UAE

Dubai lifts lockdown on two densely populated commercial districts

DUBAI, April 27 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The emirate of Dubai said it has lifted its full lockdown on two commercial districts which have a large population of low-income migrant workers, after the United Arab Emirates eased nationwide coronavirus curfews over the weekend.

Dubai on Friday cut its emirate-wide 24-hour lockdown back to a 10pm to 6am curfew.

It has now taken the same step in the Al Ras and Naif districts, which had been sealed off as part of efforts to contain the spread of the virus.

Saudi coalition urges Yemen separatists to honor Riyadh deal

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A Saudi-led coalition mired in a yearslong war in Yemen on Monday urged Emirati-backed separatists to honor terms of a Riyadh peace deal and return control of Aden to the country’s internationally recognized government.

The statement by Saudi Arabia comes after the separatists’ Southern Transitional Council again claimed sole control Sunday of Aden, a Red Sea port that serves as the internationally recognized government’s capital as rebel Houthi forces still hold Sanaa.

Rouhani says Iran should assume worst-case coronavirus scenario

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran should draw up economic plans based on a worst-case scenario of nearly a year of disruptions due to the coronavirus, President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday, as the death toll from the disease rose by 76 to 5,650.

“Our first request is that we should plan production long-term based on a pessimistic view that we might face this virus ... for months,” Rouhani said in a meeting with heads of Iranian private companies carried live on state TV.

Abu Dhabi's Etihad extends suspension of scheduled flights to at least May 16

DUBAI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways said on Saturday it would extend its suspension of scheduled passenger flights until at least May 16 due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The airline, which had aimed to partially resume passenger flights from May 1, said in a statement all scheduled services would remain grounded until May 16 at the earliest. Earlier in the day, it had said the suspension would last until May 15.

Prominent Saudi rights activist dies in prison: sources

DUBAI (Reuters) - Prominent Saudi Arabian rights activist Abdullah al-Hamid, imprisoned since 2013, died on Thursday, activists and a source close to him told Reuters.

Hamid, 69, died in the King Saud Medical City in Riyadh, having suffered a stroke on Apr. 9 in prison, London-based Saudi rights group ALQST told Reuters. The news was also confirmed by a close friend of Hamid’s who asked to remain anonymous owing to the sensitivity of the matter.

Virus traps, sickens foreign laborers in Gulf Arab states

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Long a lifeline for families back home, migrant workers in oil-rich Gulf Arab states now find themselves trapped by the coronavirus pandemic, losing jobs, running out of money and desperate to return to their home countries as COVID-19 stalks their labor camps.

Whether on the island of Bahrain, hidden in the industrial neighborhoods behind Dubai’s skyscrapers or in landlocked cities of Saudi Arabia, a growing number of workers have contracted the virus or been forced into mass quarantines. Many have been put on unpaid leave or fired.

UAE Announces Rise In COVID-19 Recoveries To 1,546

ABU DHABI, Apr 23 (NNN-WAM) – The UAE announced that, an additional 103 patients had recovered from the COVID-19, after receiving the necessary medical care, raising the total number of recoveries to 1,546.

During the regular media briefing held in Abu Dhabi, Dr. Farida Al Hosani, official spokesperson of the UAE’s health sector, said, some 31,809 additional tests were conducted across various emirates, leading to the identification of 483 new cases, among various nationalities and bringing the total number of cases in the country to 8,238.

Tests at Abu Dhabi hospital draw hundreds to queue

ABU DHABI, April 22 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A queue outside an Abu Dhabi emergency department stretches across a road as hundreds of mostly low-income migrant workers wait, two meters apart, to be tested for the new coronavirus.

The United Arab Emirates is ramping up testing as it tries to control the spread of the virus, which has infected at least 7,755 and killed 46 in the Gulf state. It aims to cover all UAE citizens and residents, the health ministry said on Monday.

Iranian army acquires combat capable drones with 930-mile range: Defense minister

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Iranian armed forces have acquired three bomb-carrying drones with a range of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles), Defense Minister Amir Hatami said on state television on Saturday.

The drones could monitor “enemy movements from a considerable distance” and were capable of combat missions, he said at the delivery ceremony in Tehran broadcast on TV.

The aircraft were equipped with bombs and missiles, and they can fly at an altitude of up to 45,000 feet (13,716 meters), he said, without indicating the name of the new drones.

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