KINGSTON: West Indies and Ireland have announced new dates for the rest of their one-day international series after Tuesday’s second match was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak in the tourists’ camp. The second ODI will now be played on Thursday, with the third and final ODI taking place three days later. Both matches will … Read more
CAIRO: Only Muslim men are allowed to get permits to visit the Prophet’s (PBUH) tomb in the holy city of Madinah via the app “Eatmarna”, Gulf News quoted a Saudi newspaper as reporting. Women can book such visits while at the mosque that houses the tomb, it added. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah has set a … Read more
WARSAW: More than 100,000 people have died in Poland from Covid since the start of the pandemic, the government said Monday, as the mortality rate in the country is among the highest in the world. “It’s another sad day but particularly so today because we have crossed the threshold of 100,000 deaths,” Health Minister Adam Niedzielski told … Read more
SUVA, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — Fiji has recorded five new COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 17 since the confirmation of the third wave of COVID-19. Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Health James Fong said on Tuesday three of five new deaths were fully vaccinated, one man was not jabbed, … Read more
MILAN: Inter Milan kept their lead in the Serie A title race thanks to a tight 2-1 win over Lazio on Sunday, while Juventus pulled off an incredible comeback to sink a distraught Roma 4-3. Milan Skriniar thumped home the decisive goal with a towering header from Alessandro Bastoni’s cross in the 67th minute to put … Read more
NEW DELHI, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) — India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 35,707,727 on Monday, as 179,723 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours, showed the health ministry’s latest data. This is the fourth consecutive day when more than 100,000 new cases were registered in a day in the country. Besides, as many as … Read more
LAS VEGAS: The Consumer Electronics Show (CES), one of the world’s largest trade fairs, returns to Las Vegas in person this week under a newly resurgent pandemic that has supercharged the industry but threatens its downsized expo. Multiple companies, including Amazon, BMW and Microsoft, reduced or canceled their attendance as Covid-19 case numbers broke records, … Read more
MELBOURNE: The rapidly spreading Omicron variant, no Serena Williams or Roger Federer and now the Novak Djokovic saga — the Australian Open is struggling to live up to its “Happy Slam” reputation. With the tournament just 10 days away, there was the threat Friday of more disarray with the possibility of other players being in a similar … Read more
YAOUNDÉ: The Africa Cup of Nations, kicking off Sunday in Cameroon after a delay over Covid concerns, is also posing major security, political and organisational challenges for the host nation. Some were fearing yet another postponement, with African football chief Patrice Motsepe saying late last month that the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in a country with … Read more
LONDON: Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has become the latest member of the club staff to test positive for coronavirus, throwing Thursday’s League Cup semi-final at Arsenal into further doubt. With manager Jurgen Klopp and three players — Alisson Becker, Joel Matip and Roberto Firmino — already isolating, Lijnders, who took charge of the team for … Read more
NEW DELHI: India’s domestic Ranji Trophy has been postponed after a nationwide surge in coronavirus cases, the country’s cricket board said in a statement. The first-class competition — named for Maharaja Ranjitsinhji, an Indian prince who played for England in the 1890s — was scheduled to start this month. But the long-format tournament and February’s Twenty20 women’s league … Read more
MELBOURNE: Novak Djokovic received “no special” favours to be granted a Covid vaccine exemption to play at the Australian Open, said tournament chief Craig Tiley on Wednesday, as the move sparked a furious backlash. The nine-time Australian Open champion Djokovic announced late Tuesday he was en route to Melbourne with “an exemption permission”, ending the drawn-out saga over whether … Read more
ANKARA: Turkey on Tuesday reported 54,724 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 9,652,394, according to its health ministry. The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 137 to 82,932, while 26,561 more people recovered in the last 24 hours. A total of 382,888 tests were conducted over the past day, … Read more
WELLINGTON, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) — New Zealand reported 17 new cases of COVID-19 in the community on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country’s current community outbreak to 11,003. Among the new infections, five were recorded in the largest city of Auckland, three in nearby Waikato, and nine in Bay of … Read more
