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Pilgrim reduction to continue for 2 years

October 6, 2013
Pilgrim_reductionJeddah, Oct 6: Saudi Arabia will continue to slash the number of domestic and foreign pilgrims for two more years until the ongoing mataf (circumambulation area around the Holy Kaaba) expansion project is completed to ensure the safety of pilgrims, a senior official said.
“The Kingdom decided to reduce foreign pilgrims by 20 percent and domestic pilgrims by 50 percent this year because of the mataf expansion project, which will take three years to complete,” Deputy Haj Minister Eissa Rawwas told Arab News when asked whether the government would allow more pilgrims to perform Haj next year.
The mataf project is carried out in three phases.
“This year they will complete one-third of the project while the remaining two phases will be completed in the next two years. Once the project is complete more pilgrims will be able to perform Haj,” Rawwas said.
The project aims at increasing the mataf’s capacity from 48,000 to 130,000 pilgrims per hour. The Haram expansion, which is taking place concurrently, will hike the Grand Mosque’s capacity to two million worshippers.

The minister called upon all pilgrims to follow the Kingdom’s Haj regulations as well as the grouping system that was introduced to prevent overcrowding at mataf and the Jamrat (where the faithful stone Satan) in Mina.
Rawwas said the government decided to reduce the number of pilgrims until the completion of mataf expansion following the advice of crowd management experts. “Definitely this is done for the benefit of pilgrims.”
Saad Al-Qurashi, president of the National Haj & Umrah Committee at Makkah Chamber, told Arab News that the minimum Haj service charge has been reduced to SR2,500, adding that it would benefit 10,000 pilgrims.
Nearly 2 million pilgrims, including about 1.3 million who have come from abroad, will take part in this year’s Haj that begins on Oct. 13. Civil Defense Director General Lt. Gen. Saad Al-Tuwaijri has warned that his department would not tolerate any violations of Haj safety regulations, adding that the violators would be arrested. “We have given powers to our officers to remove all safety violations at pilgrim houses in Makkah and tents in the holy sites.”

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News Network
April 12,2020

Apr 12: Parents in Abu Dhabi affected by the Covid-19 situation can seek help from the authorities in paying off their children's school fees, it was announced on Sunday.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office took to Twitter to announce the reprieve. The Authority for Social Contribution - Ma'an and Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek) "will support parents with children attending private schools in #AbuDhabi who are affected by the current economic challenges, by paying school fees or providing devices for distance learning".

The move is part of the 'Together We Are Good' programme which aims to support residents impacted by the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis in the country.

"Parents can call the toll-free helpline on 800-3088 or register their request at http://togetherwearegood.ae. The closing date for fee assistance applications is 23rd April 2020," the media office tweeted.

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Agencies
June 29,2020

Protests condemning the Israeli plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank are set to take place in the United States and Europe on the same day prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to begin the process.

The demonstrations will be held on Wednesday in Chicago, San Diego, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Other Western cities will also witness similar protests, including Toronto, Madrid and Valencia.

Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voice for Peace, and American Muslims for Palestine are among the pro-Palestinian groups organizing the protests.

The Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, one of the organizers, urged "direct actions and popular mobilizations in [Palestinian] refugee camps, cities and villages," and professed "loyalty to the martyrs" on its call for the events.

Another group, Al-Awda or the Palestinian Right to Return Coalition, decried "72 years of genocide, ethnic cleansing and dispossession" of Palestinians.

It also tied their demonstrations to the protests against anti-black racism in the US and beyond.

"We demand the defunding and dismantling of US police alongside the defunding and dismantling of Zionist colonialism and racist Israeli apartheid," Al-Awda said on its website.

Netanyahu has set July 1 as the date for the start of cabinet discussions on the annexation plan.

He has been driven ahead by US President Donald Trump, who unveiled a “peace” plan for the Middle East in January that effectively sidelines the Palestinians altogether.

The plan, which Trump himself has described as the “deal of the century,” envisions Jerusalem al-Quds as “Israel’s undivided capital” and allows the Tel Aviv regime to annex settlements in the occupied West Bank and the Jordan Valley. The plan also denies Palestinian refugees the right of return to their homeland, among other controversial terms.

The Palestinians want the West Bank as part of a future independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem al-Quds as its capital.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Dubai, Jul 28: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) (ADCB.AD) is letting go hundreds of employees, sources said, the latest in a round of lay-offs by regional banks as pressure mounts to cut costs amid lower oil prices and the coronavirus crisis.

The UAE’s third-biggest lender is laying off 400 employees, two sources familiar with the matter said, after it had committed to not cutting staff because of the crisis.

In a statement, a spokesman said ADCB had pursued efficiency over the last decade by managing out its lowest underachievers after regular reviews, while ensuring talent was deployed in high-growth areas, such as digital banking.

“A certain number of redundancies are therefore expected every year in the normal course of business,” the bank spokesman added.

The sources said the cuts would involve ADCB’s consumer business and several in top management were among those being let go. One source said the bank was looking to close 20 branches.

In March, ADCB had declared, “No employee will be made redundant during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

UAE banks have been hit by government measures to rein in the spread of the virus, forcing many businesses to shut temporarily.

Last week, Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates NBD, reported a slump of 58% in profits. In June, sources told Reuters the bank started a new round of hundreds of lay-offs.

In May, ADCB reported a fall of 84% in first-quarter net profit as it took impairments of $292 million on debt exposure to troubled hospital operator NMC Health and payments group Finablr.

It was a major lender, with an exposure of about $981 million, to NMC Health, which went into administration this year after months of turmoil following questions over financial reporting.

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