An immigration document said applications for employment and visit visas are now suspended for nationals outside the UAE.
REUTERS | AL JAZEERA
The UAE temporarily stopped issuing new visas to Afghans, Pakistanis and citizens of several other countries over security concerns [Ahmed Jadallah/Reuters]
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has stopped issuing new visas to citizens of 13 mostly Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, Turkey, Syria and Somalia, according to a document issued by a state-owned business park.
The document, which was sent to companies operating in the park and was seen by the Reuters news agency, cited an immigration circular that came into effect on November 18.
It said applications for new employment and visit visas were suspended until further notice for nationals outside the UAE from countries including Afghanistan, Libya, and Yemen.
The visa ban also applies to citizens of Algeria, Kenya, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan and Tunisia, the document said.
It was not clear if there were any exceptions to the ban.
The UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship had no immediate comment.
Security concerns
A source briefed on the matter said the UAE had temporarily stopped issuing new visas to Afghans, Pakistanis, and citizens of several other countries over security concerns.
The source did not say what those concerns were but said the visa ban was expected to last for a short period.
Last week, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said the UAE had stopped processing new visas for its citizens and those of some other countries.
Islamabad said it was seeking information from the UAE on the reason for the suspension but that it thought it was related to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Pakistani ministry and the source said those holding valid visas were not affected by the new restrictions and could enter the UAE.
Pfizer Inc on Monday said its experimental vaccine was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 based on initial data from a large study, a major victory in the fight against a pandemic that has killed over 1 million people, roiled the world’s economy and upended daily life.
FILE PHOTO: A sign is pictured outside Pfizer Headquarters in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., July 22, 2020. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE are the first drugmakers to show successful data from a large-scale clinical trial of a coronavirus vaccine. The companies said they have so far found no serious safety concerns and expect to seek U.S. emergency use authorization later this month.
If authorized, the number of vaccine doses will initially be limited. Many questions also remain including how long the vaccine will provide protection. However the news provides hope that other vaccines in development against the novel coronavirus may also prove effective.
“Today is a great day for science and humanity,” Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chairman and chief executive, said in a statement. “We are reaching this critical milestone in our vaccine development program at a time when the world needs it most with infection rates setting new records, hospitals nearing over-capacity and economies struggling to reopen.”
Pfizer expects to seek broad U.S. emergency use authorization of the vaccine for people aged 16 to 85. To do so, it will need to have collected two months of safety data on around half of the study’s roughly 44,000 participants, expected in late November.
“I’m near ecstatic,” Bill Gruber, one of Pfizer’s top vaccine scientists, said in an interview. “This is a great day for public health and for the potential to get us all out of the circumstances we’re now in.”
Pfizer said the interim analysis was conducted after 94 participants in the trial developed COVID-19, examining how many of them received the vaccine versus a placebo.
The company did not break down exactly how many of those who fell ill received the vaccine. Still, over 90% effectiveness implies that no more than 8 of the 94 people who caught COVID-19 had been given the vaccine, which was administered in two shots about three weeks apart.
The efficacy rate is well above the 50% effectiveness required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for a coronavirus vaccine.
To confirm its efficacy rate, Pfizer said it will continue the trial until there are 164 COVID-19 cases among participants. Given the recent spike in U.S. infection rates, that number could be reached by early December, Gruber said.
The data have yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal. Pfizer said it would do so once it has results from the entire trial.
Pfizer and BioNTech have a $1.95 billion contract with the U.S. government to deliver 100 million vaccine doses beginning this year. They have also reached supply agreements with the European Union, the UK, Canada and Japan.
To save time, the companies began manufacturing the vaccine before they knew whether it would be effective. They now expect to produce up to 50 million doses or enough vaccine to protect 25 million people this year.
Pfizer said it expects to produce up to 1.3 billion doses of the vaccine in 2021.
GLOBAL RACE
The global race for a vaccine has seen wealthier countries forge multibillion-dollar supply deals with drugmakers like Pfizer, AstraZeneca Plc and Johnson & Johnson Inc, raising questions over when middle income and poorer nations will get access to inoculations.
The U.S. quest for a vaccine has been the Trump administration’s central response to the pandemic. The United States has the world’s highest known number of COVID-19 cases and deaths with more than 10 million infections and more than 237,000 fatalities.
