Doha gas blast kills and injures dozens

DOHA (Reuters) - Twelve people including two children were killed on Thursday when a gas tank exploded at a Turkish restaurant in the Qatari capital Doha, authorities in the Gulf Arab state reported. About 30 others were injured in the blast at the Istanbul Restaurant that one security source said was accidental. Another security source at the scene said two Asian children were among the dead. Major General Saad bin Jassim al-Khalifi, Qatar's head of public security, said non-Qatari Arabs, Asians and one Qatari were among the dead and wounded. Preliminary investigations suggested a gas tank exploded, setting off a fire and causing part of the building to collapse, he told a news conference. But investigations were continuing to discover why the gas tank exploded. "It was a very big blast," he said. "It blew away cars and shrapnel was scattered 50 to 100 meters away." Chunks of masonry, metal debris and shattered glass lay outside the restaurant in a northwestern district of the city. Cars nearby were apparently crumpled by the explosion.

The incident was the deadliest in Qatar since May 2012, when at least 19 foreign nationals, including 13 children, were killed by a fire in an upscale shopping mall. In a separate incident on Thursday, medics and security sources at the Hamad medical city in Doha said dozens of people were hurt in the afternoon due to a gas leak at a chemical plant in an industrial area near Doha. They gave no figures or details on their condition, but said helicopters were despatched to fly victims of the leak to the Hamad medical center quickly as ambulances had been caught in heavy traffic caused by the restaurant incident. The gas- and oil-rich Gulf Arab state with an estimated national population of at least 200,000 has one of the highest standards of living in the world. The bulk of the 2 million population of Qatar are foreigners. Description Toggle Deadly blast rocks restaurant in Qatar. A gas cylinder explosion in the Qatar's capital Doha killed and wounded several people on February 27, 2014. The explosion tore through a restaurant attached to a mall in Doha, according to Qatari Television which said it could not be immediately clear if the blast was accidental. (AFP). The restaurant is on the outskirts of the capital near Landmark mall, a well-known shopping complex usually usy with families. "I was eating in a restaurant close by and suddenly heard a big (blast) and everything around me exploded," Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Kareem, an Indian driver, told Reuters at Hamad hospital. "I have too much damage now, my legs are broken and my head is (wounded)."

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Saudi Arabia ‘seeking Pakistani arms for Syrian rebels’



DUBAI: Saudi Arabia is in talks with Pakistan to provide anti-aircraft and anti-tank rockets to Syrian rebels to try to tip the balance in the war to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad, a Saudi source said Sunday.

The United States has long opposed arming the rebels with such weapons, fearing they might end up in the hands of extremists, but Syrian opposition figures say the failure of Geneva peace talks seems to have led Washington to soften its opposition.

Pakistan makes its own version of Chinese shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, known as Anza, and anti-tank rockets -- both of which Riyadh is trying to get for the rebels, said the source, who is close to Saudi decision-makers, requesting anonymity.

The source pointed to a visit to Riyadh earlier this month by Pakistan's army chief of staff, General Raheel Sharif, who met Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz.

Prince Salman himself last week led a large delegation to Pakistan, shortly after Saudi's chief diplomat Prince Saud al-Faisal visited the kingdom's key ally.

Jordan will be providing facilities to store the weapons before they are delivered to rebels within Syria, the same source said.

