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UAE reports 2,950 new COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths

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Emiratis shop at the Dubai grand market, in the Gulf city of Dubai, on Jan. 6, 2021. (AFP)
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Members of UAE Team Emirates, including Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar (pictured), received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the UAE. (WAM)
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Members of UAE Team Emirates received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the UAE. (WAM)
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https://arab.news/6cg43

Updated 09 January 2021
Arab News
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UAE reports 2,950 new COVID-19 cases, 3 deaths

  • UAE says 2,218 have recovered over the past 24 hours
  • Kuwait records 495 cases and 2 deaths, Bahrain reports 397 cases and 1 death
Updated 09 January 2021
Arab News

DUBAI: The UAE on Friday recorded 2,950 new coronavirus cases and three virus-related deaths.
Officials from the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) said the total number of cases since the pandemic began had reached 224,704, while the death toll rose to 697.
It also said that 2,218 people had recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours. The total number of recoveries is 201,396.
G42 Healthcare, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi-based Group 42, has conducted a genome sequencing study that has identified the genomic source of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The new expanded study contributes to monitoring and identifying patterns of spread and developments of the virus since its first cases were recorded in the UAE. The full study will be published after its preparation as a comprehensive research paper,” the artificial intelligence company said on its website.
Ashish Koshy, CEO of G42 Healthcare, said: “Our genomics technology and scalable expertise strongly support the UAE’s national genome project, while also underpinning our groundbreaking work during the pandemic, which has enabled us to create unmatched solutions that will change the face of the health care sector for the better.”
The study provides additional information and data that will help monitor changes of the virus genome, “which will positively affect the country’s capabilities in facing any future epidemics.”
MoHAP said that 53,859 people had received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine during the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 941,556, in line with the Emirate’s plan to inoculate more than half the country’s population, especially the elderly and individuals with chronic diseases.
Meanwhile, riders and staff members of UAE Team Emirates, the cycling team that won Tour de France 2020, received the first dose of China’s Sinopharm vaccine approved by MoHAP, following successful trials of the 4Humanity campaign sponsored by G42 Healthcare.

So far, 27 cyclists have received the vaccine, including Slovenian rider Tadej Pogacar, who won the 2020 Tour de France, along with 32 members of staff.
“As a UAE team we are enormously proud of the efforts the nation and its leadership have taken at every level to both combat the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and to be a leader in the efforts to bring life back to normal,” said Mauro Gianetti, principal of the UAE team.

During daily inspection tours, Dubai Economy issued a fine to one commercial establishment for failing to adhere to anti-COVID-19 measures. Inspection teams found 566 other businesses to be compliant.
The Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Police, distributed 150,000 face masks and more than 16,000 jackets to workers at industrial cities, as part of efforts to support community segments that were most affected by the pandemic.

Elsewhere, Kuwait reported 495 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number to 153,473. The death toll rose to 940 after two coronavirus-related deaths were reported in the previous 24 hours.

In Bahrain, one death was reported, raising the death toll to 354, while 397 new infected cases were confirmed.

Topics: Kuwait UAE Coronavirus COVID-19 Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation Abu Dhabi Police dubai economy Bahrain Sinopharm G42 G42 Healthcare Ashish Koshy Ministry of Health and Prevention Abu Dhabi Dubai Sinopharma Tadej Pogacar UAE Team Emirates

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Syria unable to import wheat or fuel due to US sanctions, trade minister says

Updated 07 January 2025
Reuters
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Syria unable to import wheat or fuel due to US sanctions, trade minister says

  • The sanctions were imposed during Assad’s rule, targeting his government and also state institutions such as the central bank
Updated 07 January 2025
Reuters

DAMASCUS: Syria is unable to make deals to import fuel, wheat or other key goods due to strict US sanctions and despite many countries, including Gulf Arab states, wanting to do so, Syria’s new trade minister said.
In an interview with Reuters at his office in Damascus, Maher Khalil Al-Hasan said Syria’s new ruling administration had managed to scrape together enough wheat and fuel for a few months but the country faces a “catastrophe” if sanctions are not frozen or lifted soon.
Hasan is a member of the new caretaker government set up by Islamist rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham after it launched a lightning offensive that toppled autocratic President Bashar Assad on Dec. 8 after 13 years of civil war.
The sanctions were imposed during Assad’s rule, targeting his government and also state institutions such as the central bank.
Russia and Iran, both major backers of the Assad government, previously provided most of Syria’s wheat and oil products but both stopped doing so after the rebels triumphed and Assad fled to Moscow.
The US is set to announce an easing of restrictions on providing humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria while maintaining its strict sanctions regime, people briefed on the matter told Reuters on Monday.
The exact impact of the expected measures remains to be seen.
The decision by the outgoing Biden administration aims to send a signal of goodwill to Syria’s people and its new Islamist rulers, and pave the way for improving basic services and living conditions in the war-ravaged country.
At the same time, US officials see the sanctions as a key point of leverage with a new ruling group that was designated a terrorist entity by Washington several years ago but which, after breaking with Islamist militant group Al Qaeda, has recently signalled a more moderate approach.
Washington wants to see Damascus embark on an inclusive political transition and to cooperate on counterterrorism and other matters.
Hasan told Reuters he was aware of reports that some sanctions may soon be eased or frozen.

