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Saudi tailor Habib Mohammed’s shop once made ornate, hand-woven cloaks for royals, a time-honoured craft he is determined to preserve even as mass-produced garments flood the market, threatening his traditional business.He makes “bisht”, a long gown which for centuries has been a status symbol, worn by kings and princes — and ordinary men — and could take a week of meticulous work to create.Now, with cheap Chinese-made robes taking a bite out of his business, the 60-year-old tailor is struggling to make a profit, and his only son wouldn’t take over the beleaguered shop.But Mohammed refuses to let the ancient craft die, searching for ways to hand down his knowledge.”We’ve started training here at the shop and at home,” he told AFP in his windowless atelier in the oasis city of Hofuf, with bishts hanging all around.”I am teaching my grandchildren, be they girls or boys.”In Mohammed’s native Al-Ahsa governorate, it was “considered shameful for a man to go to a funeral or a market, or make a visit to anyone anywhere without wearing the bisht”, he said.The bisht came to global attention in 2022 when Qatar’s emir draped one over football star Lionel Messi after the World Cup final.Although Arabs across the Gulf still sometimes wear traditional garb, especially in formal settings, factory-made clothing has replaced tailor services in the oil-rich countries of the region.- Robe ‘recession’ -At his workshop, Mohammed watched over his granddaughter Fajr, nine, and grandson Ghassan, 10, as they embroidered delicate gowns.For the veteran craftsman, who learned to weave when he was only five, this is “my entire life”.”I came into this world… seeing only bishts around me,” said Mohammed, wearing the Saudi national dress of white thobe robe and chequered red-and-white headdress.”I was born in (my father’s) tailor shop and grew up watching my mother sew. I saw my brothers and cousins work with my father in the tailor shop,” he added with pride.His wife was also a bisht seamstress, he said, skilled at collar embroidery.But his modest shop in an artisans’ market in Hofuf has fallen on hard times.”A sort of recession has taken hold,” he said.A high-quality bisht could once have fetched up to 6,000 riyals ($1,600), but machine-made cloaks sell for just a fraction of that price, Mohammed said.”Pieces I would make for 1,500 riyals now go for 150 riyals. It’s not enough to make a living.”- ‘Didn’t give up’ -Mohammed refuses to let the tradition die out, and he is far from alone.A bisht revival is taking shape in Saudi Arabia even as it opens up to the world, attracting tourists and foreign businesses.Last year, the kingdom ordered ministers and other senior officials to wear a bisht when entering or leaving the workplace or attending formal events.Saudi Arabia has named 2025 the Year of Handicrafts, when it will promote and support 10 crafts including bisht-weaving.And Gulf countries are trying to include the bisht on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage in a bid to preserve the craft.Some of the bishts hanging on the walls of Mohammed’s workshop are at least a century old, he said, proudly presenting a brown robe made from sheep’s wool.”Someone offered me 200,000 riyals for this, but I refused to sell it because it is as dear to me as my life. It represents my country’s history,” he said.”I want to pass them down to my children and grandchildren, and I will instruct them never to sell them,” he said, pointing to the pieces on the walls.Mohammed also gives weekly bisht tailoring lessons at a nearby institute, mostly for young people.”We didn’t give up,” he said, training the younger generation “to revive an old heritage that was disappearing”.”We will bring it to life once more,” said Mohammed.

Australia’s competition regulator gave the go-ahead Friday for Qatar Airways to launch an alliance with Virgin Australia.The decision clears Qatar Airways to cooperate for five years in an “integrated alliance” with the Australian carrier, in which it will take a 25-percent stake.The pact would double flights between Doha and major Australian airports, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said.The boost in Australia-Middle East flights would create “minimal, if any, public detriment”, the authority’s commissioner, Anna Brakey, said in a statement.”This will likely place downward price pressure on these routes and will also give customers of Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways a greater choice of international flights with additional connectivity and loyalty program benefits,” she said.Under the pact, Qatar Airways and Virgin Australia plan to launch 28 new weekly services between Doha and the Australian cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.The competition regulator’s decision was widely expected after it issued a draft determination in February proposing to grant authorisation.The two airlines, along with Virgin owner Bain Capital, announced the long-rumoured alliance proposal in October last year. The new flights are expected to stoke competition on expensive long-haul routes long dominated by Qantas.Qantas — along with its low-cost brand Jetstar — has a more than 60 percent share of the Australian market and boasts strong political clout.Virgin Australia started bankruptcy proceedings in 2020, laying off hundreds of staff as the Covid-19 outbreak grounded international flights. US private equity giant Bain Capital came to the airline’s rescue after the Australian government refused to bail out the majority foreign-owned company. Qatar Airways has been looking to increase its foothold in the Australian market.In 2023, Qatar launched a bid to put on 21 extra international flights to and from Australia each week. But the Australian government snubbed that request, citing a 2020 strip search scandal at Doha Airport as a “factor”. Women were pulled off 10 Qatar Airways flights at Doha Airport and forced to take invasive gynaecological exams after a baby was abandoned in an airport bathroom. Three Australian women lodged legal action against Qatar Airways following the ordeal, although the case was eventually dismissed. 

