LONDON: More than 600,000 people had by Sunday signed a petition asking London transport authorities to reverse their decision not to renew Uber’s license when it expires.
Friday’s decision to ban the ride-sharing service was “affecting the real lives of a huge number of honest and hard-working drivers” and would “show the world that London is far from being open and is closed to innovative companies,” the petition said.
Transport for London said the conduct of Uber, which has around 40,000 drivers and 3.5 million customers in the British capital, had raised safety concerns.
“TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator license,” it said in a statement.
It said Uber’s “approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications,” citing concerns over background checks of drivers.
The petition, on change.org, said that Uber provided a “safe, reliable and affordable ride,” and thar its users would be “astounded” by the ban.
“By wanting to ban our app from the capital, Transport for London and their chairman the Mayor have given in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice,” it added.
The license expires on September 30 but Uber has 21 days to appeal the decision, and has said it plans a challenge.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Saturday backed his London mayor Sadiq Khan, telling Sky News that authorities had done the “right thing.”
“Obviously people need to be able to travel, obviously they want to be able to access cabs,” he said. “Those cabs must be safe, must be regulated and must be available for all.”
600,000 sign petition to overturn London Uber ban
600,000 sign petition to overturn London Uber ban
Umm Al-Qura University clinches top award
- The recognition aligns with the university’s Strategic Plan 2027 objectives
- The project aims to revolutionize education for faculty, students and administrative staff
MAKKAH: Umm Al-Qura University won the Best Educational Experience prize at the 2025 Saudi Customer Experience Awards.
Presented through a collaboration between the CX Forum, the Saudi CX Association and Awards International, the award recognizes the university’s excellence in enhancing the student experience and fostering an exceptional learning environment that adheres to global quality benchmarks.
The recognition aligns with the university’s Strategic Plan 2027 objectives, particularly in advancing teaching and learning initiatives. Central to the success is the Comprehensive Experience Project inaugurated by Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz, deputy governor of Makkah Region. The project aims to revolutionize education for faculty, students and administrative staff.
The Saudi Customer Experience Awards stand as a premier platform for recognizing excellence in customer-centric innovations across the Kingdom’s various sectors.
Saudi jets fly solo at Bahrain airshow
- Two Typhoon jets performed solo aerial maneuvers
- An F-15SA aircraft in 24th Saudi National Day colors delivered a ground display
MANAMA: Aerial displays by the Royal Saudi Air Force and the Saudi Falcons Aerobatic Team thrilled audiences on Friday at the Bahrain International Airshow.
Two Typhoon jets performed solo aerial maneuvers, while an F-15SA aircraft in 24th Saudi National Day colors delivered a ground display.
The airshow at the Sakhir Air Base highlights the latest military technologies and the capabilities of the participating forces, while promoting cooperation between the Royal Saudi Air Force and the Royal Bahraini Air Force.
More than 125 types of aircraft were featured in the two-day show, which ended on Friday. Audiences were able to see the latest innovations and technologies in the aviation sector.
French, Saudi officials meet in Paris to advance AlUla development initiative
- Focus of discussions was on assessing state of Franco-Saudi partnership and defining future direction for AlUla’s development
PARIS: French and Saudi officials gathered in Paris on Friday at the French foreign ministry for discussions about advancing the AlUla development initiative.
The AlUla Committee, a joint initiative established under an intergovernmental agreement signed in April 2018, is the coordinating body for a range of ambitious projects being carried out by the Kingdom and France.
The projects focus on cultural preservation, tourism enhancement, economic growth, and environmental sustainability in Saudi Arabia’s AlUla region. The committee’s mandate includes overseeing the implementation and monitoring of the comprehensive 2018 accord, aimed at fostering broad-based progress in the area.
The French delegation at the meeting included senior figures from the ministries of European affairs and foreign relations, economy, and culture.
On the Saudi side, high-ranking officials from the culture, foreign, and investment ministries participated, along with representatives such as the president of the French Agency for AlUla Development (AFALULA) and the chairperson of the Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU).
French ministers Jean-Noel Barrot and Rachida Dati met with Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s culture minister, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Khaled Al-Faleh, investment minister.
Jean-Yves Le Drian, executive president of AFALULA, and Abeer Al-Akel, acting CEO of the RCU, also took part in the meeting.
