North Korea imposed a nationwide lockdown on Thursday to control its first confirmed case of Covid-19 after holding for more than two years to a widely doubted claim of a perfect record in keeping out the virus.
Tests of samples collected on Sunday from an unspecified number of people with fevers in Pyongyang confirmed that they were infected with the Omicron variant, AP reported, citing the official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called for a thorough lockdown of cities and counties and said workplaces should be isolated by units to prevent the virus from spreading, the KCNA said.
North Korea has shunned vaccines offered by the UN-backed Covax distribution programme, possibly because they have international monitoring requirements.
As of March, no cases of Covid-19 had been reported, the World Health Organisation said. There is no official record of any North Koreans having been vaccinated.
“There has been the biggest emergency incident in the country, with a hole in our emergency quarantine front, that has been kept safely over the past two years and three months since February 2020,” the KCNA said.
The fact that Mr Kim called a party politburo meeting at dawn and state media immediately published the deliberation shows the urgency of the situation, said Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
“Externally, there may be an indirect message of the need for co-operating with the international community if it proves to be difficult to overcome on its own,” Mr Yang said.
A South Korean website that monitors activities in Pyongyang said this week that residents have been told to return home and remain indoors because of a “national problem”, without offering details.
Shortly after the announcement, North Korea fired three ballistic missiles off its east coast, South Korea and Japan said.
Three short-range ballistic missiles were fired at about 18.30 local time from the Sunan area of Pyongyang, where an international airport is located and where the country said it had fired its largest intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-17, on March 24, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The missiles flew about 360 kilometres, reaching an altitude of 90km and a maximum velocity of Mach 5, the joint chiefs said. The US military said the launch did not pose an immediate threat to it or its allies.
Japanese Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi presented slightly different figures for the launch, saying the missiles flew about 350km, to the maximum altitude of about 100km, before landing outside Japan's territorial waters.
“A series of missile launches when the invasion of Ukraine is taking place is unacceptable,” he told reporters and added that Tokyo had lodged a protest against North Korea through its embassy in Beijing.
The launch was the first since the inauguration this week of conservative South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has signalled a hard line against the North's weapons development.
Mr Yoon's national security office issued a statement condemning the launch, saying it “deplored the duplicitous conduct” of firing ballistic missiles and ignoring the plight of its people in the middle of a Covid outbreak.
In its last weapons test on Saturday, the North used a submarine-launched ballistic missile, which it has been aggressively developing in recent years.
Mr Kim vowed late last month to expedite the country's build-up of its nuclear arsenal amid stalled denuclearisation talks with the US.
US and South Korean officials have said Pyongyang's first nuclear test since 2017 could take place as early as this month.
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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Marathon results
Men:
1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13
2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50
3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25
4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46
5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48
Women:
1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30
2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01
3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30
4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43
5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Hoffenheim (11.30pm)
Saturday
Hertha Berlin v RB Leipzig (6.30pm)
Schalke v Fortuna Dusseldof (6.30pm)
Mainz v Union Berlin (6.30pm)
Paderborn v Augsburg (6.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (9.30pm)
Sunday
Borussia Monchengladbach v Werder Bremen (4.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt (9on)
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
if you go
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The 12 breakaway clubs
England
Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur
Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus
Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
RIDE%20ON
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.