AFP could not obtain confirmation from officials in Saudi, Pakistan or Jordan.
The head of the Syrian opposition, Ahmad Jarba, promised during a flying visit to northern Syria last week that "powerful arms will be arriving soon."
"The United States could allow their allies provide the rebels with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons following the failure of Geneva talks and the renewed tension with Russia," said the head of the Gulf Research Centre, Abdel Aziz al-Sager.
Providing those weapons to the rebels "relieves pressure on the US in the short-term," said Simon Henderson, director of the Gulf and Energy Policy Programme at the Washington Institue for Near East Policy.
"But the long-term political worry is that Manpads (Man-portable air-defence systems) will leak and be used to bring down a civilian airliner somewhere in the world."
Rebels have long said that anti-aircraft rockets would help them defend themselves against Syrian warplanes, which regularly bomb rebel-held areas with barrels loaded with TNT and other ordinance.
The nearly-three-year conflict in Syria has torn the country apart, killing more than 140,000 people, including some 50,000 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Rising Saudi influence
Saudi Arabia has a strong influence on Syria's southern front, where it coordinates with Jordan, and has helped unite the rebel fighters in the area, according to Syrian opposition sources.
On the other hand, Qatar and Turkey are responsible for coordinating with the rebels on the northern front, said an official of the Syrian opposition, requesting anonymity.
Saudi Arabia has come to eclipse Qatar as the main supporter of the Syrian rebels, a development illustrated by the election last July of Ahmad Jarba, who has strong Saudi links, to lead the Syrian National Coalition, the main umbrella opposition group.

The trend appeared to continue with the dismissal last week of General Selim Idriss, the top commander of the Western-backed Free Syrian Army, who was considered close to Qatar, according to an opposition source.
The main criticism of Idriss was "bad distribution of weapons" and "errors in battle," said another opposition source.
Idriss, who has refused his dismissal, has been replaced by Brigadier General Abdel Ilah al-Bashir, the leader of the rebel military council for the region of Quneitra in southern Syria.
On its internal front, Saudi Arabia has sidelined intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who had been leading Riyadh's efforts concerning Syria, according to a Western diplomat.
Diplomats have said that the file has been passed to the interior minister, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, known for his successful crackdown on Al-Qaeda following a wave of deadly attacks in the kingdom between 2003 and 2006.
Bandar's management had triggered American criticism, diplomats said.
The Saudi royal himself has reproached Washington for its decision not to intervene militarily in Syria, and for preventing its allies from providing rebels with much-needed weapons, diplomats added. 

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Facebook to buy Whatsapp for $19 billion

RELATED CONTENT This Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014 photo, shows the WhatsApp and Facebook app icons on an iPhone in New York. On Wednesday Facebook announced it is buying mobile messaging service WhatsApp for up to $19 billion in cash and stock. (AP Photo/Karly Domb Sadof)View Photo This Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014 photo, shows the WhatsApp and Facebook app icons on … This Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014 photo, shows the WhatsApp and Facebook app icons on an iPhone in New York. On

Wednesday Facebook announced it is buying mobile messaging service WhatsApp for up to $19 billion in cash and stock.This Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014 photo, shows the WhatsApp and Facebook app icons on … NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook is buying mobile messaging service WhatsApp for $19 billion in cash and stock, by far the company's largest acquisition and bigger than any that Google, Microsoft or Apple have ever done. The world's biggest social networking company said Wednesday that it is paying $12 billion in Facebook stock and $4 billion in cash for WhatsApp. In addition, the app's founders and employees — 55 in all — will be granted restricted stock worth $3 billion that will vest over four years after the deal closes.

The deal translates to roughly 11 percent of Facebook's market value. In comparison, Google's biggest deal was its $12.5 billion purchase of Motorola Mobility, while Microsoft's largest was Skype at $8.5 billion. Apple, meanwhile, has never done a deal above $1 billion. The deal's price tag stunned Gartner analyst Brian Blau. "I am not surprised they went after WhatsApp, but the amount is staggering," he said. Facebook likely prizes WhatsApp for its audience of teenagers and young adults who are increasingly using the service to engage in online conversations outside of Facebook, which has evolved into a more mainstream hangout inhabited by their parents, grandparents and even their bosses at work. Facebook's new acquisition also has a broad global audience.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the service "doesn't get as much attention in the U.S. as it deserves because its community started off growing in Europe, India and Latin America. But WhatsApp is a very important and valuable worldwide communication network. In fact, WhatsApp is the only widely used app we've ever seen that has more engagement and a higher percent of people using it daily than Facebook itself." WhatsApp, a messaging service for smartphones, lets users chat with their phone contacts, both one-on-one and in groups.

