Apple just announced that the Apple Online Store is now available in Vietnam.
Vietnam’s Apple Online Store will offers a wide range of Apple products and accessories, with shopping assistance from Apple’s team of experts, no-contact delivery, trade-in program, build-to-order Mac options, and up to 24 months of financing for your Apple device. The Apple Online Store will also offer students a special pricing for their Mac or iPad, and receive discounts on accessories as well as AppleCare+.
The store is available in both Vietnamese and English, allowing customers to order a wide range of Apple products on the web.
Apple has announced that it will be opening two new retail store in India. The Apple BKC in Mumbai will start operating this 18th April, then Apple Saket in Delhi on the 20th April. The new two new retail stores were opened 20 years after Apple entered the Indian market.
Even though India is the second largest market for Internet and smartphones in world, Apple is limited to the high-end of the market, specially for smartphones that are priced way below the price range of Apple in country.
You can read the full text of Apple’s announcement below;
Today Apple announced it will open its doors to customers at two new retail locations in India: Apple BKC in Mumbai on April 18, and Apple Saket in Delhi on April 20. These new retail locations mark a significant expansion in India that will offer great new ways to browse, discover, and buy Apple products with exceptional service and experiences for customers.
The barricade for Apple Saket was revealed this morning and features a unique design that takes inspiration from Delhi’s many gates, each signifying a new chapter to the city’s storied past. The colorful artwork celebrates Apple’s second store in India — located right in the nation’s capital. Beginning April 20, customers will be able to stop by to explore Apple’s latest product lineup, find creative inspiration, and get personalized service and support from the store’s team of Specialists, Creatives, and Geniuses.
In celebration of the first Apple Store opening in India, Apple BKC announced a special Today at Apple series — “Mumbai Rising” — running from opening day through the summer. Bringing visitors, local artists, and creatives together, these sessions will offer hands-on activities with Apple’s products and services that celebrate the local community and culture in Mumbai. Customers can explore the “Mumbai Rising” sessions and sign up at apple.com/in/today.
Ahead of opening day, customers are invited to download custom Apple BKC and Apple Saket wallpapers, specially curated playlists on Apple Music to move to the sounds of Mumbai and Delhi, and visit apple.com/in/retail/bkc and apple.com/in/retail/saket to learn more about the upcoming openings in India. Apple BKC opens Tuesday, April 18, at 11 a.m. IST, and Apple Saket will open for customers April 20 at 10 a.m. IST.
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) just announced the launching of a new national airline Riyadh Air. Wholly owned by PIF, Riyadh Air will leverage Saudi Arabia’s strategic geographic location between the three continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, enabling Riyadh to become a gateway to the world and a global destination for transportation, trade, and tourism.
Riyadh Air will be chaired by His Excellency Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of PIF, while Tony Douglas, will be its Chief Executive Officer. Douglas brings more than 40 years of experience in the aviation, transportation and logistics industries.
The newly established airline is expected to add US$20 billion to non-oil GDP growth, and create more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Ramadan, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, is just less than 10 days away and all workers in both public and private sector will have shorted working hours.
As announced by Saudi’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD), the working hours in the public sector will reduced to 5 hours a day, from 10 AM to 3 PM, while those working in the private sector, it will have a 6 hours workday, flexible time from 9 to 10 in the morning and 3 to 4 in the afternoon.
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer, reflection and community.
A newly discovered species of cockroach in Singapore have been named after a Pokémon. The name of the roach is Nocticola pheromosa first discovered during an insect survey in 2016 at a nature reserve to uncover the diversity of insects in Singapore. The cockroach was name after the Pokémon, Pheromosa.
In an article on Lee Kong Chian Natural History Muse (LKCNHM), Cristian Lucañas of the University of Philippines Los Baños, Museum of Natural History, and Foo Maosheng of LKCNHM, published a paper describing a new species of delicate cockroach, Nocticola pheromosa. The Pokémon Pheromosa was inspired by the freshly-moulted American cockroach, because of its pale body. The new species, together with the other cockroach under the Nocticola species, shares a similar features with Pheromosa such as their elongated appendages, reduced coloration and fast speed.
