The national carriers of Qatar and Saudi Arabia have announced the resumption of air travel between the two countries starting next week, just days after a deal was reached to end a years-long regional diplomatic dispute.
A Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit on Tuesday declared an end to the bitter rift in which members Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain – along with Egypt – blockaded Qatar since June 2017. The group severed diplomatic, trade and travel ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism, an accusation Doha vehemently denied.
Kuwait and the United States had been mediating for reconciliation.
On the eve of the 41st GCC summit held in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom agreed to reopen its air, sea and land borders with Qatar – a major breakthrough in the Gulf crisis.
Slovenia Times
24. December, 2020
Ljubljana – IMAD, the government’s macroeconomic think tank, has reduced the GDP contraction forecast for 2020 from 6.7% to 6.6% and downgraded its growth projection for next year from 5.1% to 4.3%, the Government Communications Office said in a press release on Wednesday after the government took note of IMAD’s report.
IMAD says in its winter forecast that following a significant drop in the second quarter of this year, the economy rebounded better than expected in the third quarter. The think tank expects another drop in the last quarter, but not as severe as it was in the spring.
It believes that the services sector will carry the brunt of the burden of the second coronavirus wave, while sectors depending on international trade will not be as affected.
LONDON: Qatari authorities have ignored hundreds of migrant workers who are awaiting months of unpaid wages at two firms in the country, despite repeatedly being warned of the situation, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Tuesday. The government set up the Workers’ Support and Insurance Fund in 2018 to address the persistent labor abuse allegations leveled against Qatar. However, the fund has not been used to benefit struggling workers in the two companies. “It is disheartening that hundreds of workers in at least two companies are struggling to obtain their unpaid wages even though the Qatari government has been made aware of these abuses over and over again,” said Maham Javaid, Middle East fellow at HRW.