RIYADH- Saudi Arabia's finance minister on Monday said the kingdom would triple its Value Added Tax (VAT) and halt monthly handout payments to citizens in new austerity measures spawned by the coronavirus.
"It has been decided the cost of living allowance will be halted from June 2020 and VAT will be raised from 5 percent to 15 percent from July 1," minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
The measures come after Jadaan last week warned of "painful" and "drastic" steps as the government steps up emergency plans to slash spending amid the double shock of the novel coronavirus and record low oil prices.
Saudi Arabia, along with other Gulf states, imposed a 5 percent tax on goods and services in 2018 in a bid to generate additional revenue.
The petro-state had also introduced handouts worth billions of dollars to citizens, known as the cost of living allowance, to cushion the impact of rising costs.
Jadaan has said he expected Riyadh could lose half of its oil income, which contributes about 70 percent of public revenues, as oil prices have fallen two-thirds since the start of the year.
He said the world's leading crude exporter would borrow close to $60 billion this year to plug a huge budget deficit.
The International Monetary Fund in April projected that the Saudi economy would contract by 2.3 percent this year.
Agence France-Presse
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - A prominent Saudi princess jailed without charges made a rare public appeal to the king and crown prince on Thursday for her release from a high-security prison, citing her "deteriorating" health.
Princess Basmah bint Saud, a 56-year-old businesswoman and an outspoken royal family member, was detained in March last year just before she was due to travel to Switzerland for medical treatment, according to a source close to her family.
The public plea for her release is the latest sign of turmoil within the kingdom's secretive royal family following the detention last month of King Salman's brother and nephew in an apparent attempt to stamp out internal dissent.
"As you may be aware (?) I am currently being arbitrarily held at Al-Ha'ir prison without criminal, or otherwise any charges," the princess wrote in a letter published on her verified Twitter account.
"My health is deteriorating to an extent that is (severe), and that could lead to my death.
"I have not received medical care or even (a) response to the letters I dispatched from jail to the Royal Court."
Saudi authorities have not disclosed the reasons for her detention.
The princess claimed she was "thrown into prison" after being "abducted without an explanation" along with one of her daughters.
'VERY CRITICAL'
She appealed to her uncle King Salman and her cousin -- de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman –- for her release as she had "done no wrong" and added that her health status was "very critical".
The princess did not specify her ailment but her letter comes as the kingdom grapples with the fast-spreading coronavirus pandemic.
The government has imposed round-the-clock curfew across much of the country to limit the spread of the virus. Saudi Arabia has reported 6,380 infections and 83 deaths from the disease so far.
It was unclear how the princess was able to tweet from inside Al-Ha'ir, a high-security prison close to Riyadh known for holding political prisoners.
Her public plea represents an unusually bold move by someone from the kingdom's sprawling royal family, comprising thousands of members, who typically refrain from publicly raising internal grievances.
It comes after the detention last month of Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, the king's brother, and the monarch's nephew Prince Mohammed bin Nayef who was previously crown prince.
The government has yet to officially comment on the crackdown, which raised fears of government instability.
But one source close to the royal court dismissed such concerns and said the detentions were meant to send a stern warning within the royal family not to oppose the crown prince.
Prince Mohammed, heir to the Arab world's most powerful throne, has pursued a broad crackdown on dissent since his meteoric rise to the position of crown prince in 2017.
Multiple women activists, clerics, bloggers and journalists have been jailed in what observers call increasing repression and authoritarianism under the prince's de facto rule as he consolidates his grip on power.
ac/lc
Agence France-Presse
RIYADH — Five people were sentenced to death Monday over Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's murder, but 2 top aides to the powerful crown prince were exonerated in a verdict that sparked international condemnation.
Khashoggi, a Washington Post contributor, was murdered in October last year in Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate, tipping it into one of its worst diplomatic crises and tarnishing the reputation of de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Out of 11 individuals indicted in the case -- most of whom remain unnamed -- 5 were sentenced to death, 3 face jail terms totaling 24 years and the others were acquitted, the public prosecutor said.
The verdict, which was lambasted by Turkey and rights groups as a travesty of justice, underscores Saudi efforts to draw a line under the crisis as it seeks to reboot its international image ahead of next year's G20 summit in Riyadh.
