QUNFUDA, 20 March 2007 — Fed up with traffic problems and being charged for violations an old man decided to trade in his car for a donkey, the daily Okaz reported yesterday. He made his first donkey ride to the Qunfuda Municipal Office a couple of days ago. The man hitched his animal to a lamppost in front of the office building and explained to curious bystanders that no policeman would pester him with parking in the wrong place or fine him for traffic violations. He said he would not use a car except for long journeys as a donkey was the right vehicle for crowded city roads.
Worshippers Miss Prayer as Imam Fights
QUNFUDA, 20 March 2007 — A dispute between the imam (prayer leader) and the builder of a mosque in Qunfuda caused worshippers to miss their weekly Friday congregational prayer, the daily Okaz reported yesterday. The builder of the mosque, who did not like the new imam appointed by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments and Propagation, prevented the imam from leading the Friday noon prayer. A fistfight ensued and worshippers had to leave without praying. In another development 20 imams and muezzins in the southern governorate of Sebya complained that they had not been paid for the past three months. In response, the director of Endowments in the region said the imams had been punished because departmental inspectors found them absent from their duties and negligent in leading prayers. He said an imam would be punished if he absented himself without valid reasons from even a single prayer.
