Beirut, Apr 16: At least 68 children were among those killed in the car bomb attack on a convoy carrying evacuees from besieged government-held towns in Syria, a monitor said today.
Yestersay's attack in Rashidin west of Aleppo killed at least 126 people, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, updating a previous toll of 112 dead.
At least 109 of those killed were evacuees from the towns of Fuaa and Kafraya, it said, while the rest were aid workers and rebels guarding the convoy.
Abu Dhabi: A senior Hindi teacher at Sunrise School in Abu Dhabi has died of coronavirus, it has been confirmed. Anil Kumar, 50, passed away on Sunday morning, May 24.
The sad and shocking demise of Mr Kumar, a senior Hindi teacher of Sunrise School on May 24, has left the entire Sunrise family in a pall of gloom, read a statement.
“The management, administrators, other faculty members, students and the school as a whole is struck with intense sorrow and is speechless.
“The bond that he had developed over the years, just as how we have with each faculty, makes the loss unbearable. The entire SEPS family is shaken and finds it hard to come to terms with this most saddening news.
“Anil Kumar was a very inspiring teacher. He always brought a creative aspect to the classes he handled and would make it an enjoyable class to attend to. Mr. Anil Kumar had a great way of motivating his students to do their best, and pushed them to be the best they could be. He was a great strength and support to the Department of Hindi, always willing to scaffold and mentor students and teachers. He was a very approachable man, warm and friendly at heart and that is something I will truly miss about Mr. Anil.
“Mr Anil Kumar has left behind his wife and two children. Mrs. Rajini, his wife is also a member of the school family. She is a faculty of the maths department. Our prayers and sincere condolences to each and every one of the family. May God give the strength to endure and face this most challenging phase of their life.”
It is learnt Mr Kumar fell ill with COVID-19 and had been in hospital since May 7.
Riyadh, Mar 23: King Salman on Sunday issued an order imposing a curfew across Saudi Arabia from Monday evening to control the spread of the COVID-19 disease.
A royal court statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said the curfew will start at 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. every day for 21 days from the evening of 28 Rajab 1441 in the Hijri calendar, equivalent to March 23, 2020 in the Gregorian calendar.
King Salman's order followed an announcement by the Health Ministry of 119 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, raising the total number in the Kingdom to 511.
The order enjoins citizens and residents alike to stay in their homes during the curfew hours for their own safety.
The statement said the Ministry of Interior will undertake the necessary measures to implement the curfew, and all civil and military authorities are ordered to cooperate fully.
Exclusions
A subsequent statement issued by the Ministry of Interior and carried by SPA said those excluded from the curfew are workers from the following vital industries and government services:
• Food sector (points of sale) such as catering and supermarkets And poultry and vegetable shops, meat, bakeries, food factories and laboratories;
• Health sector, such as pharmacies and the like, medical clinics (dispensaries), hospitals, laboratories, factories, factories and materials and medical devices;
• Media sector in its various means;
• Transportation sector, such as those transporting goods, parcels, customs clearance, warehouses, warehouses, logistics services, supply chains for the health sector, the food sector, and port operations;
• E-commerce activities such as those working in the electronic procurement applications for the excluded activities and those working in the delivery applications of the excluded activities;
• Accommodation services activities such as hotels and furnished apartments;
• Energy sector such as gas stations and emergency services for the electric company;
• Financial services and insurance sector, such as direct accidents (Najm), urgent health insurance services (approvals), and other insurance services;
• Telecom sector as Internet and communication network operators;
• Water sector, such as the water company emergency services and home drinking water delivery service (graying).
Additional exclusions
The Interior Ministry statement also said movement during the curfew time will be allowed for security, military and health cars, government regulatory services vehicles, and activity vehicles excluded in the vital industries and services mentioned above.
Delivery services through smart device applications (express delivery services) during the curfew will be allowed for food and drug needs and other essential goods and services that are excluded and delivered to homes. Excluded activities can be known by calling the toll-free number in all regions of the Kingdom 999, except for the Makkah Al-Mukarramah region, which is called at 911.
Muezzins will be allowed to access mosques to lift the call to prayer at the time of the curfew.
Workers in diplomatic missions and international organizations and the like residing in the Diplomatic Quarter will be allowed to move during the curfew period to and from their business headquarters in the neighborhood.
Dubai, Apr 13: The UAE plans to impose "strict restrictions" on countries reluctant to take back their nationals working in the Gulf country in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak and restructure its cooperation and labour relations with them, a state-run media report said on Sunday.
Indian expatriate community of nearly 33 lakh is the largest ethnic community in UAE constituting roughly about 30 per cent of the country’s population. Among the Indian states, Kerala is the most represented followed by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
The options being considered by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation include "imposing strict future restrictions on the recruitment" of workers from these countries and activating the "quota" system in recruitment operations, state-run WAM news agency reported, citing an official.
It said the options also include suspending memoranda of understanding signed between the ministry and concerned authorities in these countries.
Citing the unnamed official, it said these options are being considered after many countries did not respond to requests by their nationals to return home following the coronavirus outbreak.
The official made it clear that all countries of foreign workers in the UAE should be responsible for their nationals wishing to return to their countries as part of the humanitarian initiative launched recently by the ministry.
Earlier this month, the ministry launched the initiative to enable residents who work in the UAE and wish to return to their countries to do so during the period of precautionary measures undertaken in the UAE to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Employees will be asked to submit their annual leave dates or agree with their employers on unpaid leave.
UAE's Ambassador to India Ahmed Abdul Rahman Al Banna has said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) had sent out a “note verbale” to all the embassies in the UAE, including the Indian mission, during the past couple of weeks on the issue.
“We have sent the note verbale and all the embassies have been informed including the Indian embassy in the UAE and even the Ministry of External Affairs in India,” Al Banna told Gulf News over phone on Saturday.
He said the UAE has offered to test those who want to be evacuated.
“We are assuring everybody that we have the best of the facilities, the best of the testing centres and we have tested more than 500,000 people,” he said.
“We are assuring them also of our cooperation to fly those who got stranded in the UAE for some reasons. Some got stuck because of the lockdown and closure of airports in India. Some were visiting the UAE.”
“We are offering our system and making sure that they are good (to fly) by doing all the tests and transport them according to the request of their own government,” he said.
The envoy said those who test positive for COVID-19 will remain in the UAE. “They will be treated in our home facilities,” he added.
The Kerala High Court on Saturday sought the central government's response to a petition seeking a direction to bring back Indians stranded in the UAE in view of the coronavirus outbreak in the gulf nation.
Considering the plea by Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre (KMCC) in Dubai, the court directed the Centre to file an affidavit on the steps taken by it to ensure the safety of Indians living there and bring back those stuck in the Gulf countries.
In its plea, KMCC, the organisation for non-resident Indians from Kerala, sought directions to the Ministries of External Affairs and Civil Aviation to provide exemptions in the international air travel ban to bring back those Indians stranded in the UAE.
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