President Donald Trump repeatedly assured the public that his administration would likely identify a successful vaccine in time for the presidential election, held last Tuesday. On Saturday, Democratic rival Joe Biden was declared the winner.
Vaccines are seen as essential tools to help end the health crisis that has shuttered businesses and left millions out of work. Millions of children whose schools were closed in March remain in remote learning programs.
Dozens of drugmakers and research groups around the globe have been racing to develop vaccines against COVID-19, which on Sunday exceeded 50 million infections since the novel coronavirus first emerged late last year in China.
The Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine uses messenger RNA (mRNA) technology, which relies on synthetic genes that can be generated and manufactured in weeks, and produced at scale more rapidly than conventional vaccines.
FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of biopharmaceutical company BioNTech in Mainz, Germany July 31, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo
Moderna Inc, whose vaccine candidate employs similar technology, is expected to report results from its large-scale trial later this month. The mRNA technology is designed to trigger an immune response without using pathogens, such as actual virus particles.
Pfizer alone will not have the capacity to immediately provide enough vaccines for the entire United States. The Trump administration has said it will have enough supply for all of the 330 million U.S. residents who wish to be vaccinated by the middle of 2021.
The U.S. government has said the vaccines will be provided for free to Americans, including the insured, uninsured and those in government health programs such as Medicare.
The flight landed at Dubai International Airport just after 5:40 p.m., bringing the tourists to the skyscraper-studded city
Arrival of tourists comes as Dubai tries to revive its vital tourism industry amid COVID-19 pandemic
Dubai: The first flight carrying Israeli tourists to the United Arab Emirates landed Sunday in the city-state of Dubai, the latest sign of the normalization deal reached between the two nations.
FlyDubai flight No. FZ8194 landed at Dubai International Airport just after 5:40 p.m., bringing the tourists to the skyscraper-studded city after a roughly three-hour trip. The low-cost carrier had sent one of its Boeing 737s to Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv earlier Sunday morning to pick up the passengers. The flight flew across Saudi Arabia and then over the waters of the Arabian Gulf to reach the UAE, a federation of seven emirates and also home to Abu Dhabi.
The arrival of tourists comes as Dubai in particular tries to revive its vital tourism industry amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The UAE and Israel have agreed to launch regular commercial flights between their countries soon, while other recent flights have carried business and governmental delegations. FlyDubai plans to begin its flights to Tel Aviv later this month. The airline said described Sunday’s flight as a “charter” for the incoming tourists.
It comes as Israel and the UAE, which had maintained covert contacts for years, brought their diplomatic relationship out into the open. It signed a normalization deal with Israel alongside Bahrain at a White House ceremony in September, making the them the third and fourth Arab nations to currently have peace with Israel.
But while Egypt and Jordan earlier signed peace deals, the UAE has said it anticipates having a “warm” peace with Israel. The Emirates also hopes the deal with aid its efforts to purchase advanced F-35 fighter jets from the US The deals also unite three nations that remain suspicious of Iran.
However, the agreements did not address the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. The agreements, which were seen as a foreign policy win for President Donald Trump ahead of the Nov. 3 election, now face the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the latest Emirati official to get the vaccine, developed by China’s Sinopharm.
Prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has said he received a coronavirus vaccine shot.
“We wish everyone safety and great health, and we are proud of our teams who have worked relentlessly to make the vaccine available in the UAE,” he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
While receiving the COVID-19 vaccine today. We wish everyone safety and great health, and we are proud of our teams who have worked relentlessly to make the vaccine available in the UAE. The future will always be better in the UAE. pic.twitter.com/Rky5iqgfdg
The vaccine is now in the third and final stage of clinical trials and has so far been found safe and effective, local media reported, citing the authorities.
Several pharmaceutical companies and research centres around the world are working on developing COVID-19 vaccines, with large global trials involving tens of thousands of participants under way.
Some companies are close to unveiling their initial findings, with Canadian and European regulators already reviewing early data on some vaccines.
Houston: Temperature and humidity do not play a significant role in the spread of the novel coronavirus, that causes COVID-19, according to a study led by an Indian-origin researcher in the US.
