DUBAI: Dubai’s Supreme Committee of Crisis and Disaster Management said pre-flight PCR tests will be required from all inbound visitors regardless of country of departure as of Jan. 31, state news agency WAM reported.
The committee has also decreased the test’s validity period to 72 hours from the 96 hours, the report added.
Some visitors will also be required to do another PCR test upon arrival, dependent on their country of departure.
Meanwhile, UAE nationals are exempt from pre-flight PCR tests but would be required to test upon arrival in Dubai.
The Gulf country continued to report a record number of daily cases for the 16th day in a row.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention on Wednesday confirmed 3,939 new cases, increasing the total number of infected individuals since the start of the pandemic to 289,086.
The ministry also reported six new COVID-19 deaths and 4,536 recoveries, increasing the death toll to 811 and the number of recovered patients to 263,730.
The UAE also reported that 86,770 doses of the coronavirus vaccine were administered on Wednesday, bumping total number of jabs in the country to 2,764,445 with a rate of vaccine distribution of 27.95 doses per 100 people.
Three vaccines are now being used in the country’s vaccination program: those developed by Sinopharm, Pfizer-BioNTech and the Russian Sputnik V.
Dubai sets stricter rules for inbound visitors as COVID-19 cases surge
https://arab.news/j3m2f
Dubai sets stricter rules for inbound visitors as COVID-19 cases surge
- UAE nationals are exempt from pre-flight PCR tests but would be required to test upon arrival in Dubai
- Three vaccines are now being used in the country’s vaccination program
UAE president, Qatar emir review regional developments in Abu Dhabi
- Leaders discussed efforts to address the latest developments in the Middle East
LONDON: The president of the UAE and the emir of Qatar discussed bilateral ties during a meeting at Qasr Al-Shati in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest, focusing particularly on the latest developments in the Middle East and sharing insights on efforts to address them.
The leaders explored ways to boost cooperation for the benefit and prosperity of both nations, the Emirates News Agency reported.
Several senior officials and ministers attended the meeting, including Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi and national security adviser, and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani.
Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 16, including 3 children
Six people were killed in overnight air strikes in Khan Yunis governorate, in the south of the Gaza Strip, civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said. They included two boys aged five and two, in an apartment in Al-Mawasi.
The civil defense later said 10 more people were killed in a strike on a tent also in Al-Mawasi, among them a child and seven women.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond for comment when contact by AFP. A spokesperson said they were gathering details.
A military statement issued in the morning said the army had “struck more than 100 terrorist targets throughout the Gaza Strip” during the past two days.
It said soldiers found “weapons caches” and killed “a number of terrorists” in the south.
Israel resumed its military offensive in Gaza on March 18 after a two-month truce in its war against Hamas, which was triggered by the Palestinian militant group’s October 7, 2023 attack.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza on Sunday said at least 2,436 people have been killed since Israel resumed its campaign in Gaza, bringing the war’s overall death toll to 52,535.
Israel halted aid deliveries to Gaza, saying Hamas had diverted supplies. Israel says the blockade is meant to pressure the militants into releasing hostages held in the Palestinian territory.
UN agencies have urged Israel to lift restrictions, saying Gazans have been experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe and warning of famine.
Lebanon holds local polls in first vote since Israel-Hezbollah war
BEIRUT: Lebanon on Sunday began the first stage of long-delayed municipal elections, the first vote since a devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah and after a new national government was formed.
Polls opened at 7:00 am (0400 GMT) for voters in the Mount Lebanon district, a heavily populated area with mixed political and religious affiliations that includes Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold that was heavily damaged by Israeli strikes.
“We have come to exercise our right and have our voices heard,” said Hashem Shamas, 39, a Hezbollah supporter, after voting in south Beirut’s Shiyah neighborhood.
According to the interior ministry, 9,321 candidates including 1,179 women are running in the Mount Lebanon district.
Lebanon is supposed to hold municipal elections every six years, but cash-strapped authorities last held a local ballot in 2016.
President Joseph Aoun emphasized the vote’s importance to “give confidence to the people and internationally that Lebanon is rebuilding its institutions and is back on the right track.”
Aoun was elected in January and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam formed a government the following month, ending a more than two-year vacuum as Lebanon’s balance of power shifted following the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The new authorities have promised reforms in order to gain the trust of the international community, as well as unlock billions in bail-out funds amid a five-year economic crisis. They have also vowed a state monopoly on bearing arms.
Hezbollah was left badly weakened in more than a year of hostilities with Israel, with a slew of commanders including the group’s longtime chief, Hassan Nasrallah, killed and its strongholds pummelled in the south and east and in south Beirut.
Israel has continued to strike targets in Lebanon despite a ceasefire and still has troops in five areas it considers “strategic.”
In April 2024, the municipal polls were postponed amid the hostilities, which escalated in September into a major Israeli bombing campaign and ground incursion before the ceasefire about two months later.
Aoun urged voters not to let sectarian, “partisan or financial factors” impact their vote.
Religious and political affiliations are usually key electoral considerations in multi-confessional Lebanon, where power is shared along sectarian lines.
Municipal ballots however provide a greater margin for local community dynamics to play a role.
Polls are set to close at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Areas of northern Lebanon will vote on May 11, with Beirut and the country’s eastern Bekaa Valley area set to go to the polls on May 18, while voters in the heavily damaged south will cast ballots on May 24.
Lebanese army says Hamas handed over suspect in missile launches toward Israel
CAIRO: The Lebanese army said on Sunday that Hamas handed over a suspect involved in launching missiles towards Israel in March, days after Lebanon warned the Palestinian group not to conduct operations that compromise Lebanese security or sovereignty.
UAE to lift Lebanon travel ban on May 7
- UAE will lift a ban for its citizens traveling to Lebanon as of May 7, 2025
DUBAI: The UAE Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that it will lift a ban on its citizens traveling to Lebanon as of May 7, 2025, following a visit by the Lebanese head of state last week, according to WAM News Agency.
The decision comes after a joint statement issued on Thursday, announcing that Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed agreed to implement measures to facilitate travel and improve movement between the two countries.
The UAE banned its citizens from traveling to Lebanon in 2021. Lebanese citizens were not banned from traveling to the UAE.