Topics: Fall of Assad Maher Khalil Al-Hasan Syria US sanctions

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Libya military says air strikes target smuggling sites

Updated 07 January 2025
AFP
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Libya military says air strikes target smuggling sites

  • The Libyan Army said the air strikes “targeted and destroyed fuel trafficking sites in Zawiya, specifically in Asban,” a semi-rural area outside of the city
Updated 07 January 2025
AFP

ZAWIYAH, Libya: Libya’s UN-recognized authorities have launched air strikes targeting drug trafficking and fuel smuggling hubs west of the capital, a military statement said on Monday.
It remained unclear if there were casualties from the strikes in Zawiya, a city on the Mediterranean coast about 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of the capital Tripoli.
Libya was plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed strongman Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, with armed groups exploiting the situation to fund their activities through fuel smuggling and the trafficking of migrants.
The Libyan Army said the air strikes “targeted and destroyed fuel trafficking sites in Zawiya, specifically in Asban,” a semi-rural area outside of the city.
It also called on locals to clear areas it labelled as “strongholds for trafficking and crime.”
In May 2023, the Tripoli-based government carried out drone strikes as part of an anti-smuggling operation, killing at least two people and injuring several others, authorities said at the time.
Those strikes followed clashes between armed groups suspected of involvement in human trafficking and smuggling of fuel and other contraband goods.
Libya’s eastern-based parliament accused the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity of targeting the home of one of its lawmakers, an opponent of the government.
Libya is divided between the Tripoli-based GNU and a rival administration in the east, backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
Footage posted on the army’s Facebook page showed a military truck smashing into the facade of a small dwelling.
Other footage showed tanks and pickup trucks mounted with machine guns driving through Zawiya.
The city hosts Libya’s second-largest oil refinery, with smugglers trafficking the fuel across the border into neighboring Tunisia.
 

 

Topics: Libya

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UN envoy in rare Yemen visit to push for peace

Updated 07 January 2025
AFP
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UN envoy in rare Yemen visit to push for peace

  • Grundberg’s office said his visit would also “support the release of the arbitrarily detained UN, NGO, civil society and diplomatic mission personnel”
Updated 07 January 2025
AFP

SANAA: Hans Grundberg, the United Nation’s special envoy for war-torn Yemen, arrived Monday in the rebel-held capital in a bid to breathe life into peace talks, his office said.
Grundberg last visited the capital Sanaa, controlled by the Iran-backed Houthis, in May 2023 for meetings with the rebels’ leaders in an earlier effort to advance a roadmap for peace.
The envoy’s current visit “is part of his ongoing efforts to urge for concrete and essential actions... for advancing the peace process,” Grundberg’s office said in a statement.
Yemen has been at war since 2014, when the Houthis forced the internationally recognized government out of Sanaa. The rebels have also seized population centers in the north.
A UN-brokered ceasefire in April 2022 calmed fighting and in December 2023 the warring parties committed to a peace process.
But tensions have surged during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, as the Houthis struck Israeli targets and international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, in a campaign the rebels say is in solidarity with Palestinians.
In response to the Houthi attacks, Israel as well as the United States and Britain have hit Houthi targets in Yemen over the past year. One Israeli raid hit Sanaa’s international airport.
Grundberg’s office said his visit would also “support the release of the arbitrarily detained UN, NGO, civil society and diplomatic mission personnel.”
Dozens of staff from UN and other humanitarian organizations have been detained by the rebels, most of them since June, with the Houthis accusing them of belonging to a “US-Israeli spy network,” a charge the United Nations denies.
 

