• Passengers queue to check in at Heathrow Airport in London. The new, potentially more contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus was found in more European countries, days after being identified in South Africa, leaving governments around the world rushing to stop the spread. AP
    Passengers queue to check in at Heathrow Airport in London. The new, potentially more contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus was found in more European countries, days after being identified in South Africa, leaving governments around the world rushing to stop the spread. AP
  • Air passengers get a Covid-19 test at Heathrow Airport. AP
    Air passengers get a Covid-19 test at Heathrow Airport. AP
  • A public health message displayed at Heathrow Terminal 5. Getty Images
    A public health message displayed at Heathrow Terminal 5. Getty Images
  • International arrival times displayed at Heathrow Terminal 2. Getty Images
    International arrival times displayed at Heathrow Terminal 2. Getty Images
  • South African Airways listed on a sign at Heathrow. After the discovery of the Omicron variant, Britain imposed new restrictions on arriving travellers. Getty Images
    South African Airways listed on a sign at Heathrow. After the discovery of the Omicron variant, Britain imposed new restrictions on arriving travellers. Getty Images

US to impose stricter entry rules amid Omicron concern


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Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron

Stricter Covid-19 testing rules for air travellers entering the US are being worked on amid concerns about a new Omicron variant, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Tuesday.

The CDC said it is working to revise its Global Testing Order "for travel as we learn more about the Omicron variant, a revised order would shorten the timeline for required testing for all international air travellers to one day before departure to the United States".

Malaysia will temporarily ban entry by travellers from countries that have reported the Omicron coronavirus variant or are considered to be high-risk, its Health Ministry said on Wednesday. It will also delay plans to set up so-called Vaccinated Travel Lanes with those countries, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

Japan has found a second person who has tested positive for the Omicron variant, broadcaster FNN reported on Wednesday.

And Nigeria has confirmed its first cases of the variant in two travellers who have entered the country from South Africa, according to its Centre for Disease Control.

Hong Kong will ban non-residents from entering the city from Japan, Portugal and Sweden from Friday, adding to a fast-expanding list of countries facing travel restrictions due to concerns over the Omicron variant.

Non-Hong Kong residents who have been in the three countries in the past 21 days will not be allowed to enter the global financial hub. Residents can only board flights if fully vaccinated and will have to undergo 21-days of quarantine in a hotel at their own cost.

Canada's ban announced on Tuesday on foreign nationals travelling from Nigeria, Malawi and Egypt adds to a growing list of global measures as new findings indicated the mutant coronavirus was already in Europe close to a week before South Africa sounded the alarm.

Two travellers arriving in Brazil from South Africa, a 41-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman, are in isolation, the Sao Paulo state health secretariat said. The two had their tests taken on November 25 and showed light symptoms of the disease at the time.

“After the positive result, the couple was instructed to remain in isolation at home. Both are being monitored by state and municipal (authorities), as well as their respective family members,” said the Sao Paulo health secretariat, which added that neither of the two are registered in the state’s vaccination platform.

“An initial investigation did not identify them being vaccinated anywhere else,” it said.

The Netherlands’ RIVM health institute disclosed that patient samples dating from November 19 and 23 were found to contain the variant. It was on November 24 that South African authorities reported the existence of the highly mutated virus to the World Health Organisation.

That indicates omicron had a bigger head start in the Netherlands than previously thought.

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

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%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai Bling season three

Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Brief scores:

Toss: Nepal, chose to field

UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23

Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17

Result: UAE won by 21 runs

Series: UAE lead 1-0

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Generation Start-up: Awok company profile

Started: 2013

Founder: Ulugbek Yuldashev

Sector: e-commerce

Size: 600 plus

Stage: still in talks with VCs

Principal Investors: self-financed by founder

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Various%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Rosario%20Dawson%2C%20Natasha%20Liu%20Bordizzo%2C%20Lars%20Mikkelsen%20%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

T10 Cricket League
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
December 14- 17
6pm, Opening ceremony, followed by:
Bengal Tigers v Kerala Kings 
Maratha Arabians v Pakhtoons
Tickets available online at q-tickets.com/t10

The drill

Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.

Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”

Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”

Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.” 

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Uefa Champions League last 16 draw

Juventus v Tottenham Hotspur

Basel v Manchester City

Sevilla v  Manchester United

Porto v Liverpool

Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain

Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma

Chelsea v Barcelona

Bayern Munich v Besiktas

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

Results

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m, Winner: ES Rubban, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer)

5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Al Mobher, Sczcepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m, Winner: Jabalini, Tadhg O’Shea, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m, Winner: AF Abahe, Tadgh O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: AF Makerah, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

7.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Law Of Peace, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

Updated: December 01, 2021, 7:23 AM