The service allows people to send texts, photos, videos and voice recordings over the Internet. It also lets users communicate with people overseas without incurring charges for pricey international texts and phone calls. It's free to use for the first year and costs $1 per year after that. It has no ads. Blau said Facebook's purchase is a bet on the future. "They know they have to expand their business lines. WhatsApp is in the business of collecting people's conversations, so Facebook is going to get some great data," he noted. In that regard, the acquisition makes sense for 10-year-old Facebook as it looks to attract its next billion users while keeping its existing 1.23 billion members, including teenagers, interested.

The company is developing a "multi-app" strategy, creating its own applications that exist outside of Facebook and acquiring others. It released a news reader app called Paper earlier this month, and has its own messaging app called Facebook Messenger. "Facebook seems to be in acknowledgement that people are using a lot of different apps to communicate," said eMarketer analyst Debra Aho Williamson. "In order to continue to reach audiences, younger in particular, it needs to have a broader strategy...not put all its eggs in one basket." Facebook said it is keeping WhatsApp as a separate service, just as it did with Instagram, which it bought for about $715.3 million nearly two years ago.

WhatsApp has more than 450 million monthly active users. In comparison, Twitter had 241 million users at the end of 2013. At $19 billion, Facebook is paying $42 per WhatsApp user in the deal. The transaction is likely to raise worries that Facebook and other technology companies are becoming overzealous in their pursuit of promising products and services, said Anthony Michael Sabino, a St. John's University business professor. "This could be seen as a microcosm of a bubble," Sabino said. "I expect there to be a lot of skepticism about this deal. People are going to look at this and say, 'Uh, oh, did they pay way too much for this?"

For Facebook, WhatsApp's huge user base, fast growth pace and popularity is worth the money. The app is currently adding a million new users a day. At this rate, said Zuckerberg, WhatsApp is on path to reach a billion users. He called services that reach this milestone "incredibly valuable." It's an elite group to be sure — one that includes Google (which owns YouTube), Facebook itself and little else.

"We want to provide the best tools to share with different sized groups and in different contexts and to develop more mobile experiences beyond just the main Facebook app, like Instagram and Messenger," Zuckerberg said in a conference call. "This is where we see a lot of new growth as well as a great opportunity to better serve our whole community." Forrester analyst Nate Elliot said in an emailed note that "it'll be tempting to read this as a sign Facebook is scared of losing teens... And yes, the company does have to work hard to keep young users engaged. But the reality is Facebook always works hard to keep all its users engaged, no matter their age.

Facebook is tireless in its efforts to keep users coming back." Asked about the demographics of WhatsApp's users, Facebook finance chief David Ebersman said that, "if you look at the kind of penetration that WhatsApp has achieved, it sort of goes without saying that they have good penetration across all demographics, we would imagine. That said, "it's not a service that asks you to tell them your age when you sign up," he added. The deal is expected to close later this year.

Facebook's shares fell $1.82, or 2.7 percent, to $66.24 in after-hours trading Wednesday after the deal was announced. Earlier in the day, the stock hit a 52-week high of $69.08.

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Karzai rejects U.S. warnings over freed Afghan detainees

 By Humeyra Pamuk and Hamid Shalizi 

 ANKARA/KABUL (Reuters) - 

Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday rejected criticism of his government's release of 65 detainees viewed by Washington as dangerous militants, further fanning tensions with the United States as the international mission in Afghanistan winds down. 

Afghan officials described the release as justice for its own citizens who had faced unfounded U.S. accusations. But the United States expressed deep concern over the decision and NATO, which runs the 12-year-old foreign military operation supporting the Karzai government, denounced it as "a major step backward". "

If Afghan judicial authorities decide to release a prisoner, it is of no concern to the U.S.," Karzai told a news conference in the Turkish capital Ankara after talks with Turkey's president and Pakistan's prime minister.