"The public prosecution's investigation showed that the killing was not premeditated at the start of this mission", but rather that it occurred in the heat of the moment, Saudi deputy prosecutor Shalaan al-Shalaan told a press conference.
The verdict can be appealed.
Riyadh has described the murder as a "rogue" operation, but both the CIA and a United Nations special envoy have directly linked Prince Mohammed to the killing, a charge the kingdom vehemently denies.
Khashoggi, a 59-year-old Saudi insider-turned-critic, was strangled and his body cut into pieces by a 15-man Saudi squad inside the consulate, according to Turkish officials. His remains have not been found.
Saudi prosecutors had said deputy intelligence chief Ahmed al-Assiri oversaw Khashoggi's killing and the US Treasury had claimed the royal court's media czar Saud al-Qahtani was "part of the planning and execution" of the operation that led to the murder.
Qahtani was investigated but not indicted "due to insufficient evidence" and Assiri was charged, but eventually acquitted on the same grounds, Shalaan added.
Both aides were part of Prince Mohammed's tight-knit inner circle and were formally sacked over the killing, but only Assiri appeared in the court hearings, according to Western sources.
'IMPORTANT STEP': US
A US State Department official welcomed the verdicts as "an important step in holding those responsible for this terrible crime accountable".
"We're pressing them (Saudi Arabia) for more transparency and for holding everybody accountable," the official added.
Others took a stronger position.
Agnes Callamard, the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, condemned the verdict as a "mockery".
"Bottom line: the hit-men are guilty, sentenced to death," she said on Twitter.
"The masterminds not only walk free. They have barely been touched by the investigation and the trial."
Turkey also blasted the "scandalous" verdict, saying those who dispatched the killers had been granted "impunity".
The Washington Post's publisher Fred Ryan denounced the "sham trial", adding that "those ultimately responsible" in the Saudi leadership had escaped responsibility.
"If the court ruling is meant to put the Khashoggi affair to rest, it is unlikely to succeed," H.A. Hellyer, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told AFP.
"There is a strong belief among much of the international community that the senior Saudi establishment was behind the killing and this verdict does not inspire confidence that accountability has been achieved."
But Salah Khashoggi, the murdered journalist's son who resides in the kingdom and denies reports of a financial settlement with the government, welcomed the verdict, saying justice had been served.
RINGLEADER?
Qahtani, who led fiery social media campaigns against critics of the kingdom, has not appeared publicly since the murder and his whereabouts are a subject of fevered speculation.
Maher Mutreb, an intelligence operative who frequently traveled with the crown prince on foreign tours, forensic expert Salah al-Tubaigy and Fahad al-Balawi, a member of the Saudi royal guard, were among the 11 on trial, sources have told AFP.
It was unclear if they were among those sentenced to death.
The sources said that many of those accused defended themselves in court by saying they were carrying out Assiri's orders, describing him as the "ringleader" of the operation.
The Riyadh court hearing the case held a total of nine sessions attended by representatives of the international community as well as Khashoggi's family, Shalaan said.
Agence France-Presse
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia said Friday it will offer tourist visas for the first time, opening up the ultra-conservative kingdom to holidaymakers as part of a push to diversify its economy away from oil.
Kickstarting tourism is one of the centerpieces of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 reform program to prepare the biggest Arab economy for a post-oil era.
The announcement comes just 2 weeks after devastating attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure –- blamed by Washington on Iran –- which roiled global energy markets.
"Opening Saudi Arabia to international tourists is a historic moment for our country," tourism chief Ahmed al-Khateeb said in a statement.
"Visitors will be surprised... by the treasures we have to share -- five UNESCO World Heritage Sites, a vibrant local culture and breathtaking natural beauty."
Saudi Arabia will open applications for online tourist visas to citizens of 49 countries on Saturday, Bloomberg News quoted Khateeb as saying.
Khateeb said the kingdom will also ease its strict dress code for foreign women, allowing them to go without the body-shrouding abaya robe that is still mandatory public wear for Saudi women.
Foreign women, however, will be required to wear "modest clothing", he added.
HARD SELL
The austere kingdom, which forbids alcohol and has a strict social code, is seen by many as a hard sell for tourists.
