Israel seals off entrance to West Bank's Ramallah

Al jazeera
December 24, 2017

Dec 24: Israeli forces have indefinitely closed down the northern entrance to the occupied West Bank twin cities of Ramallah and al-Bireh.

On Saturday night, amid ongoing protests over US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) decided to close off the DCO checkpoint that connects Ramallah to the northern West Bank cities.

"Israel decides to close the DCO checkpoint until further notice due to the ongoing rioting that is taking place at the Citi Inn roundabout near Ramallah's entrance," noted a statement on Twitter by COGAT, the Israeli military body that administers parts of the West Bank.

"The ball is in the Palestinian people's court and the equation is clear - when peace is restored, normal conditions will resume, but as long as violence continues the border will remain closed."

The checkpoint usually offers a shorter route to travelers, who would otherwise be required to take a longer way that is adjacent to the illegal Beit El settlement.

It is frequently used by Palestinian Authority officials, foreigners, diplomats and journalists going in and out of the occupied West Bank near Ramallah.

Protests in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza Strip erupted earlier this month, after Trump announced the US would be relocating its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, declaring the holy city as Israel's capital.

Since then, Israeli forces have killed 12 Palestinians, including four during air raids in Gaza. At least 2,900 others have been injured and more than 400 arrested.

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution declaring Trump's decision "null and void". It was approved with 128 votes in favour.

Prior to the vote, Trump had threatened to halt aid to member states who voted against his Jerusalem decision, and his administration's ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, warned countries that Trump would be "taking names" of those who opposed his decision.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has rejected US peace efforts and called on the European Union to take the lead in the Israel-Palestine peace process.

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News Network
March 21,2020

Beijing, Mar 21: China reported no domestically transmitted coronavirus cases for the third consecutive day even as seven more fatalities have been confirmed, taking the death toll in the country to 3255.

No new domestically transmitted cases of COVID-19 were reported on the Chinese mainland for the third day in a row on Friday, China's National Health Commission (NHC) said on Saturday.

The overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 81,008 by the end of Friday, which included 3,255 who died, 6,013 patients still undergoing treatment, 71,740 patients who had been discharged after recovery, the NHC said.

The NHC said 41 new confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported on the Chinese mainland on Friday from the people arriving from abroad, taking the total number of imported cases to 269.

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News Network
April 24,2020

Riyadh, Apr 24: As many as eleven Indian nationals have died due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.

"As per information available with the Embassy as of April 22, eleven Indian nationals (four in Madinah, three in Makkah, two in Jeddah, one in Riyadh and one in Dammam) have passed away due to COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia," the Embassy of India in Saudi Arabia said in a press release on Wednesday.

It urged the Indian community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours amid the COVID-19 crisis.

"The Embassy also reiterates the need for the community to remain calm and avoid spreading of rumours that may create panic. It is important that social media is not used to disseminate false messages and spread hatred along communal lines that can vitiate the atmosphere," the Embassy said.

"As stated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, COVID-19 does not see race, religion, colour, caste, creed, language or borders before striking, and our response and conduct should attach primacy to unity and brotherhood," it said.

Moreover, several measures on the supply of food, medicines and other emergency assistance to Indians in need are being implemented across the Kingdom.

Earlier, Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ausaf Sayeed on April 22 had interacted with Indian community volunteers from the smaller towns all across the Kingdom to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 situation, and evaluate the implementation of various measures to ensure the welfare of Indian nationals.

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News Network
July 19,2020

New Delhi, Jul 19: With the highest single-day spike of 38,902 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's total COVID-19 tally on Sunday reached 10,77,618, informed the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Sunday.

The death toll has gone up to 26,816 with 543 fatalities reported in the last 24 hours.

The Health Ministry said the total number of cases includes 3,73,379 active cases and 6,77,423 patients have been cured/discharged/migrated.

Maharashtra remains the worst affected state with 3,00,937 cases reported until Saturday.
Meanwhile, as per the information provided by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 1,34,33,742 samples have been tested for COVID-19 till July 18, of these 3,61,024 samples were tested yesterday.

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