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United Arab Emirates bans Pixar’s new Buzz Lightyear movie from theaters
Tim Allen and Tom Hanks voice Buzz Lightyear and Sheriff Woody in Pixar’s “Toy Story.”
Disney
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Disney Pixar’s animated movie “Lightyear” hits theaters this week and is expected to draw enthusiastic “Toy Story” fans from a number of countries around the world.
Not in the United Arab Emirates, though.
The UAE’s Media Regulatory Office announced Monday it would ban the movie’s release, based on what it said was “violation of the country’s media content standards,” the office wrote in a tweet. The feature film was scheduled for release in UAE theaters on Thursday.
The government body didn’t specify in its tweet which part of “Lightyear” violated its content standards, but Executive Director Rashid Khalfan Al Nuaimi told Reuters it was based on the the inclusion of homosexual characters. The movie features a same-sex relationship and brief kiss.
The decision received mixed reactions online, with some Twitter users praising the move.
“Thank you so much for saving our children,” one user, whose bio contained UAE flags, said in response to the tweet.
Others criticized the ban, with one user writing, “A country still living in the 1300s.”
As of late Tuesday in Dubai, “Lightyear” was still advertised as premiering on Thursday on the UAE’s Vox Cinemas website. Disney did not immediately return request for comment from CNBC.
An inflatable Disney+ logo is pictured at a press event ahead of launching a streaming service in the Middle East and North Africa, at Dubai Opera in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 7, 2022.
Yousef Saba | Reuter
Homosexuality is criminalized in the UAE, as well as the rest of the Gulf countries and the majority of the Muslim world. According to entertainment news website Deadline Hollywood, “Lightyear” won’t be playing in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Egypt or Indonesia — the latter being the most populous Muslim country in the world with 274 million people.
It also won’t be playing in Malaysia, according to a tweet by the country’s major movie theater chain GSC, which posted a photo of Pixar’s Buzz Lightyear character and the words, “No beyond” — a reference to the character’s catchphrase, “to infinity and beyond.”
The UAE ban comes despite an announcement last year that the country would no longer censor movies. That change was part of a broader raft of modernizing reforms including the decriminalization of premarital sex and a shift from the Islamic weekend (Friday-Saturday) to the Saturday-Sunday weekend, in a push to be more competitive globally and attract additional foreign investment and talent.
Woman sunbathers sit along a beach in the Gulf emirate of Dubai on July 24, 2020, while behind is seen the Burj al-Arab hotel.
KARIM SAHIB | AFP via Getty Images
For years the UAE has cast itself as a modern, tolerant haven in an otherwise highly conservative region. The oil-rich desert sheikhdom is home to a 90% expat population, and allows drinking alcohol, wearing bikinis on public beaches, and other cultural elements often forbidden in Muslim countries.
Its nightclubs resemble those in Europe, it regularly hosts concerts of famous rappers and pop stars, and it even relaxed the penalties on some of its drug laws last year. In 2016, it established a Ministry of Tolerance.
Homosexuality, however, remains taboo in the country. When the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s capital, published an Instagram post featuring a rainbow and expressing its support for the LGBTQ+ community, it was met with backlash from users within the country.
This isn’t the first time the U.S. Embassy has celebrated LGBTQ+ rights in the UAE. Last year, it raised the Pride flag on its premises, marking the first time any diplomatic mission has flown a gay pride flag in the religiously conservative Arab Gulf. The British Embassy also raised a Pride flag last year.
Long-haul carrier Emirates resumes Boeing 777 flights to US
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Long-haul carrier Emirates said Thursday it would resume its Boeing 777 flights to the U.S. after halting its use of the aircraft there over an ongoing dispute over the rollout of new 5G services in America.
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International carriers that rely heavily on the wide-body Boeing 777, and other Boeing aircraft, canceled early flights or switched to different planes Wednesday following warnings from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Chicago-based plane maker over possible interference from the new 5G signals with radio altimeters.
The FAA gave approval late Wednesday for more types of planes to land in low visibility near 5G signals, including the Boeing 777.
Among the most-affect airlines by the FAA decision was Dubai-based Emirates, a crucial East-West travel airline which flies only the 777 and the double-decker Airbus A380.
Emirates said its Boeing 777 service to Chicago, Dallas Fort Worth, Miami, Newark, Orlando and Seattle would resume Friday.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BA | THE BOEING CO. | 217.08 | -7.93 | -3.52% |
Flights to Boston, Houston and San Francisco, which saw Emirates deploy its Airbus A380 jumbo jet, will resume Boeing 777 flights on Saturday.
Tim Clark, Emirates president, apologized in a statement to the airline’s customers for the disruption.
“Safety will always be our top priority, and we will never gamble on this front,” Clark said. “We welcome the latest development which enables us to resume essential transport links to the U.S. to serve travellers and cargo shippers.”