Prince Mohammed is seeking to change that through a sweeping liberalization drive that has brought new cinemas, mixed-gender concerts and sporting extravaganzas to Saudi Arabia.
International criticism of the kingdom's human rights record, including the gruesome murder last year of critic Jamal Khashoggi and a crackdown on female activists, could further put off foreign visitors, observers say.
Fears of a regional conflict after the September 14 attacks on state oil giant Aramco may also dampen the kingdom's appeal to holidaymakers.
Visas are currently restricted to expat workers, their dependents and Muslim pilgrims travelling to holy sites in Mecca and Medina.
Saudi Arabia last year began issuing visas to visitors to attend sporting and cultural events in a bid to kickstart tourism.
The government, reeling from low oil prices, says it hopes tourism will contribute up to 10 percent of the gross domestic product by 2030, compared to three percent currently.
It says by 2030 it aims to attract up to 100 million annual visits by both domestic and foreign tourists.
The sector is expected to create up to one million tourism jobs, the government says, as the kingdom battles high youth unemployment.
Saudi Arabia has splurged billions in an attempt to build a tourism industry from scratch.
In 2017, the kingdom announced a multi-billion dollar project to turn 50 islands and other pristine sites on the Red Sea into luxury resorts.
The country is also developing historic sites such as the centuries-old Mada'in Saleh, home to sandstone tombs of the same civilization which built the Jordanian city of Petra.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
HONG KONG - Oil prices surged more than 10 percent Monday after attacks on two Saudi Arabian plants that slashed output in the world's top producer by half, with Donald Trump blaming Iran and raising the possibility of a military strike on the country.
West Texas Intermediate jumped 10.68 percent to $60.71 and Brent climbed 11.77 percent to $67.31 in early Asia trading following the blasts at facilities run by state-owned giant Aramco.
The attack by Tehran-backed Huthi rebels in neighboring Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is bogged down in a five-year war, effectively shut down 6 percent of the global oil supply.
Brent soared almost 20 percent at one point on Monday, while WTI surged around 15 percent before paring the gains.
Trump said Sunday the US was "locked and loaded" to respond to the attack, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: "The United States will work with our partners and allies to ensure that energy markets remain well supplied and Iran is held accountable for its aggression."
Tehran denies the accusations but the news has revived fears of a conflict in the tinderbox Middle East after a series of attacks on oil tankers earlier this year that were also blamed on Iran.
"Tensions in the Middle East are rising quickly, meaning this story will continue to reverberate this week even after the knee-jerk panic in oil markets this morning," said Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
NEW YORK - Global stock markets were mixed on Monday ahead of key US economic data and a European Central Bank meeting, while crude prices gained as the new Saudi oil minister signaled he would defend oil prices.
Major US stock indices finished little changed ahead of key reports on consumer prices and retail sales for August later in the week.
Investors are in "wait and see" mode, said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at National Securities.
"It's a case of having a 2-week winning streak and not much of a rethink on it," he added.
Recent US data has been mixed, with August jobs growth lagging expectations, but services sector activity growing more quickly than expected, according to reports last week.
European bourses were also mixed, with London falling sharply as the pound rose on official data that showed the British economy grew by 0.3 percent in July, reducing the likelihood of a UK recession this year as Brexit looms large.
"While parliament seems to be falling apart, the economy is holding up reasonably well," noted Paul Dales, chief UK economist at research consultancy Capital Economics.
"July's surprisingly strong rise in GDP suggests that it has not fallen into a recession."
British MPs voted to demand Prime Minister Boris Johnson release confidential documents relating to Britain's EU exit, during a final day of defiance before he suspends their session until just weeks before Brexit.
Elsewhere, the euro wavered as dealers mulled speculation that the European Central Bank could decide this week to loosen monetary policy.
OIL RALLIES
Oil prices advanced as newly-installed energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said that oil production cuts would benefit all exporting nations, in an indication he will support further reductions to address an oversupplied market and sagging prices.
In his first comments since being appointed by his father King Salman on Sunday, the minister signaled no major change in approach in Saudi Arabia, the de facto OPEC leader which pumps about a third of the cartel's oil.
"The pillars of our oil policy are pre-determined and will not change," he told Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya.
