UAE

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — This weekend’s summit of leaders from the Group of 20 stands out more for what it is not than for what it is.

Held online this year because of the coronavirus, the gathering of leaders of the world’s preeminent rich and developing nations will not be an opportunity for kings, presidents and prime ministers to conduct the intimate diplomacy of closed-door meetings or pose for memorable photo-ops. Without red carpet arrivals, it will not be an occasion for its Saudi hosts to dazzle the world’s media.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco said on Monday it had hired banks for a multi-tranche U.S. dollar-denominated bond issuance, as the world’s largest oil company seeks cash amid lower oil prices.

Gulf issuers show no sign of slowing this year’s blitz of issues on international debt markets as they work to plug finances hit by weaker oil prices and the coronavirus crisis.

Issuances from the region so far this year have already shot through 2019’s record, again surpassing $100 billion.

DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates has approved granting “golden” visas allowing 10-year residency to certain professionals, specialised degree-holders and others, Dubai’s ruler said on Sunday.

All holders of doctorate degrees, medical doctors and also computer, electronics, programming, electrical and biotechnology engineers are eligible.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Eric Roman struts onstage in his torn jeans and grasps the microphone.

It’s midnight on a Friday and in normal times, he’d hear wild applause from this tightly packed hotel bar in one of the old neighborhoods alongside the Dubai Creek. Sweaty throngs of fellow Filipinos, Arab businessmen and mall employees fresh from their shifts would hit the dance floor as he belted out Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” with his nine-piece Filipino band.

13 Nov 2020; MEMO: Emirates Airline revealed yesterday that it had recorded losses for the first time in more than three decades due to the repercussions of the coronavirus which brought air travel to a "literal standstill".

The Dubai based airline said it had suffered a loss of $3.4 billion during the period from March until September.

12 Nov 2020; MEMO: A delegation of Israeli settlers from illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank have met with UAE businessmen in Dubai to discuss trade and cooperation opportunities, Israeli media revealed on Wednesday.

The settlers' delegation arrived in the UAE on Sunday for a five-day visit. Yossi Dagan, the head of the settlement council which represents settlements in the northern occupied West Bank, led the delegation.

11 Nov 2020; MEMO: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Republic of Myanmar have signed a joint agreement to establish diplomatic relations, WAM reported yesterday.

The agreement was signed by the UAE's permanent representative to the United Nations in New York, Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, and her Burmese counterpart, Kyaw Moi Tun.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain’s veteran prime minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa quashed repeated opposition unrest in almost half a century in office and was a fierce critic of the Arab Spring, saying it had brought Arabs only “death, chaos and destruction”.

The world’s longest-serving prime minister, Sheikh Khalifa died on Wednesday in Mayo Clinic hospital in the United States, Bahrain’s state news agency said.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Etihad Airways told cabin crew on Wednesday there would be layoffs this week, an internal email seen by Reuters showed, and a company source said the airline will keep its Airbus AIR.PA A380 superjumbos parked "indefinitely" due to a slower than expected recovery in air travel demand.

In the internal email, cabin crew were told those affected would be notified within 24 hours, without saying how many would lose their jobs.

The warning was sent out two days after a similar notice was sent out to pilots at the Abu Dhabi state carrier.

DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahrain’s government approved on Monday a memorandum of understanding with Israel, covering air services, the state-run agency of the Gulf country said.

Bahrain and Israel signed in October a joint communique to formalise nascent ties, during a visit by an Israeli and U.S. delegation to the Gulf country.