France has become the latest European country to announce a relaxation of pandemic restrictions as the continent's Omicron wave shows signs of easing.
Prime minister Jean Castex said on Thursday work from home rules would be eased and that the cap on people allowed into sports and entertainment venues would end on February 8. Masks will also no longer be required outdoors from that date.
People will also again, from February 16, be allowed to eat popcorn in cinemas. Covid-19 protocols in schools, which among other things require children to wear masks in class, could be relaxed after the winter holidays.
However a vaccine pass, which requires a certificate of vaccination to enter public venues like restaurants, cafes, cinemas and long-distance trains, will come into force as planned, Mr Castex said, from January 24.
France reported over 425,000 coronavirus infections on Thursday. But the number of patients in intensive care has stabilised, leaving the government some room for manoeuvre.
And the government's science advisory body said the fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic would remain at a high but manageable level of infections until mid-March.
Ireland has also announced the end to one of the continent's toughest set of Covid-19 measures. Ministers are due to meet on Friday to agree on a timetable after being given the all clear by public health officials.
Ireland had the second highest incidence rate of Covid-19 in Europe last week but also one of the continent's highest uptakes of booster vaccines, which has helped keep the number of seriously ill people well below the previous peak.
An 8pm curfew on the hospitality sector could be lifted as soon as this weekend, alongside the ditching of vaccine passes, with capacity in indoor and outdoor venues set to return to full capacity, including for next month's Six Nations rugby championship, local media reported.
However, some countries on the continent are still experiencing a significant number of coronavirus cases, despite the move to ease curbs elsewhere.
German reported 140,000 of cases on Friday, with warnings from public health officials that cases could triple by the middle of February. Poland also reported a pandemic-high of 36,000 cases on Friday, with estimates that the Omicron wave could reach from 60,000 to as many as 140,000 daily cases.
Russia has also seen an extremely sharp rise in Covid cases and set a record of 49,513 on Friday, surpassing the previous peak of just over 40,000 cases in November.
Britain must learn to live with Covid-19 as it may be with us forever, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Thursday, adding that Britain was moving ahead of other countries as the government lifted coronavirus measures.
“We need to learn to live with it. Sadly people die of flu as well: in a bad flu year you can sadly lose about 20,000 lives, but we don't shut down our entire country,” Javid told Sky News.
“Covid is not going away. It's going to be with us for many, many years, perhaps forever, and we have to learn to live with it … I think we are leading Europe in the transition from pandemic to endemic and we're leading the way in showing the world how you can live with Covid.”
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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What drives subscription retailing?
Once the domain of newspaper home deliveries, subscription model retailing has combined with e-commerce to permeate myriad products and services.
The concept has grown tremendously around the world and is forecast to thrive further, according to UnivDatos Market Insights’ report on recent and predicted trends in the sector.
The global subscription e-commerce market was valued at $13.2 billion (Dh48.5bn) in 2018. It is forecast to touch $478.2bn in 2025, and include the entertainment, fitness, food, cosmetics, baby care and fashion sectors.
The report says subscription-based services currently constitute “a small trend within e-commerce”. The US hosts almost 70 per cent of recurring plan firms, including leaders Dollar Shave Club, Hello Fresh and Netflix. Walmart and Sephora are among longer established retailers entering the space.
UnivDatos cites younger and affluent urbanites as prime subscription targets, with women currently the largest share of end-users.
That’s expected to remain unchanged until 2025, when women will represent a $246.6bn market share, owing to increasing numbers of start-ups targeting women.
Personal care and beauty occupy the largest chunk of the worldwide subscription e-commerce market, with changing lifestyles, work schedules, customisation and convenience among the chief future drivers.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
The biog
Name: Marie Byrne
Nationality: Irish
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption
Book: Seagull by Jonathan Livingston
Life lesson: A person is not old until regret takes the place of their dreams
MATCH RESULT
Liverpool 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Liverpool: Salah (26'), Lovren (40'), Solanke (53'), Robertson (85')
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Hotel Data Cloud profile
Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)
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
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
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