Australia’s competition regulator gave the go-ahead Friday for Qatar Airways to launch an alliance with Virgin Australia.The decision clears Qatar Airways to cooperate for five years in an “integrated alliance” with the Australian carrier, in which it will take a 25-percent stake.The pact would double flights between Doha and major Australian airports, the Australian Competition …

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Thousands protested  Thursday after Israel’s parliament passed a law expanding the power of politicians over the appointment of judges pushed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.The approval came with Netanyahu’s coalition, the most right-wing in Israeli history, locked in a standoff with the supreme court after the premier began proceedings to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara and announced the sacking of Ronen Bar, head of the internal security agency.Protesters rallied against the law on Thursday evening, with critics saying it was a “catastrophe” and a “nail in the coffin of Israeli democracy”, while the opposition swiftly filed a petition with the supreme court challenging the legislation.”The government wants us to forget about the hostages, wants to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet … but they do not have the power to do so if we stand united like a wall,” said retired major general Noam Tibon in a speech at a Tel Aviv protest.The law was approved by a vote of 67 in favour and one against, with the opposition boycotting the early-morning vote. Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, has 120 members.The overall judicial reform package sparked one of the largest protest movements in Israel’s history in 2023 before being overtaken by the war in Gaza.According to Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who sponsored the bill, the measure was intended to “restore balance” between the legislative and judicial branches.In his closing remarks ahead of the vote, Levin slammed the supreme court, saying it had “effectively nullified the Knesset”.”It has taken for itself the authority to cancel laws and even Basic Laws. This is something unheard of in any democracy in the world,” said Levin, the key architect of the judicial changes.Israel lacks a written constitution, but it has a number of Basic Laws which set out things such as human rights and the powers of the parliament.- ‘Catastrophe’ -Currently, judges — including supreme court justices — are selected by a nine-member committee consisting of judges, lawmakers and bar association representatives, under the justice minister’s supervision.Under the new law, which would take effect at the start of the next legislative term, the committee would still have nine members: three supreme court judges, the justice minister and another minister, one coalition lawmaker, one opposition lawmaker, and two public representatives -— one appointed by the majority and the other by the opposition.Yair Lapid, leader of the centre-right Yesh Atid party, announced on X that he had filed an appeal with the supreme court against the law on behalf of several opposition parties, just minutes after the parliamentary vote.”Instead of focusing all efforts on their (Israeli hostages in Gaza) return and healing the divisions within the people, this government is returning to the exact legislation that divided the public before October 7,” Lapid said in his post.”The amendment passed by the Knesset is another nail in the coffin of Israeli democracy,” said Eliad Shraga, head of Israeli NGO the Movement for Quality Government in Israel and one of the petitioners against the law.”This is a calculated attempt to take control of the judicial system and turn it into a tool in the hands of politicians,” he said in a statement.Claude Klein, a public law expert at Jerusalem’s Hebrew University, said enactment of the law would be a “catastrophe”.”They want to take real power. Netanyahu thinks that the supreme court is keeping him from running the country his way,” he told AFP.- New protests -The government’s judicial reforms package, first unveiled in early 2023, triggered massive weekly street protests that polarised Israeli society.Netanyahu’s detractors warn the multi-pronged package could pave the way for authoritarian rule and be used by the prime minister to quash any possible convictions against him in his ongoing corruption trial, an accusation the premier denies.Rallies have again erupted in key cities and on Thursday thousands protested against the new law.”You will be the ones that save the State of Israel”, former Israeli police chief and Netanyahu critic Roni Alsheikh told crowds protesting in Jerusalem.Netanyahu slammed the opposition in parliament on Wednesday.”Perhaps you could stop putting spanners in the works of the government in the middle of a war. Perhaps you could stop fuelling the sedition, hatred and anarchy in the streets,” he said.

World powers on Thursday blasted US President Donald Trump’s steep tariffs on imported vehicles and parts, urging retaliation as trade tensions intensify and price hikes appear on the horizon.Major car exporter Germany called for a firm response from the European Union, while Japan said it “will consider all options.”Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday …

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