No Zamzam water without passport

April 12, 2015

Jeddah, Apr 12: Zamzam water has a special place in the hearts of Muslims as something revered and unique. Every year millions of pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia for Umrah and Haj from outside and inside the country.

Many Muslims drink Zamzam as sacred water that can cure their health problems, but sometimes pilgrims and those who live inside the Kingdom are cheated by illegal venders who sell Zamzam after mixing it with other water and charging extra.

Zamzam waterTo stop this illegal activity, the National Water Company, under the King Abdullah Project for Zamzam, started supplying packaged and sealed Zamzam at the airports so pilgrims can take it with them according to rules set by civil aviation authorities to allow only five-liter bottles available for SR9 each.

Travelers and pilgrims can purchase the water at the airport but they have to show their passport to purchase Zamzam water and only one bottle per passport is allowed.

Jeddah resident Hasan Ahmed told Arab News that recently Makkah police raided a factory which used to bottle and market regular tap water as Zamzam. After reading a number of fake Zamzam water stories on social media, he decided to buy packaged Zamzam from the airport as it is officially packaged by the National Water Company.

“I went to buy Zamam at the airport but was dismayed because the man at the booth refused to sell me the water unless I showed him my passport. As I was not a traveler I did not have my passport with me,” said Ahmed.

Another domestic pilgrim, Hafiz Abdulrhman, said he could carry Zamzam water from Makkah but the airline will not allow him to check it in as it is not sealed or boxed.

“I came from Riyadh without my passport. In such a situation, I am unable to take any Zamzam back as they ask for passport. As for the one Zamzam bottle per passport — it is not fair. Before, pilgrims were allowed 10 liters and now they can carry only five liters. Many come here only once in their lives,” he said.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Muscat, Jan 11: Oman's Culture and Heritage Minister, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, took oath as country's Sultan on Saturday following the demise of Qaboos bin Said al-Said, the country's government confirmed on Saturday.

Sputnik quoted a report by sultanate's Al-Roya newspaper as saying that the new Sultan " affirmed the continuation of the country's modernisation and development in various fields."

The development comes after Qaboos bin Said, who had served as the ruler of Oman since 1970, died Friday at the age of 79.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had condoled Qaboos's demise and remembered him as the "beacon of peace for India and the world". 

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Agencies
August 8,2020

Beirut, Aug 7: A devastating explosion that destroyed much of Beirut might have been the result of a missile attack or bomb, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said, as the death toll from the blast rose to 154.

More than 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate had been sitting in a port warehouse for six years, but there have been conflicting accounts about why Lebanese authorities decided to empty the shipment of explosive material. The vessel carrying the flammable cargo was heading from Georgia to Mozambique when it stopped in the Lebanese port to load up on iron, according to the ship’s captain.

By Friday, 19 suspects had been arrested and Lebanon’s former director general of customs Chafic Merhy had been questioned by military police.

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Gulf News
May 29,2020

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.

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