Iran world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism: US

Riyadh, Mar 6: Saudi Arabia on Thursday emptied Islam's holiest site for sterilisation over fears of the new coronavirus, an unprecedented shutdown state media said will last while the year-round Umrah pilgrimage is suspended.

The kingdom halted the pilgrimage for its own citizens and residents on Wednesday, on top of restrictions announced last week on foreign pilgrims to stop the disease from spreading.

State television relayed images of an empty white-tiled area surrounding the Kaaba -- a large black cube structure inside Mecca's Grand Mosque -- which is usually packed with tens of thousands of pilgrims.

As a "precautionary measure", the area will remain closed as long as the umrah suspension lasts but prayers will be allowed inside the mosque, state-run Saudi Press Agency cited a mosque official as saying.

Additionally, the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque in the city of Medina will be closed an hour after the evening "Isha" prayer and will reopen an hour before the dawn "Fajr" prayer to allow cleaning and sterilisation, the official added.

A group of cleaners was seen scrubbing and mopping the tiles around the Kaaba, a structure draped in gold-embroidered gold cloth towards which Muslims around the world pray.

A Saudi official told news agency the decision to close the area was "unprecedented".

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia suspended the umrah for its own citizens and residents over fears of the coronavirus spreading to Islam's holiest cities.

The move came after authorities last week suspended visas for the umrah and barred citizens from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council from entering Mecca and Medina.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday declared three new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of reported infections to five.

The umrah, which refers to the Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that can be undertaken at any time of year, attracts millions of Muslims from across the globe annually.

The decision to suspend the umrah mirrors a precautionary approach across the Gulf to cancel mass gatherings from concerts to sporting events.

It comes ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan starting in late April, which is a favoured period for pilgrimage.

It is unclear how the coronavirus will affect the hajj, due to start in late July.

Some 2.5 million faithful travelled to Saudi Arabia from across the world in 2019 to take part in the hajj, which is one of the five pillars of Islam as Muslim obligations are known.

The event is a massive logistical challenge for Saudi authorities, with colossal crowds cramming into relatively small holy sites, making attendees vulnerable to contagion.

Already reeling from slumping oil prices, the kingdom risks losing billions of dollars annually from religious tourism as it tightens access to the sites.

Dubai: There aren’t that many job vacancies right now – but be prepared for a 15-20 per cent cut in salary expectations even for those positions that are still open. Businesses in the UAE are definitely not in a generous mood when it comes to hiring, with salary cuts now part of the new normal.

And they are definitely not willing to take on new hires without extracting some cost benefit from them. “We have seen major [salary] cuts across the board in hospitality, real estate, professional services and in retail,” said Vijay Gandhi, regional head at Korn Ferry Digital, the recruitment consultancy.

“And once the headcount correction is complete in [the local] financial services and energy sector, we may see more cuts in rewards and benefits in these categories as well.”

The salary cuts are slowly extending their way into the healthcare sector as well – just about every non-COVID-19 facing medical category is coming across cuts in the number of working hours and, by extension, their take home packages.

By end of June, more businesses and sectors in the UAE will have a better understanding of their short-term revenue prospects. By then, they will also have a better reading on what their staff strength should be – and whether there should be more trimming of the workforce. Or whether they should consider a few hires as well.

A long summer
So, realistically, it could be September before such decisions need to be taken. The coming weeks will then prove to be laden with anxiety for those who are expecting to land a job option after being laid off at their current employers.

There are multiple instances of recruitment decisions having been made in February/March, and then the companies rescinding those offers to the chosen candidates citing the business uncertainty.

“The decision to hire is taking longer – so job creation is now 4-6 weeks from interview and selection compared to 4-6 days in the past,” said Gandhi.

The lucky ones
Recently, free zones and other entities had made it easier for personnel on the visa of one entity being able to smoothly transfer to another if they are likely to be made redundant. “We are seeing more flexibility being offered by the authorities given the circumstances, and the visa transfer process is happening,” said Gandhi.

“But in the vast majority of cases, businesses are going to wait and watch before normal hiring activity starts. Organizations will look to hire from September.”

A few hires are still happening
Even in the business turmoil set off by COVID-19, a few categories are still offering jobs. At the entry level, logistics services personnel and drivers with experience remain in demand.

Not just “routine jobs, there have been confirmations in more technical roles such as procurement and operations in healthcare and e-commerce,” said Gandhi. “Employers should keep an eye for good talent and have the talent acquisition team actively looking for good profiles.

“As such, organizations are not only looking at “right sizing” in numbers but also “future proofing” on what kind of skilled talent will help them in the post-COVID-19 world.”

But for the candidates, the present will be about waiting around for the call to come.

Riyadh, Jun 20:  Speaking at an exclusive webinar organized by the London Business School’s (LBS) Riyadh Chapter, Saudi Arabia’s first sports minister Prince Abdulaziz Bin Turki Al Faisal proudly reflected back on his nation’s sports achievements over the last few years.

