Brazil's Bolsonaro faces probes over $3.2M Saudi jewels

BRASILIA - Brazil's justice minister asked federal police Monday to investigate reports ex-president Jair Bolsonaro tried to illegally import jewelry worth $3.2 million gifted by Saudi Arabia, as tax officials probe a second present of jewels.

The far-right former president has faced mounting questions over the jewels since newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo reported Friday that customs officers blocked an aide to his former mines and energy minister, Bento Albuquerque, from bringing them into Brazil without paying the required import duty after an official trip in October 2021.

According to the newspaper, Bolsonaro administration officials intervened at least eight times to try to convince customs officers to release the diamond jewels -- a necklace, a ring, a watch and a pair of earrings from Swiss luxury house Chopard -- that had been given to the president's wife.

Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.

"They're accusing me over a gift I neither requested nor received. There was no illegality on my part," he told CNN Brasil on Saturday from the United States, where he has been living since two days before his leftist successor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, took office on January 1.

The scandal deepened Monday when Brazil's tax agency said it had opened its own investigation over reports Albuquerque's delegation entered the country with a second, previously undetected set of jewels, also a gift from the Saudi government.

Albuquerque mentioned the second set of jewels -- a watch and a pen, also made by Chopard -- in an interview with Estado de Sao Paulo.

"The incident could constitute a violation of customs law for failure to declare goods and pay the required duties," the tax agency said in a statement, vowing to take "all necessary measures" to enforce the law.

Brazilian media reports said the second set of jewels had been handed over to the presidential palace's official collection on December 29, 2022.

Under Brazilian law, travelers entering the country with goods worth more than $1,000 are required to declare them.

The first family would then either have had to pay import duty on the jewels -- equal to half their value -- or give them to the presidential palace collection as official gifts to the nation.

Agence France-Presse

Muslims perform Tawaf during annual Haj

Muslim pilgrims, keeping social distance and wearing face masks, perform Tawaf during the annual Haj pilgrimage, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. A limited number of mask-wearing pilgrims performed the “Tawaf,” a ritual involving walking around the Kaaba seven times in prayers, as Saudi Arabia banned entry of worshippers abroad and only allowed 60,000 pilgrims to participate in the Haj.

-reuters

Iran's Rouhani: Khashoggi murder unthinkable 'without US backing'

Tehran - Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's "heinous murder" would have been unthinkable "without US backing," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on yesterday.

"I don't think that any country would dare do such a thing without US backing," Rouhani said in remarks to cabinet broadcast on state television.

Rouhani said that before Khashoggi's murder "it would have been unthinkable that in this day and age we would witness such an organised felony.

"It is extremely significant that an institution planned such a heinous murder.

"The tribal group that is ruling that nation (Saudi Arabia) has a security margin. That security margin is that it relies on US backing. It is this superpower that is backing them."


Khashoggi, a government critic who was living in self-imposed exile in the United States, was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2 as he organised the paperwork for his marriage to his Turkish fiancee.

The case has triggered an international outcry against Saudi Arabia. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ridiculed Riyadh's response as "one of the worst cover-ups" in history.

Iran had been silent about the Khashoggi case until Monday when its judiciary chief slammed Saudi Arabia over his death.

"This heinous murder further revealed the nature of Saudis, their kingdom and that young man who is seeking fame and murdering innocent people," Sadegh Amoli Larijani was quoted as saying by the judiciary's news agency Mizan Online, apparently referring to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

- 'Child-killing regime' -
Iran has closely followed the backlash its regional rival Saudi Arabia has faced over the Khashoggi murder.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and three of its officers, including Quds Force commander Major General Qasem Soleimani, as terrorist sponsors.

"The House of Saud is seeking to divert international and regional public opinion away from the murder of Jamal Khashoggi," Brigadier General Esmail Kowsari of the Guards said in reaction to decision, quoted by Mehr news agency.

"Saudi Arabia is stuck in a quagmire they can't get out of," Kowsari said, adding that the designation was an attempt to utilise the tactic of attack being the best form of defence.

"The murder of this journalist is one of the thousands of villainies committed by this child-killing regime, but they want to revolve the world’s attention away from themselves onto Iran," said Kowsari.

source: philstar.com

Saudi account of Khashoggi's death meets growing scepticism

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates— Saudi Arabia faced a growing chorus of incredulity Sunday over its belated explanation of how critic Jamal Khashoggi died inside its Istanbul consulate, as world powers demanded answers and the whereabouts of his body.

