Palestinian fighters kill over 40 Israeli soldiers

Riyadh, Jun 22: The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (MMRA) in Saudi Arabia has announced the continuation of the ban on providing Shisha (hubble-bubble), and the closure of children's play areas in restaurants as a precautionary measure for protecting the health of citizens and residents from the novel coronavirus COVID-19 infection.

The new stage, in which the Kingdom is beginning to coexist with the virus, focuses on the concept of "social distancing" that has emerged since the start of the coronavirus crisis throughout the world,

It stipulates leaving at least 2 meters between one person and the other in public places to prevent the transmission of infection, in addition to covering the mouth and nose by wearing a facemask.

It also specifies complying with the preventive protocols in workplaces, stores, shops, mosques and tourist attractions, with human gatherings not to exceed 50 people, as a maximum.

Abu Dhabi, May 25: Dusty weather to persist in the UAE on Monday as well with a chance of rainfall in parts of the country, the national Met department reported.

According to the NCM, the weather today will be fair to partly cloudy, with a chance of some convective clouds formation by afternoon - eastward and northward - extending to some internal areas that may be associated with some rainfall.

The weather will get humid by night and Tuesday morning over some coastal areas.

NCM predicts a wet Eid break.

طريق كلباء #الشارقة ⁧#المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد⁩ ⁧#أمطار_الخير⁩ ⁧#أصدقاء_المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد⁩ ⁧#حالة_الطقس⁩ ⁧#حالة_جوية⁩ ⁧#هواة_الطقس⁩⁩ pic.twitter.com/i4gjYfgTwj

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 25, 2020

أمطار غزيرة على فلي (الشارقة)
#أمطار#أمطار_الخير #استمطار #تلقيح_السحب #المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد
Heavy rain over Fili (Sharjah)
#Rain #Cloud_Seeding #NCM

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 25, 2020

أمطار غزيرة على المنيعي (رأس الخيمة)
#أمطار#أمطار_الخير #استمطار #تلقيح_السحب #المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد
Heavy rain over Al Manaie (Ras Al Khaimah)
#Rain #Cloud_Seeding #NCM

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 25, 2020

Sharjah Police issued a weather warning as heavy rain flooded roads in Sharjah's Kalba among other areas.

#Alert #NCM pic.twitter.com/RnFy0WtK3H

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 25, 2020

مليحة ⁧#الشارقة⁩ ⁧#المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد⁩ ⁧#أمطار_الخير⁩ ⁧#أصدقاء_المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد⁩ ⁧#حالة_الطقس⁩ ⁧#حالة_جوية⁩ ⁧#هواة_الطقس⁩ #عبدالله_القايدي pic.twitter.com/rKhJG4mIzN

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 24, 2020

طريق #الشارقة #كلباء #المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد #أمطار_الخير #أصدقاء_المركز_الوطني_للأرصاد #حالة_الطقس #حالة_جوية #هواة_الطقس #عبدالله_الشامسي pic.twitter.com/YDX91G6jaZ

— المركز الوطني للأرصاد (@NCMS_media) May 25, 2020

ننوه الأخوة السائقين بتوخي الحيطة والحذر أثناء القيادة وخاصةً على الطرق الخارجية للإمارة وذلك بسبب هطول أمطار الخير،
كما ندعو السائقين إلى توخي الحيطة والحذر والابتعاد عن أماكن جريان الاودية وترك مسافات كافية بين المركبات وتخفيف السرعات والحرص على التعامل مع الطريق بحذر

— شرطة الشارقة (@ShjPolice) May 25, 2020

Moderate to fresh winds will gain strength during the day causing blowing dust and sand.

The sea will be slight to moderate in the Arabian Gulf and in Oman Sea.

Earlier on Sunday, a weather alert was issued by authorities as moderate to heavy rain - accompanied with hail - lashed parts of the UAE. A rainbow in Dubai skies cheered up residents, celebrating a unique Eid this year amid the coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic - by mostly staying home.

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.