Gulf leaders signed a “solidarity and stability” deal Tuesday after the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Qatar publicly embraced, bringing Doha back into the regional fold after a three-year rift.
Saudi Arabia to open airspace, borders to Qatar
Saudi Arabia will reopen its borders and airspace to Qatar, US and Kuwaiti officials said Monday, a major step towards ending a diplomatic rift that has seen Riyadh lead an alliance isolating Doha.
Malaking tulong sa OFWs! Duterte praises Saudi labor reforms
President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed the launching of the Saudi Arabia’s Labor Reform Initiative (LRI), which aims to enhance the contractual relationship between workers and employers.
Trump defends withdrawal from ‘unfair’ Paris climate accord
US President Trump on Sunday defended his decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord, calling it “unfair and one-sided” even as President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin the landmark agreement.
From ally to pariah? Saudi confident of ‘friendly’ ties with Biden
Saudi Arabia expects no major change in its relationship with the US under Joe Biden, a senior official told CNN, despite the president-elect pledging to turn the kingdom into a “pariah”.
Make MBS pay! After cosy ties with Trump, Saudi Arabia faces Biden ‘pariah’ pledge
US President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” over its human rights failings, but observers say the oil-rich Arab powerhouse still holds enough leverage to deflect a major rupture in relations.
Saudi Arabia rebuked at UN over abuses, Khashoggi
Dozens of nations condemned Saudi Arabia before the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday over serious violations and demanded accountability for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Saudi to ease international flight restrictions Tuesday
Saudi Arabia will partially lift its suspension on international flights from Tuesday, the interior ministry said, six months after travel curbs were imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
‘Trapped’ illegal workers in Saudi look to virus for escape
Jobless and broke, Sudanese electrician Hatem is stranded in limbo in Riyadh like countless other illegal workers, but he hopes the fast-spreading coronavirus will offer a chance for escape.
Saudi triples VAT in unpopular virus-led austerity push
Saudis braced Wednesday for a tripling in value added tax, another unpopular austerity measure after the twin shocks of coronavirus and an oil price slump triggered the kingdom’s worst economic decline in decades.
‘Di nangangalkal ng basura! Bello: OFWs in Saudi Arabia scavenging for grocery rejects
Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III dismissed Friday (June 26) reports that some overseas Filipino workers are digging through garbage bins for food while awaiting repatriation.
Muslims disappointed but accepting as Saudi scales back hajj
Muslims expressed disappointment Tuesday at Saudi Arabia’s decision to scale back this year’s hajj pilgrimage, but many accepted it was necessary as the kingdom battles a major coronavirus outbreak.
Anyare? Palace condoles with kin of nearly 300 OFWs who died in Saudi Arabia
Malacañang extended on Sunday its sympathies to the families of the 282 migrant Filipinos who died in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia to reopen Mecca mosques Sunday
Saudi Arabia plans to reopen from Sunday mosques in Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, after they were closed for three months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, state television reported.
Saudi faces perilous hajj call as virus spikes
Saudi Arabia is expected to scale back or call off this year’s hajj pilgrimage for the first time in its modern history, observers say, a perilous decision as coronavirus cases spike.
‘Walang gustong mangyari nito’: Palace extends sympathies to family of single mother who died waiting for bus trip
Malacañang condoled with the family of Michelle Silvertino, the woman who died waiting for a bus ride to Bicol.
Spain investigates former king Juan Carlos over Saudi deal
Spain’s Supreme Court announced Monday an investigation into former king Juan Carlos’s alleged role in a scandal over a multi-billion-euro contract with Saudi Arabia.
World virus cases top 6 mln as leaders disagree on pandemic response
The number of coronavirus cases worldwide topped six million Sunday, with Brazil registering another record surge in daily infections as divisions deepened on how to deal with the pandemic.
Trump defends firing watchdog said to probe Pompeo, Saudi arms
US President Donald Trump said Monday he was fully justified in firing an internal watchdog who was reportedly probing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over alleged misuse of staff as well as an arms deal with Saudi Arabia.
Bartolina agad! Qatar imposes mandatory masks on pain of prison
Qatar on Sunday began enforcing the world’s toughest penalties of up to three years’ imprisonment for failing to wear masks in public, as it battles one of the world’s highest coronavirus infection rates.
As society opens, Saudi women surge into job market
Like thousands of Saudi women, Rouaa al-Mousa entered the workforce as reforms sweep the ultra-conservative kingdom and is certain that neither grumbling male bosses nor the coronavirus will change that.
Virus toll nears 200,000 as UN pushes for global vaccine effort
The global coronavirus death toll approached 200,000 on Saturday as the United Nations launched an international push for a vaccine to defeat the pandemic.
Want US intel? respect LGBT – US spy chief
The US acting director of national intelligence is weighing ways to pressure countries with anti-LGBT policies, including reducing intelligence sharing, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Corona casualties: 70,000 OFWs lose jobs due to COVID fallout
The Duterte administration is bracing itself for a massive influx of jobless overseas Filipino workers arising from the global recession due to the corona pandemic.