After a fortnight of denials, Saudi authorities admitted on Saturday that the Washington Post columnist was killed after entering the consulate on October 2, a disappearance that sparked outrage and plunged the Gulf kingdom into a spiralling international crisis.

Turkish officials have accused Riyadh of carrying out a state-sponsored killing and dismembering the body, with pro-government media in Turkey reporting the existence of video and audio evidence to back those claims.


Police have searched a forest in Istanbul where they believe his body may have been disposed of.

After initially saying Khashoggi left the consulate unharmed, and then that they were investigating his disappearance, Saudi authorities backtracked and admitted the 60-year-old was killed in a "brawl" with officials inside the consulate.

But that narrative -- combined with the absence of Khashoggi's body -- quickly drew scepticism and scorn from many, including staunch allies.

Ankara vowed to reveal all the details of a two-week inquiry as US President Donald Trump said he was unsatisfied with Saudi Arabia's response to the columnist's death while the EU, Germany, France, Britain, Australia, Canada and the UN also demanded greater clarity.

The controversy has put the kingdom -- for decades a key ally in Western efforts to contain Iran -- under unprecedented pressure.

It has also evolved into a major crisis for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a Trump administration favourite widely known as MBS, whose image as a modernising Arab reformer has been gravely undermined.

'Changing stories' 
Canada is among the latest countries to question Riyadh's version of events.

"The explanations offered to date lack consistency and credibility," Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement Saturday.

Senior Republican senator Marco Rubio was more stark in his assessment.

"Saudi Arabia's changing stories on #KhashoggiMurder is getting old. The latest one about a fist fight gone bad is bizarre," he tweeted, renewing his call for sanctions against those responsible.

Ankara said it had a "debt of honour" to reveal what happened.

"We are not accusing anyone in advance but we don't accept anything to remain covered (up)," said ruling Justice and Development Party spokesman Omer Celik.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said many questions remained unanswered while German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged transparency, adding that "available reports on what happened in the Istanbul consulate are insufficient."

"This cannot stand. This will not do," Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison added on Sunday.

The EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini and UN chief Antonio Guterres both called for a proper investigation and for the perpetrators to be held to account.

Trump initially said he found the explanation credible, but later expressed more scepticism -- although he warned against scrapping a multibillion-dollar arms deal with the conservative kingdom.

"No, I am not satisfied until we find the answer," he told reporters. "It was a big first step. It was a good first step. But I want to get to the answer."

Saudi Arabia's Gulf ally, the United Arab Emirates, welcomed the Saudi disclosures, as did Egypt.

Shielding crown prince 
In the Saturday admission, Saudi Attorney General Sheikh Saud al-Mojeb also announced a series of moves including against people linked to the crown prince, who Khashoggi had criticised in his writings.

He said 18 Saudis had been arrested and two top aides of Crown Prince Mohammed had been sacked, together with three other intelligence agents.

The Saudi king also ordered the establishment of a ministerial body under the chairmanship of the crown prince -- his son -- to restructure the kingdom's intelligence agency and "define its powers precisely," Saudi state media said.

Saudi officials have roundly denied that the crown prince had any involvement in the affair.

But one suspect identified by Turkey was said to be a frequent companion of the young heir to the throne, three others were linked to his security detail and a fifth is a high-level forensic specialist, according to The New York Times.

The decision to overhaul the intelligence apparatus and sack members of Crown Prince Mohammed's inner circle is designed to "distance the crown prince from the murder," said analysis firm Eurasia Group.

In a recent off-the-record interview published posthumously by US magazine Newsweek, Khashoggi described the 33-year-old heir apparent as "an old-fashioned tribal leader," but said he would have accepted an offer to work as his adviser.

"I'm not calling for the overthrow of the regime," the one-time royal insider said. "I'm just calling for reform of the regime."

source: philstar.com

Trudeau does not back down on rights defense in Saudi spat

OTTAWA, Canada — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Wednesday refused to apologize for calling out Saudi Arabia on its human rights record, after Riyadh said it was considering further punitive measures against Ottawa over its criticisms of the kingdom.

Tensions have been high between the two countries since Monday, when Riyadh expelled Canada's ambassador, recalled its own envoy and froze all new trade and investments.

Riyadh also said it will relocate thousands of Saudi students studying in Canada to other countries, while state airline Saudia announced it was suspending flights to Toronto.

The kingdom was angry at Ottawa for openly denouncing a crackdown on rights activists in Saudi Arabia.

