Brazilian tourists left stranded in the UAE after restrictions on global air travel were imposed to stem the spread of Covid-19 are set to return home next week.
A repatriation flight for citizens of the South American country will leave from Dubai International Airport on Sunday.
It is the second such flight arranged by UAE authorities in tandem with Emirates Airline and the Brazilian embassy in Abu Dhabi after 125 people were flown home on April 21.
Those wishing to board are required to purchase tickets for what remains a commercial flight.
"There is a commercial flight on May 3 and those who interested to return can book their flights," Fernando Luis Lemos Igreja, Brazil's Ambassador to the UAE, told The National.
“We have been working with the UAE authorities to make these flights possible and to help our citizens who wish to return home.”
There are currently 200 Brazilians stuck in the Emirates due to the grounding of flights last month.
The envoy said the embassy is also assisting Brazilians who require financial or relief aid.
For the previous flight, Mr Igreja said that the embassy sponsored tickets for 50 out of the 125 passengers as they could not afford to pay.
The majority of citizens who have gone back or are requesting for special flights were tourists to the UAE.
A list with the names of 24 Brazilian expats and tourists stranded in the UAE was circulating on messenger apps and social media last week.
Among the list was Renata Cristine da Silveira Santiago, a 32-year-old who arrived in Dubai on March 15 as a tourist and was meant to return 10 days later.
She said she does not have the means to continue living in Dubai as she has spent majority of her funds on hotel payments.
“I am with a Brazilian friend, who is in the same condition as me,” she said.
“Financial conditions are increasingly scarce and we are living one day at a time. We need to go back to our country. Our family members are very apprehensive and anxious for our return to Brazil.”
Lea Silvia, 42, has been trying to get her 75-year-old mother, Meidi Horii, on a flight back to Brazil.
Ms Horri arrived to Dubai on February 16 for a visit and was supposed to return on March 31.
“We paid Dh5,400 for her round trip ticket and we’ve been asked to pay Dh3,300 in difference to get her on the special flight that has been arranged by the embassy,” said Ms Silvia.
“My job is currently on the line and I’m not sure if I’ll still be employed. I can’t afford to pay that, but at the same time, my mum has to go back. My father is in Brazil and the rest of our family.”
Ms Silvia said she is hoping the embassy can sponsor the extra amount so her mother can return home.
Those who wish to get a seat on the repatriation flight are being encouraged to email the embassy at consular.abudhabi@itamaraty.gov.br and contact Emirates.
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
RESULT
Manchester City 1 Sheffield United 0
Man City: Jesus (9')
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
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- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
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Centre Court - 4pm (UAE)
Gael Monfils (15) v Kyle Edmund
Karolina Pliskova (3) v Magdalena Rybarikova
Dusan Lajovic v Roger Federer (3)
Court 1 - 4pm
Adam Pavlasek v Novak Djokovic (2)
Dominic Thiem (8) v Gilles Simon
Angelique Kerber (1) v Kirsten Flipkens
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Grigor Dimitrov (13) v Marcos Baghdatis
Agnieszka Radwanska (9) v Christina McHale
Milos Raonic (6) v Mikhail Youzhny
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$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