What an exciting catch for these two Bug Catchers and for entomological research! pic.twitter.com/fuuWyNrYZu
— Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (@lkcnhm) March 8, 2023
Both Cristian Lucañas and Etymologist Foo Maosheng share the same sentiments regarding people’s perspective on cockroaches and naming the new cockroach after a Pokémon will “change people’s perspectives on cockroaches and realise their value as part of a richer biodiversity.”
Foo also noted that “of attention is often given to other insects like butterflies, beetles and bees that are deemed more charismatic in nature. Cockroaches, on the other hand, face an ongoing stigma as pests that are viewed as off-putting. However, this delicate cockroach is not one to be overlooked! In fact, one might even appreciate how cockroaches administer their own kind of care to the environment—some assisting pollination while others facilitate nutrient cycling in the ecosystem.”
If you’re in Riyadh, KSA you can checkout Bubble TEA, a milktea shop that started as a home business and now a full blown business with 4 partners around the country. Their shop in Riyadh is located in the Sulimaniyah district, less than 1 km from Prince Sultan Medical City.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud announced in a royal decree that the Kingdom will celebrate March 11 every year as a special day for the Saudi flag named “Flag Day”.
Here’s the full text of the royal decree;
The decree said that this is based on the value of the national flag extending throughout the history of the Saudi state since its founding in 1139 AH corresponding to 1727 AD, which symbolizes the testimony of monotheism (There is no God but Allah) in its middle which is the message of peace and Islam on which this blessed state was based; and the sword symbolizes strength, dignity, the height of wisdom and status. For nearly three centuries, the flag is a witness to the country’s unification campaigns waged by the Saudi state, and the citizens of this country have considered it as a banner of pride and lofty out of belief in the great importance of the flag as a manifestation of the state, its strength, sovereignty, and a symbol of cohesion, coalition and national unity.
Whereas, the 27th of Dhu al-Hijjah 1355 AH corresponding to March 11, 1937 AD, is the day when the Founder late King Abdulaziz endorsed the flag in the form that we see today fluttering with its great connotations that refer to monotheism, justice, strength, development and prosperity.
Steamdeck is now available in Saudi Arabia. You can purchase Valve’s handheld gaming computer – Steamdeck from Xcite, which from a quick lookup, appears to be the only local retailer to sell the gaming device. Before, if you want to purchase Steamdeck, you can either need to contact someone from the United States or buy it from the gray/black market.
The Steamdeck is a handheld gaming computer developed by Valve Corporation. Released on February 25, 2022, the Steam Deck can be played as a handheld or connected to a monitor in a similar manner to the Nintendo Switch. Steamdeck is designed to designed for playing Steam-based game, but can also support third-party storefronts like Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Connect, or Origin. The user can also replace the preinstalled SteamOS with a different operating system entirely, since it supports multi-booting.
Here are the pricing of Steamdeck, based on Xcite’s website listings;
SAR 2,498.99 – Steamdeck 64GB eMMC
SAR 3,199.00 – Steamdeck 256GB NVMe SSD
SAR 4,199.00 – Steamdeck 512GB NVMe SSD
Here’s the full specs of the Steamdeck;
Compute
Processor
AMD APU
CPU: Zen 2 4c/8t, 2.4-3.5GHz (up to 448 GFlops FP32)
GPU: 8 RDNA 2 CUs, 1.0-1.6GHz (up to 1.6 TFlops FP32)
APU power: 4-15W
Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra with Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ last Feb 1, 2023 at their Galaxy Unpacked 2023. In a nutshell, the Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ are the same phones with different screen size while the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra is the premium version that supports S-Pen and features a 200 MP camera.
You can read more about the new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23 and Galaxy S23+ here.
Philippine Embassy in Riyadh just announced that there will be changes in the passport renewal this 2023. The announcement took effect last Jan 3, 2023, the Consular Section of the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh will only receive regular passport renewal application through VFS Global both in Riyadh and in Al Khobar. Walk-ins are allowed adn no need for an appointment.
Philippine Embassy in Riyadh will still provide the following services;
Passport applications for newborns
Issuance of emergency travel documents
Resolutions of issues with passport applications
Civil Registry (Reports of Birth, Marriage and Death)
Application for marriage and solemnization of marriage
Correction of entries in birth certificates and marriage contracts registered at the Embassy
The Philippine government just launched the eTravel platform that will as an online Health Declaration and Contact Tracing platform that aims to promote a convenient and seamless movement of international travelers from departure from the country of origin to arrival at the Local Government Unit (LGU) of destination. The service is for all foreign and Filipino international travelers, including infants and children.
