MAKKAH, 21 August 2006 — A man went into a restaurant to buy some Ful leaving his three-year-old son all alone in a running car. To his horror, when he returned 5 minutes later, he saw the boy had put the car in reverse and crashed into a parked car behind, the Al-Riyadh daily reported yesterday. The child had his foot firmly on the accelerator and despite the pleas of passersby would not let go. The father finally managed to coax his son to unlock the car and switched the engine off but only after the car behind him was a wreck. The man promised the owner of the wrecked car full compensation and hopefully learned a valuable lesson to never leave an unattended child in the car.

Manager of Water Department Beaten Up

TABUK, 21 August 2006 — The manager of the department of water in the city of Al-Wajh in northern Saudi Arabia was beaten up by a local resident because of a water shortage, the Okaz daily reported yesterday. The manager was leaving his house when an unidentified stranger approached him and beat him up saying this is what he deserves for leaving him without water. The manager was taken to hospital for treatment. The beating follows a decision by the water department in the Al-Wajh province restricting one water tank per household every ten days. The new water-allocation move has caused a serious water shortage.

When Are We Going to Pray Friday Prayer?

AL-ASYAH, 21 August 2006 — Worshippers were left angry and bewildered at a mosque in Al-Asyah when the imam did not show up for Friday prayers, the Al-Jazirah newspaper reported yesterday. As the minutes ticked by, people began to fidget and wonder where the imam was. It was then that the muezzin decided to take the imam’s place but instead of delivering a sermon he led the normal Dhuhr prayers, which confused the worshippers even more. The muezzin said that he had no experience in delivering sermons and so had decided to read Dhuhr prayers instead.

Woman Delivers Twins in Taif Park

TAIF, 21 August 2006 — A Saudi woman delivered healthy baby twins in a public park in Taif during a family picnic, the Al-Jazirah newspaper reported yesterday. The woman was busily munching away on biscuits when she suddenly felt labor pains. Seeing there was no time to go to hospital, other picnickers in the park rushed to the woman’s aid and in a short time the woman gave birth to two healthy twins. The mother and babies were taken to hospital and are said to be doing fine. According to relatives, this is the third time that the woman has given birth to twins and the first time she has done so in a public place.

Honey I Love You Only for Your Money

MAKKAH, 21 August 2006 — A well-paid Saudi woman, who grew suspicious of her fiancé’s “love” decided to put him to the test, the Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday. Having been engaged, the Saudi woman initially thought that the man wanted to start a new life with her but a few weeks before the wedding, the man asked his fiancée for a loan in order to furnish their new house.

The woman became suspicious and decided to put him through a love test. On his next visit, she told him that she wanted to devote herself totally to her husband and so had left her job.

The groom became angry and in a fit of shouting, blurted out that he only wanted to marry her because of her salary. The woman called off the wedding.