Middle Eastern Times

Saudi Arabia is considering plans to cancel the much derided foreign worker sponsorship system, known as kafala and replace it with a new form of contract between employers and employees. More than ten million foreign workers are said to be living in Saudi Arabia under the decade old kafala system, which rights groups say leaves workers vulnerable to exploitation. Kafala requires them to be sponsored by a Saudi employer and be issued an exit/re-entry visa whenever they want to leave the country. The move would be the latest in a series of economic reforms as the country turns away from its dependence on oil revenues under the Kingdom’s Vision 2030. The abolition of the sponsorship system would give expatriate workers freedom to secure exit and entry visas, receive the final passport exit stamp without a sponsor, and gain employment without approval from a sponsor. “The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development intends next week to announce a new initiative that improves the co

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has lodged a criminal complaint against Dutch far-right politician Geert Wilders over a series of insulting tweets. Wilders shared a cartoon picture of Erdogan wearing a bomb-resembling hat on his head with the caption “terrorist” on Saturday. On Monday, he posted an image of a sinking ship with a Turkish flag on it. “Bye bye @RTErdogan. Kick Turkey out of NATO,” he said under the photo. Erdogan’s lawyer Huseyin Aydin submitted the complaint to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s office for “insulting the president” – a crime in Turkey punishable by up to four years in prison. “Suspect Wilders, in his content targeting our first [directly] elected [by public] president, used expressions insulting the honour and dignity of our president, and committed the crime publicly by targeting his personality, dignity and reputation,” state-run Anadolu news agency quoted the complaint as saying on Tuesday. ‘Fascism’ Wilders is one of Europe’s most prominent

Underlining that political instability, long-festering conflicts, sectarian divides, issue of refugees and terrorism continue to plague the Middle East, India on Monday called on concerned parties in the region to completely stop support to terrorist forces like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and others. In a statement during the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on ‘The Situation in the Middle East’, TS Tirumurti, India’s permanent representative at the UN, highlighted New Delhi’s stand on “interlinked and mutually reinforcing challenges” faced by the people of the Middle East and noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has only “exacerbated the threats posed by these challenges”. India has invested much in the peace and stability of the region by deploying its personnel as part of UN peacekeeping forces, through humanitarian assistance, development cooperation and capacity building, and will continue its contribution towards peace-building in the Middle East, Tiru

Everyone is facing change, but a whole generation of young people will bear the brunt of COVID-19’s economic fallout for decades to come. This is a moment when successful companies and business leaders must present real and immediate solutions to help retool and retrain these young people to harness their talents and pave a new path forward. Even before the pandemic, the fortunes of young workers were not faring well around the world. When global growth rates were rising, an estimated 70.9 million young people languished unemployed in 2017, bringing the global youth unemployment rate to 13.1 per cent. According to the  International Labour Organization , labour force participation rate of young people (aged 15–24) has continued to decline; young people are three times as likely as adults (25 years and older) to be unemployed. This is partly because their limited work experience counts against them when they are applying for entry-level jobs. But there are also major structural barriers

When the Taliban  recently voiced its hope that Donald Trump would win a second term because he would withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan, it was a reminder that the 2020 U.S. election has big implications for the Middle East – and, by consequence, for American national security. Foreign policy barely registers on Americans’ election agenda this year in a race dominated by the coronavirus pandemic, economic woes and structural racism. Nonetheless, the United States’ global role is on the ballot in November. Trump has an “America First” vision in which narrowly defined U.S. interests rank as more important than helping maintain the global order . Biden, whose decades of foreign policy experience include chairing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wants to restore the United States’ international stature. A Biden win would change American foreign policy significantly. But my research on U.S. policy in the Middle East suggests the United States’ actual engagement there might only

Dubai Government in its latest tourist guidelines announced that anyone without a confirmed return ticket won’t be allowed to enter the city. Because of this sudden update, hundreds of tourists were left stranded at Dubai international airport on Wednesday and Thursday. These passengers got into trouble because they were not carrying a return ticket, as per new entry requirements. The circular that was issued on October 15 stated, "Passengers with visit and tourist visas arriving (in) Dubai without a return ticket will be not be permitted entry, and it is the sole responsibility of the airline to arrange and cover the cost of a ticket/ flight to return their passenger to the country of origin." According to the circular, Dubai airport has asked the airlines to repatriate tourists arriving in the United Aarab Emirates without a confirmed return ticket. Reportedly, Because of this announcement, more than 300 passengers, majorly from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afgh

As work from home becomes the new normal globally, the Emirate of Dubai has launched a new programme that allows professionals across the globe who are working remotely to relocate to and live in Dubai, while continuing to work for an employer in their home country. People will stand to benefit from Dubai’s zero income tax for individuals. The government of Dubai said on Wednesday that this programme will allow remote workers and their families to relocate, on an annual basis, to Dubai, which promises ‘a strong digital infrastructure’. The criteria to be eligible for this programme is a passport with minimum six months validity, a salary of a minimum of US $5,000 per month, proof of employment from the current employer with a one-year contract validity, last month’s payslip and bank statement of three preceding months. Individuals will also need to have health insurance with UAE coverage validity. global pandemic has changed how we live and work. As multinationals and leading start-ups

