Emirates SkyCargo has notched yet another milestone by flying in COVID-19 vaccines manufactured by Pfizer-BioNTech to the UAE for the first time for the Dubai Health Authority (DHA). The vaccines were transported from Brussels on Emirates flight EK 182 on 22 December 2020, arriving at Dubai International Airport (DXB) at 22.15 local time.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Group said: “Emirates is proud to be transporting the first batch of Pfizer vaccines for COVID-19 into the UAE for the Dubai Health Authority. Our healthcare ecosystem has played an absolutely critical role in every step of the fight against COVID-19. I would like to thank everyone who has worked unceasingly over the last year to protect the lives of those most vulnerable against the disease. In recognition of their immense contribution for the wellbeing of everyone in the UAE, it has been our honour to transport these vaccines free of charge on our flight.”

Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo said: “At Emirates SkyCargo we are doing our part to join Dubai’s efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the effective management of the pandemic by Dubai’s visionary leadership, the city has retained its position as a global logistical hub for connecting vital cargo including PPE, medical supplies, vaccines, food and other essential items. Emirates SkyCargo has set up the world’s largest airside hub dedicated to distributing COVID-19 vaccines and we stand ready to support not just Dubai, but countries around the world, including markets with limited cool chain infrastructure with our advanced capabilities. By transporting COVID-19 vaccines across our extensive network, we look forward to helping people around the world get back on their feet after the devastating impact of the pandemic.”

On arrival at DXB, the containers with the vaccines were unloaded on priority from the aircraft and then taken to Emirates SkyCargo’s dedicated pharma facility Emirates SkyPharma to await clearance for delivery.

Emirates SkyCargo is no stranger to transporting vaccines and other temperature sensitive pharmaceutical cargo. The carrier has more than two decades experience in transporting pharmaceuticals on its aircraft and has set up state of the art EU GDP certified facilities dedicated for storing and handling pharma cargo in Dubai. Emirates SkyCargo has also established a global Pharma Corridors programme working with ground handlers and local airports at major pharma origin and destination stations for enhanced cool chain protection. The current pharma network covers over 30 cities across the world including Brussels.

More recently, Emirates SkyCargo has set up the world’s largest dedicated airside storage and distribution hub for COVID-19 vaccines in Dubai with the capacity to store up to an estimated 10 million doses of vaccine at the 2-8C temperature range at any one point of time. With its advanced infrastructure, extensive network and modern all wide-body aircraft fleet, Emirates SkyCargo can transport COVID-19 vaccines rapidly and securely from manufacturing locations to destinations across six continents. Emirates SkyCargo has already commenced distribution of COVID-19 vaccines from a range of manufacturers and geographies.

काठमाडौं ७ पुस:  संसद विघटनको विरोधमा सत्तारुढ नेपाल कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी (नेकपा) को विद्यार्थी संगठन अनेरास्ववियूको एउटा समूहले प्रदर्शन गरेको छ । सहसंयोजक रञ्जित तामाङसहितको टोलीले संसद विघटनको विरोधमा असंवैधानिक  भन्दै खारेज गर्न माग गरेको छ । उनीहरुले माइतीघरदेखि नाराबाजी गर्दै नयाँ बानेश्वरतर्फ आएको छ ।

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement praising the coronavirus relief legislation passed by Congress, which contains numerous provisions championed by the struggling travel and tourism industry to help bring back economic activity and jobs:

“Seeing this bill make it across the finish line is a huge relief after months of struggle.

“This legislation is a lifeline for businesses and workers who have been hanging on by a thread. More than four million travel jobs have been lost this year, and this package includes long-needed provisions to help employers keep their lights on—a second draw on PPP funds for the hardest-hit businesses, eligibility for non-profit destination marketing organizations, assistance to airports and concessionaires as well as airlines, and enhancements to the Employee Retention Tax Credit, among many others.

“Leader McConnell, Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy all deserve significant praise for seeing this tough effort through to completion. Hopefully now that this challenging legislative step has been overcome, we can head into the next Congress with momentum for further substantive measures to rejuvenate businesses and jobs.”

Saudi Arabian Airlines  the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia has been ranked a Five-Star Global Airline by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX).

The APEX Official Airline Ratings™ is the first airline rating program based solely on certified passenger feedback. The industry’s most anticipated honor is based on neutral, third-party passenger feedback and insights.

During the Future Travel Experience APEX Virtual Expo, an awards ceremony was held and SAUDIA was delighted to be awarded the Five-Star accolade.

