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Cain International, the privately held real estate investment firm operating in Europe and the US, has signed an agreement with Oberoi, the award-winning hotel group, for the operation of 23 serviced residences at 17-22 South Audley Street, in London’s Mayfair. The Oberoi Group was established in 1934 and owns and operates 33 five-star hotels and luxury resorts across India, Indonesia, Morocco, Mauritius, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

British Airways have announced that from 3 July they will operate three direct flights per week from Tokyo Haneda Airport to the UK's London Heathrow Airport. Airlines already operating or resuming direct services between these airports include Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways. Until the end of July, all passengers arriving in Japan may be required to take a PCR test for COVID-19, and all must self-isolate for 14 days; passengers arriving in the UK must also self-isolate for 14 days.

Surrounded by three different beaches, including one with a picture-postcard setting called 'The Wild Beach', the resort will reopen in November 2020 as a 4-star superior property.

The country's government has suspended all international passenger flights from any of its airports until 31 July, at which point it will then review the situation. Currently, entry to the country is permitted for some business travellers under strict conditions.

The country’s government has confirmed that existing border restrictions will remain in place past 1 July, when it will add an additional 18 countries to its ban on entry. This brings the total number of countries to 129.

Qatar's government have confirmed that they aim to further ease COVID-19 curbs from 1 July, allowing the limited reopening of restaurants, beaches and parks, as infections have passed their peak and the rate is reportedly subsiding. Public and private gatherings of a maximum of five people will be allowed, while employees in the public and private sector can work from their office at 50% capacity.

The Australia-based airline has announced that it will begin a phased re-opening of a number of its domestic and regional airport lounges around the country, following the easing of state-based restrictions and an increase in demand for domestic travel. This will start with 11 of its 35 Australian domestic lounges re-opening from 1 July.

The country's government has confirmed that some nationwide isolation measures related to COVID-19 will remain in place until 23.59 (local time) on 14 July. The measures include the strict restriction of social contact and movement to essential activities only, including the use of private vehicles; just one member of each household may also leave their accommodation for a limited number of reasons. These measures are part of a larger state of emergency, declared on 18 March by the country's president and lasting until 31 August.

On 29 June Ireland entered phase three of its roadmap for easing COVID-19 lockdown restrictions; travel anywhere within the country is now permitted and most businesses can re-open. Citizens must though maintain social distancing guidelines, wear face coverings in a number of public settings and keep a log of their contacts throughout the day to assist with contact tracing.

The country's government has imposed a stringent lockdown on the city of Leicester, a city of around 330,000 people which accounted for 10% of all positive cases in England in the past week. Non-essential shops in the city have closed today, 30 June, and schools will close for most pupils from 2 July. Non-essential travel in and out of a government-designated boundary line is also prohibited.

Abu Dhabi’s local government media office announced yesterday that the emirate will now allow people to enter if they have tested negative for COVID-19 in the previous 48 hours. The largest and wealthiest member of the United Arab Emirates federation, Abu Dhabi has had a ban on passengers entering since 2 June.

The airline has said that it has started consultations on plans to close operating hubs at London Stansted, London Southend and Newcastle international airports; this follows a previous announcement that it may need to reduce staff numbers by up to a third because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As communicated by CVS, effective from 7 July 2020, passengers traveling as tourists arriving at Dubai (DXB) must have mandatory documents in their possession. These include: Health declaration form, Quarantine undertaking form, Copy of PCR test issued 96 HRS before date of departure & Health insurance valid for the duration of the visa validity.

The Latvian government has announced that direct commercial flights between Latvia and the United Kingdom can resume. Details of flights can be found on airlines’ websites; travellers arriving in Latvia from the United Kingdom are still though required to self-isolate for 14 days.

Health screening is currently in place at Antigua's VC Bird International Airport for international arrivals; in addition to the US$100 fee for COVID-19 testing previously reported, passengers who are required to enter government-provided quarantine will also be liable to pay approximately US$40 per night in costs. Meanwhile, further international flights are set to resume - British Airways has services scheduled from 1 August. Virgin Atlantic, though, are not due to resume flights until October.

Dubai-based airline Emirates has announced that it will resume the operation of passenger flights from Sudan's capital Khartoum, on selected dates during July. More information can be found on the airline's website.

In an update to a previous alert, while UK government ministers confirmed on 26 June that travel arrangements with selected countries would be confirmed shortly, the list of eligible 'travel corridor' participants and the date from which the system will begin has not yet been finalised. Arrivals from low-risk countries are set to be exempt from the UK's mandatory 14-day self-quarantine; reportedly, an expert panel will arrange nations in three categories within a traffic light-style system.

In an update to a previous alert, EU officials are still due to finalise a confirmed list of countries whose residents will be permitted to travel to the European bloc from July, despite ambassadors from the 27 countries convening in the last few days. A re-drawn proposal of 10-20 countries was presented, but many said they would need to consult with their governments. The provisional list, however, is understood to not include the U.S., Brazil or Russia.

Egypt's national airline is resuming its flight operations in July with 29 destinations routes in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and North America. Operations during the first week of July will begin with 13 cities in Europe, with other routes to be added in the following weeks.

The country’s government has announced that only approved flights will be permitted to land until 12 September, and as a result 105 non-approved international services have been diverted between now and that date. Among the approved carriers are Air New Zealand, who will operate one flight per week for outbound passengers in July.