GABORONE, Botswana, Jan 3, 2022 (AFP) – President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana, which with South Africa was the first country to detect the Omicron variant of coronavirus, is isolating after testing positive for Covid, the government said on Monday. “The president does not have any symptoms and will continue to receive close medical monitoring by his … Read more
WASHINGTON: Americans returning home from holiday travel had to battle another day of airport chaos Sunday, with more than 2,600 flights cancelled due to bad weather or airline staffing woes sparked by a surge in Covid cases. Further disruptions are predicted for Monday, as a winter storm blows eastward. As of 10:00pm (0300 GMT Monday), more … Read more
SYDNEY: Joe Root said Monday that he has “questions to answer” and will assess his future as England captain after the losing Ashes tour, as Ben Stokes insisted he has no ambition to take over. Root will become his country’s longest-serving Test skipper at the fourth Test in Sydney on Wednesday, surpassing predecessor Alastair Cook’s 59 matches in … Read more
BEIJING: The Beijing Winter Olympics begin one month on Tuesday with diplomatic boycotts, the coronavirus and the fate of Peng Shuai all hanging heavy over the Games. The Chinese capital on February 4-20 will become the first host of a Winter and Summer Olympics, having staged the Games in 2008, seen then as a coming-out party for … Read more
MANCHESTER: Even after a weekend in which Manchester City produced the worst performance of the Premier League’s top four, the champions streaked further clear towards a fourth title in five years. City manager Pep Guardiola admitted his side were second best despite coming from behind to beat 10-man Arsenal 2-1 with a 93rd minute winner … Read more
SYDNEY: Cricket Australia chief Nick Hockley on Monday became the latest person to contract Covid-19 during the Ashes series against England. Hockley, who is fully vaccinated, developed mild symptoms and immediately got tested and isolated, with a positive PCR result confirmed. “I am isolating at home with my family, who have returned negative results,” he said. Hockley … Read more
SEOUL, Jan. 3 (Xinhua) — South Korea has registered a total of 171,673 breakthrough COVID-19 infections, which refer to the vaccinated people who were infected with the virus, the health authorities said Monday. The number of those who tested positive for COVID-19 after receiving two vaccine doses stood at 171,673 as of Dec. 26 in … Read more
NEW DELHI – India’s COVID-19 tally rose to 34,922,882 on Monday, as 33,750 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry’s latest data. Besides, 123 more deaths were recorded since Sunday morning, taking the death toll to 481,893. Currently there are 145,582 active cases in the … Read more
MELBOURNE: US Open champion Emma Raducanu on Saturday pulled out of an Australian Open warm-up tournament next week as she continues to recover from coronavirus. The 19-year-old Briton was due to line up alongside defending Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka and former world number one Simona Halep at the Melbourne Summer Set WTA event from Tuesday. But … Read more
ULAN BATOR, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) — Mongolia recorded 289 new COVID-19 infections over the past 24 hours, raising the national tally to 390,752, the country’s health ministry said on Saturday. Among the latest confirmed cases, 11 were imported from abroad, the ministry said in a statement. Meanwhile, the country’s death toll remained at 1,986 as … Read more
ABUJA: Nigeria have been forced to make four late changes to their final Africa Cup of Nations squad with Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and Watford winger Emmanuel Dennis missing the tournament. Defender Shehu Abdullahi and Leon Balogun are the other two players who will sit out the biennial African football showpiece being hosted by Cameroon and which … Read more
KOLKATA: Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly was on Friday discharged from hospital four days after being admitted with Omicron variant of Covid-19, a senior doctor said. The 49-year-old was admitted in Kolkata on Monday after he tested positive for the virus and was suffering from a mild fever. “He expressed his desire to go … Read more
KARACHI: The rising number of coronavirus cases of the Omicron variant has set alarm bells ringing at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ahead of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) seventh edition scheduled to start from 27th January. The National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, had said that 75 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant were … Read more
DUBAI: Aviation giant Emirates said on Thursday it expects business to grow next year despite the surge in global coronavirus cases fuelled by the Omicron variant. The Dubai-based carrier said in November it was already on the path to recovery as six-month losses dropped by more than half from a year earlier. “Despite the recent … Read more