Using a five-star scale, more than one million flights have been rated by passengers across nearly 600 airlines from around the world and independently certified by a professional external auditing company.

Commenting on the prestigious title, Director General of Saudi Arabian Airlines, His Excellency Eng. Ibrahim Al-Omar remarked: “The entire team at SAUDIA is driven by a mandate to provide an exemplary level of service at every step. We are redefining the way our valued guests experience air travel with us, and we are proud to see that so far in this journey, the changes have been well received.”

Continued Mr. Al-Omar: “We would like to thank all our guests for flying with SAUDIA and we look forward to welcoming all onboard once again.”

“Congratulations to Saudia ascending to become an APEX 2021 Five Star Global Airline based on the independently verified passenger votes via TripIt® across thousands of Saudia flights,” APEX CEO Dr. Joe Leader stated.

He continued: “Only a single-digit percentage of airlines worldwide reach APEX Five Star Airline status with tremendous effort placed into both their product and service offerings.  SAUDIA’s ratings by customers have consistently improved alongside the airline’s product upgrades over the past few years. The touches that I personally admire are hot towels in economy class, a uniquely Saudia international water bar / juice bar on-board, broader in-flight entertainment offerings, enhanced Wi-Fi connectivity, in-flight product improvements, and improved passenger service.”

SAUDIA previously received the Four-Star rating from APEX in 2017.

This year marks the 75^th anniversary for Saudi Arabia’s award-winning national flag carrier. SAUDIA is one of the first airlines to be established in the Middle East region.

In recent years the airline has invested significantly in its fleet of 144 narrow and widebody aircraft and operates one of the youngest fleets in the skies, with an average aircraft age of 5 years.

The airline route network includes more than 95 destinations across four continents to all 28 domestic airports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

In November 2020, Hawaii hotels statewide reported substantial declines in revenue per available room (RevPAR), average daily rate (ADR), and occupancy compared to November 2019 as tourism continued to be impacted significantly by the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Hawaii Hotel Performance Report published by the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s (HTA) Research Division, statewide RevPAR decreased to $51 (-75.4%), ADR fell to $230 (-12.0%), and occupancy declined to 22.1 percent (-57.0 percentage points) (Figure 1) in November. The report’s findings utilized data compiled by STR, Inc., which conducts the largest and most comprehensive survey of hotel properties in the Hawaiian Islands.

Beginning October 15, passengers arriving from out-of-state and traveling inter-county could bypass the mandatory 14-day self-quarantine with a valid negative COVID-19 NAAT test result from a Trusted Testing and Travel Partner. However, a new policy went into effect on November 24 requiring all trans-Pacific travelers participating in the pre-travel testing program to have a negative test result before their departure to Hawaii, and test results would no longer be accepted once a traveler arrives in Hawaii. The counties of Kauai, Hawaii, Maui, and Kalawao (Molokai) also had a partial quarantine in place in November. In addition, Lanai residents and visitors were under a stay-at-home order from October 27 to November 11.

Hawaii hotel room revenues statewide fell to $70.6 million (-78.8%) in November. Room demand was 307,600 room nights, or 75.9 percent lower than the same period a year ago. Room supply was 1.4 million room nights (-13.8%) (Figure 2). Many properties closed or reduced operations starting in April. If occupancy for November 2020 was calculated based on the room supply from November 2019, occupancy would be 19.1 percent for the month (Figure 7). All classes of Hawaii hotel properties statewide reported RevPAR losses in November compared to a year ago. Luxury Class properties earned RevPAR of $95 (-74.6%), with ADR at $543 (+5.9%) and occupancy of 17.6 percent (-55.8 percentage points). Midscale & Economy Class properties earned RevPAR of $47 (-64.4%) and occupancy of 29.0 percent (-52.6 percentage points).

All of Hawaii’s four island counties reported lower RevPAR, ADR and occupancy compared to a year ago. Maui County hotels led the counties in November RevPAR of $76 (-72.1%), with ADR at $375 (+4.2%) and occupancy of 20.2 percent (-55.0 percentage points). Maui’s luxury resort region of Wailea had RevPAR of $130 (-72.0%), with ADR at $523 (-5.3%) and occupancy of 24.9 percent (-59.3 percentage points). The Lahaina/Kaanapali/Kapalua region had RevPAR of $51 (-76.3%), ADR at $345 (+15.6%) and occupancy of 14.8 percent (-57.3 percentage points).

