• Nearly 400,000 Indians have left the UAE for India since repatriation flights started in May. AFP
    Nearly 400,000 Indians have left the UAE for India since repatriation flights started in May. AFP
  • An immigration official checks documents of passenger at Dubai Airport. Wam
    An immigration official checks documents of passenger at Dubai Airport. Wam
  • Passengers at Dubai International Airport wait for their flight to Calicut in Kerala. Courtesy: Indian Consulate
    Passengers at Dubai International Airport wait for their flight to Calicut in Kerala. Courtesy: Indian Consulate
  • An Indian woman carries a child as she waits at the Dubai International Airport before leaving the country on a flight home on May 7. Karim Sahib / AFP
    An Indian woman carries a child as she waits at the Dubai International Airport before leaving the country on a flight home on May 7. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • Health workers check passengers who arrived on an Emirates Airlines flight from London at Dubai International Airport amid the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. AFP
    Health workers check passengers who arrived on an Emirates Airlines flight from London at Dubai International Airport amid the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic. AFP
  • Health workers check passengers who arrived on an Emirates Airlines flight from London at Dubai International Airport amid the coronavirus pandemic. AFP
    Health workers check passengers who arrived on an Emirates Airlines flight from London at Dubai International Airport amid the coronavirus pandemic. AFP
  • Passengers of an Emirates airlines flight, departing to the Australian city of Sydney, wear protective gear at Dubai International Airport on May 22. Karim Sahib / AFP
    Passengers of an Emirates airlines flight, departing to the Australian city of Sydney, wear protective gear at Dubai International Airport on May 22. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • Passengers of an Emirates airlines flight line up to be checked by health workers at the Dubai International Airport. Karim Sahib / AFP
    Passengers of an Emirates airlines flight line up to be checked by health workers at the Dubai International Airport. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • Travellers walk through Dubai International Airport to board a repatriation flight. Karim Sahib / AFP
    Travellers walk through Dubai International Airport to board a repatriation flight. Karim Sahib / AFP
  • A passenger of an Emirates airlines flight checks in at Dubai International Airport. Karim Sahib / AFP
    A passenger of an Emirates airlines flight checks in at Dubai International Airport. Karim Sahib / AFP

India increases destinations for repatriation flights from UAE


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India's national airlines will start operating flights from the UAE to new destinations across India to repatriate those who wish to return home.

On Sunday, India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation said Air India would operate repatriation flights between August 1 and 6 to select destinations, which were not disclosed.

In the UAE, these flights will pick up Indian citizens from Sharjah and take back passengers "of certain categories" from India to the emirate, the state news agency Wam reported.

A more detailed schedule including flights by other Indian carriers such as Air India Express and some private airlines is being finalised and is expected to be released before August 1.

The new schedule is part of Phase 5 of "Vande Bharat", or Salute India, repatriation flights.

Air India said that the flights within the country as part of the repatriation schedule would not accommodate domestic passengers.

They are meant exclusively for arrivals on the repatriation programme to be connected to destinations within India.

The UAE and India grounded flights in March to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Regular passenger flights have yet to resume in India, but repatriation flights from the UAE have been in operation for months.

The two countries also agreed to operate select flights between July 12 and 26 to take Indian residents of the UAE back to the Emirates.

About 210,000 Indians have been repatriated from the UAE since May 7 and an estimated 10,000 residents have travelled back to the Emirates from India in the past few weeks.

This month, officials said more than 500,000 people had registered with the Indian consulate and embassy to return home.

They said that despite the high registration numbers, many chose to stay in the UAE to search for jobs now that more businesses are reopening.

Talks are under way to extend the arrangement between the two countries for flights to bring back residents back to the UAE.

PROFILE OF INVYGO

Started: 2018

Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo

Based: Dubai

Sector: Transport

Size: 9 employees

Investment: $1,275,000

Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Plan to boost public schools

A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.

It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.

Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.

Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.

2018 ICC World Twenty20 Asian Western Sub Regional Qualifier

Event info: The tournament in Kuwait is the first phase of the qualifying process for sides from Asia for the 2020 World T20 in Australia. The UAE must finish within the top three teams out of the six at the competition to advance to the Asia regional finals. Success at regional finals would mean progression to the World T20 Qualifier.

Teams: UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Maldives, Qatar

Friday fixtures: 9.30am (UAE time) - Kuwait v Maldives, Qatar v UAE; 3pm - Saudi Arabia v Bahrain

Name: Peter Dicce

Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics

Favourite sport: soccer

Favourite team: Bayern Munich

Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer

Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates 

 

The specs: 2019 Haval H6

Price, base: Dh69,900

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm

Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPayal%20Kapadia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kani%20Kusruti%2C%20Divya%20Prabha%2C%20Chhaya%20Kadam%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs

Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 194hp at 5,600rpm

Torque: 275Nm from 2,000-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Price: from Dh155,000

On sale: now

Sunday's fixtures
  • Bournemouth v Southampton, 5.30pm
  • Manchester City v West Ham United, 8pm
RESULT

Shabab Al Ahli Dubai 0 Al Ain 6
Al Ain: Caio (5', 73'), El Shahat (10'), Berg (65'), Khalil (83'), Al Ahbabi (90' 2)

Know your cyber adversaries

Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.

Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.

Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.

Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.

Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.

Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.

Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.

Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.

Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.

Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.

Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000