News

If tropical island getaway Bali was on your bucket list to visit, you’re going to have to wait until at least next year to do so.
While the popular holiday destination located in Indonesia had planned to open their borders in September, this has now been postponed until at least 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The announcement was made by the governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, in an official letter.
“The Indonesian government couldn’t reopen its doors to foreign travellers until the end of 2020 as we remain a red zone,” the letter read.

“The situation is not conducive to allowing foreign tourists to come to Indonesia, including Bali.”
The letter did not make any announcement on when Bali would once again be open to visitors.
Initially, the island was succeeding in containing the virus, but a couple of months ago in June cases began to spike.
As of Monday, 24 August, there were 4,576 confirmed cases in Bali and a total of 52 deaths. Meanwhile, had a total of 155,000 confirmed cases and 6,759 deaths.
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Etihad Airways has issued a reminder that to travellers that Abu Dhabi is not currently open for tourism due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Per The National, an email was reportedly issued to companies and partners it works with to reiterate the UAE’s capital is not yet open to tourists and visitors.

At present, only those with valid UAE residency visas are permitted to enter Abu Dhabi.
“All other types: Dubai-issued tourist visas and others will not be permitted entry,” the airline stated.

There is, however, one exception which is for a 96-hour transit visa for shipping crews.

Back in March, the entirety of the UAE closed its borders due to the global pandemic, which left many UAE residents and citizens stranded abroad.
Since then, flights have slowly begun to be relaunched as restrictions eased.
While Abu Dhabi hasn’t officially reopened its borders to tourists, Dubai opened its borders to visitors last month on July 7.
This has had a positive effect on the emirate’s tourism sector, the Director-General of Dubai Tourism, Helal Saeed Almarri, in a recent interview.
He said that since the reopening of the borders they have “been greatly encouraged by the market’s response in the second phase of our recovery strategy”.
“People are much more optimistic and well-informed now and are ready to go on holidays to destinations that are safe and have put in place strong health and safety protocols,” he added.
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The majority of people across the UAE will have enjoyed a long weekend for Islamic New Year, but that hasn’t stopped us thinking about the next long weekend we can look forward to.

As we head into the final quarter of the year before you know it it’ll be 2021, and luckily there’s still a few public holidays to enjoy until then.
At the end of October, there’s another day off to look forward to, as well as three more in December.
Here’s a list of all the public holidays we can look forward to for the rest of 2020…
The Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday
The Prophet Mohammed’s birthday will fall on Thursday, October 29.
Commemoration Day
Commemoration Day honours the Emiratis who have sacrificed their lives to protect their country. On December 1, 2020, which falls on a Tuesday, there will be a day off, which is followed by UAE National Day (see below).
UAE National Day
Celebrating the unification of the seven emirates, there will two days off for UAE National Day on Wednesday, December 2 and Thursday, December 3. Combining these days off with Commemoration Day, this will mean a five-day weekend at the beginning of the final month of the year.
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As flight numbers continue to increase, a sense of normality is returning to the travel industry amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
So much so, that Dubai-based airline Emirates is aiming to return to its full flight capacity by summer 2021.

In a recent interview with CNBC, the airline’s chief operating officer, Adel Al Redha, revealed that Emirates’ full pre-COVID flight numbers should return by next year.
“I think we can easily say by summer 2021, we will be serving 100 per cent of our network destinations, that means 143 destinations will be served by summer 2021,” he said.

“Obviously, the frequency of flights per day will depend on the demand and some of the restrictions.”

.@Emirates Chief Operating Officer Adel al Redha tells @CNBC that the airline aims to serve 100% of its network destinations by summer 2021. pic.twitter.com/qjlnZTLwWx
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) August 20, 2020

