The Seychelles. UNCTAD says small island developing states are facing an uphill struggle to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Courtesy DoubleTree by Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa
The Seychelles. UNCTAD says small island developing states are facing an uphill struggle to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Courtesy DoubleTree by Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa
The Seychelles. UNCTAD says small island developing states are facing an uphill struggle to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Courtesy DoubleTree by Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa
The Seychelles. UNCTAD says small island developing states are facing an uphill struggle to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Courtesy DoubleTree by Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa

UAE and Seychelles announce travel corridor for vaccinated travellers


Katy Gillett
  • English
  • Arabic

The UAE and The Seychelles have announced the establishment of a new travel corridor for vaccinated holidaymakers, said Emirates news agency Wam.

From Thursday, people will not have to quarantine on arrival in either country as long as they have a recognised vaccination certificate approved by the health authorities in the two nations.

All travellers must continue to abide by other precautionary Covid-19 safety measures at each destination.

The move comes as part of the UAE-Seychelles co-operation towards the recovery from the pandemic, said Wam.

  • Private villas at Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa come with private infinity pools. Courtesy Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa
    Private villas at Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa come with private infinity pools. Courtesy Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa
  • Seychelles opened to international tourism on March 25. Courtesy DoubleTree by Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa
    Seychelles opened to international tourism on March 25. Courtesy DoubleTree by Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa
  • A hand sanitiser at Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa. Courtesy Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa
    A hand sanitiser at Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa. Courtesy Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa
  • Fruits are served along with breakfast at Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa. Janice Rodrigues / The National
    Fruits are served along with breakfast at Hilton Seychelles Allamanda Resort & Spa. Janice Rodrigues / The National
  • A cannonball tree at the entrance of Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa. Courtesy Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa
    A cannonball tree at the entrance of Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa. Courtesy Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa
  • An a la carte breakfast at Mahe Restaurant at Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa. Janice Rodrigues / The National
    An a la carte breakfast at Mahe Restaurant at Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa. Janice Rodrigues / The National
  • A secluded private beach at Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa. Courtesy Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa
    A secluded private beach at Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa. Courtesy Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort & Spa
  • The reception area at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles. Janice Rodrigues / The National
    The reception area at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles. Janice Rodrigues / The National
  • The view from hilltop Spa at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles. Janice Rodrigues / The National
    The view from hilltop Spa at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles. Janice Rodrigues / The National
  • A marble bathtub with ocean views at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles. Janice Rodrigues / The National
    A marble bathtub with ocean views at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles. Janice Rodrigues / The National
  • Sunbeds by the beach for guests of Four Seasons Resort Seychelles. Janice Rodrigues / The National
    Sunbeds by the beach for guests of Four Seasons Resort Seychelles. Janice Rodrigues / The National

"This step affirms the keenness of the leadership of both countries to facilitate the movement of individuals, promote tourism between the two countries and achieve the desired goals of vaccination campaigns, which reached advanced rates in the percentage of vaccine recipients," read the statement.

Travellers will be required to show an application with documentation that they have received the complete dose of an approved Covid-19 vaccine, alongside PCR laboratory test results.

The Seychelles reopened its borders to international visitors, irrespective of their vaccination status, on March 25.

The only requirement is that all visitors need to present a negative PCR test, taken 72 hours prior to arrival. They will then need to adhere to public health measures currently in place in the country, which include the wearing of faces masks and social distancing in public.

Sylvestre Radegonde, the country’s minister for foreign affairs and tourism, said the decision to review and relax entry procedures was a response to the country’s aggressive vaccination programme.

“The vaccination campaign has been quite successful. The government has done everything in its power to make sure that the population is protected. We have now arrived at the point where opening our borders further is the next step to allow for our economic recovery."

The Seychelles, an archipelago in the western Indian Ocean, has recorded 8,172 cases of Covid-19 so far and 28 people have died of the illness.

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• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.

• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.

• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.

2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.

• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases -  but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.

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By Mario Levrero  

(Coffee House Press)
 

WHAT IS GRAPHENE?

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. 

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Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

ITU Abu Dhabi World Triathlon

For more information go to www.abudhabi.triathlon.org.

Our family matters legal consultant

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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

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Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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