Riyadh, May 14: Two pumping stations on a major Saudi oil pipeline were attacked by drones on Tuesday, halting the flow of crude along it, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said.
He said the attacks on the pipeline from the oil-rich Eastern Province to the Red Sea took place early on Tuesday.
Yemen's Huthi rebels said on Tuesday that they had targeted several vital Saudi targets with drones.
Dubai, Apr 12: Saudi Arabia reported 429 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 4462, the Ministry of Health announced on Sunday.
The ministry also confirmed 7 deaths bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 59.
According to the ministry of health the number of recoveries are 41 cases, making total of recoveries 761.
Ministry also said that 40,000 have been quarantined since the beginning of the epidemic, and only 7,000 remain in quarantine, including those who recently returned from abroad.
Extension of curfew
Early on Sunday, King Salman approved the extension of curfew until further notice due to current rates of coronavirus spread, the official news agency SPA announced.
Earlier last week, Saudi Arabia imposed a 24-hour curfew and lockdown on the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran and Hofuf and throughout the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif and Khobar.
Authorities had already sealed off the holy cities of Makkah and Medina along with Riyadh and Jeddah, barring people from entering and exiting as well as prohibiting movement between all provinces.
Total lockdown on Medina neighbourhoods
The Ministry of Interior also announced a total lockdown on five neighbourhoods in Medina on thursday until further notice. The neighborhoods include Al Sherbat; Bani Dhafar; Qurban, Al Jumuah; and parts of Al Iskan district and Bani Khudrah. No one is allowed to enter or exit these areas.
An official source from the ministry highlighted that the Ministry of Labor and Social Development will provide residents of these neighbourhoods with food baskets and will follow up on their needs while the ministry of health will provide them with necessary medications.
Saudi Arabia, which has reported the highest number of infections in the Gulf, is making every possible effort to limit the spread of the disease at home.
Abu Dhabi, May 18: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has recorded a special message for Indian expats in the UAE as the country fights the coronavirus pandemic.
Khan - one of the biggest stars of Bollywood for decades - enjoys a large fan following in the Gulf, which is why Abu Dhabi roped in the actor to record a special video message for expats, urging them to cooperate with authorities in the capital and the country as they carry out sanitisation and testing programmes.
In the video, tweeted by the Abu Dhabi Media Office on Sunday night, the superstar appeals to Indians in Abu Dhabi to become heroes by staying home (stepping out for essential work/errands only), following precautionary measures and simply 'do the right thing' by getting tested if they have any Covid-19-related symptoms.
"كونوا أبطالاً، وقوموا بالعمل الصائب"
النجم الشهير سلمان خان، والذي صور أفلاماً عديدة في أبوظبي، يناشد الجالية الهندية باغتنام كرم وإنسانية حكومة وشعب أبوظبي، والتعاون معها من خلال الالتزام بتعليمات الجهات المعنية وإجراء الفحوصات عند ظهور أي عوارض الإصابة بفيروس كوفيد-19. pic.twitter.com/PVfaWg2j4z— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) May 17, 2020
Khan, who has shot his recent super hit films (Race 3) in the capital, assured expats that Abu Dhabi authorities will not leave the community in these challenging times as it is a hospitable city who takes care of all residents.
"Following preventive measures also protects your family from the virus - so do the right thing as heroes do," Khan concludes.
The second phase of Abu Dhabi's sanitisation and testing in labour areas is underway, which started on May 16. Special testing facilities have been set up in the city for this purpose that test thousands of workers everyday.
As of May 17, UAE has confirmed over 23,000 cases along with over 8,000 recoveries and 220 deaths.
The country recently made a breakthrough in treating Covid-19 by using stem cells to help with the recovery.
The UAE leadership has thanked citizens and residents for their cooperation and assured that the country will take care of everyone in the country - with food and medicines being the red line, and that there will be no shortage of either during the crisis. Stimulus packages have been announced to help businesses stay afloat.
Paris, Feb 5: Saudi Arabia has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus on a poultry farm, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Tuesday, February 4.
سجلت الوزارة إصابة بمرض إنفلونزا الطيور H5N8 في أحد مشاريع الدواجن في منطقة الرياض، وتمكنت فرق الطوارئ من السيطرة على بؤرة الإصابة.
وفقاً لمنظمة الصحة العالمية (WHO)،فهذا المرض يصيب الطيور ولا ينتقل للإنسان، وهذه العترة تم تسجيلها في المملكة نهاية 2017م، وتمت السيطرة عليها. pic.twitter.com/DwxIwYyOXv— المتحدث الرسمي لوزارة البيئة (@MEWAspokesman) February 4, 2020
The outbreak, which occurred in the central Sudair region, killed 22,700 birds, the OIE said, citing a report from the Saudi agriculture ministry.
The other 385,300 birds in the flock were slaughtered, it said.
The case was the first outbreak of the H5N8 virus in Saudi Arabia since July 2018.
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