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The heaviest rain on record since 1949 in the United Arab Emirates has flooded out portions of highways and Dubai International Airport, which is the world's busiest for international travel and a hub for carrier Emirates, AP News reports. By the end of Tuesday, 5.59 inches of rain fall on Dubai over a 24-hour period when the yearly average recorded at the airport is 3.73 inches.

Heavy rains fell over neighboring countries as well. At least 19 people have been killed in Oman, the New York Times reports, in what was considered a year's worth of rain in one day.

"In the UAE, authorities urged all residents to stay at home, as videos showed cars submerged on gridlocked highways and planes leaving waves in their wake as they taxied down flooded runways in Dubai. In Muscat, Oman’s capital, flash flooding turned streets into raging rivers," the newspaper reports.

Marriott International and Japan-based owner-operator HMI Hotel Group signed an agreement to rebrand seven existing HMI hotels in five major cities across Japan to Marriott Hotels and Courtyard by Marriott flags, according to a news release.

The seven properties to be converted are spread across Hamamatsu, Kyoto, Kobe, Onna Village and Kitakyushu City. These are considered some of Japan's most popular travel destinations, bringing in millions of visitors per year.

“We are very pleased to welcome these properties to the fast-expanding portfolio of Marriott International properties across Japan,” Rajeev Menon, president of Asia-Pacific excluding China at Marriott International, said in the news release. “Conversion continues to drive a robust growth for the company on a global scale, and we are thrilled to embark on this project with HMI in Japan."

When it comes to implementing effective sustainability initiatives across hotel operations, Hilton Vice President of Global ESG Jean Garris Hand said having data to measure strategies is a critical first step. It's also about environmental impact, cost savings and enhancing the guest experiences, HNN reports.

"We're always looking for ways to support our ownership community in finding these sustainable solutions that will deliver on every front, including from a cost-neutral perspective," she said on the Hotel News Now podcast. "We found that the most effective solutions pretty much check three boxes. One is that they're a win for the environment, two is that they're a smart financial investment for our owners and three that they're an improvement for the guest experience."

United Airlines cut its aircraft-delivery expectations for 2024 due to delays from Boeing as the latter grapples with a safety crisis. United now expects to only receive 61 new narrow-body planes instead of 101 that it previously expected, CNBC reports from the company's latest earnings report.

"We've adjusted our fleet plan to better reflect the reality of what the manufacturers are able to deliver," United CEO Scott Kirby said in the quarterly report. "And, we'll use those planes to capitalize on an opportunity that only United has: Profitably grow our mid-continent hubs and expand our highly profitable international network from our best in the industry coastal hubs."

The airline recorded a net loss of $124 million in the first quarter compared a net loss of $194 million the year before.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials said Tuesday that the central bank is likely to wait longer than previously expected to cut interest rates again if inflation remains hot, the New York Times reports.

Officials first indicated in December they the anticipated cutting rates three times by the end of 2024. Though they didn't back away from that forecast on Tuesday, they also didn't solidify it.

“The recent data have clearly not given us greater confidence and instead indicate that it’s likely to take longer than expected to achieve that confidence,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said at an event in Washington D.C. on Tuesday.

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