Labor Ministry launches initiatives to bolster Saudization in private sector

Source: Arab News (Read full story)

Madinah Gov. Prince Faisal bin Salman yesterday commended the Labor Ministry’s efforts to create more job opportunities for Saudis and eradicate the country’s unemployment problem. He received Labor Minister Adel Fakeih who gave the governor a presentation on the ministry’s present and future programs, especially for the Madinah region. “There is a clear instruction from the Saudi leadership to provide good job opportunities for citizens,” the prince said. Meanwhile, speaking to Al-Eqtisadiah daily, Fakeih highlighted his ministry’s efforts to create a secure atmosphere for women to work.

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Govt to set up ‘family fund’ as debt deal to become law – Foreign relations panel discusses border with Iraq

Source: Kuwait Times (Read full story)

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MP Youssef Al-Zalzalah that according to the final formula, which is expected to be passed as legislation by the Assembly tomorrow, a special fund called the family fund will be established by the government. The fund will purchase all outstanding loans taken by Kuwaitis in the period between Jan 1, 2002 and March 30, 2008, waive all existing interest on them and reschedule the repayment in easy instalments not exceeding 40 percent of the debtors’ income. Zalzalah said that based on the final agreement, the deal will cover those who took loans from conventional as well as Islamic banks and financial companies in that period.

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Court jails 17 on attempted murder charges

Source: Gulf Today (Read full story)

A Bahrain court sentenced 17 activists to 15 years in prison on Sunday after convicting them of the attempted murder of four policemen in a bomb attack in April last year, a judicial source said. The defendants were found guilty of detonating a roadside bomb in the village of Aker that wounded four members of a passing police patrol,  the source said. Meanwhile, state news agency BNA reported that an Asian worker was wounded in an “act of terrorism” when a home-made explosive device went off at a bike  repair shop outside a boys’ school near the eastern village of Muharraq.

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Oman court frees 8 activists on bail

Source: The Peninsula (Read full story)

Oman’s appeal court has freed on bail eight out of 11 jailed demonstrators pending a retrial ordered by the Supreme Court after they staged a hunger strike against their imprisonment, their lawyer said on Monday. The men, convicted of forming an illegal gathering, were jailed last year in a security crackdown after protests in the Gulf Arab sultanate inspired by Arab uprisings elsewhere. They were sentenced to 18 months in prison after being detained at protests over unemployment and corruption.

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Is Any Hope Left for Mideast Peace?

Source: The New York Times (Read full story)

What should Barack Obama, who is to visit Israel next Wednesday for the first time in his presidency, do about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? First, he must abandon the stale conventional wisdom offered by the New York-Washington foreign-policy establishment, which clings to the crumbling remnants of a so-called peace process that, in the 34 years since the Camp David accords, has actually helped make peace less attainable than ever.

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New obstacles!

Source: Gulf Daily News (Read full story)

Religious leaders are seeking to undermine Bahrain’s National Dialogue, according to the senior government representative at the talks. Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa also accused opposition groups of continuing to place obstacles in the path of progress. He made his comments after a fiery session of the National Dialogue last night at the Al Areen Resort and Spa. However, he pledged that talks would continue despite tensions at the negotiation table and escalation of violence on the streets, which he called on opposition groups to condemn – warning that those supporting violence would face action.

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