The eTravel service started last December 2, the Health Declaration Checklist of the Department of Health-Bureau of Quarantine may be accessed through etravel.gov.ph and anyone accessing the One Health Pass will be redirected to the new eTravel domain. On December 5, the One Health Pass website no longer be accessible by the public.
Using and eTravel platform registration is free and does not collect or require any form of online payment.
— Ninoy Aquino International Airport (@MIAAGovPH) December 2, 2022
Here’s the announcement from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF – EID);
Pursuant to the Philippine Government’s efforts to streamline its entry procedures and data collection processes, we inform you of the launch of the eTravel platform, an online registration system for travelers to the Philippines and returning residents.
Beginning 0001H of 02 December 2022, the Health Declaration Checklist of the Department of Health-Bureau of Quarantine may be accessed through etravel.gov.ph.
Passengers using the former www.onehealthpass.com.ph will be redirected to the new eTravel domain. On December 5, the old domain of the One Health Pass will no longer be accessible to the public.
The eTravel platform will host the electronic version of the paper Arrival Card that travelers must submit upon arrival in the Philippines for immigration clearance. Starting 05 December 2022, the Bureau of Immigration will discontinue using the paper Arrival Card. All travelers will be required to provide their arrival information and health declaration through the eTravel portal.
Registration on the eTravel platform is free. The public is warned against transacting with any entities or websites soliciting payments and fees of any kind as these are in no way related to the official eTravel platform of the Philippine Government.
The eTravel platform is a joint initiative of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in partnership with the Bureau of Immigration (BI), Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), Bureau of Customs (BOC), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Justice (DOJ), and Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Gilas Pilipinas will remain undefeated as they beat Saudi Arabia in the Window 5 of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifier 2023. The game was held at the King Abdullah Sports City, in Jeddah, even though it’s the home court of Saudi Arabian team, the crowd was predominantly composed of OFW, which felt more like a home for the Filipino cagers.
It a close game at the start, where both teams came out firing in all cylinders, it was a tie game (16-16) by the end of the first quarter. Gilas Pilipinas started to pickup steam in the 2nd quarter, where they scored a game high of 25 points, and ended the first half holding on to a 6 point lead.
It’s in the 3rd qtr when the Gilas started to separate themselves with the help of Roger Pogoy who contributed 13 pts on a 5 to 12 shooting. But it was Kai Sotto to made the most contribution chipping in 11 points, a game high 9 rebounds and 5 blocks, with 2 assists, 1 steal on a 23 player efficiency (EFF).
A dominant Kai Sotto outing towed the Philippines past Saudi Arabia and into a sweep of Window 5! 💪#FIBAWC x #WinForPilipinas 🇵🇭
In the 4th quarters, the Saudi tried to make one last push but with the leadership and timely hustle plays of Scottie Thompsons with 9 pts, 3 assists, 9 rebs and 2 steals on a 18 eff, Gilas made sure that it will a night to remember for all the OFW in the arena.
Saudi Arabia vs 🇵🇭 Philippines | Basketball Highlights
Here are the scores;
By Quarters: 16-16, 31-25, 55-45, 76-63.
Philippines 76 – D. Ramos 13, R. Pogoy 13, K. Sotto 11, C. Perez 10, S. Thompson 9, B. Parks 8, J. Aguilar 6, A. Kouame 5, J. Malonzo 1, C. Oftana 0, P. Erram 0, K. Quiambao 0.
Saudi Arabia 63 – Ma. Almarwani 19, Abdel Gabar 16, Mo. Almarwani 8, M. Kadi 6, H. Aljohar 5, A. Ashoor 4, Ali Shubayli 2, T. Mohammed 2, F. Belal 1, M. Saleh 0, A. Almuwallad 0, O. Albargawi 0.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced the launching of Ceer – “the first Saudi electric vehicle brand that will contribute to Saudi Arabia’s automotive manufacturing sector.” The announcement is part of PIR and Saudi’s plan to diversify the country’s economy, as it moves away from oil dependency.