But on Wednesday, Trudeau stood firm.


"Canada will always speak strongly and clearly in private and in public on questions of human rights," he said.

"We do not wish to have poor relations with Saudi Arabia," he added, saying Ottawa recognizes that Riyadh "has made progress when it comes to human rights."

Trudeau noted that his foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, had "a long conversation" on Tuesday with her counterpart Adel al-Jubeir to try to resolve the dispute.

"Diplomatic talks continue," he said.

On Wednesday, Saudi state media said the kingdom has nevertheless also stopped all medical treatment programs in Canada and was working on transferring all Saudi patients there to other countries.

Further straining ties, the Saudi central bank has instructed its overseas asset managers to dispose of their Canadian equities, bonds and cash holdings "no matter the cost," the Financial Times reported.

But in an apparent effort to safeguard its economic interests, Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said the dispute will not affect state oil giant Aramco's clients in Canada.

Saudi oil supplies are independent of political considerations, Falih was quoted as saying by state media.

'Matter of national security'
Last week, Canada sparked fury in Riyadh by calling for the "immediate release" of rights campaigners, including award-winning women's rights activist Samar Badawi, the sister of jailed blogger Raif Badawi.

That arrest came after more than a dozen women's rights campaigners were detained and accused of undermining national security and collaborating with enemies of the state.

When asked about the jailed activists, Jubeir on Wednesday reiterated the government's stance that they had been in contact with foreign entities, but did not specify the charges against them.

"The matter is not about human rights, it is a matter of national security," Jubeir told reporters.

"Saudi Arabia does not interfere in the affairs of Canada in any way. Therefore, Canada must correct its actions towards the kingdom."

Jubeir ruled out mediation as a way to put an end to the row.

"There is nothing to mediate," he said.

"Canada made a big mistake... and a mistake should be corrected."

Jubeir added that Saudi Arabia was "considering additional measures" against Canada, without elaborating.

Experts have said the Saudi move illustrates how the oil-rich kingdom is increasingly seeking to use its economic and diplomatic muscle to quell foreign criticism under its young de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In Canada, there was disappointment that major Western powers including the United States — a key ally of Saudi Arabia — have not publicly come out in support of Canada, though it is not the first country to be targeted for speaking up.

In March 2015, Saudi Arabia recalled its ambassador from Stockholm over criticism by the Swedish foreign minister of Riyadh's human rights record.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported that Saudi Arabia was scaling back its dealings with some German companies amid a diplomatic spat with Berlin.

The move came after Germany's foreign minister last November remarked that Lebanon was a "pawn" of Saudi Arabia after the surprise resignation of its Prime Minister Saad Hariri while in Riyadh.

source: philstar.com

Saudis take 'big hit' as OPEC seals first joint oil cut with Russia since 2001

VIENNA -- OPEC agreed on Wednesday its first oil output cuts since 2008 after Saudi Arabia accepted "a big hit" on its production and dropped its demand on arch-rival Iran to slash output.

Non-OPEC Russia will also join output reductions for the first time in 15 years to help the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries prop up oil prices.

Brent crude jumped over 9 percent to more than $50 a barrel as Riyadh reached a compromise with Iran and after fast-growing producer Iraq also agreed to curtail its booming output.

"OPEC has proved to the sceptics that it is not dead. The move will speed up market rebalancing and erosion of the global oil glut," said OPEC watcher Amrita Sen from consultancy Energy Aspects.

Iran and Russia are effectively fighting two proxy wars against Saudi Arabia, in Yemen and Syria, and many sceptics had said the countries would struggle to find a compromise amid frosty political relations.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said ahead of the meeting that the kingdom was prepared to accept "a big hit" on production to get a deal done.

"I think it is a good day for the oil markets, it is a good day for the industry and ... it should be a good day for the global economy. I think it will be a boost to global economic growth," he told reporters after the decision.

OPEC produces a third of global oil, or around 33.6 million barrels per day, and under the Wednesday deal it would reduce output by around 1.2 million bpd from January 2017.

Saudi Arabia will take the lion's share of cuts by reducing output by almost 0.5 million bpd to 10.06 million bpd. Its Gulf OPEC allies -- the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Qatar -- would cut by a total 0.3 million bpd.

Iraq, which had insisted on higher output quotas to fund its fight against Islamic State militants, unexpectedly agreed to reduce production -- by 0.2 million bpd.