The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, suggests that the transmission of COVID-19 from one person to the next depends almost entirely on human behaviour, irrespective of hot or cold weather.
The researchers noted that weather influences the environment in which the coronavirus must survive before infecting a new host.
However, it also influences human behaviour, which moves the virus from one host to another, they said.
“The effect of weather is low and other features such as mobility have more impact than weather. In terms of relative importance, weather is one of the last parameters,” said Dev Niyogi, a professor at the University of Texas (UT) at Austin, US, who led the research.
The study defined weather as “equivalent air temperature,” which combines temperature and humidity into a single value.
The scientists then analysed how this value tracked with coronavirus spread in different areas from March to July 2020, with their scale ranging from US. states and counties, to countries, regions and the world at large.
At the county and state scale, the researchers also investigated the relationship between coronavirus infection and human behaviour, using cellphone data to study travel habits.
The study examined human behaviour in a general sense and did not attempt to connect it to how the weather may have influenced it.
At each scale, the researchers adjusted their analyses so that population differences did not skew results. Across scales, the scientists found that the weather had nearly no influence.
The researchers compared the weather with other factors using a statistical metric that breaks down the relative contribution of each factor towards a particular outcome.
They found that the weather’s relative importance at the county scale was less than 3 per cent, with no indication that a specific type of weather promoted spread over another.
In contrast, the data showed the clear influence of human behaviour — and the outsized influence of individual behaviours, according to the researchers.
Taking trips and spending time away from home were the top two contributing factors to COVID-19 growth, with a relative importance of about 34 per cent and 26 per cent respectively, they said.
The researchers noted that the next two important factors were population and urban density, with a relative importance of about 23 per cent and 13 per cent respectively.
“We shouldn’t think of the problem as something driven by weather and climate. We should take personal precautions, be aware of the factors in urban exposure,” said study co-author Sajad Jamshidi, a research assistant at Purdue University in the US.
Maryam Baniasad, a doctoral candidate at Ohio State University, US said that assumptions about how coronavirus would respond with weather are largely informed by studies conducted in laboratory settings on related viruses.
Baniasad said that this study illustrates the importance of studies that analyse how the coronavirus spreads through human communities.
“When you study something in lab, it’s a supervised environment. It’s hard to scale up to society. This was our first motivation to do a more broad study,” she added.
(This story has not been edited by Kashmir Today staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Taliban says that their fighters did not cause the assualt
Kabul: Gunmen killed at least 25 students in Afghanistan’s Kabul University on Monday, AFP reported.
An injured person being taken to a hospital after a suicide attack on a religious gathering at a wedding hall in Kabul, Afghanistan, where a thousand people were said to be present.Credit…Mohammad Ismail/Reuters
According to the witnesses and government sources, gunmen opened fire on students in the capital of Afghanistan, while they attempted to flee the scene.
A witness told Reuters that the gunmen were firing at every student they saw.
Hospital workers carry an injured person after an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan March 6, 2020. (Photo Credit: OMAR SOBHANI / REUTERS)
“They were shooting at every student they saw,” Fathullah Moradi told Reuters, while adding that he was able to escape through one of the gates of the university with his friends.
The Taliban claimed that their fighters did not cause the assault, with no other group taking responsibility of the act so far.
According to witnesses, soon after the attack, an explosion took place in the area.
A man wounded after gunmen stormed the university on Monday. Photo Credit: Wakil Kohsar/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
“At least 10 killed many others wounded,” the senior government official told Reuters.
According to the Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian, many attacked had infiltrated the campus and were fighting with security forces.
A police source told Reuters that at least 15 people had been injured in the event.
NATO’s Senior Civilian Representative to Afghanistan Stefano Pontecorvo condemned the assault in a statement.
“This is the second attack on educational institutions in Kabul in 10 days. Afghan children & youth need to feel safe going to school,” he claimed.
Last month, an attack on an education centre had killed 24 people, most of whom were students.
Afghanistan government and Taliban negotiators are meeting in Qatar to reach a peace deal, while the United States brings its troops back.
Blames India for promoting sectarian hate in Pakistan, saying that New Delhi was behind fanning hate between the Shia and Sunni sects in Pakistan
Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan announced granting the provisional-provincial status to Gilgit-Baltistan on Sunday as he arrived in the area to attend its 73rd Independence Day celebrations.