FILE – An Emirates Airlines Boeing 777 lands at Logan International Airport in Boston, March 10, 2014. Long-haul carrier Emirates said Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, it would resume its Boeing 777 flights to the U.S. amid an ongoing dispute over the rollou ((AP Photo/Michael Dwyer, File) / AP Newsroom)
He added: “However, we are also very aware that this is a temporary reprieve, and a long-term resolution would be required.”
Similar 5G mobile networks have been deployed in more than three dozen countries, but there are key differences in how the U.S. networks are designed that raised concern of potential problems for airlines.
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The Verizon and AT&T networks use a segment of the radio spectrum that is close to the one used by radio altimeters, devices that measure the height of aircraft above the ground to help pilots land in low visibility. The Federal Communications Commission, which set a buffer between the frequencies used by 5G and altimeters, said the wireless service posed no risk to aviation.
But FAA officials saw a potential problem, and the telecom companies agreed to delay their rollout near more than 80 airports while the agency assesses which aircraft are safe to fly near 5G and which will need new altimeters.
We’re preparing for a fourth wave of Covid from Europe: Emirates president
The president of Emirates has said he sees a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic coming from Europe which is concerning the airline.
Speaking to CNBC at the Dubai Air Show, Emirates President Tim Clark said: “I see a fourth wave coming through and we have all sorts of concerns about what may happen.”
“We’ve got to look at it very carefully, because if the European markets — which have already started to open in a big way — start to go the other way we’re going to have to deal with that. But we will deal with it … we’re very good at working around problems, and we’ll just do what we have to do,” he told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble.
Earlier this month, the WHO warned that Europe was once again the epicenter of the Covid pandemic. The region’s biggest economy, Germany, is currently reporting around 50,000 new coronavirus cases a day, and France has also reported a surge in cases. Austria, meanwhile, is expected to shortly impose lockdown restrictions on millions of unvaccinated people in an effort to contain rising infections.
Airlines have been hoping that the Dubai Air Show marks a turning point for the industry after a devastating period. It’s the first major aerospace exhibition to take place since the start of the coronavirus pandemic which saw travel restrictions across the world decimate the industry.
The International Air Transport Association said last month that the global airline industry is expected to lose almost $12 billion next year. The IATA, which represents nearly 300 airlines that operate more than 80% of the world’s air traffic, added that industry losses in 2020 were worse than originally thought, coming in at $137.7 billion.
However, Clark said that Emirates was already experiencing a significant pick-up in demand and had started to turn a profit.
“We’re bouncing back with a high degree of, dare I say, robustness,” he said. “Demand is coming back at such a pace that we’re frankly having difficulty trying to supply the assets because we’re short of pilots, we’re short of cabin crew, we’re short of just about everything. But there’s no shortage of demand, it’s a really good story.”
Clark highlighted the difficulties Emirates was facing in hiring enough staff to meet this demand, after it laid of swathes of staff amid the pandemic.
“You’re talking about supply chain disruptions, you’re talking about gross distortion in the labor markets,” he said, adding that he expected some sense of normality to return towards the end of 2022 and into early 2023. “I think then … the heat will come out of the situation. I hope, anyway.”
Another potential headwind for airlines is higher oil prices. The demand shock sparked by the Covid pandemic saw Brent prices fall to $20 a barrel; they’re now trading over $80 a barrel.
But Clark said he was not fazed. “Of course, $80 – we’ve been there before. We’ve been much higher than that before,” he added. “At the moment, we’re managing it. It’s anybody’s guess what’s going to happen; I think we’ve got about 15 months of turbulence, but we’ll be alright.”
— CNBC’s Leslie Joseph contributed to this report.
EXCLUSIVE New Saudi airline plan takes aim at Emirates, Qatar Airways
DUBAI, July 2 (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia plans to target international transit passenger traffic with its new national airline, going head-to-head with Gulf giants Emirates and Qatar Airways and opening up a new front in simmering regional competition.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is pushing economic diversification to wean Saudi Arabia off oil revenues and create jobs, announced a transportation and logistics drive on Tuesday aimed at making the kingdom the fifth-biggest air transit hub.
Two people familiar with the matter said the new airline would boost international routes and echo existing Gulf carriers by carrying people from one country to another via connections in the kingdom, known in the industry as sixth-freedom traffic.
The transport ministry, which has not released details of the plans, did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The strategy marks a shift for Saudi Arabia whose other airlines, like state-owned Saudia and its low cost subsidiary flyadeal, mostly operate domestic services and point-to-point flights to and from the country of 35 million people.
The Saudi expansion threatens to sharpen a battle for passengers at a time when travel has been hit by the coronavirus pandemic. Long-haul flights like those operated by Emirates and Qatar Airways are forecast to take the longest to recover.