Iran was allowed to boost production slightly from its October level -- a major victory for Tehran, which has long argued it needs to regain market share lost under Western sanctions.

Clashes between Saudi Arabia and Iran dominated many previous OPEC meetings.

"If you get this deal done, it would be huge. You remove a lot of oil from the market and you get the Russian participation," said veteran OPEC watcher and founder of Pira consultancy Gary Ross.

He said oil could rise to $55 per barrel.

Will OPEC comply?

Falih had long insisted OPEC would do an output-limiting deal only if non-OPEC producers contributed.

OPEC president Qatar said non-OPEC producers had agreed to reduce output by a further 0.6 million bpd, of which Russia would contribute some 0.3 million.

Russia, which had long resisted cutting output, pushed its production to new record highs in recent months.

"Russia will gradually cut output in the first half of 2017 by up to 300,000 barrels per day, on a tight schedule as technical capabilities allow,” Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told a briefing in Moscow.

Novak, who spoke an hour after OPEC announced its deal, did not say from which output levels Russia would cut.

A combined output reduction of 1.8 million bpd by OPEC and non-OPEC represents almost 2 percent of global output and would help the market clear a stocks overhang, which had sent prices crashing from levels as high as $115 a barrel seen in mid-2014.

Non-OPEC Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan have said they might also cut.

OPEC suspended Indonesia's membership on Wednesday since the country, a net importer, could not cut output, Qatar said.

The move will not affect OPEC's overall reduction as Indonesia's share of cuts will be redistributed among other members.

Bob McNally, president of Washington-based consultancy Rapidan group, said on Twitter that compliance with cuts would be key: "In deals with Russia, OPEC is like (the late US) President (Ronald) Reagan used to say: 'Trust but verify'."

OPEC will hold talks with non-OPEC producers on December 9. The organization will also have its next meeting on May 25 to monitor the deal and could extend it for six months, Qatar said.

source: interaksyon.com

Saudi under fire after hajj stampede kills more than 700

Mina, Saudi Arabia - Blame shifted towards Saudi authorities on Friday after a stampede at the hajj killed at least 717 people, in the worst tragedy to strike the annual Muslim pilgrimage in a quarter-century.

The disaster, which also left several hundred people injured, was the second deadly accident to hit worshippers this month, after a crane collapse in the holy city of Mecca killed more than 100.

At the scene, bodies lay in piles, surrounded by discarded personal belongings and flattened water bottles, while rescue workers laid corpses in long rows on stretchers, limbs protruding from beneath white sheets.

Dark-skinned and light-skinned, they died with arms draped around each other.

"There was no room to maneuver," said Aminu Abubakar, a Nigerian pilgrim who escaped the crush of bodies because he was at the head of the procession.

Fellow pilgrims told him of children dying despite parents' efforts to save them near the sprawling tent city where they stay.

"They threw them on rooftops, mostly tent-tops... Most of them couldn't make it."

The stampede broke out in Mina, about five kilometers (three miles) from Mecca, during the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual. The Saudi civil defense service said it was still counting the dead, who included pilgrims from different countries.

Iran said 131 of its nationals were among the victims, and accused regional rival Saudi Arabia of safety errors.

Islamabad said seven Pakistanis were killed.

Pilgrims at the scene blamed the Saudi authorities and said they were afraid to continue the hajj rituals.

But Abubakar, an AFP reporter based in Kano, Nigeria, said that on Friday morning crowd control had improved and the number of pilgrims was much less.

"Now it's more organized... There's more control from the entry points. We don't expect a repeat of what happened," he said while moving back to the stoning site on the second of three stoning days.

King Salman ordered "a revision" of hajj organization, the official Saudi Press Agency said, while Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayyef, who chairs the kingdom's hajj committee, started an inquiry.

Saudi Health Minister Khaled al-Falih blamed worshippers for the tragedy.

He told El-Ekhbariya television that if "the pilgrims had followed instructions, this type of accident could have been avoided".

The stampede began at around 9:00 am (0600 GMT) Thursday, shortly after the civil defense said on Twitter it was dealing with a "crowding" incident in Mina.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had converged on Mina to throw pebbles at one of three walls representing Satan, for the last major ritual of the hajj, which officially ends on Saturday.

Thursday's tragedy occurred outside the five-storey Jamarat Bridge, which was erected in the last decade at a cost of more than $1 billion (893 million euros) and intended to improve safety.

Interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki said the stampede was caused when "a large number of pilgrims were in motion at the same time" at an intersection of two streets in Mina.

