Saudi Arabia on Tuesday began implementing a landmark reform allowing women over the age of 21 to receive passports and travel abroad without permission from a male “guardian”, authorities said. The reform, announced earlier this month, weakens the restrictive guardianship system that has long been a symbol of repression against women. “The passport department has […]
Saudia
Saudi seeks to silence foreign critics as Canada row erupts
Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic rupture with Canada underscores the kingdom’s newly combative foreign policy to tame international criticism after a crackdown on domestic critics, as it struggles to implement risky reforms, analysts say. Saudi Arabia on Monday expelled Canada’s ambassador and recalled its own envoy while freezing all new trade and investments, after Ottawa denounced […]
Saudi hackathon seeks high-tech fixes to hajj calamities
Fuelled by caffeine, pizza and adrenaline, sleep-deprived programmers in a marathon Saudi contest this week explored high-tech solutions to prevent a repeat of past calamities in the annual hajj pilgrimage. In a cavernous hall in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, thousands of software professionals and students competed in the kingdom’s first-ever hackathon, a coding […]