Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi (R) speaks with Kuwait's foreign minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah (C), in the presence of Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry (L), in Cairo on July 17, 2017. Reuters via Egyptian Presidency
Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi (R) speaks with Kuwait's foreign minister Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah (C), in the presence of Egypt's foreign minister Sameh Shoukry (L), in Cairo on July 1Show more

Egypt ends visa-free travel for Qataris



Egypt announced on Monday the end of visas on arrival for Qatari citizens.

The foreign ministry said that from Thursday, Qatari nationals - with some exceptions - will be required to apply for a visa to enter the country.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed sanctions on Qatar on June 5, cutting diplomatic and transportation ties with the country over accusations it is financing terrorist and extremist groups. Doha denies those accusations.

"It does not make sense to keep making exceptions for Qatar and giving it privileges in light of its current positions," said Ahmed Abu Zeid, a foreign ministry spokesman.

He added that Qatari nationals with Egyptian mothers, spouses of Egyptians, and Qataris studying in Egypt will be exempt.

No action has yet been taken against Egyptians residing in Qatar, where more than 1.6 million foreign workers reside, and hundreds of thousands of them are Egyptians.

The decision came on Monday as Egyptian foreign minister Sameh Shoukry met his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah. Kuwait has been spearheading mediation efforts to end the crisis, now in its second month.

Mr Shoukry said Egypt stands by the list of demands the four boycotting countries made of Qatar.

"The foreign minister affirmed to his Kuwaiti counterpart Egypt's commitment to the list of demands presented to the state of Qatar and the continuation of sanctions taken against it," Mr Abu Zeid said earlier.

The insistence comes "in light of what the quartet states see as Qatar's stalling and procrastination, and lack of concern for the concerns of the four states", he said.

Mr Shoukry told Sheikh Al Sabah the only way the crisis would be resolved was if Qatar fulfilled the demands, which include curtailing its support for the Muslim Brotherhood, shutting down the pan-Arab Al Jazeera satellite TV channel, closing a Turkish military base and downgrading its relations with rival Iran.

The crisis is the region's worst since 1981, when the the Gulf Cooperation Council was formed.

* Additional reporting by Reuters

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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush

Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”

A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.

“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”

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