• Oman Air disables misnamed 'Persian' Gulf inflight maps

    MUSCAT: Oman Air has switched off an inflight map system that labeled the waterway between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, the subject of a bitter naming dispute, as the “Persian Gulf”. The decision followed a storm of criticism on social media after a passenger posted a video showing the map in Arabic referring to the Persian, rather than Arabian Gulf. “Our crew have been notified to disable the disturbing maps,” the sultanate’s national carrier said in a statement on Twitter. Two Boeing Dreamliners hired from Kenya Airways used a different map system to its own, it said, adding that it had asked Panasonic, which runs the system, to change the maps “without delay”. One Twitter user called the

    Kuwait Times q

  • Marriage phobia

    Dr. Ahlam Alaqi Marriage has become a frightening thing. I have heard many mothers say it. But why do they view marriage like that? I once asked a mother why she said this and she told me a sad story. She married her daughter to a young Saudi man who was studiying abroad. Her daughter traveled abroad to live with her husband, who turned out to be selfish, irresponsible and above all a miser. Her poor daughter suffered immensely, especially after giving birth to their first child. The mother decided to go abroad to help her daughter and was shocked when she arrived at their home to find the fridge empty expect for some water bottles. She discovered that her daughter was living on milk and cereals.

    Saudi Gazette q

  • FAST: China's great space telescope begins operations

    The world's largest radio telescope has began operating in southwestern China, a project which Beijing says will help humanity search for alien life. The mega telescope began working around noon, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday, adding that it will explore space and search for signs of intelligent life. Built within a valley surrounded by naturally-formed karst hills in China's remote and mountainous southwestern Guizhou province, the FAST radio telescope's huge dish is equal in size to 30 football pitches and was built from 4,000 individual metal panels. The feasibility study for the telescope was carried out over 14 years and construction took more than five years to complete.

    Al Jazeera q

  • Four things the royals will be showing off in Canada

    Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Prince William talk with U.S. President Barack Obama at Kensington Palace in London on Friday, April 22. Obama visited the royals during his global tour, with stops in Saudi Arabia, Britain and Germany.

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  • Manchester hit-and-run: Footage shows woman struck by car

    CCTV footage has been released of the moment a driver fled the scene of a hit-and run after a 67-year-old woman was struck by a car. The woman was crossing Chapel Street in Levenshulme, Manchester, when a silver Honda Civic, which was waiting at the junction, reversed and hit her on 13 August. The driver got out, saw the woman on the ground and returned to the car before leaving, Greater Manchester Police said. The woman was taken to hospital where she was treated for a broken ankle and a fractured arm. Officers said they were looking for a man of large build, in his 20s or 30s with short black hair.

    BBC News q

  • Two Muslim Women Kicked Off JetBlue Flight for ‘Staring’ at Flight Attendant

    In what would have been a shocking but is now an all-too-familiar Islamophobic incident, two Muslim women were led off a passenger plane as a flight attendant did not like the way the women ‘stared’ at her, according to DailyMail. On Saturday, two Muslim women in hijabs onboard JetBlue Flight 487 between Boston and Los Angeles were escorted out of the airliner by police as one of the flight attendants was concerned about the way the two women were looking at her. A video showing the two women being escorted out for questioning was posted on YouTube on Monday by Mark Frauenfelder, taken by his friend Sharon Kessler. In regards to the incident, Kessler told DailyMail that "it was a terrible moment

    Cairo Scene q

  • Japan scrambles jets over Chinese flight

    Japan says it scrambled fighter jets on Sunday after eight Chinese military aircraft flew between Japanese islands. The planes, thought to be bombers, surveillance planes and one fighter jet, flew along the Miyako Straits, between Okinawa and Miyakojima. China said about 40 of its aircraft had been involved in what it said was a routine drill. The planes did not cross into Japanese airspace, but the move is being seen as a show of force by China. It comes one week after Japan said it would take part in joint training exercises with the US navy in the South China Sea. Japan's top government spokesman said Japan would be watching China's military movements closely. Tokyo will "continue to devote

    BBC News q

  • Barack Obama's pivot to Asia in tatters

    "No, I will only bring [up] the [arbitration case] face-to-face [with China]... because if you quarrel with them now, claim sovereignty, make noise here and there, they might not just even want to talk," declared Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte before his global diplomatic debut earlier this month. The Filipino leader reassured his Chinese counterparts that he wouldn't even mention Manila's landmark legal victory against China during latest discussions of the South China Sea disputes at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit. In its arbitration case, the Philippines managed to convince an international arbitral body, constituted under the aegis of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to nullify the bulk of China's "historic rights" claims over almost the entirety of the South China Sea, a global artery of trade.

