Saudi Arabia is conducting intensive screening for Covid-19 infection in densely populated areas and worker compounds, the health ministry said on Saturday as it announced 1,132 new cases detected in the preceding 24 hours.
A health ministry spokesman said five patients died in the same period, raising the kingdom's death toll from the disease to 92, while 208 had recovered.
The spokesman said the new cases took the number of confirmed Covid-19 infections in the kingdom to 8,274, the highest among Gulf states. There are currently 6,853 active cases and 78 in critical condition, while the total numbers of patients who have recovered is 1,329.
The health ministry plans to expand its screening programme across the kingdom, with teams working round the clock, according to a statement released on the state Saudi Press Agency.
The Saudi interior ministry meanwhile announced that two more areas of the kingdom had been placed under isolation to prevent the spread of the virus. The total ban on the entering or leaving the districts of Al Faisaliah and Al Fadhliyah in Al Ihsa governorate will remain in force until further notice, it said.
In Oman, health authorities announced 111 new cases detected since Friday.
The Omani health ministry said 33 of the new cases were among Omanis.
The sultanate has detected 1,180 Covid-19 cases so far, of which six were fatal, the ministry said.
The number of fatalities in Kuwait rose to six on Saturday with the death of a 68-year-old Bengali man after nine days in intensive care, a health ministry spokesman said.
Dr Abdullah Al Sanad said 93 more cases had been detected since Friday, raising the country's total to 1,751.
There are 1,465 Covid-19 patients being treated in hospital, of whom 34 are in intensive care with 18 in critical condition.
The ministry earlier announced the recovery of 22 more patients, bring the total number of recoveries to 280.
The number of coronavirus cases in Qatar rose to 5,008 with 345 new infections detected since Friday, according to figures posted on the health ministry's Twitter account.
There are 4,490 Covid-19 cases still under treatment and 510 recoveries, including 46 since Friday, while one more patient died, raising the death toll to eight.
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
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
England v South Africa Test series:
First Test: at Lord's, England won by 211 runs
Second Test: at Trent Bridge, South Africa won by 340 runs
Third Test: at The Oval, July 27-31
Fourth Test: at Old Trafford, August 4-8
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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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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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