"The great heat and fatigue of the pilgrims contributed to the large number of victims," he said. Temperatures in Mina had reached 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday.

Witnesses, however, blamed the authorities. One outspoken critic of redevelopment at the holy sites said police were not properly trained and lacked the language skills for communicating with foreign pilgrims, who make up the majority of those on the hajj.

"They don't have a clue how to engage with these people," said Irfan al-Alawi, co-founder of the Mecca-based Islamic Heritage Research Foundation.

"There's no crowd control."

The disaster came as the world's 1.5 billion Muslims marked Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice, the most important holiday on the Islamic calendar.

It was the second major accident this year for pilgrims, after a construction crane collapsed on September 11 at Mecca's Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site, killing 109 people, including many foreigners.

source: interaksyon.com

Mecca crane collapse 'act of God': engineer

MECCA, Saudi Arabia - The collapse of a construction crane that killed 107 people at Mecca's Grand Mosque was "an act of God" and not due to a technical fault, an engineer for the developer said Saturday.

The massive red and white crane, which crashed into the court of the mosque during a rainstorm and high winds Friday, also injured around 200 people.

The engineer for Saudi Binladin Group, which is carrying out a massive expansion of the mosque, told AFP the crane, like many others on the project, had been there for three or four years without any problem.

"It was not a technical issue at all," said the engineer, who asked not to be identified.

"I can only say that what happened was beyond the power of humans. It was an act of God and, to my knowledge, there was no human fault in it at all."

Authorities are investigating the tragedy, which occurred as hundreds of thousands of Muslims from around the world were gathering for the annual hajj pilgrimage.

The engineer said the crane was the main one used on work to expand the tawaf, or circumambulation area around the Kaaba -- a massive cubed structure at the centre of the mosque that is a focal point of worship.

"It has been installed in a way so as not to affect the hundreds of thousands of worshippers in the area and in an extremely professional way," he said.

"This is the most difficult place to work in, due to the huge numbers of people in the area."

The crane's heavy hook, which is able to lift hundreds of tonnes, began swaying and moved the whole crane with it, toppling into the mosque, the engineer explained.

A witness said the accident occurred during winds which were so strong they shook his car and tossed billboards around.

The development project is expanding the area of the Grand Mosque by 400,000 square metres (4.3 million square feet), allowing it to accommodate up to 2.2 million people at once.

Saudi Binladin Group belongs to the family of the late al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

source: interaksyon.com

Saudi hospital head sacked as MERS death toll hits 117

RIYADH - Saudi Arabia's acting health minister has announced the sacking of the head of a Jeddah hospital where a spike in MERS infections among medical staff sparked panic among the public.

The move, which Adel Fakieh published on Twitter late Tuesday, came after he inspected King Fahd Hospital's emergency department in the Red Sea city.

Hours after the news, health officials announced two more deaths from the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, bringing the toll to 117.


The victims were a 68-year-old woman in Jeddah, the kingdom's commercial capital, and a 60-year-old man died in Medina.

The Jeddah hospital was temporarily shut last month after several medics were infected by MERS.

And panic at the Red Sea city's main hospital prompted at least four doctors to resign in mid-April after they refused to treat MERS patients for fear of infection.

Nearly a week later, Riyadh dismissed the health minister and appointed Fakieh, who is labour minister, to take over the health portfolio on an acting basis.

Fakieh, who has repeatedly promised "transparency" over MERS, said he has replaced the head of the hospital and his assistants.

"The new team will immediately take up its duties," he tweeted, adding that "the ministry will take all decisive measures to achieve its goals in preserving the health of members of society."

Saudi Arabia has reported 431 infections since MERS first appeared in its eastern region in September 2012 before spreading across the kingdom.

Fakieh said last week that measures to contain the spread of MERS "will be announced in the coming days," as Western experts and representatives of the World Health Organisation met in Riyadh.

The WHO said Wednesday that a team of its experts completed a five-day mission to the kingdom "to assist the national health authorities to assess the recent increase in the number of people infected" in Jeddah.

Experts visited two main hospitals there and have found that the increase in cases are "due to breaches in WHO's recommended infection prevention and control measures," the UN organisation said.

It said that the recent increase in numbers of infections does not suggest a "significant change in the transmissibility of the virus."

So far, there is no evidence "of sustained human-to-human transmission in the community and the transmission pattern overall remained unchange," said WHO.

"The majority of human-to-human infections occurred in health care facilities," it said, adding that "one quarter of all cases have been health care workers."