Ceer will also contribute to Kingdom’s “efforts towards carbon emissions reduction and driving sustainability to address the impact of climate change.” In the official announcement published by Saudi Press Agency (SPA), his Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Prime Minister and Chairman of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) said;
Saudi Arabia is not just building a new automotive brand, we are igniting a new industry and an ecosystem that attracts international and local investments, creates job opportunities for local talent, enables the private sector, and contributes to increasing Saudi Arabia’s GDP over the next decade, as part of PIF’s strategy to drive the economic growth in line with Vision 2030.
Ceer is the first Saudi automotive brand that will will design, manufacture and sell a range of electric vehicles for consumers in Saudi Arabia and the MENA region. It is projected that Ceer will attract more than US$150 million of foreign direct investment, and create up to 30,000 direct and indirect jobs. Ceer is projected to directly contribute US$8 billion to Saudi Arabia’s GDP by 2034.
Ceer motors, the company behind Ceer, is a joint venture between PIF and Foxconn, will be using technology from BMW for its vehicle development process. Foxconn will also develop the electrical architecture of the vehicle, to power its infotainment, connectivity and autonomous driving technologies. Each vehicle will be designed and manufactured in Saudi Arabia, and will be tested to the highest global automotive quality control and safety standards. Ceer vehicles are expected to be on the road by 2025.
In a Royal Decree, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammed Bin Salman have been appointed by King Salman as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s appointment was made with the exemption to the provision of Article 56 of the Basic Law of Governance, and the relevant provisions contained in the Law of the Council of Ministers.
The Royal Decree also states that Deputy Minister of Defense Prince Khalid Bin Salman will be the Kingdom’s Minister of Defense and Yousef Bin Abdullah Al-Benyan as the Minister of Education.
The King appointed Talal Bin Abdullah Al-Otaibi as assistant minister of defense.
Great news for our kababayan wanting to find jobs in Saudi Arabia, since the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) of the Republic of the Philippines and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to RESUME the deployment of Filipino workers to the Kingdom starting 7th November 2022.
You can read the joint statement of Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) of the Republic of the Philippines and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development (MHRSD) below;
The announcement was posted on official Facebook page of Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia.
If you are still high on the recent announcement of the new iPhone 14 series, and want to immediately order the device, then you’ve come to the right place.
There are a number of ways you can pre-order the iPhone 14; you can preorder the device thru your carrier or thru a retailer.
These are the leading carrier in Saudi Arabia where you can preorder the latest Apple smartphone;
Mobily – orders will be released 16/09/2022 except for iPhone 14 Plus which will be available on October 7th, 2022.
STC – you can order via mystc app, which means that you should be a current STC subscriber in order to have an active MY STC account.
Virgin Mobile – they offer a limited number of of iPhone 14s for pre-order. You can also pre-register your interest and once iPhone 14 are available they will notify you over SMS.
Virgin Mobile – you can pre order thru their mobile app.
Zain – Stock is limited, 1 order per customer and the iPhone will be released on 16 September 2022, while the iPhone 14 Plus will be available by 7th of October .
If you want to go and place your pre order thru a retailer, then these are the leading retailers in the Kingdom;
All retailers said that the the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max will be release on September 16, 2022, while iPhone 14 Plus will be available by October 7th.
This was a Thirdy Ravena, who lights up the stat sheet with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals for Gilas. This is Gilas’ 4th blow-out win, after they dispatched Cambodia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia by an average of 47.5 points. The only team that were able to threaten the Filipino cagers are the Thais, lead by Price and M. Morgan.
Scores;
Philippines 87 – T. Ravena 17, Lopez 9, Pogoy 9, Go 8, Montalbo 6, K. Ravena 6, Wright 6, Tungcab 6, Tautuaa 6, Rosario 5, Fajardo 5, Navarro 4.
Malaysia 44 – Lee 8, Wee 8, Kuek 8, Wong 6, Tem 5, Liew WY 4, Chang 3, Lew WQ 2, Ong 0, Kwaan 0.
Quarters 19-10, 39-22. 68-33, 87-44.
Read the full report on Rappler;
Thirdy Ravena impresses across the board as Gilas Pilipinas hikes its record to a perfect 5-0, a win away from a 14th straight SEA Games gold! #SEAGames#SEAGames2021https://t.co/TCQtcZrseM
Saudi Arabia will no longer pay for the treatment of COVID-19 cost for patients in private private sector.