"I hope the U.S. will stop harassing Afghanistan's procedures and judicial authority. I hope the United States will now begin to respect Afghan sovereignty," said Karzai, who after more than a decade in power is to step down after April elections. 

Karzai's government has long complained that foreign forces have locked up Afghans on dubious grounds, with no proper judicial process. 

In an unusually strong statement, the U.S. military force in Kabul said some of the released detainees had killed both Afghans and foreign soldiers and now posed a fresh threat. 

"U.S. and Afghan forces risked their lives to ensure the safety of the Afghan people. We call upon the (Kabul government) to consider the potentially lethal effects of today's releases," it said, adding that the released detainees may resume their "criminal behavior". 

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf called on Kabul to ensure that released detainees do not carry out any acts of violence "and to immediately bring to justice any who would.

" "Afghanistan is a sovereign country, (Karzai) is right about that. They can make their own decisions," Harf said.

 "We have been very clear, however, that we have a legitimate force protection concern for the lives of coalition forces, of Afghan security forces and Afghan civilians because these men have been released.

" In the U.S. Congress, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Representative Howard "Buck" McKeon, said he was "appalled" by Kabul's decision. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has said he would introduce a resolution condemning Karzai's actions and would seek to cut off some U.S. development aid in response.

 Video provided to Reuters by the Afghan Defence Ministry showed the prisoners, with jackets or blankets over their traditional Afghan garb, shaking hands with Afghan military officials as they left the prison.

 Abdul Shakor Dadras, head of the Afghan board charged with reviewing the prisoners' cases, said their detention had been unjustified from the outset, despite the U.S. claims.

 "I believe the release of these 65 people will benefit the Afghan nation and it will benefit the American nation and American government," Dadras told Reuters Television. In Brussels, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen echoed the U.S. criticism of the release of the detainees.

 "This decision, which appears to have been made based on political calculations and without regard for due process before the Afghan courts, is a major step backwards for the rule of law in Afghanistan, and poses serious security concerns," he said. 'SONS OF THEIR COUNTRY' The prisoners were part of a much larger group of detainees transferred to Afghan authority last year as one milestone in the U.S. and NATO transition out of Afghanistan. A coalition of foreign forces has been battling the Taliban since the Islamist group was ousted in 2001. More than 500 of those prisoners have already been released, a U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity, while others were recommended for prosecution in Afghan courts.

 The 65 freed on Thursday were part of a group of 88 whose proposed release had prompted U.S. objections. The fate of the remaining 23 prisoners in the group is still being examined by the Afghan government, the official said. An unnamed prisoner, speaking in the footage provided by the Afghan Defence Ministry, said those detained at Bagram prison were "sons of their country, whose ancestors fought against Russia," referring to what many Afghans see as the Afghan Mujahideen's honorable fight against the Soviet occupation in the 1980s.

 While U.S. officials have said U.S. forces would try to kill or capture the men if they took up arms against them, it remains unclear whether U.S. or coalition forces would try to apprehend or target them pre-emptively. The detainees have become one more issue fuelling tension in U.S.-Afghan ties ahead of the April presidential poll and the planned pullout of most foreign troops by the end of the year. The Obama administration has been pressing Karzai for months to sign a bilateral security agreement with Washington that would allow some U.S. troops to stay beyond that deadline. It was unclear what effect the release would have on U.S. deliberations about what a possible post-2014 troop presence could look like or on its view of the stalled security pact.

 The U.S. military official said the United States had provided Afghan officials with "hundreds of pages" of what he described as evidence or leads against the prisoners. Some of the detainees, he said, had been linked by biometric data to the production or placement of improvised explosive devices, sometimes through fingerprints left on adhesive tape used to assemble homemade bombs. (Additional reporting by Adrian Croft in Brussels and Lesley Wroughton, Patricia Zengerle and Phil Stewart in Washington; Writing by Missy Ryan in Kabul; Editing by Paul Tait, Gareth Jones and Mohammad Zargham)

Filipinos rally against proposal to ‘rent out’ overseas workers

A large number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) across the globe, particularly in Saudi Arabia, have strongly opposed a new proposal by the Philippine’s Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), where OFWs coming through some Saudi Arabia based-recruitment companies will be up “for rent” to employers from both government offices and private firms.

