Riyadh, Apr 30: Saudi Arabia on Thursday recorded 1,351 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 22,753, the Ministry of Health said in a statement.
The ministry also announced 5 more deaths and 210 new recoveries, raising the total number of fatalities and recoveries to 162 and 3,163 respectively.
Riyadh with 440 cases topped the list, followed by 392 cases in Makkah, 120 in Jeddah and 119 in Madinah.
Ramallah, May 19: India has given USD 2 million in aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency working for the welfare of Palestinian refugees in support of its core programmes and services, including education and health, amidst the coronavirus crisis.
India had increased its annual contribution to the UNRWA from USD 1.25 million in 2016 to USD 5 million in 2019. It pledged another USD 5 million for 2020 which opens its way to become a member of the agency's advisory commission, according to official sources.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) applauded India's financial support to keep its basic services operating, especially under the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The contribution was presented to the UN agency by the Representative of India (ROI) to the State of Palestine, Sunil Kumar.
"On behalf of the agency, I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Government of India for advancing part of its contribution, which will help UNRWA address cash flow challenges," Marc Lassouaoui, chief of the Donor Relations at the agency said.
"The continued determination and commitment of India in support of the Palestine refugees is commendable, in particular under the current circumstances brought on us by COVID-19," he said.
"On behalf of the Government of India, I would like to express my appreciation for the commendable work and endeavours carried out by the UNRWA. We believe that our contribution will support the agency's activities in providing the needed assistance to Palestinian refugees, and assist in achieving their full human development potential," Kumar said.
India's contribution will support the agency's "dire" financial situation due to the funding gaps that risk its core services to the Palestinian refugees in the fields of education and health.
About 3.1 million Palestine refugees depend on health services provided by the UNRWA. At the same time, the agency's schools educate 526,000 students every year, of which half are female.
The agency was created in December 1949 by the UN to support the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.
The UNRWA definition of “refugee” covers Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 War.
Meanwhile, India is preparing medical supplies for the Palestinians to help them in their fight against the coronavirus which is likely to reach the Palestine soon, the Indian mission in the West Bank said in a statement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over phone and discussed the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He appreciated efforts being made by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to protect its population and assured all possible support from India.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar later talked to his Palestinian counterpart Riad Malki and reiterated India's commitment to support Palestine in its battle against the global pandemic.
So far, 554 COVID-19 cases have been detected in the West Bank under PA and east Jerusalem, with two casualties.
Twenty people were found infected with the virus in Gaza, of which 14 are said to have recovered.
Separately, 17 agreements have been signed under an India-Palestine development partnership between the two sides in the fields of agriculture, health care, information technology, youth affairs, consular affairs, women empowerment and media in the past five years.
New Delhi is to provide an assistance of around USD 72 million through these agreements in projects like the post-2014 war reconstruction efforts in Gaza, construction of five schools, setting up a centre of excellence for information and communication technologies at Al-Quds University and developing a satellite centre in Ramallah.
Kuwait, Aug 2: Kuwait has barred entry of foreign passengers from over 30 countries including India and China.
A circular from the Director General Civil Aviation, State of Kuwait directed all airlines operating at Kuwait International Airport to adhere to the instructions in this regard.
"Based on the decision of the Health Authority in State of Kuwait, no foreign passenger coming from the down listed countries will be allowed to enter the State of Kuwait," the circular read.
These include- India, Iran, China, Brazil, Colombia, Armenia, Bangladesh, Philippines, Syria, Spain, Singapore, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Iraq, Mexico, Indonesia, Chile, Pakistan, Egypt, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Italy, North Macedonia, Moldova, Panama, Beirut ,Serbia Montenegro, Dominican Republic and Kosovo.
The circular stated that such restriction will also include the passengers were present 14 days before the date of travel until further notice.
The ban was announced the same day Kuwait began a partial resumption of commercial flights according to Khaleej Times, which quoted authorities stating that Kuwait International Airport would run at about 30 per cent capacity from Saturday, gradually increasing in coming months.
According to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University, Kuwait has reported 67,448 cases of coronavirus while the fatalities related to the virus stand at 453.
Dubai, July 18: An NRI student who passed away in Dubai shortly after shortly after attempting his Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Grade 12 papers in March, has scored an impressive 91.4 per cent on his board examinations, including 100 in his media studies paper.
Ahmed Ziyad, a student of GEMS Our Own Indian School in Al Qouz, Dubai, died on March 19, suffered a heart condition called Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) that stopped him from being active in sporting activities.
Ziyad's parents, teachers, and classmates remember him as a very ambitious pupil, who wanted to launch his own business and achieve great things in his life. His board results are - mass media studies 100, Marketing 97, English 84, Entrepreneurship 82, and Home Science 94.
Ziyad's father, Shanavaz Manangath, a real estate professional who has been a resident of Dubai for over two decades said, "Six months ago, he had collapsed while playing with his friends. Since there was an irregularity in his heartbeat, he could not take part in any strenuous activities." He added, "Ziyad had just started playing with his friends on March 19 when he suddenly collapsed and died shortly after. My family has not been able to overcome his loss."
Unable to hold back his tears, an emotional Manangath said Ziyad wanted to do his BBA and launch his own business, "He was very ambitious. Honestly, I haven't looked into his board exam results, but, I know he had studied very hard for the exams."
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