Some grumbled at the change and businesses were split, with many moving to the Western-style weekend but other private firms sticking with Fridays and Saturdays, as in other Gulf states.

The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) of the UAE issued a circular to all ministries and federal entities yesterday on flexible remote working for federal government employees on Fridays. The step is taken to ensure continuity of service provision and the federal government’s proper functioning during the implementation...

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has announced that it will commence a Monday to Friday working week from 1 January 2022, with Saturday and Sunday as the universal weekend. ADGM said in a statement that the new working week brings the emirate's business community and financial sector closer to global...

Official sources said the country would, from January 1, ‘transition to a four and a half day working week,’ with Saturdays and Sundays off.

An Istanbul court on Friday charged an Israeli couple with "espionage" after they allegedly took a photo of the Turkish president's home in the city, Turkish state media reported.

Hundreds of supporters of pro-Iran groups clashed with security forces in Iraq's capital on Friday, expressing their fury over last month's election result, AFP journalists and a security source said.

Abu Dhabi will be effectively out of bounds for unvaccinated people from Friday in order to curb the transmission of the coronavirus in the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

Covid shows no signs of relenting as ten people died in Saudi Arabia on Friday, and 681 were infected with the virus.