According to Akbayan Partylist Rep. Walden Bello, the planned agreement between DoLE and the Saudi recruitment companies, DoLE will be the sole sponsor and direct employer of Filipino workers. The salaries of OFWs will be dictated by the agencies and will eventually be reduced as the OFWs will be “for rent.”

“This is if DoLE Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, who is due to visit Saudi Arabia this month, signs an agreement with 10 big recruitment companies which will legally allow Saudi companies and recruiters to independently recruit Filipino workers and rent them out to private and government employers,” he said.

Each mega recruitment company can accredit a maximum of five Philippine licensed agencies and will place job orders from the local recruitment companies. The companies will be the direct employers and will sub-contract these OFWs to government institutions such as hospitals and private companies who require Filipino manpower services.

Under this scheme, the service fees of local recruitment agencies can be reduced and since the companies are the brokers, there will be a cut-throat competition among the local agencies to procure business. Consequently the burden of excessive recruitment costs will be borne by the OFWs.

OFW Rodell Ubaldo Obedoza based in Riyadh said, “I am under a sub-contract company in Riyadh and I would say that sub-contracting is not good at all. The salary is meager and often delayed. The whole system is very bad,” he noted.

Lito Averilla Caro an OFW said, “The DoLE should have some checks and balances and think of the welfare of the OFWs in general and not the agencies who are just looking to their own profits. If this happens, we will be in a mess again because it could affect the economy of the country in terms of the remittances.”

In his networking group page, OFWs International advocate Rashid Arañas Fabricante sent an urgent message against the proposal and advised his fellow OFWs to wake up and take action against the wholesale commodification of the OFW.

Soriano said this labor-importing concept suggested by the mega recruitment companies will be similar to the broker-driven market in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Singapore, thus raising the possibility of increased costs for the OFW and oppressive terms and conditions of employment.

In addition, this system will institutionalize a virtual monopoly of the companies in getting workers from the country similar to the medical test system of the Gulf Countries Council.

Furthermore, it will negate the full protection and welfare benefits provided under the previous R.A. 8042 and amended by R.A. 10022 since OFWs will now be working under abnormal conditions in the mega recruitment companies in Saudi Arabia.

Death Penalty Demanded

Prosecutors in Abu Dhabi are seeking the toughest possible penalty for a man charged with carrying out sex attacks on young children.

It is claimed the suspect lured his victims by giving them money before taking them to the roof of a residential building and assaulting them.

Abu Dhabi public prosecution said on Sunday that it had ordered the arrest of the 39-year-old Arab man after several parents complained that their children had been sexually assaulted. Officers said their investigations show that the suspect had attacked at least five children, who are of different nationalities and aged between eight and 10.

Public prosecution confirmed yesterday that it will ask for the death penalty if the accused is convicted. Parents of the alleged victims told Abu Dhabi authorities the man waited for the children to leave their apartments then befriended them. Prosecutors said he would start talking to them, asking their names and ages, before giving them money.

“He then lured the children to go with him to the top of the building, where he raped them,” prosecutors said.

Officers said the man told the children he wanted them to see some birds he was looking after.

Prosecutors said that the man admitted during questioning that he had raped the children. A medical report confirmed that bodily fluids found on the children matched those of the suspect.

The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department warned parents not to let children out of the house on their own.

Source: Yahoo Maktoob

Thousands queue for hours to attend Dubai walk-in job fair

Jobseekers stopped traffic as they descended on a Dubai hotel in a desperate bid to climb the career ladder and cash in on the continued economic recovery.

Candidates dodged cars as they crossed the busy Casablanca Street to get to the Al Bustan Rotana hotel, in Al Garhoud, queuing from the early hours on Tuesday for an advertised walk-in interview with Dubai Islamic Bank.

