lifestyle and culture

As things continue to progress and change for women in Saudi Arabia, a new fund has been launched in order to help women in the Kingdom become homeowners.
Per the Saudi Press Agency, the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF) in Saudi Arabia has enabled more than 73,000 women in the Kingdom to obtain mortgages to go on to buy their first home.

Speaking on the incredible achievement for Saudi women, Mansour bin Madhi, general supervisor of the REDF, explained that since the inception of the initiative, it has always been in the plan to help females across the Kingdom.
Since Saudi men make up half of the population in the country, it’s imperative to offer support to aid in the accelerating development, Madhi said.
READ: 7 history-making moments that occurred for Saudi women in the last few monthsREAD: More driving schools for women in Saudi Arabia to open in 2021

Under the Saudi Vision 2030, spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, one of the main priorities is the homeownership of citizens in the Kingdom – with the aim of reaching 60 per cent by the end of 2020 and 70 per cent by the end of 2030.
A key part of this, under the REDF, opening the door for Saudi women to gain access to a subsidised mortgage loan scheme, in turn helping them to get onto the property ladder.
Changes for women in the Kingdom are also a major focus in the Vision 2030 scheme. Just three months after he stepped into the role in 2017, the Crown Prince unveiled in a royal decree, women would be able to secure driving licenses from June 2018.
READ: Saudi Arabia makes its first recruitment of an all-female paramedic team
Then, in March 2018, it was announced by the Ministry of Justice that women who are divorced in the country would be able to instantly retain custody of their children.
Under his plans, women are now also able to attend sports events in stadiums in three cities, female students in the Kingdom are now allowed to carry their phones while on campus and as of August 2019, women aged over 21 are now allowed to travel independently.
In 2020 alone, there have been many notable history-making moments and appointments in Saudi Arabia paving the way for women.
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With the festive season already here and the weather finally cooling down and as travel restrictions ease globally, Dubai International Airport is getting ready for their busiest season this year.
Due to the influx of passengers this season, Emirates Airline has advised that passengers arrive at the airport at least three house before their flight departure in order to avoid any delay due to the additional security measures.

With more than 400,000 passengers estimated to fly with Emirates through Dubai over the next two weeks, travellers have been requested to follow all the necessary safety measures and face masks at Dubai International Airport are compulsory at all times along with all the Emirates flights.
The airline’s latest booking figures show that more than 200,000 passengers will travel through Terminal 3 at Dubai International Airport during the festive holiday period.

This Friday, December 11, is predicted to be the busiest travel day.

Regarding COVID-19 PCR tests travellers flying to certain destinations will need to show negative tests results taken either 48, 72 or 96 hours ahead of departure time at the airport before being allowed to check-in and it all depends on where one is flying to.
In addition, passengers also have the facility of checking in online from 48 hours to 90 minutes before a flight. However Emirates added, that they must still visit a check-in counter at the airport to collect boarding passes and have their travel documents verified.
For more information regarding the rules and regulations visit Emirates.com
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Throughout her pregnancy, Gigi Hadid chose to keep a lot of things private, including her bump for the first two trimesters, any updates about how she was feeling and more.
However, after giving birth to her baby girl around three months ago, the supermodel has begun to open up a bit more.

So much so, Hadid recently shared a glimpse inside baby Hadid-Malik’s nursery and also revealed what she was doing in the run-up to the birth.
Whilst sharing a photo on her Instagram story stating that it was “about a week before she gave birth”, the model shared how she “prepared”.

“Decorating and spending time in her nursery really helped me feel prepared when I would get too in my head,” she said, showing off her bump and the baby’s vibrant nursery.
The 25-year-old also shared a photo of her baby bump just the night before she went into labour.

Hadid has begun posting about her daughter a bit more on social media as of late, and just recently she gave the most candid insight to date into her life as a new mum with baby Hadid-Malik.
Taking to Instagram, Hadid shared a rare photo with her baby girl and also showed off her Christmas decorations after getting in the festive spirit early.
“A whole new kind of busy & tired,” Hadid admitted in the caption of the post. “But she’s da bestie so she got Christmas decorations early.”
The model welcomed baby Hadid-Malik two-and-a-half months ago with her boyfriend Zayn Malik. Both the new parents announced the birth of their baby girl on social media.

Following the birth of the newborn, it was reported by E! News that Hadid was feeling “very tired but is already an amazing mum”. A source also told the publication that the model wants to raise her daughter in private.
“Gigi wants the most privacy for their baby and wants to be able to raise her privately,” the insider said.
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While the UAE has returned to a resemblance of normality, health authorities have urged the public to be stringent when it comes to following guidelines to curb the further spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During a media briefing, Dr. Omar Al Hammadi, an official spokesperson for the UAE government, highlighted that undervaluing the current restrictions and guidelines in place could be dangerous.
“Underestimating preventive measures and being lenient is extremely dangerous, so let us support the efforts of our country with our awareness and commitment to preventive measures to curb this epidemic,” he said.
However, Al Hammadi also noted that the death rate has fallen to 0.3 per cent, being the “lowest in the world”.
While this is the case, it was reiterated that masks still need to be worn at all times when applicable, social distancing measures must be adhered to and the public needs to be aware and to continue to act responsibly.
To date, the UAE has had 178,837 confirmed cases of COVID-19 – 17,946 of which are currently active and there have been 596 deaths.
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