Germany plans to set up dozens of vaccination centres nationwide to administer the Covid-19 jab.
Regional authorities will accelerate preparations for establishing about 60 centres, with mobile units to support efforts in giving the population the jab.
Large exhibition halls were being discussed as potential sites for the centres.
Pfizer's vaccine must be shipped and stored at minus 70°C, raising potential issues with distribution. Doctors' surgeries are unlikely to have the necessary equipment so larger, purpose-built centres are likely to be needed.
Germany this month re-imposed tough measures to help slow the Covid-19 outbreak, with schools, daycare centres and shops staying open while restaurants, bars, leisure and cultural centres had to close.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that extraordinary curbs such as mask wearing or social distancing may be in place for months to come yet.
Only when 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the population has achieved immunity – either through vaccination or having caught the virus – can Covid-19 be deemed to have been "more or less overcome", she said.
"Then we can also lift all restrictions," Ms Merkel said.
Priority for a future vaccine, which would be not be compulsory, would go to the elderly, health workers and others at greater risk from the coronavirus.
"It is important that we protect those who are at highest risk first," health minister Jens Spahn said after a cabinet meeting on Monday about Germany's vaccination strategy.
About 40 percent of the country's fast-ageing population of about 80 million people is deemed to be in the risk group.
Besides the elderly and chronically ill, those with the highest exposure potential to the virus, such as healthcare workers and carers, would also be given priority, he said.
Mr Spahn's statement came as hopes rose for a vaccine in coming weeks.
On Monday, US biotech company Moderna announced its experimental vaccine was 94.5 per cent effective in preventing the virus.
Last week, German company BioNTech and US giant Pfizer announced that Phase 3 trials had shown their vaccine to be 90 per cent effective in preventing Covid-19 infections.
According to preliminary findings, protection in patients from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds was achieved seven days after the second of two vaccine doses, and 28 days after the first.
The companies said they expect to supply up to 50 million vaccine doses globally in 2020, and up to 1.3 billion in 2021.
While welcoming the BioNTech-Pfizer news, Mr Spahn noted there would not be enough vaccines for everyone immediately.
Earlier, government advisers, the Leopoldina Academy, the Stiko vaccine commission, Germany's Ethics Council and disease control agency RKI had also made a case for some to be given doses before others.
"We will need prioritisation. We need to do it in such a way that on the basis of best available evidence, we achieve the best benefit for the whole population," said Thomas Mertens, who chairs Stiko.
Switzerland has similar plans for specialist centres to deliver the deep-chilled Covid vaccine.
Health experts said such a vaccine comes with special challenges because the genetic material it consists of must be stored at minus 70°C or below.
This could complicate any inoculation programme, particularly in regions such as parts of Asia or Africa where the climate is warm, distances vast and where the required infrastructure may be lacking.
The World Health Organisation called the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine data exciting, but said it "presages significant cold chain challenges for African countries".
Thomas Steffen, Basel's cantonal doctor and a board member of the Swiss Doctors Association, said groups considering distribution of a Covid-19 vaccine are working with different scenarios, including for one like Pfizer's.
"We have to have a solution if we need to chill the vaccine to minus 70°C, and in that case organise the distribution ... differently than if it were stored at a temperature of a refrigerator," Mr Steffen said This was likely to mean having to use centres, he said.
The Swiss have reserved nearly 10 million doses of vaccine candidates that AstraZeneca and Moderna are developing, should they pass trials.
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Afro%20salons
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Honeymoonish
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
Porsche Macan T: The Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 265hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,800-4,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Speed: 0-100kph in 6.2sec
Top speed: 232kph
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
On sale: May or June
Price: From Dh259,900
Bugatti Chiron Super Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,600hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.4seconds
0-200kph in 5.8 seconds
0-300kph in 12.1 seconds
Top speed: 440kph
Price: Dh13,200,000
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport - the specs:
Engine: 8.0-litre quad-turbo W16
Transmission: 7-speed DSG auto
Power: 1,500hp
Torque: 1,600Nm
0-100kph in 2.3 seconds
0-200kph in 5.5 seconds
0-300kph in 11.8 seconds
Top speed: 350kph
Price: Dh13,600,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
Calls
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillian, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
4/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2015%20PRO%20MAX
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