Many were hoping to find better salaries to pay their rising rents or escape job woes in their home countries. Those waiting in line for a chance to shine said they were not even aware of what jobs or how many roles were on offer, but that they were just looking to get a foot in the door.

One candidate, a fund manager with more than 10 years’ experience working at a bank in Dubai, told 7DAYS: “My rent and expenses are going up, but I haven’t been promoted or given an increment in years.”

The jobseeker added: “Before they said the market is bad but what’s the excuse now? I might as well sell myself to the competition.” Others in line said they were in the emirate on a visit visa and had 60 days to find a job.

Farell Veigas, who arrived from India a week ago, told 7DAYS: “The salary is better here, especially considering the exchange rate. I have seven and a half years of experience working for bank call centres but I can never make the same salary in India.”

One recruitment specialist said the huge turnout signals market confidence. Breige Mac Manus, manager at Carter Murray, told 7DAYS: “This hasn’t happened for maybe five years. It seems a very good sign and an injection of positivity.” She added more jobs are coming on the market in the banking and finance sector. But demand is still greater than supply, according to another expert.

Farid Ahmed, managing partner at Virtus Consultancy Services, said: “People are super desperate. All the people forced to leave in 2009 are now looking to reenter the market. Earlier we’d never get Western candidates willing to compromise for jobs with single digit salaries. Now they’re willing to accept even Dhs7,000 or less.”

And the situation is unlikely to change this year, he said. “The supply is still very, very, high. Fact is, the rest of the world is not hiring.”

Both recruiters guessed the total number of roles available on the day was likely to be less than 100.

Dubai Islamic Bank did not respond to 7DAYS questions about the number of roles available, but an advertisement online stated that the bank was seeking “dynamic, result-oriented individuals with relevant experience” at “various levels” across departments including sales for cards, personal finance, auto and home finance, call centre, retail credit and operations.

Source: Yahoo Maktoob

Takes a Look at the Impact of the 'Selfie'

A new documentary titled, "Selfie," is taking a look at how teenage girls are struggling with body image in the era of the ever scrutinized selfie. The film, spearheaded by Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty, takes a look inside social media’s effect on young women and how they view themselves. “The Insider” traveled to Great Barrington, Massachusetts where “Selfie” was shot in order to meet Academy Award winning director Cynthia Wade and the mothers and daughters who star in the film.

Filipino ‘tent city’ finally pulled down

JEDDAH - Saudi authorities in Jeddah removed on Monday morning the last batch of tents housing stranded Filipino workers after they were transported and endorsed to the deportation center. The makeshift tent set up around the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah, popularly known as the tent city, became a temporary shelter during an amnesty granted by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to all illegal workers to rectify their status and a crackdown campaign that followed. Some stranded Filipinos who were able to find new employers said they would have fond memories of the tent city. One Filipino worker, who did not want to be named, said: "I will not forget the time I stayed in that place. Besides meeting new friends, I also learned a lot during my stay in the tent city." Others thanked the Saudi government for the kindness shown to them while they were at the tent city, especially those who took time to provide them assistance such as food and water. "There are lots of Saudis and people of other countries who gave us food and water regularly and it really mattered to us," one of them said. Meanwhile, Philippine Consul General Uriel Norman Garibay said 91 stranded Filipinos, all male, were the last batch endorsed to the Shumaisy deportation center on Sunday. Around 980 Filipinos, including children, were endorsed to the center since it started operating in January last year. Vice Consul R.J. Sumague said some of those taken to the deportation center left home while others were still being processed. Despite government efforts, some stranded workers were worried about going to the deportation center, saying they fear being stuck there for months. Garibay said officials of the Passport Department (Jawazat) process their repatriation and issue exit visas and not the consulate. "Your stay in Shumaisy will depend on your case but the consulate will be coordinating with the Jawazat to speed up your repatriation," Garibay said. The consulate said those who ran away from their sponsors or have pending labor cases can coordinate with the Philippine Overseas Labor Office on the first floor of the consulate.