Attended by over 170 people, the highest record set at an LBS webinar, various topics were discussed including the Kingdom’s sports strategy, investment opportunities, role of the media and advantages of hosting international sporting events, among other things.

Saudi Arabia has recently presented itself as one of the major players in the global sports industry thanks to its transformative Vision 2030, which aims to diversify the economy and create a more vibrant society.

Recognizing the importance of the vision, Prince Abdulaziz said: “Vision 2030 is something we all believe in. Everywhere you go within the Kingdom, you feel that people are passionate about the vision and its targets. Sport is part of it, and it has a big role in it.”

At the heart of the newly created Ministry of Sport’s strategy is increasing mass participation across all types of sports and preparing the next generation of elite athletes capable of competing on the international stage.

The ambitious prince asserted, “We want to make sure that we create an ecosystem that is sustainable, creates jobs, income and provides a lot of opportunities for everyone. We are creating academies around the Kingdom for kids to get into sports to make sure we have a base for them to start off from.”

Over 50 questions were addressed during the open and transparent webinar, a reflection of the attitude and culture the prince is creating at the Ministry. He admitted that while Saudi Arabia is a nation bound by a love and passion for sport, until recently sports has been looked at as a tool for entertainment rather than an important industry.

One of his key goals is to shift this mentality. Hosting major sports events has greatly contributed in doing so, he is a strong believer of their long-lasting impact and legacy.

“These events will shed light on enlightening people about certain sports and making sure they get attracted by it and enjoy it. From these events that we hosted, we found out there’s interest for tennis, golf, and boxing.”

“We will continue to host these events to make sure that people enjoy them as entertainment but to also make sure that people are passionate about these sports get to watch them live in the Kingdom and hopefully from that get someone passionate enough to participate,” he explained.

A former professional motorsports racer, Prince Abdulaziz was appointed chairman of the then-General Sports Authority at the start of 2019 after holding the position of vice chairman for the previous two years. Under his leadership, the Ministry of Sport doubled the number of its ever-growing sports federations and invested heavily at the grassroots level.

When asked about the significance of such investments, he said: “We give them [athletes] an opportunity to compete under the name of the Kingdom, to shine and make sure there’s a future for them. Today we look at a holistic view of sports. We use it to change certain mindsets and restrictions within the Kingdom to make sure we can evolve within the industry and complete against leading countries.”

The Riyadh Chapter of the London Business School aims to increase engagement and opportunities for LBS alumni in the Kingdom and to develop stronger ties that help build a better future for the business community.

Co-presidents Majed Al Hugail and Faris Al Shareef expressed their delight in hosting Prince Abdulaziz for the first time by saying: “The webinar was very insightful to the elite group of LBS alumni both locally and internationally. It helped them further understand how the Ministry is reshaping the sports sector as part of Vision 2030.

“The session left many of the attendees with a great sense of appreciation of the Ministry’s support to the community, an area where stronger partnerships can potentially be explored for the country and region’s benefits.”

In line with new progressive government policies, a lot of attention and investment has geared towards the inclusion of women in sports on both the elite and amateur levels.

When asked by an audience member about this matter, the sports leader proudly replied by saying: “We’ve seen an increase of active women participation in sports by about 149% from 2015 till today. Only five years ago, women were not allowed to participate in the street but it’s a completely different ball game today.”

A testament to this great progress is the participation of 22 women’s national teams in competitive regional games across a wide range of sports in recent years, in addition to newly incepted Women’s Football League.

Among the topics discussed during the 1-hour long webinar was the Ministry’s journey towards the privatization of some of its assets.

Highlighting the significant role that the private sector contributes towards future growth and development, the Minister said: “The private sector is a fundamental aspect for the evolution of sports within the Kingdom and anywhere else in the world. We have to make sure that the platform is open for the private sector to come in and play its role in increasing the number of participants and to add the number of clubs within the Kingdom.”

He continued: “It is our role to provide the right regulatory process. Today we are ready with a platform to make sure that we can deliver on this for the private sector and for the public. This will add towards the evolvement and the development of sports within the Kingdom.”

Saudi Arabia’s successful hosting of high-profile sports events attracted thousands of locals and visitors; it now has bigger plans to cement its strong position in the global sports industry. Among these plans include bids for two of the continent’s most sought after competitions, the 2027 AFC Asian Cup and 2030 Asian Games.

When asked about the reason behind them, he was confident in his response highlighting that Saudi Arabia has celebrated multiples trophies and medals in the past, but this is the first time that they’re aiming to host the events.

“It is time to do so. It’s unheard of that you win a competition but don’t host it. Saudi should host these events and we are capable of hosting them as a nation. It is something that our people are very passionate about, they love it and follow it. It will showcase what Saudi can do on the Asian front.”

Prince Abdulaziz recognizes Saudi Arabia’s recent sporting achievements, but he remains humble on his mission to use sports as a tool to tell his country’s story to the world and build a healthier, more vibrant society capable of nurturing athletes who can compete on the elite level for many years to come.