Israel is planning tougher health restrictions to combat rising cases of Covid-19 as the Delta variant spreads, the office of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Thursday.
If the new plans are approved by Parliament, only those vaccinated or who have recovered from coronavirus will be allowed to take part in indoor events of more than 100 people.
They will also have to wear masks, except while eating and drinking.
The proposal is a joint plan drawn up by Mr Bennett's office and the health and economy ministries.
The Health Ministry has said it would cut quarantine time for those in contact with infected people and for returning non-vaccinated residents from 10 days to seven after a negative test result.
Israel became a pioneer in Covid-19 inoculations after it obtained millions of doses from Pfizer and BioNTech in exchange for sharing extensive health data on their effects.
Its initial distribution of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was among the world's fastest, delivering two doses to more than 55 per cent of the population, including about 85 per cent of adults.
Case numbers dropped dramatically and Israel eased many restrictions in early June.
But soon after, as cases rose, the Health Ministry reimposed a requirement for masks to be worn in enclosed public places.
In the past 24 hours, more than 600 cases have been reported, up from about 200 a day on average a week ago.
Mr Bennett on Wednesday called on Israelis to wear masks in closed public places and to avoid travel.
"The vaccine is not sufficient to fight against the Delta variant. We need the co-operation of citizens to defeat the coronavirus without having to impose a new lockdown," he said.
Mr Bennett also called on children aged between 12 and 16 to get vaccinated.
if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