The appointment of Prince Abdulaziz, half-brother to de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, marks the first time a royal family member has been put in charge of the all-important energy ministry.
He replaces veteran official Khalid al-Falih as the world's top crude exporter accelerates preparations for a much-anticipated stock listing of state-owned oil giant Aramco, expected to be the world's biggest.
KEY FIGURES AROUND 5 AM TUESDAY
New York - Dow: UP 0.1 percent at 26,835.51 (close)
New York - S&P 500: FLAT at 2,978.43 (close)
New York - Nasdaq: DOWN 0.2 percent at 8,087.44 (close)
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.6 percent at 7,225.81 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 0.3 percent at 12,226.10 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: DOWN 0.3 percent at 5,588.97 (close)
EURO STOXX 50: FLAT at 3,495.02 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: UP 0.6 percent at 21,318.42 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: FLAT at 26,681.40 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 0.8 percent at 3,024.74 (close)
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2342 from $1.2283 at 2100 GMT
Euro/pound: DOWN at 89.45 pence from 89.79 pence
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1046 from $1.1029
Dollar/yen: UP at 107.23 yen from 106.92 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP $1.02 at $62.52 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP $1.33 at $57.85 per barrel
source: news.abs-cbn.com
ABU DHABI - Saudi Arabia's new energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said Monday that oil production cuts would benefit all exporting nations, in an indication he will support further reductions to address an oversupplied market and sagging prices.
In his first comments since being appointed by his father King Salman on Sunday, the minister signaled no major change in approach in Saudi Arabia, the de facto OPEC leader which pumps about a third of the cartel's oil.
"The pillars of our oil policy are pre-determined and will not change," he told Saudi broadcaster Al-Arabiya.
The prince was in Abu Dhabi to attend the World Energy Congress, followed by a meeting on Thursday of the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of the OPEC+ alliance for a supply cut deal reached last year.
The ministers will consider fresh reductions, even though analysts are doubtful such a move would succeed in bolstering crude prices which have been badly dented by the US-China trade war.
Crude prices are moving around levels of $60 a barrel, in contrast with more than $75 a year ago, but were given a boost Monday by the Saudi official's comments, with West Texas Intermediate oil for October delivery advancing 53 cents to $57.05 a barrel.
Prince Abdulaziz said that the trade war, which has triggered fears of a global recession, has cast a "fog" over the oil market.
However, he appeared to swing his support behind further curbs to rebalance the crude market.
"Cutting output will benefit all members of OPEC," he told Al-Arabiya on the sidelines of the conference, but added to reporters later that "it would be wrong" for him to pre-empt the decision of the alliance.
The appointment of Prince Abdulaziz, half-brother to de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, marks the first time a royal family member has been put in charge of the all-important energy ministry.
He replaces veteran official Khalid al-Falih as the world's top crude exporter accelerates preparations for a much-anticipated stock listing of state-owned oil giant Aramco, expected to be the world's biggest.
"Prince Abdulaziz is very experienced and has served in the energy industry for decades," Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst at UBS Group AG in Zurich, told Bloomberg News.
"His comments today suggest we shouldn't expect any major policy changes from the kingdom, which still wants to see oil inventories falling."
The OPEC petroleum exporters' cartel and key independent producers want to halt a slide in prices that has persisted despite previous output cuts and US sanctions that have squeezed supply from Iran and Venezuela.
Analysts say the JMMC monitoring body has limited options when it meets in Abu Dhabi to formulate recommendations ahead of an OPEC+ ministerial meeting in Vienna in December.
UAE Energy Minister Suheil al-Mazrouei said Sunday the group would do "whatever necessary" to rebalance the crude market, but admitted the issue was not entirely in the hands of the world's top producers.
The market is no longer governed by supply and demand but is being influenced more by US-China trade tensions and geopolitical factors, he said.
Analysts say that while cuts could help prices, they could also mean producers lose further market share.
Prince Abdulaziz also alluded to the sense that Saudi Arabia is shouldering the burden of production cuts, while other nations -- notably Nigeria and Iraq -- are flouting the limitations.
Speaking to reporters in Abu Dhabi, he said that one or two countries "need to be more committed" in order to bring benefits to the entire industry.
