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Saudi Arabia: Qatar Not Allowing Riyadh for Lifting Hajj Pilgrims

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Saudi Arabia: Qatar Not Allowing Riyadh for Lifting Hajj Pilgrims

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Experts believe crisis far from over

Saudi Arabia, which led three other countries in severing ties with Qatar in early June this year, is now complaining Doha of not allowing its plane to lift Qatari pilgrims for performing Hajj. King Salman has recently offered free transportation of Qatari citizens by their official carrier Saudi Airlines.

According to Saudi Press Agency, Saleh al-Jasser, the Director General of the airline, said on Sunday that their aircraft have not been given permission to land in Doha to pick up pilgrims. He further elaborated saying, “Qatari authorities have not allowed the aircraft to land as it did not have the right paperwork, although the paperwork was filed days ago.”

Earlier on Wednesday King Salman had ordered the dispatch of a Saudi Arabia Airlines plane to fly Qatari pilgrims to Jeddah at his own expense. Riyadh had also announced re-opening of its land borders with Qatar to allow pilgrims’ access to Mecca. However, not a single convoy has registered movement on the immigration point till date. The Hajj will be performed between August 30 and September 4 this year. All pilgrims should be present in the kingdom during this time.

Aljazeera reports that Qatar’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has denied Saudi claim of refusing permission to Saudi Airlines to fly Qatari Hajj pilgrims. Qatari News Agency says that Saudi Airlines was advised to coordinate the request with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs through the Qatari Hajj Delegation. The two offices function under Doha government’s supervision. CAA says that their response was in accordance with the procedures followed in the past.

However, Qatar hailed the Saudi move, but stressed that it was politically motivated and voiced concern about the safety of its citizens in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj pilgrimage.

Since the blockade Doha has not fulfilled any of  the13 demands put forwarded by Saudi led quartet. They included severing ties with Iran, closing Turkish army base in its territory and shutting down Aljazeera news network. Qatar has not only denied supporting terrorism, instead Qatar Special Envoy Mutlaq Majed al-Qahtani, in an opinion piece recently published in Wall Street Journal has  recalled  that fifteen of the 19 hijackers in 9/11 attacks were Saudis. He has also alleged that thousands of Saudi citizens have taken up arms to join Islamic State (IS) and other radical groups.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the UAE had severed their diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on June 5. They advised their citizens to return from Qatar and also asked Qataris to leave from their respective countries within 48 hours.

The four boycotting countries also closed their airspace for Qatar Airways. Since then the airline has stopped using their airspace by rerouting their flights through alternative paths including Iranian skies.

In a bid to relax the Saudi led siege, Qatar has recently announced to allow citizens of 80 countries, including India, to travel to their country without obtaining prior visa.

It would be interesting to note that a little known Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Thani of Qatar was recently welcomed in Riyadh by Crown Prince Mohammd bin Salman and then jetted off to Morocco, where Saudi King Salman hosted him at his vacation spot in Tangir. However Qatari government said that he was on a personal visit while some media outlets, considered to be close to Riyadh, portrayed it as a triumphant diplomatic effort.

According to Saudi owned Al-Arabia news network, the Sheikh is a scion of a ruling branch that was in power for decades until 1972. His brother Ahmad was deposed by Sheikh’s Tamim’s grandfather. The little known Sheikh has written on his twitter handle, “The king has honored me by accepting my mediation on behalf of my people in Qatar.” He has become social media celebrity attracting 250,000 followers within three days.

The visit of the Qatari prince was followed by Riyadh’s announcement of opening borders with Qatar and offered to dispatch planes at its own expanses.

Meanwhile, Al-Bayan, a Dubai based daily, quoted political analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdulla saying that promoting Sheikh Abdullah Bin Ali Al-Thani is probably part of a plan to add pressure on Qatari ruler Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, who has refused to capitulate to the quartet’s 13 conditions for ending the feud.

Abdulkhaleq Abdullah further said, “Saudi Arabia has many pressure tools that it hasn’t used until now and this is one of them.” He denied that Saudi led alliance is currently pursuing a policy to change the Qatari leadership. Yet should Saudi Arabia decide that is needed, it can mobilize a support network within Qatari society and the ruling family “to spur a palace coup,” he said.

Meanwhile Andreas Krieg, a lecturer at King’s College in London has said that sheikh is a London based businessman with commercial interests in the Gulf, but lacks public support that will help propel him to power. His emergence serves as a way of telling Qatari leaders and global powers that the crisis is far from over.

So far several mediation efforts have failed in resolving Qatar crisis. Kuwait’s emir has tried for mediation while US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and foreign ministers of France and Germany have also visited the region.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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ChatGPT outage affects thousands of users globally, OpenAI reacts

OpenAI swiftly acknowledged the outage, publishing updates on their dedicated status page. This transparency, while offering little in the way of immediate solutions, served to reassure users that the company was actively addressing the situation.

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On January 23, OpenAI’s popular AI chatbot, ChatGPT, suffered a significant global outage, leaving millions of users unable to access the service. The disruption affected multiple access points, including the web interface, the mobile application, and even integrations on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter). This widespread failure quickly drew significant attention, with reports flooding in from users worldwide.

