UAE
Emirates offers passengers free coronavirus medical cover
Emirates has become first airline to offer free cover for Covid-19 medical costs for its passengers travelling via its networks to United Arab Emirates (UAE), and across the world, airlines chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed al-Maktoum said. In the medical package deal, passengers travelling on the airline can now claim coronavirus medical expenses of up to $173,799 and quarantine costs of $115 per day for 14 days if one tests positive for the virus. The carrier, which has restarted operations globally, says the move is meant to boost confidence among travellers. “We will be the first airline to offer free cover for Covid-19 medical costs for its customers when they travel in the UAE and around the world,” Mr al-Maktoum said. “We know people are yearning to fly as borders around the world gra...
Global shipping at ‘critical point’ as routes threatened by sailor shortage
The international shipping community is facing a major labour crisis, with sailors stranded on ships or at home because of visa and flight restrictions, maritime groups said. With crew changes down by 75 per cent, a humanitarian crisis is also developing, with sailors suffering mental health problems, fatigue and accidents from being trapped for months at a time on ships. With more than 200,000 sailors unable to leave their vessels and a similar number trying to get out to them, international shipping bodies believe the world economy is weeks from another disaster. Last week, only 13 countries including the UAE, Britain and the United States, signed up to an agreement to designate sailors as key workers, allowing them to fly home without quarantine or visa issues. But other major seafaring...
Saudi coalition shoots down Houthi ballistic missiles and drones
The Saudi-led military coalition said on Tuesday it intercepted and destroyed drones and missiles launched against the kingdom by Houthi rebels in Yemen, including one fired towards the capital Riyadh. The Iran-aligned Houthis said they would announce details of a “major attack” on Saudi Arabia on their Al Masirah TV, amid ongoing fighting in Yemen where the rebels took control of the northern province of Al-Jawf earlier this year. “The joint coalition forces managed … to intercept and destroy a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia from Sanaa towards Riyadh in a deliberate hostile operation,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said on state media. The Saudi military said it also brought down “eight booby-trapped unmanned aircraft to target civilian objects and civili...
