Dubai shopping festival begins with a bang

Riyadh, Apr 27: The government of Saudi Arabia has signed a SR995 million (approx. Dh972m) contract with China to provide Covid-19 tests for nine million people in the Kingdom.

The Saudi Press Agency, SPA, reported that the decision came "as a result of a phone call made today (Sunday) between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Chinese President Xi Jinping."

The contract includes providing necessary equipment and supplies, making available of 500 Chinese specialists and technicians who are specialised in performing tests, establishing six large regional laboratories throughout the Kingdom; including a mobile laboratory with a capacity of performing 10,000 tests per day. Saudi cadres will also be trained to conduct daily tests and comprehensive field tests, under the new agreement

The contract was co-signed by the National Unified Procurement Company and Chinese company Huo-yan Laboratories by Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Advisor at the Royal Court, on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia, and Chinese Ambassador to the Kingdom Chen Weiqing, as a representative of the Chinese Government.

The contract is one of the largest contracts that will provide diagnostic tests for the novel Coronavirus.

Tests were also purchased from several other companies from the United States, Switzerland and South Korea, bringing the number of available tests to 14.5 million, covering around 40 percent of Saudi Arabia's population, SPA added.

Jeddah, May 1: The government of India and its diplomatic missions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States have begun elaborate preparations for the massive evacuation of their nationals stranded or needing to return once the lockdown travel restrictions are lifted.

The Indian missions in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar have started registration for the return of their nationals. The move coincides with the directive of New Delhi to the Indian Air Force and Navy to get their big engines ready to bring back citizens stuck in the GCC states.

India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has stated that the Indian missions in the GCC states have been liaising with local authorities for repatriation of Indians. More than eight millions Indians work and live in the Gulf countries.

The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia said that it has issued directives to their nationals who seek repatriation to India to fill an application form so as to facilitate their travel when the authorities lift the travel restrictions. Similar advisories have also been issued by the embassies in other Gulf States.

The Riyadh Embassy said in a press statement that the purpose is only to collect data and no decision has been taken yet regarding resumption of flights to India.

The Embassy will make an announcement with regard to repatriation of Indian nationals when the government of India takes a decision in this regard, the statement said, adding that separate forms have to be filled for each individual, including Indian worker or his or her family members.

The Embassy is in the process of working out the modalities of evacuation of stranded Indians in line with the directions of the government of India, the statement pointed out.

The Embassy and the Consulate General in Jeddah are closely monitoring the situation and are taking all the required measures to ensure the welfare of Indian citizens.

The missions have taken all the necessary measures for the supply of food, medicines and other emergency assistance to Indians in need and that is in coordination and cooperation with volunteers of major community organizations across the Kingdom.

These initiatives have been accelerated following the interactions of Ambassador Dr. Ausaf Sayeed with community volunteers and social workers from all parts of the Kingdom. The Embassy has also been in touch with all major companies in the Kingdom that employed Indian workers to carry out regular monitoring of the workers’ health, especially in labor camps, and take all other precautionary and preventive measures to ensure their health and safety.

According to the plan drawn up by the government of India, the first commercial flights from the Gulf could start after May 3, if the nationwide lockdown restrictions are not extended.

INS Jalashwa, an amphibious assault ship, and two Magar class tank-landing ships are being readied for the evacuation purposes, India’s IANS reported.

These ships, which have a total capacity of 2,000 people, have started making arrangements as per the standard protocols laid out to deal with suspected coronavirus cases like social distancing and sanitization.

The Indian Air Force has been evacuating citizens from coronavirus hit countries such as China, Japan, Iran, Italy and Kuwait since January. The force has stated that it has kept C-17 Globemaster and C-130s on standby which can be used whenever they are required.

Apart from them, Air India flights are also being kept on standby to pick up stranded Indians from the GCC countries.

15 Indian fatalities in western region

Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Indian Consul General Mohammed Noor Rahman Sheikh said that as of Thursday a total of 15 Indian coronavirus fatalities were reported in the western region.

These included seven cases in Makkah, six in Madinah and two in Jeddah. Around 140 Indians have tested positive in the region where most of the coronavirus cases in the Kingdom have been reported.

He said that permission was not accorded from the Ministry of Haj and Umrah to use the Indian Haj mission facility in Makkah as the center to assist the community members with regard to the coronavirus related cases.

“Our medical in charge is in Makkah and with the support of some other staffers, he has been actively involved in lending a helping hand to those Indian nationals who are in distress,” he said.

