More than 50 killed in 2 days of turmoil in Syria

BEIRUT: Two days of bloody turmoil in Syria killed more than 50 people as forces loyal to President Bashar Assad shelled residential buildings, fired on crowds and left bleeding corpses in the streets in a dramatic escalation of violence, activists said Friday.

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Arabs to Davos: Invest in us, don't fear us

DAVOS: Leaders of the Arab Spring sought to assure the world's elite in Davos that the rise of political Islam is not a threat to democracy, and pleaded for help creating jobs and satisfying the hunger of their people for a better life.

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Amid real estate boom, Makkawis face housing crisis

At a time when Makkah’s real estate sector is witnessing an unprecedented boom, several local residents are up in arms against a growing housing crisis in the holy city. They blame landlords for creating such a situation. Speaking to Arab News, a number of prominent figures and local residents said most landlords prefer leasing their buildings only on a temporary basis so that they can earn huge profits.

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Opinion: Syria, Iran: War of attrition or buckling under pressures?

US can create the external and internal conditions that could bring down regimes in both countries
Iran, Syria and their proxies assess that the United States has been politically and economically declining. According to this logic, the United States has been ineffective in pushing forward the Middle East peace process. Furthermore, domestic problems haunt Washington's political decisions. American withdrawal from Iraq and Afghanistan coupled with its inability to take part in the war in Libya reveal the scope of its domestic crisis and its inability to twist the arms of Russia and China.

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Opinion: Taking care of our priorities

‘Waste-bins could even be beautiful as can be seen in the Nusa Dua area in Bali’
The ongoing monthlong “Hayya Jeddah 2012” festival, intended to draw visitors in the millions from both within and outside the Kingdom, kicked off a few days back.

Kingdom, Iraq not to execute each other's prisoners

JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia and Iraq have agreed in principle to put on hold execution of prisoners on death row in the two countries for at least two months until a final agreement to swap prisoners is reached.

Working conditions for women to be eased

JEDDAH: The Ministry of Labor is working on a new mechanism to address issues pertaining to work hours and commuting of women employees in both public and private sectors.

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Better correctional programs planned

JEDDAH: The Makkah Governorate plans to improve the correctional programs in the region's prisons and penitentiaries, official sources from the governorate announced Friday.

Sudan to rebuild its old consulate building

JEDDAH: The Consulate General of Sudan in Jeddah intends to rebuild its old building in the south of Jeddah. The building is one of the historical structures in the city.

SGH marks 23 years of community service

JEDDAH: A large number of residents including members of the expatriate community participated in Saudi German Hospitals Group’s 23rd anniversary here. Saudi Arabia’s generous assistance to the group was acknowledged at the anniversary celebration.

Jazan to have livestock incinerators

JEDDAH: Jazan province will be the first in Saudi Arabia to dispose of dead livestock through the use of high quality incinerators. These would ensure a safe disposal of livestock carcasses and protect the environment from harmful gas emissions.

Sudan, S. Sudan leaders try to resolve oil row

ADDIS ABABA: The presidents of Sudan and South Sudan tried on Friday to resolve a dispute over oil exports that has pushed South Sudan to shut off hundreds of thousands of barrels per day of output.

Fatah slams Republican candidates for anti-Palestinian remarks

RAMALLAH, West Bank: The Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement on Friday harshly slammed US Republican presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich for their anti-Palestinian remarks.

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Moroccan retiree dies after setting self on fire

RABAT, Morocco: A retired Moroccan who set himself on fire in a courthouse has died from his burns.

Iran could ban EU oil exports next week -lawmakers

TEHRAN: A law to be debated in Iran’s parliament on Sunday may halt oil exports to the European Union as early as next week, foiling an EU plan to phase in an oil embargo gradually to help its struggling economies adapt, lawmakers said on Friday.

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Gunmen kill 15 traders in Nigeria’s north

Country’s top court sacks five ruling party state governors

Imran says he’ll sweep the elections

DAVOS: Pakistani cricket legend and opposition politician Imran Khan predicted Thursday that his party will sweep the next national elections and he will become the country’s next prime minister.

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Taleban may soften stance for peace talk

KABUL/PARIS: Senior Afghan peace negotiators believe the Taleban are willing to significantly soften past hard-line ideologies, with its leaders already laying the ground for possible peace talks in Qatar.