Source: Saudi Gazette

Maid Spared by King

On death row for sorcery, maid spared by kingView Photo Arab News - On death row for sorcery, maid spared by king An Indonesian housemaid, on death row for sorcery, has been pardoned by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. “Ati Bt Abeh Inan, who has been languishing in Al-Ahsa jail for casting a magic spell on her employer and his family, has been released and sent back to Indonesia,” said Ahrul Tsani Fathurrahman, a spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy, on Wednesday. “The embassy expresses its gratitude to King Abdullah and to authorities in Saudi Arabia for their cooperation in releasing Ati,” said Fathurrahman. Ati hails from an impoverished region of Sukabumi in West Java. The maid, who was reunited with her family this week in Indonesia, had been working for a Saudi family in Al-Ahsa since 2003. “The case of Ati could be classified as a death-row case … as you know, practicing or using black magic, or what we call witchcraft, could lead to a death sentence in the Kingdom,” said Fathurrahman. Her case was complex one because “her employer himself accused her of using black magic and allegedly forced her to admit the allegation,” he said. She was then sentenced by Al-Ahsa General Court in 2003 by her admission of the allegation. The spokesman was also asked about progress made in the case of another Indonesian housemaid due to be executed this month. He said “Satinah Binti Jumadi Ahmad, a 40-year-old Indonesian female worker, has received clemency from her employer’s heirs upon condition that Satinah and her family pay SR7 million in blood money.” Satinah may be executed this month if her family or the Jakarta government fails to raise the money. Satinah is facing death for murdering her employer and fleeing with SR37,500 cash in 2007. Fathurrahman said: “Satinah’s family has so far been able to collect SR4 million, including SR3 million in contributions by the Indonesian government.” This also includes about SR500,000 donated by Indonesians and another SR500,000 from an unnamed Saudi donor. “Satinah’s family, especially her only daughter, 20-year-old Nur Afriani, sincerely hopes that the victim’s heirs will accept SR4 million in blood money,” said Fathurrahman. Nur was 11 when her mother left her in Indonesia. Arab News asked the embassy about the date of execution if the demanded amount is not raised.

Iran Sends 2 Warships to USA Borders

DUBAI (Reuters) - An Iranian naval officer said a number of warships had been ordered to approach U.S. maritime borders as a response to the stationing of U.S. vessels in the Gulf, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

"Iran's military fleet is approaching the United States' maritime borders, and this move has a message," the agency quoted Admiral Afshin Rezayee Haddad as saying.

Haddad, described as commander of the Iranian navy's northern fleet, said the vessels had started their voyage towards the Atlantic Ocean via "waters near South Africa", Fars reported.

Fars said the plan was part of "Iran's response to Washington's beefed up naval presence in the Persian Gulf."

The Fars report, which carried no details of the vessels, could not be confirmed independently.

In Washington, a U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, cast doubt on any claims that the Iranian ships were approaching U.S. maritime borders. But the official added that "ships are free to operate in international waters."

The United States and its allies regularly stage naval exercises in the Gulf, saying they want to ensure freedom of navigation in the waterway through which 40 percent of the world's seaborne oil exports passes.

U.S. military facilities in the region include a base for its Fifth Fleet in the Gulf Arab kingdom of Bahrain.

Iran sees the Gulf as its own backyard and believes it has a legitimate interest in expanding its influence there.

Iranian officials have often said Iran could block the Strait of Hormuz, at the mouth of the Gulf, if it came under military attack over its disputed nuclear program, and the Western war games are seen in the region as an attempt to deter any such move.

Fars said the Iranian navy had been developing its presence in international waters since 2010, regularly launching vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates operating in the area.

(Reporting by William Maclean; Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Chris Reese)

Source: Yahoo Maktoob

Expat cabbie accused of assaulting Saudi woman

• 

A Saudi mother in Taif on Sunday claimed an expatriate taxi driver verbally and physically assaulted her after she refused to get into his cab and give him her phone number, according to media reports.

