by admin | May 25, 2021 | Employment, Muslim World, Overseas
Riyadh : Saudi Arabia has launched the recruitment of female investigators, according to a local media report.
On Sunday, the Saudi Public Prosecution announced that job applications by women will be accepted until March 3, Xinhua news agency quoted the Al Arabiya report as saying.
The applicants should be qualified for the position and with a relevant university degree.
The candidates should also pass aptitude tests and physical exams to prove their fitness for the position, said Attorney-General Sheikh Saud Al-Mojeb.
He said once selected, the female investigators would have to take up various specialised roles including criminal investigation, testifying in courts, in addition to some other executive roles.
The move is aimed at integrating females into most sectors in Saudi Arabia and changing the shape of the kingdom’s Islamic conservative society.
As part of the new reforms, Saudi women were already allowed to attend football matches and apply for driving licences.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Corporate, Corporate Buzz, Muslim World
Riyadh : Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority late Wednesday denied granting permission to Indian planes to use the Kingdom’s airspace to cross into Israel.
A spokesman for the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) in Saudi Arabia that the Authority did not grant any permission to fly Air India, Al Arabiya television reported.
Air India said on Wednesday it plans to begin direct flights to Israel and has proposed they pass through Saudi airspace, a route so far off-limits to Israel-bound commercial planes.
It is noteworthy that Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel as a state. An Air India spokesman and Israel’s Airports Authority said the state-run carrier had requested slots for three weekly flights between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. The Airports Authority said the service would begin in early March.
Air India was awaiting clearance from the Indian aviation regulator to fly over Saudi Arabia, the spokesman said.
However, Israeli media, in unsourced reports, said Riyadh had granted the necessary flyover rights, which would shorten the flight time from New Delhi by more than two hours.
El Al Israel Airlines, the country’s flag carrier, flies four weekly flights to Mumbai but these take seven hours rather than five as they take a route south toward Ethiopia and then east to India, avoiding Saudi airspace.
Israel’s Tourism Ministry said it will grant Air India 750,000 euros for flying the new route, as part of its policy of increasing the number of airlines flying to Israel.
Air India had made a similar request for slots to Israeli authorities last year but never followed through, after that circumventing Saudi airspace was not economically viable.
It is noteworthy that Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj is in Riyadh for an official visit.
—AG/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Riyadh : Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday thanked Saudi Arabia for increasing India’s quota for Islam’s most holy pilgrimage, the Haj.
At the inaugural ceremony of the Saudi national and cultural festival Al Janadriyah, where India has been given guest of honour country status this year, Sushma Swaraj said “a large number of my Muslim brothers and sisters from India visit Saudi Arabia every year for Haj and Umrah pilgrimage.
“Once again I thank Your Majesty for increasing the Haj quota for India in 2017 and also for the special arrangements and care given to the pilgrims,” she said.
Last month, Saudi Arabia increased the quota of Indians for the Haj pilgrimage by 5,000 from this year.
The decision by Riyadh came after Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi signed a bilateral annual agreement for Haj 2018 with Saudi Minister for Haj and Umrah Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten.
Now, a total of 1.75 lakh Indian citizens can go for Haj. Last year, Saudi Arabia increased India’s Haj quota by 35,000.
Sushma Swaraj said that India’s participation at the Al Janadriyah Festival “provided an opportunity to showcase our strong bilateral relationship”.
The visiting Indian minister received the festival’s patron Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the India Pavilion showcasing the traditional and modern aspects of India.
“The Pavilion with the theme ‘Saudi ka dost Bharat’ is a big draw at Janadriyah,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Rveesh Kumar tweeted.
Earlier on Wednesday, Sushma Swaraj called on King Salman here and “steps to further intensify our strategic partnership in all sectors and to work together towards each other’s progress came up during (the) warm discussion,” according to Kumar.
Prior to that, Sushma Swaraj met her Saudi counterpart Adel Jubeir and discussed deepening of bilateral ties.
According to Kumar, the discussions between Sushma Swaraj and Jubeir focused on enhancing trade and investment, energy, defence and security, culture and people-to-people ties.
“The two Foreign Ministers also discussed the regional and global situation,” the spokesperson said.
The India-Saudi Arabia relationship was elevated to that of a Strategic Partnership during the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Gulf kingdom in 2010.
Saudi Arabia is the fourth-largest trading partner for India with bilateral trade exceeding $25 billion in 2016-17.
As India’s largest supplier of crude oil, Saudi Arabia accounts for about 20 per cent of the total annual imports.
The Gulf nation is also home to around 3.2 million expatriate Indians, that includes a growing number of professionals, including doctors, software engineers and oil technologists.
Sushma Swaraj arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day visit in what is her first official visit to this Gulf kingdom.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Riyadh : A sweeping anti-corruption campaign in Saudi Arabia has generated an estimated $106.7 billion in settlements, the Kingdom’s Attorney General said.
Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb said 56 of the 381 people called in for questioning since November 4 remained in custody. The others had been cleared or admitted guilt and handed over properties, cash, securities and other assets, the BBC reported on Tuesday.
More than 200 princes, politicians and wealthy businessmen were detained in a crackdown on “systematic corruption” launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November. He has been accused of using the investigation to remove opponents and consolidate his power.
Those detained were accused of bribery, money laundering as well as extorting officials.
Earlier, billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, owner of the Arab satellite television network MBC Waleed al-Ibrahim and former chief of the Royal Court Khalid al-Tuwaijiri were released from detention at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh’s diplomatic quarter.
The men insisted they were innocent, but Saudi officials said they had agreed to financial settlements after admitting unspecified “violations”.
Others known to have been freed include Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, a son of the late King Abdullah who reportedly had handed over more than $1 billion in assets and State Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf, who was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Al-Mojeb said he had “refused to settle” with the 56 individuals still being detained “due to other pending criminal cases or in order to continue the investigation process”.
They are believed to have been transferred to prison from the Ritz-Carlton, which will reopen to the public next month.
Last week, Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said the money recovered through the settlements would be used to fund a $13.3 billion programme to help Saudi citizens cope with the rising cost of living.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Halal Industries, Muslim World
Makkah : The Muslim World League (MWL) has established the world’s largest Halal Center in Makkah, to be an international reference to whatever concerns the halal products.
MWL said it is in the process of launching a website for halal in more than 20 languages, in line with its efforts to restructure its Halal Commission and transform it into the world’s first brand of halal.
The Pan-Islamic NGO affirmed that it is the world leader in applying the halal terms, pointing out that it takes great care in the application of legal and regulatory standards, whether on products exported to Saudi Arabia or to countries with which the MWL has agreed to control exports.
MWL explained that it oversees all the stages of halal production and export, in order to ensure its institutional work in this field. It revealed that it has sent specialists and legal experts to a number of countries including Brazil, Australia, Canada, to directly supervise the halal industry, record remarks and take legal action against violators.
The League said it had received calls from many governments in Asia and Europe to be the authorized exporter of halal products to the countries of those governments. It added that halal agreements have been concluded with some of these governments, while agreements are at final stages with others.
—AB/UNA-OIC
