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UAE's Emirates to Fly from India Again after Ban over Virus

Emirates airline says it will resume flights from India from June 23, after Dubai lifted a ban over the coronavirus - AFP
Emirates airline says it will resume flights from India from June 23, after Dubai lifted a ban over the coronavirus - AFP
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UAE's Emirates to Fly from India Again after Ban over Virus

Emirates airline says it will resume flights from India from June 23, after Dubai lifted a ban over the coronavirus - AFP
Emirates airline says it will resume flights from India from June 23, after Dubai lifted a ban over the coronavirus - AFP

Aviation giant Emirates said Sunday it will resume flights from India from next week, after Dubai lifted a ban imposed when coronavirus cases spiked.

The United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, suspended all flights from India -- including for transit passengers -- in April in an effort to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus.

"We will resume carrying passengers from South Africa, Nigeria and India... from June 23," Emirates said in a statement, AFP reported.

Dubai said on Saturday that only passengers from India "with a valid residence visa and who have received two doses of a UAE-approved vaccine" would be allowed to travel to the emirate.

They would also need a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours of departure, a rapid test four hours before departure, and another PCR test on arrival with "institutional quarantine" required until the results are received.

Dubai authorities did not specify the rules for transit passengers and Emirates did not say whether transit passengers were allowed to fly through Dubai en route to third nations.

Some 300 flights a week were operating between the UAE and India before the ban was announced in April, according to local media, making the air corridor one of the busiest in the world.

The UAE is home to some 3.3 million Indians who make up a third of the population -- most of them in Dubai.

Some Indians who had been stranded in their homeland during a coronavirus surge had hired private jets to take them back to the UAE, which had exempted private jets from the ban.

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Gulf

Saudi Interior Minister Attends 'Security and History Dialogue 2026' Conference

Organized by the Ministry of Interior, the conference is being held under the theme "Our History and Our Future: Security and Growth" (conference)
Organized by the Ministry of Interior, the conference is being held under the theme "Our History and Our Future: Security and Growth" (conference)
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Saudi Interior Minister Attends 'Security and History Dialogue 2026' Conference

Organized by the Ministry of Interior, the conference is being held under the theme "Our History and Our Future: Security and Growth" (conference)
Organized by the Ministry of Interior, the conference is being held under the theme "Our History and Our Future: Security and Growth" (conference)

Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz attended Sunday the opening of the "Security and History Dialogue 2026" Conference at the Cultural Palace in Riyadh's Diplomatic Quarter.

Organized by the Ministry of Interior, the conference is being held under the theme "Our History and Our Future: Security and Growth."

Conference General Supervisor Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Tuwaian delivered a speech thanking the Interior Minister for sponsoring the event.

He said the Security and History Dialogue serves as a national platform bringing together experts and specialists from within and outside the Kingdom to examine its history through the lenses of security and development.

Al-Tuwaian said the conference aims to produce documented content that raises awareness of the Kingdom’s historical journey, reinforces national identity and the values of citizenship and belonging, and conveys the Saudi story to future generations.

He added that the conference reviews the Kingdom’s security journey from the establishment of the First Saudi State to the present day, highlighting security as an established approach and its role in building state institutions, consolidating stability, and supporting development and prosperity.

It also addresses national awareness and cultural security, as well as the role of security in supporting investment, creating opportunities, and improving quality of life.

The minister and attendees watched an introductory film outlining the conference’s objectives and scientific program. The program includes dialogue sessions, interactive meetings, and knowledge and visual experiences documenting the security journey throughout the history of the Saudi state and its role in supporting stability, development, and nation-building.

The Interior Minister also toured the accompanying exhibition, which features pavilions from participating entities, historical and knowledge content, and interactive experiences showcasing nearly three centuries of the Saudi state's security journey.

He was briefed on the exhibition’s main features and accompanying activities.

The conference builds on the "Security and History Dialogue" Forum organized by the Ministry of Interior in 2025. The forum was held in partnership with the King Abdulaziz Foundation "Darah" on scientific and historical content, along with the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of National Guard, Presidency of State Security, and more than 40 academic, media, and cultural entities.

Running until September 8, the conference features more than 65 dialogue sessions and interactive meetings, with over 160 speakers, including senior officials, leaders, experts, researchers, and academics. The program also includes the accompanying exhibition, knowledge and cultural experiences, and other events.

Gulf

Kuwait Grants Up to 10-Year Residency to Those Whose Citizenship Was Withdrawn

The new Kuwaiti decision grants those whose citizenship was withdrawn and their dependents 10-year residency permits free of charge (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The new Kuwaiti decision grants those whose citizenship was withdrawn and their dependents 10-year residency permits free of charge (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Kuwait Grants Up to 10-Year Residency to Those Whose Citizenship Was Withdrawn

The new Kuwaiti decision grants those whose citizenship was withdrawn and their dependents 10-year residency permits free of charge (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The new Kuwaiti decision grants those whose citizenship was withdrawn and their dependents 10-year residency permits free of charge (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The Kuwaiti government has issued a decision amending the executive regulations of the Foreigners' Residency Law, providing a 10-year residency permit free of charge to those whose Kuwaiti citizenship was withdrawn and their dependents, who have returned to their original nationality or acquired another nationality.

The official gazette, Kuwait Al-Youm, published the decision on Sunday. It authorizes the Director General of the General Department of Residency Affairs to determine the conditions and regulations governing the granting and renewal of residency permits.

It also allows beneficiaries to work in Kuwait in accordance with regulations set by the department.

The amendment also introduced rules governing the length of time residents may remain outside Kuwait, setting the period at six months while exempting several categories, including children of Kuwaiti women who have not acquired citizenship by dependency, property owners, investors covered by Law No. 116 of 2013, and holders of residency permits.

The General Department of Residency Affairs may grant permission for an absence of more than six months under specific conditions and regulations, provided that the residency remains valid.

The decision also sets the period domestic workers may remain outside Kuwait at four months unless they obtain prior permission for an extended absence.

The amendment is intended to regulate the legal status and residency arrangements of the categories covered by its provisions, establish rules governing the granting and renewal of residency and employment in the country, and regulate the periods residents may remain outside Kuwait.

Gulf

El-Khereiji Holds Talks with UN Sec-Gen's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict

The two sides discussed the most prominent regional and international developments of common interest - SPA
The two sides discussed the most prominent regional and international developments of common interest - SPA
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El-Khereiji Holds Talks with UN Sec-Gen's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict

The two sides discussed the most prominent regional and international developments of common interest - SPA
The two sides discussed the most prominent regional and international developments of common interest - SPA

Saudi Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Waleed Elkhereiji met with Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict Vanessa Frazier at the ministry's headquarters in Riyadh.

During the meeting, they discussed the most prominent regional and international developments of common interest and the efforts underway to address them.