Tag: reform

Saudi probe into alleged police violence against women

Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it opened an investigation after videos purportedly showed security forces beating women at an orphanage in the kingdom's southwest. The governor of Saudi Arabia's Asir region formed a committee to probe the beatings captured in the online video and "refer the case to the competent authorities," the state-run Saudi Press Agency […]

Lebanese MP Cynthia Zarazir to combat condoms and porn magazines

MP Cynthia Zarazir of the ‘change’ bloc on Tuesday decried the “disrespect” and “bullying” she has faced ever since entering parliament’s building for the first time. “Ever since I entered parliament, I have not been shown any respect that suggests that those whom I will be present with for four years are firstly humans and […]

Blinken wants progress on human rights in Saudi

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Monday and repeated a call for progress on human rights. A State Department statement said Blinken and the Saudi minister discussed regional security and the attack last month on the tanker Mercer Street in the Arabian Sea, which […]

UN Khashoggi investigators allegedly receiving death threats

A senior Saudi official denied on Thursday he had threatened to harm the human rights expert who led the U.N. investigation into the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, after the United Nations confirmed the expert’s account of the threat. Agnes Callamard, the U.N. expert on summary killings, has said that a Saudi official threatened at […]

Saudi corruption trial leaves two with $3.47 million fine

Two Saudi citizens have been sentenced to 28 years in jail and fined up to $3.47 million after an investigation revealed an organized crime gang laundering money overseas. An official source in the Public Prosecution stated that the Financial Investigation Unit launched an investigation into a man and a woman - both Saudi - who […]

Biden poised to make pronouncement on Saudi after Khashoggi report

President Joe Biden on Saturday said his administration would make an announcement on Saudi Arabia on Monday, following a U.S. intelligence report that found Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had approved the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The Biden administration has faced some criticism, notably an editorial in the Washington Post, that the president should […]

Saudi to recruit women into armed services

Women can now join Saudi Arabia's armed forces, following a ruling by the Saudi Ministry of Defense that opened the way for both genders to sign up through a unified admission portal starting Sunday. Military ranks from soldier to sergeant will be available in the Saudi Arabian Army, Royal Saudi Air Defense, Royal Saudi Navy, Royal […]

Erdogan promises reform amidst widespread skepticism

On the final day of 2020, Turkey’s president promised his people that things will change. “We are in the process of preparing reforms that will strengthen our economy and raise the standard of our democracy, rights and freedoms,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in the middle of a speech released on the presidency’s website. “We are making […]

US warns against business as usual in Lebanon

Business as usual in Lebanon is unacceptable and any new government must be committed to - and capable of implementing - reforms that bring economic opportunity, good governance and an end to endemic corruption, a top U.S. diplomat said on Thursday. “Whatever government comes next must commit to and have the ability to implement reforms […]

Saad Al-Hariri reiterates call for French roadmap

Lebanon’s leading Sunni Muslim politician, former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, called for the restoration of a French plan to lift the nation out of its worst financial crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. Former colonial power France, which has led foreign aid efforts, has tried to rally Lebanese leaders to launch reforms to tackle the […]

Jumblatt places all bets on French rescue plan

Leading Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt said on Wednesday it seemed some people did not understand that French-led efforts to lift Lebanon out of crisis were the last chance to save the country. Lebanon is in the throes of a crippling economic and financial meltdown that marks the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975-1990 […]

Israel, US make new claims, requests about Beirut blast - UPDATES

Seismological data suggests that six blasts preceded the Beirut port explosion, the last of them a combustion of fireworks that apparently set off a warehouse full of ammonium nitrate, an Israeli analyst said on Thursday. The six blasts were at 11-second intervals during the Aug. 4 incident, with the main explosion following the last by […]

Breathe.. you are in Saudi Arabia

The ‘Breathe’ event in Riyadh last week has attracted my attention. This event sought to break the barrier of fear, raise the quality of behaviour, and discover the various capabilities of knowledge and innovation. It also sought to raise the quality of life through exercise, meditation and breathing. By Lina Khaled Al Maeena* | I […]

Saudi Arabia to launch cash-transfer program for citizens

An official source stated that the Saudi government will announce the launch of a cash-transfer program for its citizens on Tuesday. This is meant to help low and middle-income families cope with the costs of economic reform. The government had announced last December that they are planning to put this program into effect as changes […]

Why Saudis Are Pinning Their Future on Giant Oil IPO: QuickTake

The world’s most valuable company may not be Apple Inc. That crown could instead belong to Aramco, as Saudi Arabian Oil Co. is better known. The sprawling state-owned producer, sitting atop one-fifth of the globe’s petroleum reserves, pumps more crude than the top four publicly traded oil companies combined. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the […]

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