Riyadh has already moved to compete with the UAE, the region’s business, trade and tourism hub. The Saudi government has said that from 2024 it would stop giving contracts to firms that do not set up regional headquarters in the kingdom.
“Commercial competition in the aviation industry has always been fierce, and regional competition is heating up. Some turbulence in regional relations is on the horizon,” said Robert Mogielnicki, resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute.
Dubai, the world’s largest international air travel hub, has announced a five-year plan to grow air and shipping routes by 50% and double tourism capacity over the next two decades.
Riyadh has already moved to compete with the UAE, the region’s business, trade and tourism hub. The Saudi government has said that starting 2024 it would stop giving contracts to firms that do not set up regional headquarters in the kingdom.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a session of the Shura Council in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, November 20, 2019. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS
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Prince Mohammed is trying to lure foreign capital to create new industries including tourism, with ambitions to increase overall visitors to 100 million by 2030 from 40 million in 2019.
“Saudi Arabia has the ability to push forward with its aviation and tourism strategy when others will be retreating and retracting,” aviation consultant Brendan Sobie said.
“It is a risky strategy, but also sensible given its position and overall diversification objective.”
TOURISM PUSH
However, any airline requires substantial start-up capital and experts warn that if Saudi Arabia’s ambition is to compete on transit flights it may have to contend with years of losses.
Saudi Arabia’s large population generates direct traffic that could cushion losses as a new airline targets international transit traffic, aviation consultant John Strickland said.
Emirates reported a record $5.5 billion annual loss last month with the pandemic forcing Dubai to step in with $3.1 billion in state support.
Etihad Airways has scaled back its ambitions after it spent billions of dollars to ultimately unsuccessfully compete in building a major hub in United Arab Emirates capital Abu Dhabi.
People familiar with the matter said the new airline could be based in the capital Riyadh, and that sovereign wealth fund PIF is helping set it up.
PIF did not respond to a request for comment.
Saudi Arabia is developing non-religious tourism with mega projects backed by PIF. It has launched social reforms to open up the country, the birthplace of Islam, including allowing public entertainment.
Reporting by Alexander Cornwell; Editing by Tim Hepher and Alexander Smith
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
United Arab Emirates Hope Mars probe enters orbit and makes history
The United Arab Emirates’ Hope probe aims to give a year-round picture of Mars’ atmosphere.
Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre
This story is part of Welcome to Mars, our series exploring the red planet.
The United Arab Emirates is now only the fifth country — and the first Arab country — to successfully arrive at Mars. The Al Amal (Hope) probe made history Tuesday by entering orbit around the red planet.
This is a big month for Mars emissaries. The Hope mission is one of three to launch last year with scheduled arrivals in February. The UAE Space Agency provided live coverage of the spacecraft’s inspiring achievement. You can re-watch the excitement:
We didn’t get views of the spacecraft in action, but witnessed the celebration as mission control tracked when Hope entered orbit and phoned home with the good news.
“Success!” the mission team tweeted. “Contact with Hope probe has been established again. The Mars Orbit Insertion is now complete.”
Hope spent over 200 days traveling from Earth to the red planet. It won’t deliver a rover, but it’s set to take on some important science by studying the planet’s atmosphere, weather and seasons.
Thomas Zurbuchen, a NASA associate administrator, congratulated the Hope team, tweeting, “Your bold endeavor to explore the Red Planet will inspire many others to reach for the stars.”
Hope will shortly be followed in orbit by China’s Tianwen-1 on Wednesday, and NASA will take over the spotlight on Feb. 18 when it tries to land the Perseverance rover on the surface of the planet. It will be a perilous and exciting moment during a busy month at Mars.
But first, the world will celebrate Hope.
Follow CNET’s 2021 Space Calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.
United Arab Emirates says it will offer citizenship to some
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates on Saturday announced plans to grant some foreigners citizenship to this oil-rich nation home to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, part of efforts to stimulate its economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The UAE previously gave citizenship to Palestinians and others who helped form the country’s government after its formation in 1971. Others have received it over time as well.
Saturday’s announcement by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai who also serves as the autocratic nation’s prime minister and vice president, said the offer could apply to artists, authors, doctors, engineers and scientists, as well as their families.
Sheikh Mohammed wrote on Twitter that hereditary rulers in the country’s seven emirates and at the federal level would nominate those for citizenship. Those granted citizenship also would be able to keep their initial citizenship.
It wasn’t immediately clear if the citizenship also would grant rights to the UAE’s cradle-to-grave social programs for its nationals.
The UAE is home to over 9 million people, only a tenth of them citizens. In November, the UAE announced plans to overhaul of the country’s Islamic personal laws, allowing unmarried couples to cohabitate, loosening alcohol restrictions and criminalizing so-called “honor killings.”