Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Gulf airlines are delaying the resumption of flights to Beirut as they wait to learn if a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah holds.
Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, flydubai, Saudia and Oman Air are among the companies whose flights remain suspended. Emirates airline and Etihad Airways recently said flights would be off until January. Tens of thousands of expatriate Lebanese in the Gulf are expected to try to visit family in the coming weeks, amid hopes that a 60-day ceasefire is not breached.
Flydubai told The National it was closely monitoring the situation. Emirates also said flights were suspended, while Etihad's website showed that flights to Beirut are on hold until January 13. The websites of Qatar Airways, Saudia and Oman Air show that their services remain cancelled. Jordan’s flag-carrier Royal Jordanian, which suspended flights in August, has not updated any information on flights to Lebanon.
Lebanon's national airline Middle East Airlines (MEA) is the only carrier that has kept flights operating from Beirut, even as the area around Rafic Hariri International Airport was bombed by Israeli jets.
MEA operates flights to and from Dubai and Abu Dhabi but services are full in the coming days. Before they were fully booked for December 1, a ticket for the flight is just under Dh2,500 ($680), far more than usual.
The Skyscanner website shows an option to fly to Cairo, Kuwait and Amman from Dubai and onwards to Beirut through MEA with prices for a single seat from Dh4,000.
'Finally going home'
Dubai resident Rabih Takkoush, 28, who works in social media, said that as soon as he heard about the ceasefire on Tuesday night he booked his ticket home.
"It was a struggle to get a ticket because Middle East is the only airline operating to Beirut. And, as soon as the ceasefire was announced, people started booking tickets. Many of my friends even took to social media to post about their frustration of not being able to fly home because they couldn't get a ticket." Mr Takkoush said people want to “go home to be with our families”.
“I’m just lucky I got a ticket. I can’t wait to go home and hug everyone. I don’t want anything more than to be with my family, and to hold them close to me.”
It’s nearly a year and a half since he last went home. “I’m someone who goes to Beirut at least two to three times a year, so this has been tough.”
It has been an emotional few days for Mr Takkoush and his family. "Last night was particularly tough because my mother and father had to move out of our family home and go to a quieter neighbourhood where my grandparents used to live. But, no matter where they went, the air strikes were relentless."
Mr Takkoush posted a video of a call to his mother as air strikes sounded in the background on his social media. She was crying as they talked. He said he decided to post the video to show the world what they have been going through.
UAE - India ties
The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China
Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion
The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India
Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015
His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016
Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017
Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
