Ramadan 2023 will start on Thursday, Saudi Arabia's state media has announced.
Observers were unable to spot the new moon on Tuesday, the sighting committee reported, meaning the holy month will not commence until Thursday.
Wednesday will be the last day of the month of Shabaan, which precedes Ramadan, the Supreme Court later confirmed in a statement.
Ramadan is the ninth and holiest month of the Islamic — or Hijri — calendar. It is also believed to be the month the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.
It is observed by more than 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide.
Observing Ramadan is one of the five holy pillars of Islam and is mandatory for all Muslims in good health.
The Muslim world typically looks to Saudi Arabia to determine the start of Ramadan and other religious holidays, although each country has their own sighting committee.
The kingdom's supreme court called on people to look for the crescent moon on Tuesday, requesting observers to report any sighting to the nearest court.
The UAE's moon-sighting committee also searched the skies, meeting in Abu Dhabi after the maghrib prayer.
Officials announced Ramadan would begin on Thursday after meeting at the judicial department, where reported sightings from across the country are collated.
Several other countries followed suit, including Qatar, Bahrain, Tunisia and Iraq.
It is the first Ramadan in three years without any Covid-19 restrictions in the UAE, after an indoor mask mandate was dropped in September.
This year, much of the region will be fasting for almost 14 hours a day.
Saudi officials have said they expect as many as three million pilgrims to visit the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah and Madinah during Ramadan.
Communal iftars and long prayers will resume for the first time since the pandemic.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SPECS
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UAE SQUAD
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Mohamed Usman (vice captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Imran Haider, Tahir Mughal, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed, Fahad Nawaz, Abdul Shakoor, Sultan Ahmed, CP Rizwan
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
