Visitors to the Greek party island of Mykonos will have to contend with a new set of restrictions.
Greece announced on Saturday that it was imposing a five-hour curfew on the island, from 1am to 6am, effective immediately and in place until July 26. Bars, clubs and restaurants have also been banned from playing music, after a surge in local Covid-19 cases.
“We call on the residents, visitors and business owners of our beautiful island to follow the measures faithfully ... so that the spread of the virus can be swiftly checked and Mykonos can return to normal,” deputy civil protection minister Nikos Hardalias said.
One of Greece’s most popular travel destinations, Mykonos attracts more than a million visitors each summer, largely because of its beaches and world-famous nightlife. But Covid-19 cases on the island have quadrupled to more than 300 in the past week.
The growing number of private parties being held in villas on the island have been alarming authorities. Organisers of private gatherings of more than 20 people now risk fines of up to $236,000.
Mykonos's Mayor Konstantinos Koukas said the new measures were “unfair” and “misguided”. On Facebook, he wrote: “Mykonos cannot be the only island where music won't be heard ... the only thing this will achieve is that visitors will go to another island.”
Greece has experienced a steady climb in Covid-19 infections in recent days, largely attributed the more contagious Delta variant. Only 41 per cent of Greeks aged over 15 are fully vaccinated.
Restrictions only allowing people who have been vaccinated to be served at indoor restaurants, bars and cafes went into effect across Greece on Friday. The government has launched Covid Free GR, an application that can scan European digital vaccination certificates, to help businesses screen customers and comply with the measure.
Greece reopened its borders to tourists on May 14, just in time for the summer season. UAE travellers arriving in Greece are currently required to present either a negative PCR test, taken no more than 72 hours before arrival, or a negative antigen certificate taken no more than 48 hours before arrival.
The UAE and Greece have established a travel corridor, meaning fully vaccinated travellers, including those with the Sinopharm vaccine, do not have to present a PCR test, as long as their second jab was taken at least 14 days prior to arrival. Travellers will also not need to quarantine when returning to Abu Dhabi.
All visitors must fill in a Passenger Locator Form at least one day before travelling and may be subject to random testing at the airport.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
Paltan
Producer: JP Films, Zee Studios
Director: JP Dutta
Cast: Jackie Shroff, Sonu Sood, Arjun Rampal, Siddhanth Kapoor, Luv Sinha and Harshvardhan Rane
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Watford 1 (Deulofeu 80' p)
Chelsea 2 (Abraham 5', Pulisic 55')
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: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Fixtures - Open Men 2pm: India v New Zealand, Malaysia v UAE, Singapore v South Africa, Sri Lanka v England; 8pm: Australia v Singapore, India v Sri Lanka, England v Malaysia, New Zealand v South Africa
Fixtures - Open Women Noon: New Zealand v England, UAE v Australia; 6pm: England v South Africa, New Zealand v Australia
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
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
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
