Countries scramble for ways to treat coronavirus as global number soars to 3.3 million

The UAE recently announced a breakthrough in coronavirus treatment. (File/AFP)
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Updated 02 May 2020
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Countries scramble for ways to treat coronavirus as global number soars to 3.3 million

  • The global coronavirus infections stood over 3.3 million early on Saturday, with more than 238,000 deaths

DUBAI: Countries have intensified efforts to find a treatment for COVID-19, with the UAE recently announcing a breakthrough at a stem cell center in Abu Dhabi.

According to the UAE’s state news agency WAM, the aerosol treatment has undergone and successfully passed the first stage of clinical trials with further tests to demonstrate its effectiveness being carried out over the next two weeks.

The global coronavirus infections stood over 3.3 million early on Saturday, with more than 238,000 deaths.

May 2, 2020 (All times in GMT)

20:41 - Saudi Arabia isolates Dammam second industrial city, preventing entry and exit starting Sunday until further notice.

18:25 - Yemen reports three new cases of coronavirus, two in Aden and one in Taiz. 

17:42 - The UAE announced 561 new cases of coronavirus and the death of eight patients.  

16:31 - Egypt announced 298 new cases of coronavirus on Saturday bringing the total number of cases in the country to 6,193. 

16:29 - Turkey's coronavirus death toll rises by 78 to 3,336 with 1,983 new cases confirmed, according to the health ministry.

16:07 - Italy death toll from coronavirus outbreak rises by 474 (vs 269 on Friday) to 28,710, while the total number of confirmed cases rises by 1,900 to 209,328.

15:17 - Algeria announced 141 new cases of coronavirus and 6 deaths on Saturday.  

15:08 - UK government says virus death toll up 621 to 28,131.

13:35 - The governor of Taiz in Yemen has decided to close access to the province to prevent the spread of coronavirus. The province's mosques and markets will close and large gatherings are prohibited.

13:01 - Saudi Health Ministry records 1,362 new coronavirus cases and seven deaths in the Kingdom.

12:40 - Joggers, cyclists and surfers across Spain hurried out their homes on Saturday, allowed to exercise outdoors for the first time in seven weeks as the government began easing tough coronavirus restrictions.

12:20 - France extends health emergency until July 24.

11:45 - Iran’s death toll from the new coronavirus increased by 65 in the past 24 hours to 6,156 on Saturday, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said.

11:25 - Kuwait reports 242 new #oronavirus cases, raising the total number of infected people to 4,619.

11:20 - Lebanon reports one coronavirus death, five new cases, raising number of infected patients to 733 with fatalities at 25.

11:05 - Spain’s number of coronavirus cases rises to 216,582 on Saturday from 215,216 on Friday, said its health ministry.

10:45 - Popstars Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber will team up for the first time in their careers to duet on a benefit project for emergency workers on the coronavirus frontline. FULL STORY HERE.

10:35 - Qatar confirms 776 new coronavirus cases, bringing total to 14,872.

10:30 - Bahrain has recorded 103 new coronavirus patients.

10:17 - Lebanon has reported one coronavirus death and five new cases, raising the number of infected patients to 733 with fatalities at 25.

10:06 - Iran’s death toll from new coronavirus increased by 65 in the past 24 hours to 6,156, Health Ministry spokesman Kianush Jahanpur said in a statement on state TV.
The total number of diagnosed cases in Iran, one of the hardest hit Middle Eastern countries, has reached 96,448, he said, adding that 2,787 were in critical condition.

09:50 - Over 1.5 million cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Europe, just under half the worldwide total, according to an AFP tally.
With at least 1,506,853 infections, including 140,260 deaths, Europe is the hardest-hit continent. Across the world, 3,350,224 cases and 238,334 deaths have been recorded.

09:33 - Spain’s coronavirus death toll hit 25,100  after 276 people died overnight, the health ministry said. Total cases rose to 216,582 from 215,216 on Friday.
Spain has had one of the worst outbreaks in the world, but is past its peak and gradually easing lockdown restrictions.

09:15 - 101 people have recovered from coronavirus in Kuwait, raising the total number of recoveries to 1,703.

09:04 - Pakistan's total number of coronavirus infected people has reached 18,000, including 417 deaths.

09:01 - Indonesia recorded 292 new coronavirus cases, taking the total number of infections to 10,843, said health ministry official, Achmad Yurianto.
Yurianto also reported 31 new deaths, taking the total number of fatalities to 831. The number of people who have recovered from COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, rose by 74 to 1,665, he said.
The country has tested more than 79,800 people for the virus, he said.

08:44 - Malaysia reported 105 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 6,176.
The number of deaths remained at 103, unchanged from Friday.

08:43 -  Russia reported 9,623 new cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, its highest daily rise, bringing the total to 124,054.
The nationwide death toll rose to 1,222 after 57 people died in the last 24 hours, Russia’s coronavirus crisis response center said, after revising the previous day’s tally.

08:29 - The Philippines said it has recorded 156 new cases of the novel coronavirus and 24 more deaths, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 8,928 and the fatalities to 603.
It also said that 40 more individuals had recovered from infections, bringing the recoveries to 1,124.

08:27 - Sudan has registered 91 new coronavirus patients and 7 deaths. Earlier in April, the UAE sent seven tons of medical supplies to Sudan to support their efforts against the coronavirus, state news agency WAM reported.
The shipment reached over 7,000 healthcare professionals and included test kit supplies.

08:00 - Gilead Science Inc’s antiviral drug remdesivir has been granted emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration for COVID-19 on Friday, clearing the way for broader use of the drug in more hospitals around the United States.

During a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House with President Donald Trump, Gilead Chief Executive Daniel O’Day called the move an important first step and said the company was donating 1.5 million vials of the drug to help patients.

08:00 - Oman has reported a further 36 people testing positive for the coronavirus, raising the total of infected patients to 2,483.

Whole areas of Oman remain under a strict lockdown – including the capital, Muscat.

06:00 - Yemen reports its first known case of coronavirus in  the southwestern Taiz governorate, raising the number of reported diagnosed infections to seven with two deaths in one of the world's most vulnerable countries.

But the United Nations says it fears there are more infections as the virus could be spreading undetected.

04:08 – Singapore has announced it was easing its lockdown in the country over the next few weeks.

It will allow some businesses to reopen on May 12, and some students will be able to go to schools in small groups on May 19.

02:38 – Germany has reported 945 new cases of COVID-19, raising the total to 161,703 with 94 new fatalities. Death toll stood at 6,575.

02:30 - A small coronavirus cluster has emerged at a meat factory in the Australian state of Victoria, health officials said on Saturday, as parts of the country started easing social distancing restrictions after suppressing the infection rate to below 1 percent.


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

Updated 15 November 2024
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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

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.”


Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Updated 15 November 2024
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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

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.” 


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

Updated 14 November 2024
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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

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.


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

Updated 14 November 2024
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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

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.


US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

Updated 14 November 2024
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US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

  • The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah

BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told Reuters, without revealing details.
The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.