{"id":464980,"date":"2021-03-08T14:21:33","date_gmt":"2021-03-08T14:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mecouncil.org\/?p=464980"},"modified":"2022-09-09T08:39:17","modified_gmt":"2022-09-09T08:39:17","slug":"gcc-news-roundup-us-report-finds-saudi-crown-prince-approved-khashoggi-murder-gulf-states-impose-new-restrictions-to-stem-virus-surge-february-1-28","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/gcc-news-roundup-us-report-finds-saudi-crown-prince-approved-khashoggi-murder-gulf-states-impose-new-restrictions-to-stem-virus-surge-february-1-28\/","title":{"rendered":"GCC News Roundup: US report finds Saudi crown prince approved Khashoggi murder, Gulf states impose new restrictions to stem virus surge (February 1-28)"},"content":{"rendered":"

US report finds Saudi crown prince approved Khashoggi murder:\u00a0<\/strong>Saudi Arabia\u2019s de facto ruler\u00a0approved an operation<\/a>\u00a0to capture or kill murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to U.S. intelligence released on February 26 as the United States imposed sanctions on some of those involved but spared the crown prince himself in an effort to preserve relations with the kingdom. Saudi Arabia\u00a0said it rejected completely<\/a>\u00a0\u201cthe negative, false and unacceptable\u201d assessment of\u00a0the\u00a0U.S. intelligence report.<\/p>\n

Gulf states impose new restrictions to stem virus surge:<\/strong>\u00a0In early February, Gulf Arab states launched new restrictions over fears of the coronavirus<\/a>\u00a0resurging across their countries.\u00a0Dubai announced February 1 it would close all bars and pubs<\/a> for the entire month of February and limit other activities after a spike in cases followed New Year\u2019s Eve celebrations that drew visitors from around the world. Qatar similarly announced new restrictions February 3, while in Saudi Arabia,\u00a0officials ordered all weddings and parties suspended\u00a0and\u00a0closed down all shopping malls, gyms and other locations, starting February 4.\u00a0In Kuwait, authorities ordered a two-week ban on foreigners arriving to the country\u00a0and limited the hours of\u00a0most businesses, beginning February 7.<\/p>\n

Biden halts US support for Saudi intervention in Yemen:\u00a0<\/strong>On February 4, President Joe Biden declared a halt to U.S. support<\/a>\u00a0for the Saudi Arabia-led military campaign in Yemen, demanding that the more than six-year war, widely seen as a proxy conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, \u201chas to end.\u201d Biden also named veteran U.S. diplomat Timothy Lenderking as the U.S. special envoy for Yemen in a bid to step up American diplomacy \u201cto end the war in Yemen, a war which has created humanitarian and strategic catastrophe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Saudi Arabia releases prominent women\u2019s rights activist:<\/strong>\u00a0Prominent women\u2019s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul\u00a0was released from a Saudi prison<\/a>\u00a0after nearly three years behind bars, her family said on February 10, a case that has drawn international condemnation. Al-Hathloul\u2019s sisters\u00a0said on February 11<\/a>\u00a0they wanted real justice for her, and the lifting of a travel ban.<\/p>\n

UAE\u2019s 1st mission to Mars enters orbit:\u00a0<\/strong>The United Arab Emirates\u2019 first mission to Mars\u00a0reached the red planet and entered orbit<\/a>\u00a0on February 9 after a seven-month, 494 million-km (307 million-mile) journey, allowing it to start sending data about the Martian atmosphere and climate. O<\/strong>n February 14, the country\u00a0published the first image<\/a>\u00a0from its Mars probe.<\/p>\n

Detained Dubai princess sends new video message:<\/strong>\u00a0A daughter of Dubai\u2019s powerful ruler who tried to flee the country in 2018 only to be detained by commandos in a boat off India\u00a0has re-emerged in new videos<\/a>\u00a0published February 16, saying she doesn\u2019t know if she\u2019s \u201cgoing to survive this situation.\u201d T<\/strong>he United Arab Emirates said on February 19 that Sheikha Latifa\u00a0was being cared for at home<\/a>\u00a0as the U.N. human rights watchdog asked the UAE for proof that she is alive amid growing international concern about her fate. Meanwhile, police in eastern England said they\u00a0had received a long-delayed letter<\/a>\u00a0from the princess asking them to investigate the disappearance of her sister 20 years ago.<\/p>\n

UAE,\u00a0Qatar meet for 1st<\/sup> time\u00a0since end of rift:<\/strong>\u00a0Delegations from the United Arab Emirates and Qatar\u00a0met in Kuwait on February 22 for the first time<\/a>\u00a0since an agreement earlier this year to end a rift of more than three years, the UAE state news agency WAM said. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt agreed in January at a summit in Saudi\u2019s Al-Ula to restore diplomatic, trade, and travel ties with Doha, which had been severed in 2017 over accusations that Qatar supported terrorism, a charge it denies.<\/p>\n

Bahrain becomes 1st country to authorize J&J vaccine:<\/strong>\u00a0On February 25, Bahrain\u00a0became the first nation<\/a>\u00a0to authorize Johnson & Johnson\u2019s new single-dose coronavirus vaccine for emergency use, the government announced, just a day after U.S. regulators concluded the shot offers strong protection against severe COVID-19. The island kingdom off the coast of Saudi Arabia said it would dole out J&J\u2019s shot to the most vulnerable people, including older adults and those with chronic conditions, without specifying when.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US report finds Saudi crown prince approved Khashoggi murder:\u00a0Saudi Arabia\u2019s de facto ruler\u00a0approved an operation\u00a0to capture or kill murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, according to U.S. intelligence released on February 26 as the United States imposed sanctions on some of those involved but spared the crown prince himself in an effort to preserve relations… Continue reading GCC News Roundup: US report finds Saudi crown prince approved Khashoggi murder, Gulf states impose new restrictions to stem virus surge (February 1-28)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":464989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"publication_archive_type":[297],"class_list":["post-464980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","publication_archive_type-issue-brief","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=464980"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":464991,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/464980\/revisions\/464991"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/464989"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=464980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=464980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=464980"},{"taxonomy":"publication_archive_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_archive_type?post=464980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}