The outage tracking website, Downdetector, registered a surge in user reports, exceeding a thousand complaints within a short period. This volume underscored the scale of the disruption and the significant impact on ChatGPT’s user base.

The majority of these reports indicated a complete inability to use the chatbot, highlighting the severity of the problem. A smaller percentage of users reported encountering difficulties with the website or API, suggesting a less comprehensive but still noticeable impact.

OpenAI swiftly acknowledged the outage, publishing updates on their dedicated status page. This transparency, while offering little in the way of immediate solutions, served to reassure users that the company was actively addressing the situation.

The official statements consistently described the problem as “degraded performance” and “elevated error rates” within the API, hinting at underlying technical issues that required investigation. However, specific details regarding the root cause remained undisclosed, pending a more thorough examination.

According to reports, the outage commenced around 5 PM IST and persisted for several hours. The lack of a definitive timeline and the ongoing nature of the disruption underlined the complexity of the problem and the challenges faced by OpenAI’s engineering teams in resolving the issue.

As of the latest updates, the exact cause of the outage remains under investigation by OpenAI. The company is actively working to restore full functionality and provide a more comprehensive explanation once the underlying problem has been identified and rectified.

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Prince Harry, Rupert Murdoch’s UK group reach settlement in surveillance case

The relentless media attention, he has claimed, also contributed to the intense pressure that led him and his wife, Meghan Markle, to step back from royal duties and relocate to the United States in 2020.

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Prince Harry has reached a settlement with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN), bringing an abrupt end to a high-profile lawsuit alleging widespread phone hacking and unlawful surveillance.

The settlement, announced just as the trial was about to commence, includes substantial financial compensation for the Duke of Sussex and a formal, unequivocal apology from NGN. This marks a significant victory for Harry, who had accused the media giant of years of intrusive and illegal activities targeting his private life.

The apology, issued directly to Harry’s legal team, explicitly acknowledged the serious breach of privacy inflicted by both The Sun and the defunct News of the World. It detailed unlawful actions perpetrated between 1996 and 2011, including phone hacking, surveillance, and the use of private investigators to obtain sensitive information.

The statement specifically addressed the intrusive activities carried out by private investigators employed by The Sun, emphasizing the severity of the intrusion into Harry’s private life during his formative years. The apology extended to the distress caused to his late mother, Princess Diana, highlighting the impact of the media’s actions on the young prince.

This settlement represents one of three lawsuits filed by Harry against British media outlets, all stemming from accusations of privacy violations. He has consistently blamed the media for the relentless pursuit of his mother, Princess Diana, ultimately leading to her tragic death in a car crash in Paris while being chased by paparazzi.

The relentless media attention, he has claimed, also contributed to the intense pressure that led him and his wife, Meghan Markle, to step back from royal duties and relocate to the United States in 2020.

The case underscores the wider issue of phone hacking and media intrusion, exemplified by the notorious scandal that forced the closure of News of the World in 2011. The hacking of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler’s phone, during the police investigation into her disappearance, remains a particularly egregious example of the unethical practices employed by some sections of the British press.

Harry’s legal battle has brought renewed focus to this issue and the need for greater accountability within the media industry. The settlement, while ending this particular legal chapter, leaves a lasting legacy concerning media responsibility and the rights of public figures to privacy.

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China reacts to Donald Trump’s 10% tariff remarks, says it would protect its national interest

While acknowledging a willingness to maintain open communication channels and collaborative efforts with the U.S., China firmly rejected the notion of a trade war, emphasizing that such conflicts ultimately yield no winners.

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China has issued a firm response to US President Donald Trump’s renewed threat to impose a 10% tariff on Chinese imports, beginning February 1. The statement, released by the Chinese foreign ministry, underscores Beijing’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding its national interests amidst escalating trade tensions with the United States.

While acknowledging a willingness to maintain open communication channels and collaborative efforts with the U.S., China firmly rejected the notion of a trade war, emphasizing that such conflicts ultimately yield no winners.

The statement directly addresses Trump’s justification for the proposed tariffs, citing the flow of fentanyl from China through Mexico and Canada into the United States. This latest escalation marks a significant development in the long-standing trade dispute between the two economic giants.

The proposed tariffs, scheduled for implementation on February 1st, echo a similar threat made by Trump earlier, targeting Canada and Mexico with 25% tariffs over concerns about illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking.

This consistent pattern of utilizing tariffs as a tool to address broader geopolitical concerns highlights the complex and multifaceted nature of the relationship between the United States and its major trading partners.

China’s economy, heavily reliant on exports to sustain its economic growth, faces significant vulnerability to such protectionist measures. Despite ongoing efforts to diversify its economy and boost domestic consumption, exports remain a crucial pillar of China’s economic engine. The potential impact of a 10% tariff on Chinese goods entering the U.S. market could trigger substantial ripple effects throughout the global economy.

The current trade tensions represent a continuation of a protracted struggle dating back to the Trump administration’s first term, marked by the imposition of substantial tariffs on Chinese imports over alleged unfair trade practices.

These actions were further reinforced by the subsequent Biden administration, which implemented sweeping measures aimed at restricting Chinese access to critical high-tech components.

Trump’s recent pronouncements signal a potential further escalation of these long-standing trade disputes. China’s response clearly indicates its readiness to defend its economic interests and navigate the complex landscape of international trade relations.

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