Tag Archives: reforms

Saudi Electricity Company, which runs the Kingdom’s power generation and distribution, has unveiled a far-reaching restructuring of its finances and regulatory set-up to “to provide its services with higher levels of efficiency and reliability.” As part of the shake-up, the government will turn its liabilities from SEC – amounting to …

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab said on Friday any step to lift subsidies now on vital goods would be unacceptable and would cause a “social explosion”. In a televised address, Diab, who resigned two months ago after a huge explosion damaged much of Beirut and worsened the country’s economic …

Hezbollah’s leader said on Tuesday his Shi’ite movement welcomed French efforts to help Lebanon out of crisis but that did not mean French President Emmanuel Macron could act like the country’s ruler. In a televised address, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the heavily armed, Iran-backed Hezbollah remained ready for dialogue under …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday warned France that its efforts to resolve the crisis in Lebanon would be in vain without immediately tackling the issue of Iran-backed Hezbollah’s weaponry. President Emmanuel Macron has spearheaded international efforts to set Lebanon on a new course after decades of corrupt …

Lebanon’s parliamentary speaker said his group opposed the way the prime minister-designate was forming a new cabinet and that it would not join on those terms, but that he would still cooperate to stabilise the nation in crisis, his office said. The office of Nabih Berri, head of the Muslim …

Italy’s prime minister said it was time for Lebanon to rebuild trust between the people and its institutions, joining France’s call for change in a nation devastated by a year-long economic crisis and last month’s massive explosion at Beirut port. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte was visiting Beirut a week after …

Lebanon’s army said on Thursday it had found 4.35 tonnes of ammonium nitrate near the entrance to Beirut port, the site of a huge blast last month caused by a large stockpile of the same highly explosive chemical. Army engineers were “dealing with it,” according to an army statement carried …

By Sher Karimov   Uzbekistan will implement a national strategy to improve the independence of the country statistics system. The document signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev prioritizes the measures to implement the strategy between 2020 and 2025, which was developed jointly with the World Bank. The country’s statistical bodies will …

France’s foreign minister said on Thursday that Lebanon risked disappearing due to the inaction of its political elite who needed to quickly implement a new government to implement crucial reforms for the country. “The international community will not sign a blank cheque if the they (Lebanese authorities) don’t put in …

A Saudi teen who picked up ice skating three years ago at a friend’s birthday party is now dreaming of taking part in the Olympic Games. “It all started at my friend’s birthday party three years ago where we ice skated and I fell in love with the sport. I …

by James M. Dorsey | Jul 30, 2020 Saudi support of religious ultra-conservatism in Indonesia contradicts Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s promotion of an undefined form of moderate Islam intended to project his kingdom as tolerant, innovative, and forward-looking. It also suggests that Saudi Arabia is willing to work with the Muslim Brotherhood …

Sudan will permit non-Muslims to consume alcohol and strengthen women’s rights, including banning female genital mutilation (FGM), its justice minister said late on Saturday, in a reversal of almost four decades of hardline Islamist policies. About 3% of Sudan’s population is non-Muslim, according to the United Nations. Alcoholic drinks have …

By Oula Kadhum | Post-doctoral fellow at the University of Birmingham, teaching fellow at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, where she specializes in diaspora and Middle Eastern politics The Iraq protests are not a flash in the pan. Rather, they represent a historical turning point for …

Algeria’s government has canceled political gatherings because of the coronavirus, it said on Tuesday, though it was not immediately clear if this would entail a ban on the mass protests that have convulsed the state for more than a year. Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid said in comments broadcast on state …

Anti-Western hardliners are set to sweep Iran’s parliamentary elections and appear favorites to clinch the presidency next year, but an economic crisis could force them to engage with the United States despite their tightening grip on power. Tehran has ruled out any talks with Washington unless it lifts crippling sanctions …

By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem   On October 17, 2019, protests erupted in most Lebanese cities, particularly in the center of Beirut, rejecting a $ 6-a-month WhatsApp tariff plus new taxes on gasoline and a 15% VAT increase. Soon, most of the Lebanese people from different classes, regions and sects reacted …

A Lebanese state prosecutor on Sunday banned traders and money exchangers from taking significant amounts of physical dollar currency out of the country at air and land borders, state news agency NNA said. The order, which it said was issued by Public Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat, imposed the ban until the …

U.S. rapper Nicki Minaj said on Tuesday that she was pulling out of a planned concert in Saudi Arabia next week, citing her support for the rights of women and the LGBTQ community. “After careful reflection I have decided to no longer move forward with my scheduled concert at Jeddah …

Riyadh-based carrier Flynas has announced plans to recruit Saudi women to work as co-pilots and flight attendants for the first time, just months after the kingdom lifted a decades-long ban on female motorists. Saudi Arabia in June ended a longstanding ban on women driving cars as Crown Prince Mohammad Bin …

audi Arabia’s financial sector remains sound and resilient to economic shocks, Dr Fahad Al Shathri, Deputy Governor for Supervision at the Saudi Arabia Monetary Authority (Sama), said in Dubai on Wednesday. Delivering a keynote address at the Corporate Restructuring Summit 2018, Al Shathri said the kingdom’s banking and financial sector …

Saudi Aramco is weighing tapping the international bond market for the first time to finance the acquisition of petrochemical giant Sabic, a move into global capital markets that could offer an alternative to an initial public offering, according to people familiar with the talks. If Aramco goes ahead with an …

