Follow the latest updates on the Covid-19 pandemic
UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps announced that fully vaccinated passengers arriving from amber-list countries will no longer have to quarantine if their shots were administered by either a US or EU-approved manufacturer.
“Whether you are a family reuniting for the first time since the start of the pandemic or a business benefiting from increased trade – this is progress we can all enjoy," he said.
The move will undoubtedly make travel from the US to the UK a much less arduous prospect – but what about the reverse? How easy is it for people from the UK to travel to the US? Will they face quarantine? Will they need to provide proof of vaccination?
Before these questions are answered, here are the newly announced rules for travel from the US to the UK.
What's changed for travellers going from the US to the UK?
Any fully vaccinated passenger coming from the US, which is on the UK's amber list, will no longer need to isolate if their shots were administered by a US-approved manufacturer.
On the current list of approved vaccine manufacturers in the US are Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. AstraZeneca on Thursday announced it would be deferring its application for US approval until the autumn.
Previously, only travellers from the US who had been inoculated by the UK's NHS were eligible to skip the period of self-isolation.
Will people entering the UK from the US need to have a Covid test if fully vaccinated?
Such travellers will still have to undergo pre-departure Covid-19 screening and take another test two days after landing in England.
They will also need to provide proof of US residency.
When will the US-to-UK travel changes come into effect?
The changes came into effect at 4am British Summer Time on Monday, August 2.
Can people travel from the UK to the US?
Current rules mean that it is not possible for most people from Britain to travel to the US if they have been in the UK in the previous 14 days.
These rules also apply to travellers from Ireland, Schengen Area countries, Iran, Brazil, China or South Africa.
There are some exemptions, however. The UK government said that "US citizens and permanent residents of the US, certain specified close family members and certain other limited categories of visa holders (such as UN staff and diplomats) are exempt".
This cohort can enter the country and will be subject to the normal entry requirements stipulated on the US embassy website.
The news is far better for prospective tourists to the US from the UAE.
What are the rules for travellers entering the US from the UAE?
There are no coronavirus-related restrictions for people arriving in the US from the UAE, guidelines from the US Department of Homeland Security showed, although travellers need to have proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken no more than three days before flying.
Visitors can also show proof of having recovered from the virus in the past three months.
Travellers must also have a valid visa, as always, but the final decision on whether they can be admitted to the country will be made by a US Customs and Border Protection officer at a port of entry.
Visitors should also check state rules. While many states have removed restrictions, others still have some in place.
Will there be a US-UK travel corridor?
This has been mooted as a possibility for a while now but nothing concrete has materialised – despite US tourists being allowed to travel throughout the EU after it was added to America's safe travel list.
In June, America's chief medical adviser, Dr Anthony Fauci, told ITV News he felt that if the UK continued its positive vaccination trajectory, "it would be in a very favourable position" by the end of the summer.
This was before the Delta variant took hold in the UK and showed signs of doing the same in the US.
Trips from the UK across the pond may have to be put on ice for some time yet, much to the travel sector's chagrin.
UK travel: green, amber and red list countries
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2014
Number of employees: 36
Sector: Logistics
Raised: $2.5 million
Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
'C'mon C'mon'
Director:Mike Mills
Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman
Rating: 4/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-Benz E 300 Cabriolet
Price, base / as tested: Dh275,250 / Dh328,465
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder
Power: 245hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm @ 1,300rpm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.