The 25-nation OPEC+ group, dominated by the cartel's kingpin Saudi Arabia and non-OPEC production giant Russia, agreed to reduce output in December 2018.
That came as a faltering global economy and a boom in US shale oil threatened to create a global glut in supply.
Previous supply cuts have mostly succeeded in bolstering prices.
But this time, the market has continued to slide -- even after OPEC+ agreed in June to extend by nine months an earlier deal slashing output by 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd).
The new factor is the trade dispute between the US and China, whose tit-for-tat tariffs have created fears of a global recession that will undermine demand for oil.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
Nearly 2.5 million Muslim hajj pilgrims converged on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia Saturday marshaled by tens of thousands of stewards in a bid to prevent any repetition of previous years' deadly stampedes.
Movable crowd control barriers were erected all around the foot of the rocky hill outside Mecca, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or Mount of Mercy, where the faithful arrived on foot and in a seemingly endless line of buses.
Raising their palms skywards, the pilgrims set off on the climb to the summit where they held prayers to atone for their sins in a ritual that is regarded as the high point of the annual hajj.
"Really, I am very satisfied," said Lassina Coulibaly, a 47-year-old Malian business employee.
"Fatigue is part of the pilgrimage," added the father of seven.
Clutching brightly colored umbrellas, pilgrims first braved the blazing sun and then heavy downpours that many welcomed as a blessing.
Some burst into tears as they chanted prayers.
Thousands of faithful had spent the night under the stars, sleeping on prayer rugs or pieces of cardboard.
Trucks were parked at regular intervals on the route leading up to the hill, distributing bottles of water and meals.
Thousands of workers prepared to clear the rubbish that littered the ground.
Helicopters crisscrossed overhead, part of the tight security precautions taken by the pilgrimage's Saudi hosts.
- 'It is an honor' –
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam which every Muslim is required to complete at least once in their lifetime if they are healthy enough and have the means to do so.
"I came last year during Ramadan, now I am there for the hajj," said Indonesian pilgrim Zakir Uddin.
"It is an honor, praise be to God," added the 27-year-old cook.
Like other male pilgrims, he wears a seamless white garment that covers only one shoulder and emphasizes unity regardless of social status or nationality.
The women wear loose dresses, most of them white, exposing only their faces and hands.
They are designed to help pilgrims enter a state of purity, called ihram.
Uddin, who works in the Saudi city of Jeddah less than 90 kilometers from Mecca, says he is happy to see so many of his compatriots among the pilgrims.
"Indonesians make up the single largest contingent, such is the will of God," he said.
Pilgrims travelling from abroad account for 1.86 million of the 2.48 million taking part in this year's hajj, according to official figures.
After sunset prayers, pilgrims will make their way down Mount Arafat to Muzdalifah, another holy site where they will sleep under the stars to prepare for the final stage of hajj, a ritual "stoning of the devil".
That marks the beginning of Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, marked on Sunday.
Sheep are traditionally slaughtered for the three-day event, a tribute to the prophet Abraham's sacrifice of a lamb after God spared Ishmael, his son.
Pilgrims then return to the Grand Mosque to perform a final "tawaf" or walk around the Kaaba.
- Logistical challenge -
The scale of the pilgrimage presents vast security and logistical challenges, with tens of thousands of safety officers deployed.
Riyadh faced strong criticism in 2015 when some 2,300 worshipers were killed in the deadliest stampede in the gathering's history.
This year's hajj takes place to a backdrop of Gulf tensions following a series of attacks on tankers, the downing of drones and the seizure of ships.
Riyadh blames regional foe Tehran for the attacks on commercial shipping, accusations Iran vehemently denies.
Despite the absence of diplomatic ties between the two countries, some 88,550 Iranian pilgrims are due to take part in the hajj this year according to Iran's Tasnim news agency.
As in previous years, Saudi authorities have been at pains to stress that the hajj is a religious event and have sought to prevent its politicization.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
MECCA - More than 2 million Muslims begin the annual hajj on Friday as the Saudi hosts seek to deter politicization of the pilgrimage against a backdrop of simmering Gulf tensions.
The hajj, one of the world's largest religious gatherings, is one of Islam's five pillars and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lives.
It consists of a series of religious rites which are completed over five days in Islam's holiest city and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.