While Al Redha admitted that he didn’t think the “worst was behind us”, he noted the “positive trend” that has been occurring for the airline. As of next month, flights to 75 destinations will have recommenced for Emirates.
“If I compare our performance now with a month ago, we have almost doubled the number of passengers we have been carrying onboard our aircraft, as transit or terminating in Dubai,” he said.
In order to ensure the safety of both their employees and passengers, the Dubai-based airline has implemented a number of measures including full PPE being worn by crew, sanitising packs being given out to all travellers and passengers must wear masks and gloves during transit.
Similarly, those who are flying into Dubai, whether as a tourist, resident, or connecting passenger, you need to undergo a COVID-19 test within 96 hours of travelling.
Those coming from these 29 countries will need to have an additional test done upon landing in Dubai and self-isolate until they receive their results.
Emirates can also assist residence visa holders with acquiring the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDRFA) before booking their flight back.
Children under the age of 12 or with moderate to severe disabilities are exempt from PCR testing.
Keep an eye on the Emirates website for more helpful information, including a recent announcement that the airline is now offering free cover for COVID-19 medical costs.
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There’s no two ways about it – the UAE is a country that is here to support others where it can.
In just five years, Dhs108 billion has been given in aid to 42 countries around the world by the UAE, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, recently announced.

In a video posted to his Twitter page, it showed some of the aid that has been given around the world and the good that it has done to help others.
His Highness explained in his post that giving back and extending support to those who are in need is the principles of which the nation is built on.

دولة الامارات قامت على مجموعة مبادىء أرساها المؤسس طيب الله ثراه أهمها نصرة الضعيف وإغاثة المحتاج ودعم الشقيق والصديق. 108 مليار درهم مساعدات الامارات في ٥ سنوات ل٤٢ دولة حول العالم .. وستستمر الامارات على مبدئها مهما تبدلت أحوال بعض من دعمتهم .. #اليوم_العالمي_للعمل_الانساني pic.twitter.com/HfyrKJnotx
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) August 19, 2020

Just recently this was showcased, in response to the devasting blast in Beirut which has left 170 dead, thousands injured and over 300,000 people homeless.
Sheikh Mohammed sent a 747 jumbo with around 30 tonnes of medicines and medical supplies to help the Lebanese capital.
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Two weeks after the horrifying explosion in Beirut, the city is continuing to recover.
In particular, many are mourning the loved ones they tragically lost and the thousands who were injured are still recuperating.

Lebanese actress Nadine Njeim was one of those left injured from the blast. The 36-year-old had to undergo a six-hour surgery due to the injuries she sustained.
Giving her fans an update a few days ago, the star shared an image from her hospital bed with both of her children by her side.

In the caption of her photo Njeim said, “I thank God a thousand times he didn’t deprive me of this moment nor deprive my children of me.”
Updating her fans on her condition, she said that her wounds were healing and that she was set to be discharged from hospital.

However, she admitted that the blast felt heavy on her heart and prayed for the victims.
“What happened to all of us…,” she added. “Do you know what the Lebanese point has in common? Pain, unfortunately. We are always in total calamity or pain.”
The actress went on to thank everyone for their well-wishes and prayers, and also sent her love to Beirut in this difficult time.
Two weeks ago in the aftermath of the blast, Njeim posted a video of her Beirut home showing debris strewn across her living room.
In the caption of the post, the former Miss Lebanon 2004 discussed how she managed to climb down 22 flights of stairs barefoot to safety. Luckily, her children were not home with her during the blast.
The devasting explosion killed 178, has left 6,000 injured and damaged entire communities in Beirut.
For further information on how you can help the people of Beirut click here.
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When you’re as famous as Kylie Jenner is, there’s no doubt people are going to talking about you. However, it’s when false stories and rumours start to circulate that things start to become problematic.
While the Kardashian-Jenners aren’t normally ones to ever address fake news about them, the makeup mogul wasn’t about to let the most recent false rumour about her to spread.

In a recent photo the 23-year-old posted to Instagram, Jenner initially captioned the post with the white heart and gold stars emojis which she changed to “brown eyed girl” moments later.

View this post on Instagram

brown eyed girl✨
A post shared by Kylie (@kyliejenner) on Aug 16, 2020 at 12:43pm PDT

However, a doctored post began circulating online claiming Jenner had actually captioned the post “brown-skinned girl”. Of course, the post was fake.
The Kylie Cosmetics CEO provided proof that the post was fake on her Instagram story.

“Here’s the fake version that everyone believed,” she said, showing two side-by-side shots of the doctored Instagram post. “Saw online someone Photoshopped this photo I posted to change my caption from ‘brown eyed girl’ to ‘brown skinned girl’. I never said this.”
It just goes to show, don’t believe everything you see online…
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Images: Kylie Jenner Instagram More