Russia won’t back UN call for Syria’s Assad to go

MOSCOW: Russia signalled on Friday it could veto any UN Security Council resolution demanding Syrian President Bashar Assad resign and said an attempt to rush such a proposal to a vote is doomed to fail.

US lays out 2012 foreign policy in an online press conference

JEDDAH: On Tuesday, during a live 45 minutes Q&A Web-based press conference, Director of Policy Planning at the United States Department of State, Jake Sullivan, laid out his country’s foreign policies and expectation for 2012.

US special operations expanding as wars recede

WASHINGTON: War is going secret again. That’s the next-generation plan put forth by the special operations commander who led the Osama Bin Laden raid and embraced at the highest levels of the Pentagon and the White House.

Prince Charles lauds Kingdom's hosting of Hajis

LONDON: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and heir apparent to the British throne, opened the exhibition of “Haj: Journey to the Heart of Islam” in London’s British Museum Thursday night.

Lack of skilled Saudis takes the shine off gold trade

Saudization in gold and jewelry shops reached 100 percent in 2003 following a royal decision issued by the then Interior Minister Prince Naif. The Nitaqat system recently issued by the Ministry of Labor defined a Saudization rate of 70 percent in the gold sector. The decision led to misunderstandings, with many businessmen thinking they could decrease Saudization with 30 percent in their gold shops. However, traders confirmed to Arab News that the Saudization rate in companies and factories is 70 percent, but gold shops have to remain fully Saudized.

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Overstayers' last chance

RIYADH: The government detention camp (Tarheel) in Jeddah has opened its doors to register visa overstayers for repatriation to their respective countries.

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More than 50 killed in 2 days of turmoil in Syria

BEIRUT: Two days of bloody turmoil in Syria killed more than 50 people as forces loyal to President Bashar Assad shelled residential buildings, fired on crowds and left bleeding corpses in the streets in a dramatic escalation of violence, activists said Friday.

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Suicide bomber kills 32 at Baghdad funeral march

BAGHDAD: A suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed car near a funeral procession in southeastern Baghdad on Friday, killing at least 32 people — half of them policemen who were guarding the march — in the latest brazen attack since the US troop withdrawal from Iraq.

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Picture of the Day

A frozen house is seen on a track of the Sedivackuv Long dog sled race in Destne v Orlickych horach on Jan. 26, 2012. Each year, racers from all over Europe arrive to the village of Destne in Orlicke mountains in Czech Republic to take part in this race series. (Reuters)

Twitter to block tweets on country-by-country basis

SAN FRANCISCO: Twitter has refined its technology so it can censor messages on a country-by-country basis. The additional flexibility announced Thursday is likely to raise fears that Twitter’s commitment to free speech may be weakening as the short-messaging company expands into new countries in an attempt to broaden its audience and make more money.

Winslet to receive honorary French ‘Cesar’

PARIS: British actress Kate Winslet is to receive an honorary award next month from organizers of the French equivalent of the Academy Awards.

Hwan, Sardar rule Zahid Tractor Open at Dirab

RIYADH: Korean Jo Tae Hwan, taking time out from his duties at the Kingdom Dirab Golf Academy, won Best Gross honors on Friday in the 5th Annual Zahid Tractor Open Golf Tournament at the Dirab Golf & Country Club on the outskirts of Riyadh.

Dane Olesen sets pace as Tiger steals show

ABU DHABI: Former world No. 1 Tiger Woods gave clear evidence he was back to his best after carefully plotting his way to a second-round 69 to move within two shots of the lead at the Abu Dhabi Championship on Friday.

Latest comments

‘Embracing Islam is the best deal I made in the Kingdom’

Subhan Allah...!!! Allah hu Akbar...!!! i am proud to be a muslim and working in Jeddah, Saudi

Syed Waseem Ahmed at Jan 28, 2012 03:54

14 comments

Bhutto’s birthday celebrated in Jeddah

who teach them the celebration? they are muslim? let us remain them the hadees that "who follow

Farooq at Jan 28, 2012 03:54

6 comments

Israel should be the last to practice racism

Just to be fair, have you ever visited Arab nations? Say, Saudi Arabia where it is forbidden fo

Chony at Jan 28, 2012 03:54

9 comments

Football then and now

Dream On.

Reader at Jan 28, 2012 03:53

3 comments

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