The cardinal missing-point lies way back with after the discovery of oil, Dubai started to ‘buy and build’ and soon became the ‘centre-point’ of world biggest buildings and skyscrapers with splendid landscapes that are not even that easy to encapsulate in a camera. Dubai and the UAE went wrong as it did not build its own industries, it did not synergise its indigenous population towards enterprise, and slowly and steadily, started to become increasingly dependent of borrowed-work-force, which all is in disarray, due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, sending Dubai into deep trouble.   Today Dubai’s emblematic, most iconic and its ambassadorial and tallest building in the world i.e. Burj Al Khalifa builder Arabtec is learnt to have gone bankrupt! As news is pouring-in that Arabtec is now on its way towards liquidation which by itself is nothing short of a landslide. Arabtec is said to have been given capital-injections between 2013-17, but due to ‘management changes, layoff and round

How will history books judge the so-called Abraham Accords , aimed at normalizing diplomatic relations between Israel and two Arab Gulf states, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)? Will it be remembered as the declaration text envisions it: a critical milestone in the evolution of “peace, security, and prosperity in the Middle East?” Or it will go down the annals of the Arab-Israeli conflict as one in a series of United States-brokered peace treaties that didn’t live up to the hype surrounding it. The answer may well depend on the choices that the architects of the Abraham Accords make today. Two peace treaties signed in the past — Israel-Egypt in 1978 and Israel-Jordan in 1994 — may help determine whether the Abraham Accords will be able to deliver on their promises. Bahrain, Israel and the UAE should ensure these accords are not merely an agreement among governments, but also among their citizens. Education can make this possible. The recent agreement between the UAE’s Mo

Shareholders of United Arab Emirates-based Arabtec Holding PJSC, which helped build the world’s tallest skyscraper, voted to dissolve the debt-laden firm in a move likely to threaten thousands of jobs and scores of suppliers and sub-contractors in the Persian Gulf. Construction companies that sprang up more than a decade ago as a building bonanza swept Dubai and much of the Gulf are facing a reckoning as governments pull back on spending. Arabtec’s board will have a maximum of two months “to allow for discussions with the main stakeholders before a liquidation application may be submitted to the competent courts,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. The impact on jobs would be “substantial” since the company has about 40,000 employees, Jaap Meijer, head of equity research at Arqaam Capital, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “After considering a number of strategic options, the shareholders of Arabtec Holding have voted to discontinue with the group and dissolve it

Dubai real estate stocks were once the stars for investors betting on the city’s booming economy. But their fall from grace has been spectacular and seems set to continue, given an abundance of unsold homes and scant prospects for a recovery in the oil-rich region. Shares in Emaar Properties PJSC, an industry bellwether and the developer of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, have dropped almost 80% from their 2014 peak, when average real estate prices in the emirate were about 30% higher. Competitor Damac Properties Dubai Co. has posted a similar slump since a 2017 high. Smaller player Union Properties PJSC, which is in talks to restructure debt, trades at a 90% discount from its 2005 levels. Not even a majority of buy recommendations from analysts, thanks to cheap valuations and expectations of government support, is enough to spur a change in sentiment. That reflects a supply glut that the companies themselves helped create, and which is worsening because of the departure of ma

Travellers resume long weekend trips, travel portals see 40% increase in bookings Travellers resume long weekend trips, travel portals see 40% increase in bookings Travellers resume long weekend trips, travel portals see 40% increase in bookings Travellers resume long weekend trips, travel portals see 40% increase in bookings Travellers resume long weekend trips, travel portals see 40% increase in bookings Travellers resume long weekend trips, travel portals see 40% increase in bookings Travellers resume long weekend trips, travel portals see 40% increase in bookings Travellers resume long weekend trips, travel portals see 40% increase in bookings Travellers resume long weekend trips, travel portals see 40% increase in bookings Travellers resume long weekend trips, travel portals see 40% increase in bookings There has been around a 40% increase in bookings on travel portals ahead of the long weekend starting Friday and brought rare cheer to the industry that has been among

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Leak reveals possible harsher three-tier Covid plan for England Leak reveals possible harsher three-tier Covid plan for England Leak reveals possible harsher three-tier Covid plan for England Leak reveals possible harsher three-tier Covid plan for England Leak reveals possible harsher three-tier Covid plan for England Leak reveals possible harsher three-tier Covid plan for England Leak reveals possible harsher three-tier Covid plan for England Leak reveals possible harsher three-tier Covid plan for England Leak reveals possible harsher three-tier Covid plan for England Leak reveals possible harsher three-tier Covid plan for England   A new three-tie r lockdown system is being planned for England, with leaked government documents paving the way for potential harsher restrictions including the closure of pubs and a ban on all social contact outside of household groups. The draft traffic-light-style plan, seen by the Guardian, is designed to simplify the current patchwork of l

A real estate broker's office was closed for not adhering to coronavirus precautionary measures in Dubai.  Apart from the real estate agency, Dubai Economy officials also issued fines to eight establishments and warned one other shop for non-compliance. Inspections showed that 681 businesses were following precautionary measures made mandatory by the government in tackling the spread of the coronavirus. Dubai Economy conducts daily inspection visits to penalize violators and has urged the public to cooperate and report any violation through the Dubai Consumer app.

Morning rush hour on Tuesday caused long tailbacks on key Dubai-Sharjah roads. The national Met department (NCM) issued a fog alert for today as well.  According to Google Maps, tailbacks were reported on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and E11.  Police advised motorists to follow traffic rules and drive cautiously in the foggy weather.