Germany is showing early signs of halting a third wave of Covid-19 driven by the more contagious variant of the virus first identified in the UK.
Announcing the positive news on Friday, Health Minister Jens Spahn cautioned against lifting restrictions too quickly.
"The third wave appears to have broken," he said.
"The infection figures are dropping again, but we are still at a high level. They are not yet falling everywhere at the same rate, but they are falling.”
The country reported 18,485 new infections in the past 24 hours, compared with 27,543 cases on the same day two weeks ago, the Robert Koch Institute said.
The number of new infections per 100,000 people over the past seven days stood at 125.7 - suggesting the country has some way to go before restrictions can be eased.
Under national virus measures introduced in April, areas with a case rate below 100 are allowed to begin easing some restrictions.
If the case rate is higher than 100, an “emergency brake” is applied, imposing restrictions on how many people can gather and overnight curfews.
Mr Spahn warned that easing curbs across the board "would only help the virus".
"In this phase of the pandemic, it is really a matter of not gambling away what has been achieved," he said.
German MPs on Friday approved a new law that lifts some curbs for vaccinated people and those who have recovered from the disease.
From Sunday, they will no longer have to abide by curfews or limits on social contacts.
Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht called the move "a very important step towards more normality".
But Berlin mayor Michael Mueller said it was going to be difficult to check the curbs are lifted only for those who fall under these categories.
Despite his concerns, he acknowledged the plan “was about fundamental rights, and they can only be restricted when there is an urgent need to do so".
After a slow start, Germany began accelerating its vaccination campaign in April and last week gave the shot to more than one million people in one day. By Friday, 31.5 per cent of the population had received at least one vaccination.
The country recently made the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca available to all age groups after it was first restricted to over-60s.
The European medicines regulator on Friday opened an investigation into whether vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna could be linked to rare blood clots.
The regulator last month linked two other EU-approved vaccines, those made by AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, to rare but occasionally fatal clots.
However, it continued to stress that the benefits of the vaccines outweighed the risks of succumbing to Covid-19.
The UK medicines regulator now advises that people under 40 be given an alternative vaccine to the one developed by AstraZeneca.
The change reflects the availability of other vaccines as well as the relatively low levels of Covid-19 in Britain.
June Raine, the head of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, said the benefits of receiving the shot for older people outweighed the potential risk posed by blood clots, so the AstraZeneca drug was considered safe for them.
But she said the risk-benefit analysis was “more finely balanced” for younger people, who are less likely to succumb to serious illness from the virus.
Meanwhile, a surge in travel is expected across Spain from Sunday as the country prepares to end a state of emergency.
Declared in October as Covid-19 infections surged, the emergency decree has provided regional authorities - which are in charge of health care - a legal framework to enforce night-time curfews and other restrictions, including a ban on non-essential travel between regions.
But once the emergency situation ends on Sunday, regional governments will need local court approval to impose restrictions on social life, such as caps on the size of home gatherings.
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ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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The specs: 2018 GMC Terrain
Price, base / as tested: Dh94,600 / Dh159,700
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Power: 252hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 353Nm @ 2,500rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.4L / 100km
Sri Lanka World Cup squad
Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Results:
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m | Winner: Eghel De Pine, Pat Cosgrave (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m | Winner: AF Sheaar, Szczepan Mazur, Saeed Al Shamsi
6pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (PA) Group 3 Dh500,000 1,600m | Winner: RB Torch, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan National Day Cup (TB) Listed Dh380,000 1,600m | Winner: Forjatt, Chris Hayes, Nicholas Bachalard
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup for Private Owners Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 1,400m | Winner: Hawafez, Connor Beasley, Ridha ben Attia
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 1,600m | Winner: Qader, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roaulle
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
RESULT
Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)
Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel
Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power: 1877bhp
Torque: 2300Nm
Price: Dh7,500,00
On sale: Now
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Racecard
%3Cp%3E5pm%3A%20Al%20Bateen%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(Turf)%202%2C200m%3Cbr%3E5.30pm%3A%20Al%20Khaleej%20%E2%80%93%20Maiden%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E6pm%3A%20Wathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh70%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3Cbr%3E6.30pm%3A%20Al%20Nahyan%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E7pm%3A%20Al%20Karamah%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3Cbr%3E7.30pm%3A%20Al%20Salam%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(TB)%20Dh80%2C000%20(T)%201%2C400m%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jumanji: The Next Level
Director: Jake Kasdan
Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Jack Black, Nick Jonas
Two out of five stars
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
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RESULTS
Cagliari 5-2 Fiorentina
Udinese 0-0 SPAL
Sampdoria 0-0 Atalanta
Lazio 4-2 Lecce
Parma 2-0 Roma
Juventus 1-0 AC Milan
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
The specs: 2019 Cadillac XT4
Price, base: Dh145,000
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged in-line four-cylinder engine
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 237hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 350Nm @ 1,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