"All of the arms of state have been deployed (and) we are proud to serve as 'God's hosts'," said security forces spokesman Bassam Attia.
In total some 2.5 million faithful, the majority from abroad, will undertake the pilgrimage this year, according to local media.
"More than 1.8 million visas were delivered online without the need for middlemen. It's a success," said hajj ministry official Hatim bin Hassan Qadi.
"We feel cleansed by achieving this pillar of Islam and meeting people from across the world. It's marvellous," said Mohamed Jaafar, a 40-year-old Egyptian pilgrim.
'AN INDESCRIBABLE FEELING'
"It's an indescribable feeling. You have to live it to understand it," said an Algerian in his fifties completing the pilgrimage for the first time.
"It's a golden opportunity and moment," said his female companion.
Mecca, built in a desert valley, is home to the Kaaba, a cube structure that is the focal point of Islam and draped in a gold-embroidered black cloth.
Muslims around the world pray towards the Kaaba, which is located in the Grand Mosque, and pilgrims walk around it seven times.
Worshipers will participate in weekly prayers late on Friday morning.
During the pilgrimage separate streams of men and women, grouped by nationality, will travel to Mina on foot or in buses provided by the authorities.
A district of Mecca, Mina sits in a narrow valley surrounded by rocky mountains and is transformed each year into a vast encampment for pilgrims.
A total of "350,000 air-conditioned tents have been pitched," said a Saudi official.
Worshipers will climb Mount Arafat, also known as the "Mount of Mercy", for hours of prayers and Koran recitals.
After descending, they will gather pebbles and perform the symbolic "stoning of the devil".
That marks the beginning of Eid al-Adha, the festival of sacrifice, marked on Sunday.
Pilgrims then return to the Grand Mosque to perform a final "tawaf" or walk around the Kaaba.
'POLITICIZING THE HAJJ'
This year's hajj takes place to a backdrop of Gulf tensions following a series of attacks on tankers, the downing of drones and maritime traffic being intercepted.
Riyadh blames regional foe Tehran for the attacks on commercial shipping, accusations Iran vehemently denies.
Despite the absence of diplomatic ties between the two countries, some 88,550 Iranian pilgrims are due to take part in the hajj this year according to the Tasnim news agency.
As in previous years, Saudi authorities have been at pains to stress that the hajj is a religious event and have sought to prevent its politicization.
Riyadh claimed its two-year embargo on Doha -- which includes restrictions on Qataris travelling to the kingdom -- would not affect the pilgrimage.
But hajj official Hassan Qadi acknowledged "very few Qataris have come to Mecca for the pilgrimage".
Saudi's hajj ministry accused Qatar of "politicizing the hajj and creating obstacles for Qatari pilgrims," the SPA state news agency reported.
The scale of the pilgrimage presents vast security and logistical challenges, with tens of thousands of safety officers deployed.
Riyadh faced strong criticism in 2015 when some 2,300 worshipers were killed in the worst stampede in the gathering's history.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
WASHINGTON--The investigator hired to look into the release of intimate images of Jeff Bezos said Saturday he has concluded that Saudi Arabian authorities hacked the Amazon chief's phone to access his personal data.
Gavin de Becker linked the hack to extensive coverage by The Washington Post newspaper, which is owned by Bezos, of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul last year.
"Our investigators and several experts concluded with high confidence that the Saudis had access to Bezos' phone, and gained private information," de Becker wrote on The Daily Beast website.
He said that while the brother of Bezos's mistress was paid by the National Enquirer scandal sheet for the release of the information, his role may have been a red herring, and the plot went far beyond one man seeking to cash in.
"It's clear that MBS considers The Washington Post to be a major enemy," de Becker wrote, referring to the oil-rich kingdom's powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom the US Senate, after a closed-door briefing by the CIA, named as "responsible" for the murder.
But de Becker did not specify which part of the Saudi government he was blaming for the hack, and gave few details about the investigation that led him to the conclusion that the kingdom was responsible.
The results, he wrote, "have been turned over to federal officials."
Bezos hired Gavin de Becker & Associates to find out how his intimate text messages and photos made their way into the hands of the Enquirer, which reported on the Amazon chief's extramarital affair, leading to his divorce.