“We are in regular contact with the Ministry of Health officials in ensuring quick medical assistance to those who are tested positive.” He said preparations are under way for repatriation of Indians once permission is ready to take them home. “We are maintaining a database of all those who contacted the consulate with a request for their repatriation,” he added.

Meanwhile, the bodies of two Indians from the southern state of Kerala who succumbed to the pandemic were buried in Makkah. Naletil Muhammad from Ancharakkandi of Kannoor district, a restaurant worker in Makkah, gave samples at King Faisal Hospital a few days ago after developing symptoms of the disease.

When the hospital authorities advised him to remain in medical isolation, he reportedly preferred to remain in isolation at his residence where he succumbed to the pandemic after a few days.

Muhammad’s two sons, who are working in Riyadh, alerted his colleagues when they failed to contact him over phone. They found him dead at his residence on Monday. Eventually, Ministry of Health officials sent all his six colleagues to medical isolation.

Kottuwala Ippu Musliyar from Thennala, Vengara in Malappuram district, was a well-known social worker in Makkah. He died of coronavirus at Hira Hospital on Wednesday after undergoing treatment for a couple of days.

Mujeeb Pukkottoor, a prominent Indian social worker and general secretary of Makkah chapter of Kerala Muslim Cultural Center, was authorized by their spouses to carry out their burial procedures.

Accordingly Muhammad was buried on Wednesday and Ippu Musliyar on Thursday at the designated area for the coronavirus deceased persons at Sharaie Cemetery in Makkah.

Abu Dhabi, May 25: Dusty weather to persist in the UAE on Monday as well with a chance of rainfall in parts of the country, the national Met department reported.

According to the NCM, the weather today will be fair to partly cloudy, with a chance of some convective clouds formation by afternoon - eastward and northward - extending to some internal areas that may be associated with some rainfall.

The weather will get humid by night and Tuesday morning over some coastal areas.

NCM predicts a wet Eid break.

طريق كلباء #الشارقة ⁧#المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد⁩ ⁧#أمطار_الخير⁩ ⁧#أصدقاء_المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد⁩ ⁧#حالة_الطقس⁩ ⁧#حالة_جوية⁩ ⁧#هواة_الطقس⁩⁩ pic.twitter.com/i4gjYfgTwj

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 25, 2020

أمطار غزيرة على فلي (الشارقة)
#أمطار#أمطار_الخير #استمطار #تلقيح_السحب #المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد
Heavy rain over Fili (Sharjah)
#Rain #Cloud_Seeding #NCM

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 25, 2020

أمطار غزيرة على المنيعي (رأس الخيمة)
#أمطار#أمطار_الخير #استمطار #تلقيح_السحب #المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد
Heavy rain over Al Manaie (Ras Al Khaimah)
#Rain #Cloud_Seeding #NCM

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 25, 2020

Sharjah Police issued a weather warning as heavy rain flooded roads in Sharjah's Kalba among other areas.

#Alert #NCM pic.twitter.com/RnFy0WtK3H

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 25, 2020

مليحة ⁧#الشارقة⁩ ⁧#المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد⁩ ⁧#أمطار_الخير⁩ ⁧#أصدقاء_المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد⁩ ⁧#حالة_الطقس⁩ ⁧#حالة_جوية⁩ ⁧#هواة_الطقس⁩ #عبدالله_القايدي pic.twitter.com/rKhJG4mIzN

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 24, 2020

طريق #الشارقة #كلباء #المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد #أمطار_الخير #أصدقاء_المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد #حالة_الطقس #حالة_جوية #هواة_الطقس #عبدالله_الشامسي pic.twitter.com/YDX91G6jaZ

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 25, 2020

ننوه الأخوة السائقين بتوخي الحيطة والحذر أثناء القيادة وخاصةً على الطرق الخارجية للإمارة وذلك بسبب هطول أمطار الخير،
كما ندعو السائقين إلى توخي الحيطة والحذر والابتعاد عن أماكن جريان الاودية وترك مسافات كافية بين المركبات وتخفيف السرعات والحرص على التعامل مع الطريق بحذر

— شرطة الشارقة (@ShjPolice) May 25, 2020

Moderate to fresh winds will gain strength during the day causing blowing dust and sand.

The sea will be slight to moderate in the Arabian Gulf and in Oman Sea.

Earlier on Sunday, a weather alert was issued by authorities as moderate to heavy rain - accompanied with hail - lashed parts of the UAE. A rainbow in Dubai skies cheered up residents, celebrating a unique Eid this year amid the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic - by mostly staying home.