This was announced by Council of Health Insurance (Dhaman) last Tuesday, 14th of March, that the government will no longer bear the treatment costs of COVID-19 patients in the private hospitals and other health facilities. The announcement was made through a Dhaman circular sent to all the approved healthcare service providers and the qualified health insurance companies in the Kingdom.
Dhaman circular also emphasis the need to be vaccinated as well as take the booster shots for all the people inside the Kingdom in accordance with the directives of the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the Public Health Authority (Weqaya).
Patients who are not eligible with for treatment or insurance coverage, can still avail of the services by getting the approval from MoH.
For more details, you can read the full report from Saudi Gazette;
The Council of Health Insurance (Dhaman) announced that the state will no longer bear the treatment costs of #COVID19 patients in the private sector facilities. https://t.co/ZkeSeX16UO
Saudi Basic Industries Corp (SABIC), one of the world’s largest petrochemicals manufacturers, and Microsoft just announced that they will be launching the ‘Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse’ – the first consumer product made from recycled ocean plastic. The Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse is made from 20% recycled ocean plastic.
We are excited to announce that we have collaborated with @Microsoft to create its first consumer electronic product – The Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse – with an exterior shell containing 20% recycled ocean plastic.
Ocean plastic is defined as plastic that has been certified by a third party as recovered from any ocean or ocean-feeding waterways or where it washed ashore from these locations. Ocean plastic differs from ocean-bound plastic in that ocean-bound plastic is recovered from ocean-feeding waterways, shorelines, and inland areas within a 50-kilometer radius of the ocean. The two recycled products play complementary roles in helping address the issue of ocean plastic waste.
Microsoft design team initially goal was to create a new plastic resin with 10% ocean plastic, after several rounds of reformulation, SABIC was able to exceed Microosft’s 10% goal and then final product contains 20% recycled ocean plastic by weight in its external casing or “shell.”
SABIC added that “this project has also provided a blueprint to demonstrate to the broader industry sector that recycling and reusing valuable plastic resins that have been recovered from the ocean, ocean – feeding waterways or where they have been washed ashore from these locations, is achievable when value chain partners use their knowledge and expertise and work together.”
SABIC added that “the SABIC-Microsoft collaboration envisions SABIC providing a new XENOY™ resin for Microsoft product use that is comprised of 20% ocean plastic, as part of SABIC’S TRUCIRCLE™ portfolio and services. This new XENOY™ resin with recycled ocean plastic can help reduce plastic waste in the ocean. For example, based on a resin grade comprised of 20% recycled content, for every 1kT of product containing recycled ocean-plastic XENOY™ PC/PET compound, an equivalent of 24 million single-use 0.5liter PET water bottles is removed from the ocean, ocean-feeding waterways, or ocean-adjacent shores.”
Microsoft first unveil the “Microsoft Ocean Plastic Mouse” during their September 2021 Event, which will can be pre-order in selected market for $24.99 or around SAR 94.00.
Philippine Embassy in Saudi Arabia has announced that the Overseas Voting Registration will be extended until 14 October 2021. The Overseas Voting Registration can be done in the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, VFS Riyadh and in Al Khobar branches.
Documents required for the Overseas Voting Registration are;
Lithuania’s Defense Ministry recently release a statement recommending that consumers avoid buying Xiaomi smartphones and suggests to people to throw away the ones they have after a government report found the devices had built-in censorship features.
Xiaomi’s Mi 10T 5G flagship smartphones, which is sold in Europe, have a built-in ability to detect and censor terms such as “Free Tibet”, “Long live Taiwan independence” or “democracy movement”, Lithuania’s Cybersecurity agency said on Tuesday, Sept. 21.
The built-in censorship features in Xiaomi’s smartphones software is turned off for the “European Union region”, but can be turned on remotely at any time, the Defence Ministry’s National Cyber Security Centre said in the report. National Cyber Security Centre also said that Xiaomi’s phone was sending encrypted phone usage data to a server in Singapore.
A similar security flaw was also found in the Huawei’s P40 5G smartphone but none was found in OnePlus phones, another Chinese phone maker, that has a strong presence in the European Union region.