Bezos has accused Enquirer publisher American Media Inc, led by David Pecker, of "blackmail" for threatening to publish the intimate photos if he did not halt the investigation.
The Amazon chief declined to do so, instead publishing copies of emails from AMI.
Saudi Arabia has stressed that the crown prince was not involved in the killing of Khashoggi, a Post contributing columnist.
Riyadh initially said it had no knowledge of his fate, but later blamed the murder on rogue agents.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia on Saturday defended a mobile app that allows men in the kingdom to track female relatives after rights groups and a US lawmaker criticized tech giants for offering it.
The Absher app provides services for "all members of the society... including women, the elderly, and people with special needs", the interior ministry said.
The free app is available on Android and Apple smartphones and allows users to renew passports, visas and eases a variety of other electronic services.
But critics have said the app enables abuse against women and girls by allowing men to track their movements.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told US National Public Radio earlier this week he had not heard of the app, but would "take a look at it".
US Senator Ron Wyden has called on both Apple and Google to remove the app, arguing on Twitter that it promotes "abusive practices against women".
Under Saudi law, women must have consent from a husband or immediate male relative to renew passports or leave the country.
The ministry criticized what it called a "systematic campaign aimed at questioning the purpose of the services".
It rejected what it described as "attempts to politicize" the tool.
This comes as Saudi Arabia faces intense scrutiny over the shocking murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year, which has renewed criticism of the kingdom's rights record.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has garnered international attention with his rapid rise to power and promise of social and economic reforms.
But the kingdom has detained a number of human rights and women campaigners, some of them accused of undermining national security, with scant public information about their whereabouts or the legal status of their cases.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
RIYADH - Women in Saudi Arabia took to the roads at midnight on Sunday, ushering in the end of the world's last ban on female drivers, long seen as an emblem of women's repression in the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom.
"It feels weird, I am so happy ... I'm just too proud to be doing this right now," said 23-year-old Majdooleen al-Ateeq as she cruised across Riyadh for the first time in her black Lexus.
The lifting of the ban, ordered last September by King Salman, is part of sweeping reforms pushed by his powerful young son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a bid to transform the economy of the world's top oil exporter and open up its cloistered society.
Women drove up and down a main road in the eastern city of Khobar and cheered as police looked on.
"We are ready, and it will totally change our life," said Samira al-Ghamdi, a 47-year-old psychologist from Jeddah, one of the first women to be issued a license.
The lifting of the ban, which for years drew international condemnation and comparisons to the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan, has been welcomed by Western allies as proof of a new progressive trend in Saudi Arabia.
But it has been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent, including against some of the very activists who previously campaigned against the ban. They now sit in jail as their peers take to the road legally for the first time.
Women with foreign drivers' licenses only began converting them earlier this month, so the number of new drivers remains low. Others are training at new state-run schools, with 3 million women expected to drive by 2020.
Some still face resistance from conservative relatives, and many accustomed to private drivers say they are reluctant to take on the country's busy highways.
"I definitely won't like to drive," said Fayza al-Shammary, a 22-year-old saleswoman. "I like to be a princess with someone opening the car door for me and driving me anywhere."
ECONOMIC BOON
Concerns that women drivers will face abuse in a country where strict segregation rules usually prevent women from interacting with unrelated men prompted a new anti-harassment law last month.
The Interior Ministry plans to hire women traffic police for the first time, but it is unclear when they will be deployed. The public security directorate reported no unusual incidents one hour after the ban ended.
Riyadh resident Amr al-Ardi said the women in his family would wait to see how the system works before they start driving.
The decision to lift the ban in the tightly controlled kingdom - where once-forbidden cinemas and concerts have also returned - is expected to boost the economy, with industries from car sales to insurance set to reap returns.
The change should save families billions of dollars on chauffeurs while encouraging more women into the workforce and raising productivity, if only modestly at first.
Auto companies have produced theatrical ads marking the ban's end, while private parking garages designated "ladies" areas with pink signage.
Many Saudis celebrated on social media, but some reactions were derisive or expressed concern about social impacts.
One Twitter user said he would not allow his wife to take the wheel: "If she wants to drive she can go to her father and God willing she will drive lorries. Decisions like this depend on personal freedom #She_Won't_Drive."