“One of the reasons for me coming to Gilgit-Baltistan is to announce that we have decided to grant Gilgit-Baltistan the provisional provincial status,” he said. “We have taken this decision keeping in mind the UN Security Council’s resolutions,” added the prime minister.
PM Imran said that he could not announce or talk about the development packages for Gilgit-Baltistan since it would be a violation of the stated procedures as elections were about to take place in the area.
“However, I will tell you that it is our government’s foremost policy to uplift Pakistan’s poor that amount to 25% of the population and the country’s backward areas,” he said.
The prime minister said that one of the many reasons Gilgit-Baltistan remained backwards was because it was “cut off” from the rest of Pakistan.
“Insha’Allah you will see in the coming days, our development plans will go there [backward areas],” he said.
Pakistan secure because of our armed forces, says PM Imran Khan
Turning his guns towards India, PM Imran said that the Hindu supremacist government in history was in power in India. He said that the citizenship and registration laws were enacted to target Muslims in the country.
PM Imran said that he could not stress enough the importance of a strong army for a nation’s security. “Pakistan is secure today because of its armed forces,” he said. “Our army is the main reason why we haven’t suffered the same fate as many other Muslim countries.”
He blamed India for promoting sectarian hate in Pakistan, saying that New Delhi was behind fanning hate between the Shia and Sunni sects in Pakistan. The prime minister felicitated Pakistan’s intelligence agencies for rendering ineffective India’s conspiracies to spread anarchy in the country.
So-called democrats are discrediting army, judiciary: PM Imran Khan
The premier lashed out at the Opposition, saying that so-called democrats in the country were targeting the military and the judiciary.
“Those who call themselves democrats have started a programme according to which they are discrediting the country’s judiciary and military,” he said.
He blamed the Opposition for trying to establish the narrative that General Elections 2018 in Pakistan were rigged. After that, the prime minister said, they tried to blackmail him on the economy and the coronavirus situation.
PM Imran accused the Opposition of attempting to blackmail him so he can forgive them for their alleged corruption. “Their interest is against Pakistan’s interest and this is happening. All of them have become one,” he said.
The prime minister said that since the Opposition cannot blackmail him, they have turned their guns towards the ISI chief.
“I thank Allah that they are speaking out against the army chief and the ISI chief. This means I was right in selecting them [to their posts],” he said. “Because if these robbers are speaking out against them then that means these two are correct people.”
He said that if one were to study the history of the Muslims of the sub-continent, he/she would realise that Muslims always used to fight with determination. “However, the most damage that was inflicted on the Muslims was through people of their own, their Mir Jafars and Mir Sadiqs,” he said, referring to the Opposition.
“These people are now speaking the language of Narendra Modi. All heads of states congratulated me on the way we handled the Pulwama situation,” he said, adding that it was disappointing what Ayaz Sadiq was saying about Abhinandan.
“I want to make it clear right now — Imran Khan will never forgive these dacoits,” he said.
Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said the federal government will soon legislate teaching of the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) life into curriculums for grades seven to nine.
The premier made the announcement while addressing the National Rehmatul Lil Alameen Conference in Islamabad to commemorate Eid Milad un Nabi.
“When I was studying abroad, I would see students reading up on successful leaders. Today we see the youth wanting to learn from Steve Jobs, Bill Gates. But who is more successful than Prophet Mohammad (PBUH)?”
PM Imran said he was shocked to see educated youth of the country having no understanding of the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) life. “Once the children study His (PBUH) life, we will see a change in them.”
The prime minister said Allama Iqbal had also reflected that once a person starts following the footsteps of the Holy Prophet (PBUH), he becomes free.
He said the Holy Prophet (PBUH) made unparalleled accomplishments which no other person can achieve.
Islamophobia
PM Imran said the situation would deteriorate if Islamophobia is not addressed. “We could see this coming,” he said on France. “Why is this happening? I understand the West more than most people after having spent many years abroad playing cricket.”
The prime minister said the West was unable to comprehend how deeply Muslims revered the Holy Prophet (PBUH). “When I went abroad, I saw that they made comedy movies based on Jesus and other messengers. They do not feel it a disrespect. They do not revere prophets the way we do,” he explained. “Most of them are atheist.”