The focus of the discussions was on assessing the state of the Franco-Saudi partnership and defining the future direction for AlUla’s development.
Participants reviewed collaborative projects that draw on French expertise, particularly in archaeological research — highlighted by the involvement of 120 French archaeologists and researchers in the region. Other focal points included cultural initiatives such as the Villa Hegra project, as well as advances in hospitality, transport and infrastructure.
Additionally, the meeting addressed the French Heritage Endowment Fund, which was established as part of the 2018 agreement, and reinforced its continued commitment to supporting heritage conservation and cultural initiatives tied to AlUla’s unique historical significance.
Pakistan suspends mobile Internet in Balochistan, citing ‘public safety’ amid rising violence
- People in Balochistan say mobile Internet has been down for about three days in different areas
- PTA announcement comes days after a suicide bombing at a crowded railway station in Quetta
QUETTA: The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) announced the suspension of mobile Internet services in various parts of the restive southwestern Balochistan province on Friday, saying the decision was taken to “ensure public safety” amid a surge in militant violence over the past several months.
The announcement follows a deadly suicide bombing at a crowded railway station in Quetta, the provincial capital, which killed at least 28 people, including Pakistani soldiers, and injured dozens of others.
The attack was claimed by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), an outlawed separatist group that has targeted Chinese nationals in an effort to undermine the multibillion-dollar Pakistan-China Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects.
The BLA, the largest of several ethnic insurgent groups battling the Pakistani state, alleges that the province’s rich gas and mineral resources are unfairly exploited, a claim the government denies.
“The general public is hereby informed that, under the directives of authorized departments, mobile Internet services have been temporarily suspended in certain areas of Balochistan,” the PTA said in an official statement.
“This measure has been taken to ensure public safety, given the security situation in these areas,” it added.
The PTA statement did not specify the areas where mobile Internet services have been suspended, nor was there any clarification from other departments on whether the government was planning an operation against militants in these regions.
However, mobile Internet has already been down in the province’s Kech, Panjgur, Gwadar, Khuzdar, Loralai, Dukki, Ziarat, Harnai and Zhob districts for the last three days, causing significant hardships for students and the business community in these areas.
“Hundreds of students and businesses have been affected by the mobile Internet suspension,” Abdul Majid Dashti, a lawyer based in Turbat, told Arab News, adding that cellphone Internet had been down for nearly three days in the area.
Sadaqat Baloch, a journalist in Pakistan’s coastal town of Gwadar, which is central to CPEC, said authorities suspended mobile Internet in the area a day after the Quetta railway station bombing.
“People of the Makran region, including Khuzdar, are now deprived of mobile Internet, which has been creating problems for them,” he added.
The provincial government’s spokesperson was unavailable for comment on the recent mobile Internet suspension.
Germany’s Scholz urges Putin in phone call to open talks with Ukraine
- Scholz also demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and reaffirmed Germany’s continued support for Ukraine
- “The Chancellor urged Russia to show willingness to enter talks with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson said
BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Russian President Vladimir Putin in a rare phone call on Friday to begin talks with Ukraine that would open the way for a “just and lasting peace.”
In a one-hour phone conversation, their first in almost two years, Scholz also demanded the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and reaffirmed Germany’s continued support for Ukraine, a German government spokesman said.
The call comes as Ukraine faces increasingly difficult conditions on the battlefield amid shortages of arms and personnel while Russian forces make steady advances.
“The Chancellor urged Russia to show willingness to enter talks with Ukraine with the aim of achieving a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“He stressed Germany’s unbroken determination to back Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression for as long as necessary,” the spokesperson added.
Scholz spoke with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of his call with Putin and would brief the Ukrainian leader on the outcome afterwards, the spokesperson said.
Germany is Ukraine’s largest financial backer and its largest provider of weapons after the United States, whose future support for Kyiv appears uncertain following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the scale of Western financial and military aid to Ukraine and has suggested he can put a swift end to the war, without explaining how.
Scholz and Putin last spoke in December 2022, 10 months after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, plunging relations with the West into their deepest freeze since the Cold War.
Scholz, the most unpopular German chancellor on record, is preparing for a national election on Feb. 23 in which his Social Democrats face stiff competition from left-wing and far-right parties that are critical of Germany’s backing for Ukraine.