The team called for improving "knowledge and attitudes" of health care workers about MERS.

MERS is considered a deadlier but less-transmissible cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003 and infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom died.

There are no vaccines or antiviral treatments for MERS, a disease with a mortality rate of more than 40 percent that experts are still struggling to understand.

Some research has suggested that camels are a likely source of the virus.

source: interaksyon.com

29 injured as Saudia jet makes emergency landing

JEDDAH - A Saudi Arabian Airlines jet made an emergency landing in Muslim holy city Medina in the west of the kingdom on Sunday, injuring 29 people, an aviation authority spokesman said.

The Saudia aircraft was travelling from Iran's second city of Mashhad with 315 passengers on board, General Authority of Civil Aviation spokesman Khalid al-Khaybari told AFP.

Of the 29 people injured, 11 were taken to hospital, while the rest were treated at the airport's medical centre, he said.

Khaybari did not elaborate on the type of aircraft or the cause of the emergency landing.

Footage posted online showed a plane landing apparently without its rear landing gear down and leaving a trail of flame along the runway.

source: interaksyon.com

Saudi issues new regulations on HSWs

MANILA, Philippines -- Saudi Arabia has issued regulations listing the rights and obligations of migrant household service workers and their employers, the Department of Labor and Employment said Thursday.

Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said Saudi Arabia approved last week Resolution No. 301, or the Household Regulation on Service Workers and Similar Categories.

“I am very much pleased that Saudi Arabia has issued its new regulations on the employment of foreign HSWs,” Baldoz said.

The resolution is an offshoot of an agreement between the Philippines and Saudi Arabia on a standard employment contract for household workers.

The new regulations, said Baldoz, “will certainly boost the protection for our HSWs and enhance their welfare.”

Under the new regulation, HSWs have the following obligations:

render the work agreed upon and do her best in the performance of her work
follow orders of the employer and family members relating to the performance of her work
take care of the employer’s property
not harm the family members, children, and the elderly
keep secrets of the employers, family members, and people living in or visiting the employer’s house
not refuse work or leave the service without legitimate reason
not affect the dignity of the employer and family members and not interfere in their affairs
respect the Islamic religion and observe Saudi regulations applied in Saudi Arabia, and the customs and traditions of the Saudi society
not engage in any activity disadvantageous to the (employer’s) family
On the other hand, employers should:

not impose work on the household service worker unless the work has been agreed upon, and provided the work does not substantially differ from the original work
not impose any dangerous work that threatens the health and safety and the human dignity of the HSW
pay the agreed salary at the end of every month
pay wage and benefits in cash or check to be documented in writing if the HSW does not want the wage or benefit deposited in a bank account
provide appropriate accommodation to the HSW
provide HSW opportunity to enjoy a daily rest of at least nine hours a day
personally attend or send a representative to answer complaint, if any, of the HSW
not ‘rent out’ the HSW
HSWs are also entitled to a weekly rest day, one month’s leave after two years of service, paid sick leave of not more than 30 days, health care according to the rules and regulations of Saudi Arabia, and end-of-service benefits equivalent to one-month salary after four years.

According to Baldoz, the regulations, if violated also carry stiff penalties for both employers and HSWs.

Employers shall be fined 2,000 Saudi riyals and prevented from recruiting HSWs, while HSWs shall be fined 2,000 Saudi riyals and prevented from working in the Kingdom.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration offices were already instructed to disseminate the information about the new regulations to all HSWs applicants, in coordination with all licensed recruitment agencies.

Baldoz also directed the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to include in the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) for HSWs information about the new regulations.

source: interaksyon.com

Bat linked to mysterious MERS virus

WASHINGTON - A bat has been linked to the mysterious and at times fatal MERS coronavirus plaguing the Middle East, according to a new study.

Researchers said they detected a 100 percent genetic match in an insect-eating bat close to the home of the first known victim of the disease in Saudi Arabia.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome has killed 47 people worldwide, 39 of them in Saudi Arabia.

"There have been several reports of finding MERS-like viruses in animals. None were a genetic match," said Ian Lipkin, a co-author of the study and head of Columbia University's Center for Infection and Immunity.

"In this case we have a virus in an animal that is identical in sequence to the virus found in the first human case," he said in a statement. "Importantly, it's coming from the vicinity of that first case."