Much of the kingdom's overwhelmingly young population supports Prince Mohammed's reforms, but many Saudis fear their speed could provoke a backlash from religious conservatives once seen as dominant.
ACTIVISTS ARRESTED
Activists and diplomats have speculated that the arrests of more than a dozen women's rights advocates over the past month were aimed at appeasing conservative elements or at sending a message to activists not to push demands too far.
The crown prince's modernization efforts have won praise at home and abroad, but he has also provoked unease with an anti-corruption purge last year, when scores of royals and top businessmen were detained at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh. Most were freed after reaching settlements with the government.
Billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, an early advocate of women driving who was detained at the Ritz for three months, tweeted a video of his daughter driving.
"Saudi Arabia has just entered the 21st century," he said to his granddaughters in the back seat in the video. "Thanks to King Salman for this achievement."
Even with the end of the driving ban, Saudi Arabia remains one of the most restrictive countries for women, who need permission from legally mandated male guardians for important decisions such as foreign travel and marriage.
Amnesty International said lifting the ban was "a small step in the right direction," but called for an end to other practices that discriminate against women.
Activists have already begun campaigning to end the guardianship system, which has been chipped away at slowly over the years. Prince Mohammed declared in an interview earlier this year that he believes men and women are equal.
But veteran Saudi activist Hala Aldosari says women remain second-class citizens and criticized the crown prince's "piecemeal approach" as serving the interests of the elite at the expense of women from more restrictive families.
"Worst of all will be if these small-scale reforms, and the silencing of feminists, slow the momentum for pushing the Saudi regime into making more meaningful change," she wrote in a U.S. newspaper. (Reporting by Sarah Dadouch and Stephne Kalin Additional reporting by Marwa Rashad and Reuters TV Editing by Ros Russell and Leslie Adler)
source: news.abs-cbn.com
RIYADH - Saudi King Salman on Monday replaced top military commanders including the chief of staff, state media said, in a major shake-up of the kingdom's defense establishment.
The monarch replaced the heads of the ground forces and air defences, as well as civilian officials including several deputy ministers, in a series of late-night royal decrees.
No official reason was given for the sweeping overhaul, but it comes as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pursues military reform and a bloody campaign against Yemen's Iran-aligned Huthi rebels nears the end of its third year.
"Termination of the services of General Abdul Rahman bin Saleh al-Bunyan, Chief of Staff," the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) announced, adding that Fayyad al-Ruwaili had been appointed as his replacement.
Al-Bunyan was retired after he inaugurated an arms exhibition this week in Riyadh by the Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI), the state-owned defense company, which has drawn several global defense firms.
"A military transformation is underway in Saudi Arabia," Theodore Karasik, a senior advisor at the consultancy Gulf States Analytics, told AFP.
"The changes come on the heels of the SAMI exhibition, which is a critical part of the Prince Mohammed's reform plan to create an indigenous defence program," he added,
Crown Prince Mohammed, the son of the monarch and heir to the throne, is the country's defense minister and has been consolidating his grip on power in recent months while pushing major economic and social reforms.
The young prince has pursued an assertive regional policy, including leading a military intervention in neighboring Yemen since 2015 that is seen as a proxy war with arch-rival Iran.
The Yemen conflict has led to what the UN describes as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
More than 9,200 people have been killed in the conflict and another nearly 2,200 Yemenis have died of cholera, according to the World Health Organization.
King Salman also decreed a series of civilian appointments that saw younger officials being elevated to key positions as deputy ministers, deputy provincial governors and royal court advisers.
Tamadar bint Yousef al-Ramah was appointed the deputy minister of labour and social development, a rare senior government post for a woman in the conservative kingdom.
Prince Turki bin Talal, the brother of billionaire Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, was appointed deputy governor of the southern Assir Province.
Prince Al-Waleed, dubbed the Warren Buffett of Saudi Arabia, was among princes, ministers and tycoons detained in Riyadh's luxury Ritz-Carlton hotel in an unprecedented crackdown on what the government calls elite corruption.
The Ritz-Carlton reopened for business on February 11, more than 3 months after becoming a gilded prison for Saudi elites.
source: news.abs-cbn.com
