Abu Dhabi has updated its Green List, which includes countries from where travellers can fly without having to quarantine in the UAE capital.
Before new restrictions set to come into force on July 1 that will remove Covid-19 quarantine restrictions for most international travellers, six new destinations have been added.
The latest names on the list are:
- Azerbaijan
- Germany
- Kyrgyzstan
- Moldova
- Spain
- US
It's the first time that the Abu Dhabi Green List has been updated in almost a month. The last update was on Sunday, April 25.
There are now 29 countries and destinations on the list from where travellers can fly to the UAE without the need to self-isolate. Passengers arriving from these destinations need only to undergo PCR testing on arrival at Abu Dhabi Airport.
Anyone visiting from a country not on the Green List must quarantine as part of Abu Dhabi's Covid-19 regulations. Vaccinated travellers need to quarantine for five days, while other travellers must self-isolate for 10 days.
The 29 destinations on the Abu Dhabi Green List
Australia
Azerbaijan
Bhutan
Brunei
China
Cuba
Germany
Greenland
Hong Kong (SAR)
Iceland
Israel
Japan
Kyrgyzstan
Mauritius
Moldova
Morocco
New Zealand
Portugal
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Korea
Spain
Switzerland
Taiwan (ROC)
Tajikistan
United Kingdom
United States of America
Uzbekistan
Can I travel to the countries on the Abu Dhabi Green List?
Not all countries on Abu Dhabi's list are open for tourism. Travellers should check individual destination requirements for the most recent regulations.
The US is open for travel for people coming from several destinations, including the UAE. All passengers aged 2 and above need a negative pre-departure test result or documentation of recovery from Covid-19 before flying. The CDC says that tourists should quarantine for at least seven days after arriving in the US, but states and territories have their own quarantine requirements.
Kyrgyzstan is also open to travellers with a negative PCR test taken no more than 72 hours before arriving in the country. Visa on arrival services are not currently operating and tourists who require a visa must apply for this online before travelling.
Tourists are allowed to fly to Moldova from the UAE. Travellers with a negative test result obtained within 72 hours before time of embarkation will avoid any quarantine on arrival.
Until Tuesday, June 1, only citizens and residents of Azerbaijan can fly to the country unless travellers have a pre-arranged approval. Spain is also off-limits to UAE travellers for the moment, but will open to all vaccinated tourists with no quarantine periods from Monday, June 7.
People hoping to visit Germany from the UAE should be aware that the country has been designated as a risk-area since April. This means that anyone travelling to Germany must generally quarantine for 10 days upon arrival. The country is also under lockdown measures and travel for leisure purposes is not recommended.
Other countries on the list accepting travellers are Russia, with citizens and residents of the UAE permitted entry with a mandatory PCR test. The same applies for Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
Iceland and Morocco are also open to those travelling from the UAE, although only the latter is accepting unvaccinated visitors and from June 15, 10-days of quarantine will be required for travellers flying to Morocco.
The UK is closed to visitors from the UAE, as it remains on the government's red list. Only British and Irish citizens and anyone with UK residence rights will be admitted to the country, and they must enter mandatory hotel quarantine for 10 days.
In England, this costs £1,750 ($2,430) per passenger, which covers transport, food, accommodation, security and testing.
Tourists are prohibited in Japan, while in Cuba visitors can enter the country with a negative PCR test, but must go into quarantine at their own cost until taking a second PCR test on day five of their stay.
Visits to Portugal are restricted to essential travel only, with entry granted only to EU citizens, third-country citizens with residence rights in an EU country, and those travelling for study, family, health or humanitarian reasons. However, the tourism-heavy country has said it hopes to open up to travellers this summer.
Travellers to Switzerland have to provide a negative PCR test result, and visitors from certain countries have to go into mandatory quarantine for 10 days. The UAE is not currently on the list of countries required to quarantine.
Visitors to Taiwan must go into quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
The UAE has also established travel corridors with four countries in May, meaning vaccinated travellers flying between the UAE and Serbia, Greece, Bahrain and Seychelles do not need to quarantine, irrespective of whether the destinations are on Abu Dhabi's Green List.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Two-step truce
The UN-brokered ceasefire deal for Hodeidah will be implemented in two stages, with the first to be completed before the New Year begins, according to the Arab Coalition supporting the Yemeni government.
By midnight on December 31, the Houthi rebels will have to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Ras Issa and Al Saqef, coalition officials told The National.
The second stage will be the complete withdrawal of all pro-government forces and rebels from Hodeidah city, to be completed by midnight on January 7.
The process is to be overseen by a Redeployment Co-ordination Committee (RCC) comprising UN monitors and representatives of the government and the rebels.
The agreement also calls the deployment of UN-supervised neutral forces in the city and the establishment of humanitarian corridors to ensure distribution of aid across the country.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Vikram%20Vedha
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What is type-1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is a genetic and unavoidable condition, rather than the lifestyle-related type 2 diabetes.
It occurs mostly in people under 40 and a result of the pancreas failing to produce enough insulin to regulate blood sugars.
Too much or too little blood sugar can result in an attack where sufferers lose consciousness in serious cases.
Being overweight or obese increases the chances of developing the more common type 2 diabetes.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
MATCH INFO
Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:
Al Jazira 3 Persepolis 2
Second leg:
Monday, Azizi Stadium, Tehran. Kick off 7pm
The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
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.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 310hp
Torque: 366Nm
Price: Dh200,000
If you go
The flights
The closest international airport for those travelling from the UAE is Denver, Colorado. British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from the UAE via London from Dh3,700 return, including taxes. From there, transfers can be arranged to the ranch or it’s a seven-hour drive. Alternatively, take an internal flight to the counties of Cody, Casper, or Billings
The stay
Red Reflet offers a series of packages, with prices varying depending on season. All meals and activities are included, with prices starting from US$2,218 (Dh7,150) per person for a minimum stay of three nights, including taxes. For more information, visit red-reflet-ranch.net.
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
