Tony Douglas, Etihad Aviation Group GCEO and Gonen Usishkin, EL AL Airlines CEO sign MOU agreement LR

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad and El Al Israel sign MoU to cooperate on codeshare and loyalty programme

The teams at Etihad Guest and El Al Matmid loyalty programmes will explore reciprocal “earn and burn” opportunities for its members

Battista Anniversario

German firm Automobili Pininfarina unveils world’s first globally connected hypercar

Owners will be able to access online services in over 50 countries, including the Gulf region

Government employees in Abu Dhabi to receive full housing allowance

Citizens and residents living in Abu Dhabi are entitled to full housing allowance and rent stipend in line with their job grade

Developer Arada begins handovers at Sharjah’s Nasma Residences

The first five phases of the community are fully sold out

UAE’s Fruitful Day raises over Dhs3m to fund expansion

The company will use the funds for horizontal and vertical expansion

Turki Al Malki, Saudi coalition

Saudi forces destroy armed drone launched towards civilian targets in the kingdom

The attack, launched on Wednesday, targeted the kingdom’s southern region

Umm Al Quwain

Umm Al Quwain tourism department launches offers for frontline heroes

These offers will be available to frontline workers for a period of six months starting November 17, 2020

KUWAIT-HEALTH-VIRUS

Kuwait going ahead with decision to ban work permits for expats aged over 60 from Jan 1

The decision applies to expat workers who do not have a university degree

Bahrain-Manama

Bahrain and Israel to begin direct flights, open embassies

Starting 2021, there will be 14 weekly flights operating between Bahrain and Tel Aviv

Saudi Arabia raises minimum wage for citizens by 33%

The higher minimum wage must be paid for a worker to be counted as part of a company’s quota of citizen employees

Abu Dhabi Israel

Abu Dhabi Global Market signs fintech agreement with Israel Securities Authority

The agreement provides a framework for information sharing, and will facilitate the movement of startups and transfer of knowledge and talent

Ecommerce

Retail traffic and sales in UAE set to soar during Black Friday: Criteo study

Survey says 37% of UAE shoppers are more comfortable shopping in-store now

LEXUS

Lexus UAE partners with Facebook for new online showroom experience

Customers can extensively browse through the Lexus range on their Facebook mobile app

Dubai-based tech incubator AstroLabs expands into tech recruiting

AstroLabs Talent to offer 4,000-strong Academy alumni recruiting support

Dubai’s Emirates ramps up A380 flights; adds services to UK and Russia

Emirates is expanding its services to the UK following the establishment of UK-UAE air corridor

Dubai’s Emirates reveals special fares ahead of National Day holidays

The offer is valid for bookings, starting November 18 till November 29, 2020, for travel until May 31, 2021

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed 2

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed invites Israeli President for UAE visit

President Reuven Rivlin has also extended an invitation to Sheikh Mohamed to visit Israel

Vincent Reffet

French stuntman dies in Dubai in training accident

Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, took to Instagram to condole the stuntman’s death

World’s biggest oil firm Saudi Aramco sells $8bn in bonds

Aramco sold $8bn in tranches maturing in three, five, 10, 30 and 50 years

Oman

UAE-Oman bilateral trade reached Dhs48bn in 2019

Oman is the UAE’s second largest trading partner in the Gulf

LG wearable air purifier now available in the UAE

LG PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier employs HEPA filters and sensor-controlled fans

Dubai’s Coca-Cola Arena to welcome back fans with live event on November 20

Coca-Cola Arena’s next live event will be the OJ Lifestyle presents Dark Knights Edition 1.0, taking place on November 20

Real Estate

Revealed: The most transparent real estate markets in the MENA region

Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been ranked as having the most transparent property markets in the region according to JLL’s latest index

UAE extends waiver for residency law violators till end of the year

The exemption covers all financial fines related to the Emirates Identity cards, work permits, as well as the waiver of all administrative restrictions, upon leaving the country

Saudi Arabia to pivot attention, plow funds at home

The fund intends to play a leading role in refocusing the economy toward underdeveloped industries

Abu-Dhabi-pic

UAE President issues law to establish new university for humanities

The university will offer graduate, post-graduate and doctoral degree programmes in social studies, humanities and philosophy

Etihad A380

Etihad grounds entire A380 fleet; will commence Abu Dhabi-Tel Aviv daily flights from March 2021

The airline will launch a daily flight connecting Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv from March 28, 2021

Bahrain’s Investcorp acquires cereal and coffee company Viz Branz

Viz Branz has approximately 1,300 employees with manufacturing facilities and operations in China and Myanmar

Central Bank of the UAE

UAE Central Bank extends Targeted Economic Support Scheme until June 2021

The TESS loan deferral programme has already benefited over 310,000 retail customers, nearly 10,000 SMEs and more than 1,500 private sector companies

Cityscape’s Real Estate Summit opens in Dubai

This year’s edition of Cityscape was co-created with regional real estate industry stakeholders