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Saudi Arabia to Implement Executive Regulations for New Competition Law on Sep. 25

Part of a workshop organized by the General Authority for Competition in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province (Asharqia Chamber) | Asharq Al-Awsat
Part of a workshop organized by the General Authority for Competition in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province (Asharqia Chamber) | Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Arabia to Implement Executive Regulations for New Competition Law on Sep. 25

Part of a workshop organized by the General Authority for Competition in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province (Asharqia Chamber) | Asharq Al-Awsat
Part of a workshop organized by the General Authority for Competition in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province (Asharqia Chamber) | Asharq Al-Awsat

An official at the Saudi General Authority for Competition (GAC) has announced that the executive regulation of the new competition law will come into effect on September 25.

Director of Legal Affairs at GAC Abdulaziz al-Obaid said the new Saudi competition law has fostered flexibility to boost the economy and support business enterprises.

He pointed out that the law, comprising 91 articles and 11 chapters, extended exemptions and developed the procedures of mergers and acquisitions by examining mergers to allay fears of other competitors.

Obaid explained that the system will include all establishments, businessmen, and persons who do agricultural, industrial or service projects in the Saudi market, with the exception of public institutions that are wholly owned by the state or institutions authorized to provide goods and services in a specific field.

His remarks were made during a workshop organized bu GAC in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province (Asharqia Chamber) to introduce the new competition law amid wide business men's participation.

He pointed out that the draft law includes a chapter on the rules of reconciliation and settlement, a procedure applied for the first time in the new law.

The GAC shall receive a request for reconciliation from the establishment, which initiates evidence to disclose or be detectable partners in violations of the law provisions.

It shall also receive a settlement request from establishments that violate the law provisions.

The GAC board has the right to establish one or more permanent or temporary committees to consider applications for reconciliation or settlement and compensation for the victims.

The new law entitles the GAC to discuss establishments and requests to be provided with the necessary reports and data.

The new competition law seeks to bolster the economy’s efficiency, reduce the adverse effects on the economic and social system, create an attractive competitive environment for investments, provide a coherent, continuous and balanced development of economic activities, achieve fair prices and quality, in addition to enabling the private sector to engage in various economic activities.

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Qatari Mission Searches for Bodies of Americans Killed by ISIS in Syria

A photograph of US journalist James Foley taken on November 5, 2012, in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (AFP)
A photograph of US journalist James Foley taken on November 5, 2012, in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (AFP)
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Qatari Mission Searches for Bodies of Americans Killed by ISIS in Syria

A photograph of US journalist James Foley taken on November 5, 2012, in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (AFP)
A photograph of US journalist James Foley taken on November 5, 2012, in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (AFP)

A Qatari mission has begun searching for the remains of US hostages killed by ISIS in Syria a decade ago, two sources briefed on the mission told Reuters, reviving a longstanding effort to recover their bodies.

ISIS, which controlled swathes of Syria and Iraq at the peak of its power from 2014-2017, beheaded numerous people in captivity, including Western hostages, and released videos of the killings.

Qatar's international search and rescue group began the search on Wednesday, accompanied by several Americans, the sources said. The group, deployed by Doha to earthquake zones in Morocco and Türkiye in recent years, had so far found the remains of three bodies, the sources said.

One of the sources - a Syrian security source - said the remains had yet to be identified. The second source said it was unclear how long the mission would last.

The US State Department had no immediate comment.

The Qatari mission gets under way as US President Donald Trump prepares to visit Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar next week and as Syria's new rulers seek relief from US sanctions.

The Syrian source said the mission's initial focus was on looking for the body of aid worker Peter Kassig, who was beheaded by ISIS in 2014 in Dabiq in northern Syria. The second source said Kassig's remains were among those they hoped to find.

US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff were among other Western hostages killed by ISIS. Their deaths were confirmed in 2014.

US aid worker Kayla Mueller was also killed in ISIS captivity. Her death was confirmed in 2015.

"We’re grateful for anyone taking on this task and risking their lives in some circumstances to try and find the bodies of Jim and the other hostages," said Diane Foley, James Foley's mother. "We thank all those involved in this effort."

Two ISIS members, both former British citizens who were part of a cell that beheaded American hostages, are serving life prison sentences in the United States.