Huawei’s representative in the Baltics told the BNS news wire its phones “do not process user’s data outside the Huawei device.”
The report added the list of “censored” terms which could be blocked by the Xiaomi phone’s system apps, including the default internet browser, currently includes 449 terms in Chinese and is continuously updated.
Saudi’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) issued today, Sept. 13th, new instructions to all airliners operating in the Kingdom’s airports to update their respective entry mechanism and procedures, for residents and visitors arriving in the Kingdom from permitted countries and to reduce the period of institutional quarantine.
Here’s the official statemenet from GACA;
First: A non-vaccinated person who has received one dose of the approved vaccines in the Kingdom, provided that he submits a negative (PCR) exam of a sample swab taken within (72) hours before leaving to the Kingdom at the latest, and that institutional quarantine procedures are applied to him for a period of five days. Furthermore, a corona exam to be conducted within (24) hours of arrival, and another exam on the fifth day after arrival (the recipient must adhere to the times of the corona examination based on what appears to him in the “Tawakkalna” application in the chronology service). The period of institutional quarantine ends with the appearance of a negative test result.
Second: Arriving passengers who completed one of the vaccines not approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and not approved in the Kingdom, or who completed one of the vaccines approved by the World Health Organization and not approved in the Kingdom, provided that he submits a negative PCR exam of a sample swab taken within (72) hours before leaving for The Kingdom at the highest estimate, and that institutional quarantine procedures are applied to him for a period of five days, and that a corona examination is conducted within (24) hours of arrival and another examination on the fifth day after arrival (the recipient must adhere to the times of corona examination based on what appears to him in the Tawakkalna application, in the chronology service), and the period of institutional quarantine ends with the appearance of a negative test result.
GACA also stated that dependents can also enter the country with their “immune” relatives, in accordance to the following;
First: Unvaccinated dependents under the age of eighteen shall be subject to home quarantine procedures for a period of five days, provided that a corona exam (for those who have completed eight years and above) is conducted on the fifth day, and that they’re committed to applying all precautionary measures determined by the Ministry of Health.
Second: Institutional quarantine procedures are applied to unvaccinated dependents who are eighteen years of age, or older.
These new guidelines will take effect on Sept 23rd.
GCA also stressed the following;
Arriving residents must complete the vaccine doses available in the Kingdom after the end of the institutional quarantine period, and whoever completed one of the vaccines approved by the organization and not approved in the Kingdom (currently the Sinopharma vaccine and the Sinovac vaccine) should obtain a booster dose from one of the vaccines available in the Kingdom after arrival.
Arriving passengers must register on “Quddum” platform before going to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Isolation procedures will be applied according to the Ministry of Health protocols, for those who will be tested positive during institutional quarantine
Recovery from infection with the Coronavirus is not considered as a justification to not undergo Institutional quarantine procedures.
GACA also added that the amendment of the home quarantine procedures also applies to the non-vaccinated, which requires a home quarantine for a period of five days, and a PCR exam will be conducted on the fifth day in accordance to Ministry of Health protocols. A person will not be allowed to all places, activities, events and government and private facilities and the use of public transportation without being vaccinated with one of the approved coronavirus vaccines in the Kingdom.
Check out a special SUPER NINTENDO WORLD™ Direct, featuring roughly 15 minutes of just some of Universal Studios Japan’s new area, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD.
Universal Studios Japan’s new area, SUPER NINTENDO WORLD officially opened last November 2020, where it features real-world replica of Princess Peach and Bowser’s Castle, a cafe staffed by TOADS, it also has a AR Mario Kart-themed roller coaster.
Shigeru Miyamoto also walked through the different area of the park that replicates the look and feel of the different areas of the games, like the underground area that will make you feel a smallsized Mario, and POW block and interactive blocks that when punched will give that familiar Mario coin-collecting sound.
Super Nintendo World was originally set to open before the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo but it was delayed due to the COVID-19 global pandemic that also pushed back the Olympics schedule. Super Nintendo World will be open to the public on February 4, 2021. Universal Studios also plans to open Super Nintendo World zones in Hollywood, California; Orlando, Florida; and Singapore.
