been painstakingly rebuilt as part of a UNESCO project, matching the traditional stone and brick masonry and incorporating the famous lean.

“Today UNESCO celebrates a landmark achievement,” the UN cultural agency’s Iraq office said. “The completion of the shaft of the Al-Hadba Minaret marks a new milestone in the revival of the city, with and for the people of Mosul. 

“UNESCO is grateful for the incredible teamwork that made this vision a reality. Together, we’ve created a powerful symbol of resilience, a true testament to international cooperation. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey.”

The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites. The UAE donated $50 million to the project and UNESCO said that the overall Al-Nuri Mosque complex restoration will be finished by the end of the year.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay celebrated the completion of the minaret by posting “We did it!” on social media site X.

She thanked donors, national and local authorities in Iraq and the experts and professionals, “many of whom are Moslawis,” who worked to rebuild the minaret.

“Can’t wait to return to Mosul to celebrate the full completion of our work,” she said.

The Al-Nuri mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Seljuk ruler Nur Al-Din. 

After Daesh seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.

Three years later, the extremists detonated explosives to destroy the mosque and minaret as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.

Topics: UNESCO Mosul Iraq Daesh Grand Al-Nuri Mosque

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