The findings of the study, which also involved researchers from the EcoHealth Alliance and Saudi Arabia's health ministry, were published online late Wednesday in the "Emerging Infectious Diseases" journal of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

MERS is considered a cousin of the SARS virus that erupted in Asia in 2003.

Like SARS, it is thought to have jumped from animals to humans, and shares the former's flu-like symptoms -- but differs by causing kidney failure.

Between October 2012 and April 2013, researchers collected more than a thousand samples from seven bat species in regions of Saudi Arabia where MERS cases were identified.

After a series of analyses, a fecal sample taken from an Egyptian Tom Bat collected within several kilometers of the home of the first known MERS victim "contained sequences of a virus identical to those recovered" from that person.

But "there is no evidence of direct exposure to bats in the majority of human cases of MERS," said Ziad Memish, Saudi Arabia's deputy health minister and the study's lead author.

"Given that human-to-human transmission is inefficient, we speculate that an as-yet-to-be determined intermediate host plays a critical role in human disease."

source: interaksyon.com

Saudi ban affected 10 million users; Viber eyeing a workaround

MANILA, Philippines — Popular instant messaging application Viber said it is coming up with a workaround to circumvent the restrictions imposed by the Saudi Arabian government on its service last month.

Talmon Marco, Viber chief executive, revealed that they are working around the clock to “circumvent the restrictions” and make the chat and calling application available again to users in Saudi Arabia as he expressed frustration regarding the situation.

“We’re frustrated, we have 10 million users or so in Saudi Arabia,” Marco said during a press conference announcing the partnership between the Cyprus-based technology startup and local operator Globe Telecom. “They are taking advantage of a vulnerability in Google Play to block Viber download in most Android phones.”

It will be remembered that Viber was recently banned by Saudi Arabia’s telecom regulator for not adhering to the agency’s strict but vague regulations, and for competing with duly licensed telecom companies.

A good number of Overseas Filipino Workers vented disappointment with the ban, saying Viber was one of their limited ways to keep in touch with relatives back in the Philippines.

Marco said usage of the app dropped considerably in Saudi Arabia following the ban, but has not affected usage in the Philippines as much.

To go around the restriction, the Viber top executive said users are sideloading the app to their phones and using an encrypted connection to continue using the app.

“We are very close to solving this on iOS,” Marco added, without giving any specifics. Unlike Android, Apple apps could only be downloaded and installed through the dedicated app store.

He did not disclose if they are negotiating with the Saudi Arabian regulator to lift the ban, or if they are working with the government to meet its demands in order for the application to be available again in the Middle Eastern country.

But he stressed that their company slogan, “Connect. Freely.” stands as more than just a marketing statement to promote their free services.

“It means users can communicate with friends and relatives free of charge, but it also means that they are able to connect with their loved ones without restrictions,” Marco explained.

“And what the Saudi government has done … it’s a sad day for the people of Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Marco is in the Philippines to promote a new partnership with Globe Telecom that would allow Viber users in the Philippines to use the service free of charge when they subscribe to the telco’s Unli25 unlimited call and text service for one day.

The operator has also launched Viber-only plans, where subscribers can use the app on an unlimited basis for just P10 a day or P30 for five days.

The executive said this is their way of saying that it is time to upgrade voice and SMS, an old telco service which has changed very little since being launched more than two decades ago.

Currently, Marco disclosed, the service has about 6.1 million users in the Philippines and has been growing steadily despite competition from other Asian-based messaging services.

source: interaksyon.com

Oil rebounds ahead of US jobs data

Singapore - Oil prices bounced back in Asian trade Friday from the previous day's sharp losses as traders awaited a key labour market report in the United States, the world's biggest economy, analysts said.

New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for delivery in June, was up 13 cents to $102.67 per barrel while Brent North Sea crude for June gained 17 cents to $116.25 in morning trade.

WTI crude shed $2.68 on Thursday, while Brent tumbled $2.12 to a three-month low as investors reacted to data showing tepid growth in the important services sector of the US economy in April.

The Institute for Supply Management's services index fell to 53.5 in April, from 56.0, showing a sluggish expansion in the services sector.

The numbers put traders on the defensive before the release of the US jobs report later Friday, which is unlikely to spur optimism about the economic situation in the world's top oil-consuming nation, analysts said.

Economists expect Friday's report -- which includes data on both the private and public sectors -- to show the economy created a meagre 162,000 jobs last month, while the unemployment rate was stuck at 8.2 percent.

"Slower-than-expected growth in the massive US service sector dragged on markets as traders awaited the April US payrolls data on Friday," Phillip Futures said in a market commentary.