From the official facebook page of Philippine Embassy POLO Riyadh and Central Region Office, announce the first issue of POLO News, a print and digital newsletter that features the latest POLO Projects, programs and services to support the OFW in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
MESSAGE FROM LABATT Nasser S. Mustafa for the pioneer issue of POLONEWS.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful; may peace and blessings be upon you all, and congratulations to the men and women behind this POLO Newsletter.
I join as you start this project of trying to make sure that our OFWs in particular and the Filipino community in general would be able to get abreast of the programs and services that we continue to do for them through this POLO Newsletter. As you embark on this task, may I wish that you will do it with dedication, professionalism and vigor because I am inspired to do the same to support you in the service of the OFWs, the Filipino community, our beloved country, and God, the Almighty.
Let this newsletter be one of our vehicles in serving, protecting, empowering, and educating our OFWs who are the modern day heroes. As such, let me assure you that we are here for you; we are here to help you; POLO and its staff are here to deliver the assistance and services you need with commitment, wholeheartedness and dedication.
Again, congratulations on the maiden issue of POLO Newsletter. Mabuhay!
UK just approve the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for widespread use. BBC reports that “British regulator, the MHRA, says the jab, which offers up to 95% protection against Covid-19 illness, is safe for roll out next week.”
Pfizer first reported that their mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine was 90% effective against the coronavirus then later released an update that the vaccine is “95% effective against COVID-19 beginning 28 days after the first dose.
UK government already ordered 40 million doses – which is enough to vaccinate 20 million people, with two shots each. The first 800,000 doses will be arriving in the country in the coming days and fifty (50) hospitals are on standby and vaccination centres in venues such as conference centres are being set up in preparation for mass immunizations.
Last week, Pfizer release a video thanking all the participants in their COVID-19 vaccine trial, which is a crucial part in developing the their mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine.
If you’re in Saudi Arabia, you can now preorder the new Macbook Air, 13-inch Macbook Pro and Mac mini with M1 chip. To be more specific, you can preorder the new Macs powered with the M1 chips at Extra. The announcement was made via the social media account of the retail store.
Mac Mini;
8GB RAM + 256GB SSD storage: SAR 3,499.00
8GB RAM + 512GB SSD storage: SAR 4,499.00
The new Macbook Air, 13-inch Macbook Pro and Mac mini with M1 chip was first announced last week and from the reviews that are already out, it looks these new Macs with are great for first time Mac buyer and may be be so good if you are a professional and already have an established work flow.
US-based Moderna just announced that their COVID-19 vaccine, the mRNA-1273 have been found to be 94.5% effective, after its Phase 3 study, which the company is calling the COVE study. Moderna’s COVE study, have more than 30,000 participants in the U.S.
Similar to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine, which was reported to be 90% effective, Moderna’s vaccine candidate is a two-dose vaccine that needs to be administer 28 days apart. Base on their reports, 95 out of 30,000 participants, have been tested positive for COVID-19, 90 cases of COVID-19 were included in the placebo group, while the other 5 cases are those who received mRNA-1273 vaccine.
Within the 90 cases in the placebo group, 11 are severe cases. Moderna futher brokedown the 95 cases which includes 15 older adults (ages 65+) and 20 participants identifying as being from diverse communities (including 12 Hispanic or LatinX, 4 Black or African Americans, 3 Asian Americans and 1 multiracial).
Moderna classed the side-effects of the vaccine as mild or moderate; On the first dose, 2.7% participants had injection site pain classed as severe; after the second dose, 9.5% of participants experience fatigue, 8.9% experience muscle pains, 5.2% have joint pain, 4.5% experience headache, 4.1% felt pain and 2% had redness of the skin at the injection site.
In a separate announcement, Moderna said that their mRNA-1273 vaccine will remain stable for 30 days at 2° to 8°C (36° to 46°F), the temperature of a standard home or medical refrigerator. It can be stored for 6 months in storage at -20° C (-4°F), 30 days in a refrigerated conditions and up to 12 hours at room temperature conditions.
Moderna will submit the findings of their Phase 3 COVE study for a peer-reviewed publication and are currently seeking regulatory approval.
We just announced that mRNA-1273, our COVID-19 vaccine candidate, has met its primary efficacy endpoint in the first interim analysis of the Phase 3 COVE study. Read more: https://t.co/vYWEy8CKCvpic.twitter.com/YuLubU1tlx