 

Topics: Yemen Houthis UN envoy UN envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg

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US says anti-Daesh operation in Iraq kills coalition soldier

US army soldiers stand on duty at the K1 airbase northwest of Kirkuk in northern Iraq on March 29, 2020. (AFP)
Updated 07 January 2025
Reuters
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US says anti-Daesh operation in Iraq kills coalition soldier

  • US officials have said Daesh is hoping to stage a comeback in Syria following the fall in December of Syrian President Bashar Assad
Updated 07 January 2025
Reuters

WASHINGTON: The US military said on Monday operations against Daesh in Iraq over the past week led to the death of a non-US coalition soldier and wounded two other non-US personnel.
It also detailed operations in Syria against Daesh militants led by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, including one that resulted in the capture of what the US military’s Central Command said was an Daesh attack cell leader.
US officials have said Daesh is hoping to stage a comeback in Syria following the fall in December of Syrian President Bashar Assad.  

 

Topics: Iraq Daesh US

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West Bank camp under fire as Palestinian forces face off militants

Updated 07 January 2025
AFP
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West Bank camp under fire as Palestinian forces face off militants

  • Gunshots occasionally rung out from inside the camp, an AFP correspondent reported this week
Updated 07 January 2025
AFP

JENIN, Palestinian Territories: A month into a crackdown by Palestinian security forces on militants in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the streets of Jenin refugee camp are deserted, except for a few residents briefly checking on their homes.
Shops are closed, and militants have erected metal barricades to block Palestinian forces, in the area where Israeli army raids are more common.
Black military vehicles from the Palestinian Authority (PA), which exercises limited control over the West Bank, are stationed beyond roadblocks at the camp’s entrances.
“I only came back to check on my house,” said Muayyad Al-Saadi, a 53-year-old resident of Jenin camp, riding a bicycle down roads stripped of pavement.
Saadi, one of around 17,000 Palestinians who live in the camp, fled when clashes began in early December, citing a lack of electricity and running water.
The fighting, triggered by the arrests of several militants, has involved Palestinian militant factions affiliated with opponents of the PA’s leadership.
One of these factions, the Jenin Battalion, is largely made up of fighters affiliated with Islamic Jihad or Hamas, whose October 7, 2023 attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza.
Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, is the main political rival of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas’s Fatah party, which dominates the PA.

Fourteen Palestinians have been killed, including six security forces, seven civilians, and one gunman in the clashes.
Gunshots occasionally rung out from inside the camp, an AFP correspondent reported this week.
Since bakeries have closed, an unusually long line stretched from a shop that delivers bread from outside the camp.
“I’ve lived through wars since I was eight years old,” said the shopkeeper, Umm Hani, who is in her 70s.
She said there was “never anything like this” since the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, when Israel captured the West Bank.
“Let them (the security forces) come and arrest whoever they want. We have nothing to do with it,” said Umm Hani.
Another woman, in her 30s, said: “Everyone wants to speak out, but they’re afraid of repercussions from both sides.”
“We’re suffering. We can’t leave or enter the camp freely.”
The intra-Palestinian clashes erupted amid a major PA raid on the camp after the December 5 arrest of a Jenin Battalion commander on charges of possessing weapons and illicit funds.
Armed factions in Jenin and elsewhere see themselves as more effective resistance to Israeli occupation than the PA, which coordinates security matters with Israel.
“They (the PA) don’t want any resistance against the occupation,” said a fighter carrying an M16 rifle, blocking a road with militants.

The militants accuse the PA of cutting off the water and power supply to the camp, a claim the Ramallah-based authority denies.
“The gunmen fire at electricity and water crews whenever they attempt to repair the networks,” Anwar Rajab, spokesman for the PA forces, told AFP.
He said militants were also shooting at distributors of food aid.
Rajab added that the PA was trying to spare civilians, accusing militants instead of disrupting the lives of residents.
“We’re not besieging the camp. People are entering and leaving the camp normally.”
One gunman said the fighting has been “incredibly difficult for civilians. They have no water, no food, and they’ve stopped working.”
Walls throughout the camp are riddled with bullet holes, some from past Israeli army incursions and others from the recent fighting.
A 19-year-old Hamas fighter, who requested anonymity, said residents of Jenin camp have been exposed to violence long before the current operation.
“Every house here has a martyr, a prisoner or an injured person,” he said.
The fighter accused the PA’s forces of firing indiscriminately.
Both sides have traded blame for the deaths of the seven civilians, including a father and son killed on a rooftop on Friday.
“If they’re targeting us — the resistance factions and the Jenin Battalion — why don’t they come for us directly instead of targeting civilians?” said the young militant.
 

 

Topics: War on Gaza Palestine Gaza US West Bank Jenin

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