Follow the latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic here
The boss of Emirates airline's UK operation said he is frustrated that the UAE remains on the British government's red list for travel.
Richard Jewsbury, divisional vice president at Emirates, said he had presented data to the UK government showing high vaccination rates and low levels of infection in the UAE but, as yet, to no avail.
The UAE has been on the UK's red list for travel since the traffic light system was introduced in late January, with travellers required to pay to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days.
In a major development for travel to the UK, ministers are currently considering dropping quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated British expatriates, but this would benefit only those who live in amber countries.
The UK will drop quarantine requirements for double-vaccinated visitors from the EU and the US from next month.
The traffic light system has caused a collapse in passenger numbers and separated scores of expats from their families in the UK.
Emirates used to operate about 20 flights a day between the UK and the UAE.
This is compared with next week's schedule, with just two Emirates flights a day between the two countries, according to Skyscanner.
UK travel: Green, amber and red list countries
Mr Jewsbury said the decision to keep the UAE on the red list was frustrating given favourable Covid data, particularly the vaccination rate, with 69 per cent of the UAE population fully inoculated against the virus.
“It’s just a case of waiting for the UK authorities to shuffle the deck on the red, amber and green categories," he told the Press Association.
“The next change should be during the first half of August and we would hope to see some movement reflective of the state of play in the UAE and all the health and safety measures that have been put in place across the passenger journey.”
He said the UK appeared to be taking a more cautious approach compared with other European countries, such as Germany, which lists the UAE as low-risk.
“All we can do is stay engaged and flag up the data and hope that it’s acted upon," he said.
This month, the boss of Dubai Airports predicted that the UAE would remain on the red list for "a bit longer".
"It could be that we'll be on the amber list, which means if you go straight to the UK you will be exempt from the dreaded hotel quarantine, which everyone is loathing at the moment. So, fingers crossed," he told Dubai Dubai Eye radio's Business Breakfast.
The UAE ambassador to Britain, Mansoor Abulhoul, also expressed frustration that the UK is keeping the Emirates on its travel red list.
"It is disappointing to see that the UAE remains on the UK's red travel list," he said in June.
"We have best-in-class health and safety infrastructure to protect visitors and residents. This includes rapid testing, social distancing and sanitisation procedures at our airports, as well as Emirates and Etihad airlines fully sanitising all planes. Additionally, the UAE is among the top countries in the world for vaccination rate and its testing programme."
UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said in April that the UAE would stay on the red list because the country is a major transit centre for passengers joining connecting flights.
“We are not restricting the UAE because of levels of coronavirus in the UAE,” he told a Conservative Home event.
“The specific issue in the UAE is one of transit. It’s because they are a major transit hub. The Joint Biosecurity Centre can work wonders studying all this detail, but eventually you get to the point where they are having to make too many assumptions about where people are travelling to/from.
“And that is a specific issue we have with the UAE as opposed to prevalence or some other reason.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel also criticised British social media influencers for visiting the UAE when a ban on non-essential travel was in place, saying: "Going on holiday is not an exemption and it is important that people stay at home."
The Covid situation has vastly improved in the UK since the traffic light system was first set up, with more than 70 per cent of adults now fully vaccinated.
There are also early signs the country may be past the peak of the Delta wave after daily cases declined for the seventh consecutive day.
Scientists have said the Covid crisis in Britain could be over by the end of summer.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 640hp
Torque: 760nm
On sale: 2026
Price: Not announced yet
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
Tuesday results:
- Singapore bt Malaysia by 29 runs
- UAE bt Oman by 13 runs
- Hong Kong bt Nepal by 3 wickets
Final:
Thursday, UAE v Hong Kong
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
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Match info:
Real Betis v Sevilla, 10.45pm (UAE)
Game Of Thrones Season Seven: A Bluffers Guide
Want to sound on message about the biggest show on television without actually watching it? Best not to get locked into the labyrinthine tales of revenge and royalty: as Isaac Hempstead Wright put it, all you really need to know from now on is that there’s going to be a huge fight between humans and the armies of undead White Walkers.
The season ended with a dragon captured by the Night King blowing apart the huge wall of ice that separates the human world from its less appealing counterpart. Not that some of the humans in Westeros have been particularly appealing, either.
Anyway, the White Walkers are now free to cause any kind of havoc they wish, and as Liam Cunningham told us: “Westeros may be zombie land after the Night King has finished.” If the various human factions don’t put aside their differences in season 8, we could be looking at The Walking Dead: The Medieval Years.
Company%20profile
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:
Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')
Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Scores in brief:
Boost Defenders 205-5 in 20 overs
(Colin Ingram 84 not out, Cameron Delport 36, William Somerville 2-28)
bt Auckland Aces 170 for 5 in 20 overs
(Rob O’Donnell 67 not out, Kyle Abbott 3-21).
Sweet%20Tooth
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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.
The biog
Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981
Profession: Driver
Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)
Favourite drink: chai karak
Favourite place in Dubai: The neighbourhood of Khawaneej. “When I see the old houses over there, near the date palms, I can be reminded of my old times. If I don’t go down I cannot recall my old times.”
SHALASH%20THE%20IRAQI
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.0L twin-turbo V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 571hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,000-4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L/100km
Price, base: from Dh571,000
On sale: this week
