New York: Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention making the rounds this week on the internet are clarifying what we know about the transmission of the coronavirus. ### The virus does not spread easily via contaminated surfaces, according to the CDC. For those who were worried about wiping down grocery bags or …
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Kabul: Afghan President Ashraf Ghani welcomed the Taliban’s surprise offer of a three-day ceasefire during the Eid al-Fitr holiday starting Sunday, and ordered his forces to also comply. ### “I welcome the ceasefire announcement by the Taliban,” Ghani said on Twitter. ### “As commander-in-chief I have instructed ANDSF to comply with the three-day truce and to …
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One of the world’s oldest and best-known medical journals on Friday slammed President Donald Trump’s “inconsistent and incoherent national response” to the novel coronavirus pandemic and accused the administration of relegating the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to a “nominal” role. ### The unsigned editorial from the Lancet concluded that Trump should be replaced. …
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Abu Dhabi: The muezzins of mosques across Saudi Arabia will be allowed to repeat the takbeers of the Eid through loudspeakers from after Fajr prayer until the time of Eid prayer without performing the prayer, as mosques remain closed, the Principality of Mecca Region said. ### Eid Al Fitr, which falls on Sunday, is a …
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RIYADH – Muslims around the world began marking a sombre Eid al-Fitr Sunday, many under coronavirus lockdown, but lax restrictions offer respite to worshippers in some countries despite fears of skyrocketing infections. ### The festival, one of the most important in the Muslim calendar marking the end of Ramadan, is traditionally celebrated with mosque prayers, family …
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Beijing: China took the rare move of not setting an annual growth target this year after the coronavirus battered the world’s second-largest economy and ravaged global growth, Premier Li Keqiang said Friday. ### Instead, given “great uncertainty” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Beijing will “give priority to stabilising employment and ensuring living standards”, he said …
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A Japanese man was arrested in Tokyo on Monday after swimming across the Imperial Palace’s moat to scale an outer wall, entering off-limits parts of the grounds, police said. ### They said the man appeared to be in his 40s and was arrested mid-morning after emerging on palace grounds shortly before Emperor Naruhito was scheduled …
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COVID-19 is currently wreaking havoc in Latin America, and the region is now declared the new “epicentre” of the coronavirus. ### SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, first emerged in Wuhan, China, before it hit Iran, swept across Europe, and locked down America, the country with the most number of confirm cases today. ### Then it’s the …
Tehran: The coronavirus has infected more than 10,000 health care workers in hard-hit Iran, news outlets reported Thursday, as health officials in war-ravaged Yemen and Gaza expressed mounting concern about waves of new cases. ### Iran’s semi-official news agencies cited Deputy Health Minister Qassem Janbabaei, who did not elaborate. Reports earlier in the week put …
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China is targeting a July launch for its ambitious plans for a Mars mission which will include landing a remote-controlled robot on the surface of the red planet, the company in charge of the project has said. ### Beijing has invested billions of dollars in its space programme in an effort to catch up with …
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