Oahu hotels earned RevPAR of $38 (-79.8%) in November, with ADR at $167 (-26.7%) and occupancy of 22.6 percent (-59.4 percentage points). Waikiki hotels earned $34 (-82.1%) in RevPAR with ADR at $162 (-28.5%) and occupancy of 20.8 percent (-62.3 percentage points).

Hotels on the island of Hawaii reported RevPAR of $44 (-76.0%), with ADR at $217 (-11.0%) and occupancy of 20.4 percent (-55.3 percentage points). Kohala Coast hotels earned RevPAR of $57 (-79.0%), ADR at $388 (+11.4%) and occupancy of 14.7 percent (-63.1 percentage points).

Kauai hotels earned RevPAR of $60 (-67.5%), with ADR at $215 (-13.2%) and occupancy of 28.0 percent (-46.8 percentage points).

Tables of hotel performance statistics, including data presented in the report are available for viewing online at: https://www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/research/infrastructure-research/

काठमाडौ ः भायानेट, नेपालभरि व्यावसायिक र व्यक्तिगतप्रयोजनकालागिउच्चगतिको इन्टरनेट कनेक्टिभिटी र कम्यूनिकेशन सोलुशन प्र्रदायकहो । आफनाग्राहकहरुलाई सेवाहरु र अफरहरु प्रदानगर्ने कुरामाभायानेट सध अगाडि हुन्छ । यसै क्रममाग्राहकहरुलाई भायाटिभी मार्फत अझ बढी मनोरञ्जन प्रदानगर्नकालागि भायाटिभीमा Bollywood movies ‘शीमारु यल मझबलम’ on demand’ movie packmarphat पनि समावेश गरिदैछ । भायानेटका ग्राहकहरुले अबमात्रप्रतिमहिना रु. ९९ (भ्याट सहित) तिरेर २५ वटा शानदारक्लासिकदयििथधययमसिनेमाहरुको आनन्दलिन सक्नेछन ।

प्रधानमन्त्री केपी शर्मा ओलीले प्रतिनिधिसभा संसद विघटन गरेपछि  पूर्वप्रधानमन्त्रीसमेत रहेका जनता समाजवादी पार्टी नेपालका संघीय परिषद अध्यक्ष बाबुराम भट्टराईले वर्तमान सरकार कुन पार्टीको हो नेकपाले छिटो प्रष्ट पार्नुपर्ने बताएका छन्।  ‘नेकपा, नेपाली कांग्रेस र जनता समाजवादीका शीर्ष नेता कांग्रेस संसदीय दलको कार्यालयमा बैठक बसियो। प्रधानमन्त्री ओलीको संसद विघटन गर्ने कदम असंवैधानिक, अलोकतान्त्रिक र निरंकुश रहेको जानकारी दिँदै भट्टराईले भनेका छन्। भट्टराईका अनुसार उक्त बैठकमा प्रधानमन्त्री ओलीको संसद विघटन गर्ने कदम असंवैधानिक, अलोकतान्त्रिक र निरंकुश रहेको निष्कर्ष निकालिएको छ। सिंहदरबारस्थित कांग्रेस संसदीय दलको कार्यालयमा आइतबार नेकपा, जसपासहित दलको बैठक बसेको थियो। प्रमुख प्रतिपक्षी नेपाली कांग्रेससँग छलफल गरेका भट्टराईले प्रमुख प्रतिपक्षी कांग्रेससहित दलहरू प्रधानमन्त्री ओलीको कदमविरूद्ध सडक संघर्षमा उत्रिने तयारीमा छन्।

५ पुस, काठमाडौं : प्रधानमन्त्री केपी शर्मा ओलीको सिफारिसमा राष्ट्रपति विद्यादेवी भण्डारीले संसद विघटन गरेकी छन् । राष्ट्रपति भण्डारीले संविधानको धारा ७६ को उपधारा १ र ७ तथा धारा ८५ र संसदीय प्रणालीको आधारभूत मर्म एवं मूल्यमान्यता बमोजिम भन्दै संसद विघटनको घोषणा गरेकी  साथै, मध्यावधि निर्वाचनको मितिसमेत तोकिएको छ । आइतबार बिहान बसेको मन्त्रिपरिषद् बैठकपछि प्रधानमन्त्री ओलीले संसद विघटन गर्ने प्रस्ताव राष्ट्रपतिसमक्ष लगेका थिए । संसद विघटनको प्रस्तावको मन्त्रीहरूबाटै विरोध भएको थियो भने सत्तारुढ र विपक्षी दलहरुले समेत संविधानविपरीत भएको बताएका थिए ।