Members of the Federal National Council expressed concern at the lack of specialised and accredited hospitals which forces Emiratis to travel abroad for treatment. They also blamed ineffective health awareness campaigns for the 19.3 per cent increase in the prevalence of diabetes, obesity, heart and brain strokes in 2015. The …

Dubai-based Majid Al Futtaim has been awarded a licence to operate cinemas in Saudi Arabia, and would be opening its first theatre “in the coming days,” the company said on Thursday. The new four-screen Vox Cinema will open at Riyadh Park Mall. Majid Al Futtaim says it will be the …

In a new breakthrough ruling for women in Saudi Arabia, divorced mothers are now allowed to retain the custody of their children provided there are no disputes between the parents. Instead of fighting a legal battle to retain or win the custody of their children, divorced mothers can now submit …

Britain and Saudi Arabia took a step closer to a multi-billion- pound arms deal on Friday, touching on the most inflammatory element of their relationship at the end of an official visit to London that has mixed warm diplomacy with angry street protests. The two countries also said they had …

Theresa May says she will be “raising concerns about human rights” in Saudi Arabia when she meets the country’s crown prince later. Mohammed bin Salman is starting a three-day visit to the UK amid protests planned against his country’s role in the war in Yemen. Jeremy Corbyn accused the government …

Billionaire Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal, who has been detained for over two months as part of a royal purge, says he will be freed “within days” after “discussions” with the government come to an end. In an exclusive interview with Reuters on Saturday, bin Talal, one of the richest men in …

Saudi Arabia’s government expects record spending to deliver a strong economic rebound in 2018. Economists say it’s too optimistic, with officials underestimating the impact of new taxes, subsidy cuts and oil prices. Even after King Salman ordered additional cash handouts this month to mitigate the toll of austerity on households, …

A group of 11 Saudi princes was arrested Thursday after staging a sit-in at a palace in Riyadh, the kingdom’s attorney general said Saturday. The princes were protesting a recent royal order that “halted payments by the state to members of the royal family to cover their electricity and water …

The Trump declaration recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocating the U.S. embassy there is as historically significant to Israel’s control of Jerusalem as the Balfour Declaration was to recognizing the rights of the Jewish people in Palestine. But according to new revelations, the announcement could be part of a …

In the latest in a series of gestures toward modernization that would once have seemed improbable, Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that it would allow commercial movie theaters to open for the first time in more than 35 years. The moves to allow access by early 2018, part of a …

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved the executive regulations of Federal Law No.8 of 2017 on Value Added Tax (VAT). The bylaws govern the implementation of VAT, which will come into effect from January 2018. …

It took more than 40 rejections in a span of weeks for Ruby, now 11, to get admitted to a mainstream private school in Dubai. Steph Hamilton, Ruby’s mother, had to run from one school to the next, pleading with school principals to admit her daughter who has Down syndrome …

Here in the UAE, we have a comfortable history of (legally) not paying taxes. We all know that will official end on January 1, 2018 with the introduction of the value-add tax (VAT). Sure, we’re already paying taxes on sugary drinks and tobacco, but those are things you can do …

Driving schools for women in Saudi Arabia will be operational in March, almost four months ahead of the day when women are officially allowed to drive on Saudi roads. The date should be enough for women to go through the training process and acquire the necessary skills to pass the …

Jeddah is once more leading the way in empowering Saudi women through sports by holding the first formal football tournament for women on Wednesday. The competition will feature six teams and will be held in a private school four days after the Red Sea city hosted the first basketball tournament …

President Xi Jinping thrust China into a new era of strongman politics on Wednesday, unveiling a leadership team without a likely successor among the six officials who will help him rule for the next half decade. In a nationally televised ceremony, Mr. Xi introduced the new members of China’s highest …

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pledged on Tuesday a return to a moderate past and looked forward to a technology-driven future. “We are returning to what we were before — a country of moderate Islam that is open to all religions and to the world,” he told the Future …

As Saudi Arabia feverishly portrays itself as ready to join the ranks of modern, tolerant societies, the kingdom has turned to a once-unlikely messenger — one of its daughters — to make its case to the West. On Fatimah Baeshen’s first day as the Saudi Embassy in Washington’s official spokeswoman, …

Chinese President Xi Jinping proclaimed the arrival of “a new era” in which a reinvigorated Communist Party will lead his nation to modernity, wealth and power as he opened the 19th national congress of China’s ruling Communist Party on Wednesday. The meeting is expected to give him a second five-year …

Traffic authorities and safety campaigners in Saudi Arabia have warned against responding to ads offering driving courses to women. “Nobody has been licenced to train women on driving in public places, and women should be weary of ads offering courses and thus avoid becoming victims of abuses,” said Abdul Rahman …

Saudi authorities said on Wednesday they had arrested 22 people, including a Qatari national, for using social media to spread dissent. Another 24 people were detained in the northern Hail region for stirring tribal divisions, the state news agency SPA reported. Neither report went into the details of the offenses. …

Saudi Arabia’s plans to float state oil titan Aramco are prompting the country to think the unthinkable. Late last year, Saudi Arabia tried to get fellow oil producers around the world to agree to reduce production. Before an OPEC meeting in Vienna in November, Saudi officials were armed with an …

Japan’s opposition forces appeared set to consolidate around Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, whose new political group narrowed a gap in opinion polls with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling party weeks ahead of a general election. Abe dissolved parliament on Thursday for an election expected on Oct. 22. The Democratic Party, …