Riyadh, March 09, 2021, SPA -- Saudi newspapers highlighted in their editorials today a number of issues at local, regional and international arenas. Al-Riyadh newspaper reported in its editorial that since the emergence of the Coronavirus pandemic in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the wise leadership has always emphasized that human health is the most important. The government of Saudi Arabia has always exerted all efforts to protect human health. As a result, international organizations have stated that Saudi Arabia is at the forefront of the world’s countries in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. The newspaper added that the government’s decision about lifting the ban on Coronavirus-related precautionary measures which had been previously set carries positive signals. The first is that the health situation in Saudi Arabia is witnessing qualitative stability. Secondly, there are many economic fields that have been affected in the last period. Today, they can resume their activities again, and this thing will be reflected on the Saudi economy in all its sectors and fields. Saudi Arabia’s decision reflects its eagerness to return to normal life, along with strict adherence to precautionary measures, the newspaper concluded. Al-Yaum and Al-Bilad newspapers reported in their editorials that the recent attack targeting one of the petroleum tank farms at the Ras Tanura Port in the Eastern Region and Saudi Aramco facilities in Dhahran proves that the terrorist militias do not target Saudi Arabia’s security and economic capabilities only, but the core of global economy and its oil supplies, as well as the security of global energy. The newspapers further said that Saudi Arabia has always warned of war crimes committed by the Houthi militia, in light of the type and method of targeting. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is well aware that the response to the attacks must be to the extent of targeting, since the security of Saudi Arabia and the safety of its people and residents is a red line. The newspapers concluded that the Ministry of Defense’s statement regarding these attacks is clear evidence that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will undertake all necessary and deterrent measures to safeguard its national assets in a manner that preserves the security of global energy, puts an end to these acts of terrorism, guarantees the security and stability of oil supplies, protects security of petroleum exports and safeguards freedom of shipping and international trade. In another context, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported in its editorial that Saudi Arabia has progressed for the second year in a row in the “Women, Business and the Law (WBL) Report 2021”, a global measure of women legal reforms published by the World Bank Group. On a scale of 1 to 100, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia scored 80 in WBL 2021. Saudi Arabia’s 2021 achievement advanced its ranking among leading countries in the Middle East and North Africa. This great progress in the process of empowering Saudi women occurred within a very few years, and several qualitative initiatives have contributed to the Saudi Arabia’s progress in the index of the Saudi female labor force participation rate which amounted to 31.3% in the first half of 2020, surpassing the 2020 target of 24%, the newspaper added. These achievements were accomplished due to the care and attention of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s wise leadership. The wise leadership has provided women with the means of empowerment, through packages of historical decisions. As a result, Saudi women became an active partner in the homeland's rise and its development, achieving qualitative leaps in various fields ranging from science and economy to politics and society development. The government of Saudi Arabia issued a royal order to allow women to drive. An anti-harassment law was also issued, along with numerous laws and regulations. All these efforts resulted in decreasing the Saudi female unemployment rate from 31.7% in Q1 2019 to 30.2% in Q3 2020, the newspaper concluded. --SPA 09:46 LOCAL TIME 06:46 GMT 0009 www.spa.gov.sa/w1517699