The woman, in her 30s, said the man was wearing a white thobe, but she was sure he was a Pakistani. The woman claimed the man assaulted her in Al-Aqiq Road by slapping her, tearing off her niqab, pulling her hair, throwing her to the ground, and kicking her in the chest.

Crying and humiliated, she was taken to Takhassusi Hospital in Taif and later lodged a complaint with Al-Salam police station. The hospital administration would not comment on the matter.

Taif police confirmed that the woman was assaulted and that the case is being probed. “All police stations have been alerted about the man and his taxi,” Taif police spokesperson Turki Al-Shehri told Arab News.

The woman claimed her ordeal began after she dropped off her children at school and was walking home. She said the man asked her to get into his car and give him her cell number. When she refused, he first became verbally abusive and then attacked her physically. The woman reportedly told the police that four Saudis came to help her but could not approach the man because he threatened them with bricks.

There was outrage on social networking sites in the wake of the report, with many calling for the man to be arrested and deported. Others called for new sexual harassment legislation and allowing women to drive.

“It is sad that the Kingdom does not have a law against harassment. They should issue this law right away so that they can charge and arrest all those monsters who attack women and abuse them in public,” said Omima Shada on Twitter.

Jamal Arab said the solution for this type of abuse was for women to drive. “It is sad that our women cannot depend on themselves and drive themselves around, and have to face these monsters on the streets,” he said. “If women drive their own cars they will not face any harassment from any man, or have to listen to unwanted comments from strangers,” he said.

Qusai Abdullah, a tweeter, urged the government to do background checks on expatriates before they arrive in the Kingdom. “They also need to undergo psychological tests to determine their state of mind. We sometimes think guest workers are insane from all the horrible stories we hear,” he said.

Source: Yahoo Maktoob

Winter Olympics 2014

SYRIA AT WAR

Syrian rebels on Thursday seized control of most of Aleppo's central prison, freeing hundreds of detainees, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Ahrar al-Sham and Al-Nusra Front (brigades) have taken control of 80 percent of Aleppo central prison and freed hundreds of prisoners," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP, adding that fighting was ongoing in the prison.

Syrian soldiers man a checkpoint at the entrance to the al-Karama area in the central restive city of Homs, May 2. UN observers said they were having a "calming" impact on the ground as Syrian rebels killed 22 troops in the army's deadliest day of a shaky three-week-old ceasefire deal

Syrian rebels and government troops seem to be preparing for a major battle in the city of Aleppo

Syrian rebels run to take position in the Bustan al-Basha district in the northern city of Aleppo. Almost 150 people died on the first day of a barely-observed truce between the warring parties in Syria, a watchdog said, adding that a fresh clashes on Saturday claimed more lives

A Shaam News Network image shows the destroyed Muhazzab Rajub mall in the central Syrian city of Homs. AFP is not in a position to independently verify this image.

A handout from the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network shows smoke billowing from Qusayr after it was shelled by Syrian forces on July 3, 2012. Army rocket fire on a central Syrian village has killed at least 12 people including women and children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, as warplanes attacked rebel enclaves near Qusayr

A Shaam News Network picture said to show damage in Khaled bin Walid mosque in the al-Khalidiyah area of Homs on July 22. State television said the army now controlled most of the Khaldiyeh district and broadcast footage of the destruction, including rubble-strewn streets and bodies it reported were of fighters.

A handout picture released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network shows damages in the district of Juret al-Shayah in the flashpoint city of Homs on July 3. AFP cannot independently verify this image. China has joined Russia in boycotting a "Friends of Syria" meeting aimed at coordinating efforts to stop violence in the country.

Picture from the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network, April 20, shows a girl flashing "V" sign for victory during an anti-regime demonstration in Talbisseh, Homs province. AFP is using pictures from alternative sources as it was not authorised to cover this event and is not responsible for any alterations that cannot be independently verified 

Source:   Yahoo news maktoob

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