Emirates is increasing the number of flights it operates to the Maldives and the Seychelles to coincide with the coming UAE spring break.
The Dubai airline will operate more flights to its Indian Ocean destinations ahead of the Easter holidays.
From March 28, Emirates will fly 28 times per week to Male. This is an additional four flights per week on the airline's current schedule. Increased services will run until April 18.
To Mahe, Emirates will operate seven weekly flights, an increase from five. With the island nation reopening to tourists, the airline plans to continue this increased service until October 30.
Flights on sale to the Maldives and Seychelles
Emirates has flights on sale to select destinations to coincide with the coming school holidays in the UAE.
Schools finish on Thursday, March 25 for either a one-week or two-week spring break.
Until Thursday, March 18, sale fares are available on Emirates flights from Dubai to five destinations, including the Maldives and Seychelles.
Economy fares to the Indian Ocean destinations start at Dh3,495 ($951), and business class fares run from Dh8,555 to Male and Dh9,955 to Mahe.
Other destinations in the sale are Amman, Istanbul and Moscow, with fares applicable for travel until Tuesday, June 15.
Is the Seychelles open for tourists?
Travellers planning to visit the Seychelles do not need to be vaccinated. Tourism authorities confirmed that visitors from across the globe, irrespective of their vaccination status, can fly into the Seychelles from Thursday, March 25. This is an update on previous reports that said only vaccinated travellers would be able to visit the Indian Ocean destination.
Visitors from South Africa are not permitted to enter the Seychelles until further notice.
All travellers must present a negative PCR test taken 72 hours prior to departure and adhere to public health measures in place on the islands. This includes wearing face masks, social distancing and regular sanitisation or hand washing.
There are no quarantine requirements or restrictions on movement once in the Seychelles, and there is no longer a minimum stay required at hotels.
Upon returning to the UAE from the Seychelles, travellers flying in to Abu Dhabi will have to self-isolate for 10 days as the country is not listed on the "green list" that allows people to skip quarantine.
There are no quarantine requirements for those flying into Dubai, although all travellers must show a negative PCR test before flying to the UAE.
In addition to Emirates' new flights, Air Seychelles has also launched direct weekly flights between Dubai and Mahe and Etihad's website lists flights from Abu Dhabi to the Indian Ocean nation available from Thursday, March 25.
Can I visit the Maldives without a Covid-19 vaccination?
The Maldives has been open to tourists since July 2020.
Travellers do not need to be vaccinated to visit the Maldives, but must present a negative Covid-19 PCR test result that has been conducted within 96 hours prior to departure. An online Immigration and Health self‑declaration form must also be filled out 24 hours before arriving in Male.
With its one resort per island set-up, the Maldives makes a socially-distanced stay relatively easy.
The island nation was previously on Abu Dhabi's "green list", but has since been removed, meaning travellers returning from the Maldives to the capital must quarantine. Those flying into Dubai do not face isolation, but travellers must show a negative PCR test before travelling back to the UAE.
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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.
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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
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
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Shantanu Narayen
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Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
Company%C2%A0profile
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Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
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Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
MATCH INFO
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Brighton & Hove Albion 1
Ulloa (20')
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Griselda
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The White Lotus: Season three
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Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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