Top headlines: Dubai Metro's Route 2020 inaugurated; new office to support frontline workers; Dubai city of choice for real estate investors

Dubai - A look at the stories that made headlines over the last 24 hours.

Route 2020 of Dubai Metro inaugurated

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday inaugurated seven new metro stations of Route 2020.

The stations will be open to the public in September.

The Dubai Metro Route 2020 will take passengers from Dubai Marina to the Expo site in under 16 minutes.

All you need to know about the new Dubai Metro Route 2020

The track extends 15km (11.8km elevated track and 3.2km underground track) and links seven stations (one Interchange station with the Red Line, one iconic station at Expo 2020 site, three elevated stations and two underground stations). The project offers safe and smooth transport for Expo visitors and residents of Dubai communities. It is also viewed as a vital future link between several Dubai communities and Al Maktoum International Airport. The new project serves as a symbol of sustainability, progress and innovation for present and future generations.

New office set up to support UAE's frontline workers

A new office that will recognise and support the UAE's frontline workers in the long term has been established in the UAE.

The Frontline Heroes Office, which will be headquartered in Abu Dhabi, aims to raise awareness of the key role played by the frontline workers during crises and emergencies by recognising their efforts and acknowledging their sacrifices, while also looking after their needs and addressing their priorities.

K9 police dogs may soon sniff out Covid-19 cases in UAE

Sniffer dogs are a common sight in sensitive places where they help authorities in detection work. But now, imagine waiting in a queue at a venue and being encountered by a canine who reaches out to you and takes a whiff of your armpits. This scenario may soon become a reality if specially trained K9 police dogs are employed to sniff out Covid-19 positive cases from the crowd.

The UAE Ministry of Interior has completed trials on K9 police dogs who may now be employed to help them curb the spread of Covid-19. The move to use canines to sniff out Covid-19 cases comes after the successful completion of practical experiments and scientific studies.

Schools in Pakistan set to reopen in September

Come September and the doors to all educational educational institutions in Pakistan are set to open again, if things go according to plans. According to sources, the decision was made at a meeting presided by the Federal Education Minister of Pakistan, Shafqat Mehmood, along with the provincial education ministers, who attended the meeting online.

Schools, colleges and universities in the country have been shut since March as the government imposed restrictions to stop the spread of Coronavirus.

Strict Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) will have to be in place for the reopening of educational institutions.

India bars private jets from flying to UAE, operators say

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has barred operation of private jets from India to the UAE even though they were getting increasingly popular among stranded expats, rued private jet operators, travel agents, and passengers who were waiting to board these flights.

The decision has come as a huge disappointment for desperate expats who are trying every means possible to return to the UAE, and were shelling out up to Dh15,000 per ticket.

All charter flights were operating with the appropriate permissions and clearances for the specific mission, route and destination, said the charterers.

Dubai first city of choice for real estate investors

Dubai should be the 'first city of choice' for the investors and all the stakeholders in the economy are working towards that, this was positive message sent by the top real estate players at the unveiling of Invest in Dubai on Tuesday.

The Dubai Land Department (DLD), through the Promotion and Real Estate Investment Management Sector, launched its new 'Invest in Dubai', a year long virtual initiative under the theme 'Discussing the opportunities that arise from Dubai as a real estate investment destination'.

Dubai closes Covid-19 field hospital, bids farewell to last patient

Dubai on Tuesday closed a field hospital set up at the World Trade Centre to treat coronavirus cases after the last patient, a Japanese national, walked out in good health.

Doctors and nurses, still wearing protective gear, lined up clapping for Hiroaki Fujita as he left the convention centre which was converted to a 3,000-bed field hospital in April to treat virus patients.

"I ask everyone to take a more safer way," Fujita said. "Feeling very good that I am about to go out."

UAE's Mars probe positioned on rocket ahead of lift-off

The UAE's Hope Probe has been encapsulated within the payload fairing ahead of its lift-off from the Tanegashima Space Centre (TNSC) in Japan on July 15. The capsule has been positioned securely on to the rocket that will take it to space.

The encapsulated probe was transferred to another building where the rocket (first and the second stage) and the launch pad are located. The mounting of the spacecraft on to the rocket involved a thorough monitoring of the interface points. Subsequently, the multi-layer insulation (MLI) and the arming plugs were firmly sealed.

Dubai hotels abuzz again as tourists check in

As Dubai rolled out the red carpet for tourists today, hotels across the city confirmed experiencing an increased level of engagement.

After more than three months of travel restrictions, the emirate's tourism sector pulled out all the stops to extend a safe and warm welcome to inbound visitors.

The result is a renewed buzz as holidaymakers snap up the chance to visit one of the world's most popular destinations and experience everything from its famed hospitality to its one-of-a-kind landmarks.

Australia to consider limiting returning residents, PM Morrison says

Australia's coronavirus emergency cabinet will consider limiting the number of its citizens and residents returning home from overseas, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday.

The prime minister added there were no plans to reimpose restrictions across the country, after Victoria, the country's second-most populous state, enforced stay-at-home rules in metropolitan Melbourne and one regional area due to a spike in infections.

Demonstrators storm Serbian parliament in protest over lockdown

Serbian police fired tear gas as thousands of protesters flooded into Belgrade on Tuesday night, angry at the return of a weekend coronavirus curfew.

The crowds protested in the city centre over the government's handling of the crisis, with infections now spiking after Serbia shed its initial lockdown measures two months ago.

Scuffles broke out between police and a group of protesters who stormed into the parliament building and police unleashed tear gas canisters to disperse the crowd.

CBSE trims Class 9-12 syllabus

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has revised the syllabus for the Classes 9 to 12 during the academic session 2020-21 in the wake of the situation created by Covid-19.

In a circular issued to all the heads of the institutions affiliated to it, the CBSE said that the revision of syllabi has been done because extraordinary situation prevailing in the country and different parts of the world.

"Considering the importance of achieving the level of learning, the syllabus has been rationalised to the extent possible retaining the core concepts," it said.