“Muslims were labelled anti-free speech after the protest against Salman Rushdie’s book,” he continued. “A small anti-Islam movement campaigned against Muslims.”
He regretted that world leaders of the time had not explained to the international community about the degree of pain caused to Muslims when the Holy Prophet (PBUH) was mocked. “I said this at the OIC and the UN that unless Muslim leaders don’t address this, the anti-Islam campaigners will use it against us.”
The Charlie Hebdo caricatures were made to incite Muslims, he added.
“We also believe in freedom of expression but hurting the sentiments of others under its garb is not permissible,” he asserted.
Holocaust
PM Imran said powerful Jewish leaders ensured that the Holocaust is neither denied nor their sufferings disrespected. “Nobody can dare to deny Holocaust because they [Jews} communicated their sensitivities.”
The premier said he has written to Muslim leaders around the world to design a common strategy against Islamophobia. “We need to make the West understand our religious sensitivities as nothing causes a Muslim more pain than the disrespect of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).”
Imran Khan says he is open to dialogue if Kashmiris are given the right to self-determination as per the UN resolutions.
Islamabad: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has reiterated that he is prepared to hold talks with neighbouring India only if it lifts its “military siege” on Indian-administered Kashmir and gives its residents the right to self-determination.
Khan made the remarks during a short video address released on Tuesday to coincide with the anniversary of the day Indian security forces entered the part of Kashmir it administers in 1947, two months after both India and Pakistan gained independence from the British.
“I am ready [for talks], but for that, you will need to end the military siege that you have imposed on Kashmir, and the second thing is that you will need to give Kashmiris the right to self-determination as per the United Nations’ resolutions,” said Khan.
Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in full but administer separate portions of it, divided by a Line of Control, across which a tenuous ceasefire has been in place since 2003.
In August 2019, India revoked a constitutional provision that had given Indian-administered Kashmir a measure of autonomy, bringing it into the country’s administrative and governance mainstream.
The move was accompanied by the influx of tens of thousands of troops into the territory, where an armed separatist movement has raged for years.
A curfew was imposed across the mountainous Himalayan territory, with severe restrictions on public gatherings, communication and other civil liberties and hundreds of people arrested.
The restrictions have continued after the coronavirus pandemic erupted in March.
In his comments on Tuesday, Khan decried what he termed a “military siege” of Kashmir’s citizens in Indian-administered Kashmir.
“They are neither Indian citizens, and neither do they have the right of self-determination that was given by the United Nations Security Council,” he said.
In 1948, the UN Security Council passed a resolution mandating that both sides cease hostilities to pave the way for a plebiscite where Kashmiris would be given the right to choose between joining either Pakistan or India.
But New Delhi has continued to tighten its control over the Muslim-majority region with a large military presence and a series of legislation aimed at suppressing the separatist voices.
Khan’s statement on Tuesday coincided with India enacting new laws that allow any Indian national to buy land in Indian-administered Kashmir, spurring allegations about New Delhi planning a demographic change in the region.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday urged leaders of countries around the world to take immediate actions to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, as confirmed cases continue to surge worldwide.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, said at a press briefing that the world is now at a crucial moment facing the pandemic and that it would be tough for countries in the following months.
“We are at a critical juncture in this pandemic, particularly in the northern hemisphere. The next few months are going to be very tough and some countries are on a dangerous track. Too many countries are seeing an exponential increase in cases and that is now leading to hospitals and ICU running close or above capacity and we’re still only in October.
We urge leaders to take immediate action, to prevent further unnecessary deaths, essential health services from collapsing and schools shutting again,” said Tedros.
Tedros also called on governments to take comprehensive measures. Countries which have brought the epidemic under control should not let down their guard and those which are still seeing surges in cases should make adjustments on their measures, Tedros said.
He also said that it is necessary for countries to inform their people about the current outbreak situation in their countries and what they should do in response.
Systems that will make it easier for citizens to follow containment measures should be established, which means if people need to be quarantined or if businesses must be temporarily closed, the government will do what it can to help individuals, families and businesses, he said.
Last but not least, Tedros said, if the governments could improve their contact tracing systems and can isolate all cases and contacts, then the mandatory isolation could be avoided.(KINS)
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