CAIRO: Egypt will extend measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, including early closing hours for shops, until the end of May, the cabinet said on Wednesday.
Public parks and beaches will be allowed to reopen in two weeks’ time, with appropriate precautions.
Since May 6, stores, malls and restaurants have had to close by 9 p.m.

VIENNA: The European Union’s political director said on Wednesday that he was “quite sure” that there would be a final agreement to revive the Iran nuclear deal.
“We have made substantial progress over the last 10 days but there are still things to be worked on and we will reconvene next week and we will continue working,” Enrique Mora, who is coordinating indirect talks between Iran and the United States, told reporters at the end of a fourth round of negotiations in Vienna.
Talks resumed in Vienna on May 7 with the remaining parties to the deal – Iran, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany – meeting in the basement of a luxury hotel, and the United States based in another hotel across the street.
Iran has refused to hold direct meetings with the United States on how to resume compliance with the deal, which former President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, prompting Iran to begin violating its terms about a year later.
“I am quite sure that there will be a final agreement,” Mora said. “I think we are on the right track and we will get an agreement.”
Asked if he was saying there would be a deal in the next round: “I cannot venture such a prediction. What I can venture is that there will be an agreement, yeah, sure.”
The crux of the original agreement was that Iran committed to rein in its nuclear programme to make it harder to obtain the fissile material for a nuclear weapon in return for relief from US, EU and UN sanctions.
Officials have said they hope to reach a deal by May 21, when an agreement between Tehran and the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, on continued monitoring of some Iranian nuclear activities is due to expire.
Mora said Iran was continuing to negotiate with the IAEA on extending that agreement.

CAIRO: Egypt is allocating $500 million for reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip following Israeli airstrikes, with President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi saying that specialist Egyptian firms would contribute to the rebuilding efforts.

“We will work to solve the crisis,” El-Sisi said on the sidelines of a conference in Paris. “There is hope for collective action to end the conflict.”

El-Sisi has ordered the government to coordinate with Palestinians in Gaza to find out what their needs are and fulfill them.

Egypt has opened the Rafah crossing through which travelers, students and those wishing to receive medical treatment have begun arriving.

Egypt is leading mediation efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians.

DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday it would offer a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine from China’s state-owned drug-maker Sinopharm for those who have already received two doses.
The move is part of the UAE’s “proactive strategy to provide maximum protection for society,” the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) said, with priority given to those aged above 60 or suffering a chronic disease.
The country of some 9 million has vaccinated around 73 percent of the eligible population, NCEMA said. The UAE is providing four vaccines for free but does not provide a breakdown for each one.
The UAE, a regional business and tourism hub, on Tuesday reported 1,270 new coronavirus infections to take the total to 548,681 cases with 1,637 deaths.
The World Health Organization, which last week approved Sinopharm for emergency use, has said a large Phase III trial of Sinopharm had shown that two doses, administered at an interval of 21 days, have an efficacy of 79 percent against symptomatic infection, 14 or more days after the second dose.
The UAE has started manufacturing the Chinese vaccine under a joint venture between Sinopharm and Abu Dhabi-based technology company Group 42.

GAZA CITY: Heavy Israeli airstrikes claimed more lives in Gaza on Tuesday as tensions flared during Palestinian “day of anger” protests in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.

According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, Israel’s intense bombing campaign has killed 213 Palestinians, including 61 children, 36 women and 16 elderly.

Israeli munitions have wounded more than 1,400 people in Gaza during recent clashes with Hamas.

“I fear the night more than any other time, even if it is calm, I feel terrified as soon as the night starts,” said Hadyya Al-Sirsawi, a Gaza resident.

“The sounds of the bombing at night are very frightening. There is a continuous bombing, and it does not stop for a long time. My body shivers with the sound of everything, even if it is not bombing.” Al-Sirsawi, 32, a mother of three, Arab News.

In the night raids, 42 Palestinians died on Al-Wehda Street on Sunday.

Al-Sirsawi is afraid that she and her family will join the dead under the rubble, and that the Ministry of Health will list them as another statistic. “The ministry does not even mention names, we will be a number like others.”

She added: “I try hard every night to put my children to bed so that they sleep early, missing the frightening sounds of the constant nightly bombardment. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes they do not sleep, and sometimes they wake up to the sounds of bombing.”

Israeli warplanes continued to strike various areas in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, including houses, agricultural plots and border areas.

The government media office in Gaza said that the damage to the strip has so far amounted to $243 million.

War is especially galling for children, even after its conclusion. “I try to keep my children busy all the time so that they are not psychologically affected by the bombing going on around them,” said Rawya Humaid, 38, a mother of two.

“During the daytime, we can withstand the sounds of the bombing, but the silence of the night makes the sounds more terrifying for me and my children,” Humaid told Arab News, adding: “I can’t sleep at night, I stay awake. In the early hours of the morning, I fell asleep for a few hours.”

During the night, Humaid keeps herself busy by watching the news, checking her Instagram account on her mobile, or chatting with her friends and relatives over WhatsApp.

Despite Arab and international efforts to end the war and return to the ceasefire agreement, Gazans do not expect a conclusion soon.

Humaid said: “I hear about the news when talking about the calm, but what we are witnessing, hearing and living is horror. There is no calm yet on the ground, which is the most important.

“There will be a ceasefire at any time. This will not last forever, but the pain, sadness and destruction will remain in the Gaza Strip. We will need years to restore our health and our psyche.”