An indication by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that it wanted to scale prices down to sustainable levels was also bearing down on the market.

"We are not happy with prices at this time," said Abdullah El-Badri, OPEC's secretary general, at an energy conference in Paris.

"There is speculation on the market. We have plenty of oil on the market and we are working to bring the prices down," he added ahead of the cartel's next scheduled production meeting in Vienna next month.

OPEC's largest producer Saudi Arabia has previously pledged to ensure sufficient supplies to cover the shortfall caused by Western sanctions on Iranian crude, as well as disruptions caused by the civil war in Libya last year. — AFP

source: gmanetwork.com

Bin Laden family deported from Pakistan

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan — Osama bin Laden’s family were deported from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia early Friday, officials said, nearly a year after the al-Qaida leader was killed in a U.S. raid.

The 9/11 mastermind’s three widows and their children were detained by Pakistan after he was killed on May 2 last year in a secret U.S. Navy SEAL operation in the garrison town of Abbottabad, north of Islamabad.

Washington and Islamabad are currently working to repair their relationship, which was badly damaged by the revelation that the world’s most wanted man was living a stone’s throw from Pakistan’s elite military academy.

Pakistani authorities have already demolished the Abbottabad house and with the one-year anniversary of bin Laden’s death just a few days away, they will be keen for the deportation to mark a definitive end to what has been an extremely embarrassing episode.

After 10 months in detention, the widows and two of bin Laden’s older daughters were sentenced by a Pakistani court to 45 days’ detention on charges of illegal entry and residency in the country and ordered to be deportation.

Around midnight on Thursday, a minibus collected the family from the Islamabad house where they had served the sentence, which was completed 10 days ago.

The family were believed to number 12—three widows, eight children and one grandchild—though an interior ministry spokesman said orders were passed for the deportation of 14 bin Laden relatives.

They were taken to Islamabad airport to board a special flight to the Gulf kingdom which took off shortly before 2 a.m. Friday.

An interior ministry spokesman told AFP: “The plane has left for Saudi Arabia.”

The family were originally supposed to be deported after completing their sentence last week but the move dragged on—officially because legal formalities were not complete but amid suggestions the Saudis were reluctant to accept such a notorious group.

Then on Thursday, a Pakistani security official said, “some development happened late in the evening” allowing them to be expelled.

The family’s lawyer Atif Ali Khan last week said bin Laden’s Yemeni widow Amal Abdulfattah and her five children could be sent to Yemen after Saudi Arabia.

Bin Laden’s discovery in Abbottabad dealt a huge blow to U.S.-Pakistan relations and led to accusations of Pakistani complicity or incompetence.

After fleeing Afghanistan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, bin Laden moved his family around Pakistan before settling in a three-story house inside a walled compound in the garrison town in 2005.

The family’s prolonged detention after the raid fed speculation that the Pakistani authorities were worried about what they might reveal about bin Laden’s time in the country—and how he was able to live there for so long undetected.

Abdulfattah, 30, bin Laden’s youngest and reportedly favorite wife, told Pakistani interrogators that her husband fathered four children while he hid out in Pakistan, according to a police report seen by AFP last month.

source: japantoday.com

Gunmen seize Saudi diplomat in south Yemen — police

ADEN - Saudi Arabia's deputy consul in Yemen's southern port city of Aden was seized by unknown gunmen outside his home on Wednesday, a police official told AFP.

"Abdullah al-Khalidi was kidnapped while leaving his home in the Mansoura neighborhood of Aden," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

He said police have launched an investigation into the kidnapping and are actively searching for the diplomat.

"He was taken to an unknown location and we are searching from him," the official added.

This is the second attack against Khalidi in recent months. Late last year, unknown gunmen stopped the diplomat while he was driving in Aden, pulled him from his car and then stole it. He was unharmed.

Aden borders Yemen's lawless southern Abyan province, where al Qaeda linked militants have exploited the weakening central government in Sanaa to strengthen their presence in the country, launching deadly attacks against security forces especially across the restive south and southeast.

The United States says the Yemen-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP, is the most active and deadly branch of the global jihadist network.

Since last May, the extremists have increased their control over several towns and villages in the south, including Abyan's capital Zinjibar.

More than 200 people have been abducted in Yemen over the past 15 years, many of them by members of the country's powerful tribes who use them as bargaining chips with the authorities.

Almost all of those kidnapped were later freed unharmed. — AFP

source: gmanetwork.com