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Voting delayed for Filipinos in Jeddah

April 12, 2013

Voting_Filipinos

Riyadh/Jeddah, Apr 12: The overseas absentee voting among Overseas Filipino Workers starting tomorrow in Riyadh and the Eastern Province has been delayed in Jeddah because the ballot boxes and other election documents are yet to arrive.

The voting in Riyadh and the Eastern Province will continue until May 13.

Consul Leo Tito L. Ausan Jr., in charge of the electoral process at the Philippines Consulate in Jeddah, told Arab News that the Consulate has received the PCOS (precinct count optical scan) machines but that the ballot boxes are still awaited.

In Riyadh, Ambassador Ezzedin H. Tago said the embassy has made all arrangements to conduct the first automated elections.

“In preparation for the election, the embassy organized training for poll officers to handle the Automated Election System (AES),” Tago told Arab News.

He said the embassy received eight PCOS machines from the Philippines and that it is 100 percent ready to conduct the elections for the senatorial and party-list polls.

Aside from the eight PCOS machines, the embassy also received ballots and paraphernalia for automated elections.

The mission in Riyadh is one of seven foreign-service posts that will adopt the automated election system this year.

Tago invited all registered overseas voters to exercise their right to vote to select the next leaders of the country.

The automated elections follow the training of personnel who will serve as members of the Special Board of Election Inspectors, Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group and Special Board of Canvassers.

The embassy has invited all Filipinos to visit its website (www.philembassy-riyadh.org) and Facebook page to see if their names are there on the Certified List of Overseas Voters for Riyadh.

The list for Riyadh is also printed and posted at the embassy premises and registered voters may check the number of their precincts before proceeding to the precincts where they should vote.

In Jeddah, a total of 30 personnel are being trained to handle the poll management.

In Riyadh, there are 53,396 registered Filipino voters — the largest overseas voter bloc in the Middle East region.

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Agencies
May 22,2020

Riyadh, May 22: The family of murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Friday said that they forgave his killers. Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who had written columns critical of Saudi Arabia, was brutally killed in October 2018, allegedly at the behest of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

“In this blessed night of the blessed month [of Ramadan] we remember God’s saying: If a person forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah,” Jamal Khashoggi’s son Salah Khashoggi said in a tweet. “Therefore, we the sons of the Martyr Jamal Khashoggi announce that we pardon those who killed our father, seeking reward [from] God almighty.”

The legal outcome of this announcement is not yet clear. Earlier, Salah Khashoggi said he had “full confidence” in the judicial system, and that the accused were trying to exploit the case.

Jamal Khashoggi’s body was said to have been dismembered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and disposed of elsewhere, but his remains were never found.

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News Network
May 18,2020

Abu Dhabi, May 18: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has recorded a special message for Indian expats in the UAE as the country fights the coronavirus pandemic.

Khan - one of the biggest stars of Bollywood for decades - enjoys a large fan following in the Gulf, which is why Abu Dhabi roped in the actor to record a special video message for expats, urging them to cooperate with authorities in the capital and the country as they carry out sanitisation and testing programmes.

In the video, tweeted by the Abu Dhabi Media Office on Sunday night, the superstar appeals to Indians in Abu Dhabi to become heroes by staying home (stepping out for essential work/errands only), following precautionary measures and simply 'do the right thing' by getting tested if they have any Covid-19-related symptoms.

Khan, who has shot his recent super hit films (Race 3) in the capital, assured expats that Abu Dhabi authorities will not leave the community in these challenging times as it is a hospitable city who takes care of all residents.

"Following preventive measures also protects your family from the virus - so do the right thing as heroes do," Khan concludes.

The second phase of Abu Dhabi's sanitisation and testing in labour areas is underway, which started on May 16. Special testing facilities have been set up in the city for this purpose that test thousands of workers everyday.

As of May 17, UAE has confirmed over 23,000 cases along with over 8,000 recoveries and 220 deaths.

The country recently made a breakthrough in treating Covid-19 by using stem cells to help with the recovery.

The UAE leadership has thanked citizens and residents for their cooperation and assured that the country will take care of everyone in the country - with food and medicines being the red line, and that there will be no shortage of either during the crisis. Stimulus packages have been announced to help businesses stay afloat.

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Agencies
August 4,2020

Beirut, Aug 4: A massive explosion has shaken the Lebanese capital of Beirut, with a very high number of casualties expected.

A warehouse at the Beirut Port caught fire on Tuesday afternoon, triggering a huge explosion, Lebanon’s official National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Several smaller explosions were heard before the bigger one occurred.

Abbas Ibrahim, the head of Lebanon’s General Security, said that “highly explosive materials” confiscated earlier had been stored at the site.

Footage shared on social media captured the moment of the bigger explosion, with a colossal shock wave seen traveling fast across several hundreds of meters and shrouding the area in thick smoke.

The blast left enormous material damage to the surrounding buildings and structures. But it was not immediately known how big an area was affected.

There was also no immediate casualty count. Graphic amateur video from the scene showed bodies strewn on the ground, with their clothes blown off.

The NNA said rescue operations were underway. Ambulances were seen heading toward the scene in central Beirut.

Lebanese LBC television channel quoted Lebanon’s Health Minister Hamad Hasan as saying that the blast had caused a “very high number of injuries” and “extensive damage.”

Beirut Governor Marwan Abboud said an unspecified number of firefighters dispatched to extinguish the initial fire had been killed in the explosion.

“As they were putting out the fire, the explosion took place and we’ve [lost them],” he said, breaking down on live TV.

The explosion comes at a time when the Arab country is passing through its worst economic and financial crisis in decades, and amid rising tensions with Israel.

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