Riyadh, Jun 6: Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) has revoked the license of Qatar Airways and ordered its offices to to be closed within 48 hours, the regulatory body said said in a statement.
Any licenses granted to Qatar Airways employees would also be withdrawn, the statement said.
The move comes a day after GACA banned all Qatari planes from landing in the kingdom's airports, following the worst rift in years among the Gulf countries.
Dubai, Jun 5: A new set of coronavirus guidelines for UAE hotels has been published by the National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority.
The guidelines, released late Thursday, require all employees to be tested for Covid-19 before reopening, and to be re-tested every 15 days.
Hotels are expected to provide an infrared thermometer and thermal camera, with employee temperatures to be tested several times per working day.
Any guest or employee showing coronavirus symptoms will not be permitted to enter hotel facilities, the guidelines stress.
Hotels must also leave a 24-hour gap between guests leaving a room, and the next guests arriving.
Facilities such as restaurants, cafes, gyms, swimming pools and beaches in hotels will resume operation under a minimum capacity.
Customers must have their temperatures taken before they enter.
The working hours of restaurants and cafes will be from 6am until 9pm, allowing four people to sit at the same table with 2.5 metres left between tables. Menus must be sterilised after each use.
Dubai, Mar 9: The eyes of the world will be on the oil markets when the big trading hubs in Europe and North America open following the end of the deal between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has helped to sustain crude at relatively high levels for the past three years.
There were big falls on Friday when ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) failed to get a deal with non-OPEC members — the so-called OPEC+ — to extend output agreements. Brent oil was down nearly 10 percent at $45.27 going into the western weekend.
Saudi Aramco took immediate action to cut prices after the OPEC+ collapse, offering big discounts for crude deliveries from next month, when the current output restrictions end.
According to a notification sent to customers by Saudi Aramco, seen by Arab News, the Kingdom’s oil giant will cut between $4 and $8 per barrel, with the biggest discounts being offered to buyers in northwest Europe and the US.
Roger Diwan, an oil analyst at consultancy IHS Market, said: “We are likely to see the lowest oil prices of the past 20 years in the next quarter.”
West Texas Intermediate, the US oil benchmark, fell to $28.27 in November 2001.
The move raises the possibility of a “crude war” between the three biggest oil blocs — the US, Russia and the Arabian Gulf. Some analysts believe the American shale industry is more vulnerable to low prices than either the Russians or the Saudis.
Robin Mills, head of the Qamar consultancy, told Arab News: “I don’t think this was premeditated but Saudi Arabia has clearly swung quickly into action to put the Russians under pressure. But the Russians, with low debt and a flexible exchange rate, can cope with a few months of low prices.”
The boom in US shale has made the country the biggest oil producer in the world, but with high financing costs. Lower global prices would put a lot of shale companies out of business.
On the other hand, American motorists, and President Donald Trump, would be pleased to see lower fuel prices in an election year.
In Moscow, one prominent financier with ties to the Kingdom played down the long-term significance of the Vienna fallout.
Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, told Arab News: “Saudi Arabia is our strategic partner, and cooperation between our two countries will continue in all areas. We will also continue to work within the framework of the Russia-Saudi Economic Council.”
One Russian official, who asked not to be named, added: “There is a good relationship between Alexander Novak, Russian energy minister, and his Saudi counterpart Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, and I am sure they will continue talking to each other less formally.”
Dubai, Jul 15: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the launch of a 'New Media Academy in Dubai on Monday - a new institution that will train people on the science of digital media.
Taking to Twitter, Sheikh Mohammed said that new media is a new science that has its own set of special tools and secrets, and that the future cadres of UAE must be at the forefront of it.
"The academy will prepare new experts and managers in the field of communication in government and private institutions, as well as training professional social media influencers", Sheikh Mohammed tweeted, adding that the new media is providing new job opportunities and careers today, and will always be a main supporter in the journey of development.
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