When bureaucrats meet business

As Kuwait's banking community tells its country's lawmakers to stop meddling in monetary policy, Saudi's Shoura Council is stepping up its interference in small business issues. An incredibly detailed new law, awaiting Council of Ministers' approval, plans to govern the summer opening times of sheesha outlets, decide when highway food stops must close, and the winter hours of amusement arcades.

The Shoura Council says the law is the result of two years of research and study. It reiterates that all shops should be closed during prayer times, regardless of the season.

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King Canute and the Saudi weekend

Don’t expect a Saturday afternoon spent watching the football in Riyadh any time soon. As Kuwait becomes the latest Gulf state to switch to a more business-friendly Friday/Saturday weekend, Saudi officials again dismiss the idea of a change. As the rest of the world relaxes, Saudis will continue to take Saturday as a work day.

“The proposal for changing the weekend is unacceptable in a country that is ruled by the Qur’an and Sunnah and takes them as its constitution.” So says Saudi Arabia’s Shoura Council deputy chairman Mahmoud Taiba. He also says the economic arguments for switching to a Fri/Sat weekend were baseless.

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