    Al Jazeera q

  • Oil prices rebound after Algeria says all options open at OPEC meeting

    Crude prices rebounded on Monday after Algeria's energy minister said the day before that all options were possible for an oil output cut or freeze at this week's informal meeting of OPEC producers. That came after prices tumbled 4 percent on Friday amid signs Saudi Arabia and Iran were making little progress in achieving preliminary agreement to freeze production. Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum in Algeria from Sept. 26-28, where they will discuss a possible output-limiting deal. "We will not come out of the meeting empty-handed," Algerian energy minister Noureddine Bouterfa said in Algiers on Sunday.

    Egypt Independent: Business q

  • Blake Lively doesn't want you praising her post-baby body

    Blake Lively says new mums shouldn't feel pressure to lose weight straight after having a baby. She's been on Australian breakfast show Sunrise, where she was complimented on how great she looked in a bikini in her new film The Shallows. The presenter commented on how the film was shot just months after Blake had her first baby. But the 28-year-old called it unfair that slimming down after birth is "so celebrated". "It's like, this is what someone looks like after having a baby," she said. "I think a woman's body after having a baby is pretty amazing. You gave birth to a human being. I would really like to see that celebrated." The ex-Gossip Girl star's now expecting her second child with husband

    BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat q

  • Saudi central bank to inject $5.3 bln to boost financial sector

    Saudi Arabia's central bank said it would deposit about $5.3 billion (20 billion riyals) at commercial banks and introduce two new money market instruments to fight a surge in market interest rates caused by low oil prices. It will inject the funds in the form of time deposits on behalf of government entities to "support financial stability", it said on Sunday, without naming the entities or providing other details. It will also introduce seven- and 28-day repurchase agreements to lend money to banks when needed. Previously, the central bank has typically only used repo agreements with one-day maturities. Low global oil prices have slashed government revenue and the volume of petrodollars flowing

    english.alarabiya.net q

  • How a sleeping Kyrgyz boy prompted poverty conversation

    This image of a Kyrgyz boy sleeping on a piece of cardboard has triggered a furore on social media, and a wider debate about poverty in the Central Asian country. The boy is three years old and lives in the Osh region, in the south of Kyrgyzstan. It was posted to Facebook along with the comment: "It would be good if this innocent child slept in a kindergarten or at home, instead of at the market". And others were quick to offer similar opinions - blaming the mother of the boy for leaving him to sleep on the street. But many turned their attention to the government as well, criticising the authorities for the pitiful scene. "State jackals. You can't see how the people live," wrote one. Many took

    BBC News q

  • Gold rate today, Gold price today, Dubai gold rates, international and retail gold rates plus Gold news and analysis

    Dubai gold rate, Dubai gold price, Gulf retail gold rates and prices, and international gold spot rates. With gold news and analysis

    Gulf News q

  • Flooding forces school closures in India's Hyderabad

    Normal life in Hyderabad has been brought to a grinding halt after torrential rain hit eastern India. Some of the city streets have resembled rivers since the rain turned heavy on Wednesday. Traffic has found some of the roads impassable and residents have had to wade through waist-deep floodwater in some areas. The rain was triggered by an area of low pressure which developed within the monsoon rains covering eastern India. Hyderabad is not the only place to be hit. Much of the neighbouring states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have seen excessive amounts of rain. Normally this region of India avoids the heaviest of the summer monsoon rains. It is sheltered by the Western Ghats, a mountain

    Al Jazeera q

  • A busy day at causeway

    Dammam — Some 70,000 vehicles from the Saudi and Bahraini sides crossed the King Fahd Causeway on Friday, according to Director of Saudi Passports (Jawazat) Brig. Gen. Marei Al-Qahtani. Citizens and expatriates in Saudi Arabia had an extended holiday for the National Day, which was celebrated on Friday. The causeway authorities opened all 21 lanes for the smooth flow of the heavy traffic. The lanes were monitored by 128 surveillance cameras linked to the operations room which was set up recently. The operations room is equipped withe the latest technology and has well-trained security staff to facilitate the flow of traffic to and from Bahrain, Al-Qahtani said. The 25 km-long causeway links the

    Saudi Gazette q

  • 23 Absurdly Fab Photos from Karim El Chiaty & Victoria's Secret Model Ana Beatriz Barros' Wedding

    You might have noticed people making the move to Sahel, Gouna, and other such dreamy beachy lands during the Eid weekend, but what about the mysterious case of Mykonos? Why were our social media feeds suddenly flooded with images of the Greek tropical island? A coincidence? We think not. Everyone in the country (or world) has been buzzing – about what can only be described as the biggest, most glam wedding of the year where Brazilian Victoria’s Secret supermodel Ana Beatriz Barros tied the knot with Egyptian-Greek billionaire Karim El Chiati. You could say a few celebrities made an appearance. Nothing special. A slew of luxurious villas held over 400 guests who flew from all over the world for

    Cairo Scene q

  • Love Island will return for a third series

    Good news for fans of Love Island - ITV has announced it will be back next year. Bosses have ordered a third season of one of the summer's most talked about shows. Its second run is thought to have doubled last year's viewing figures, with an average of 1.3 million people watching each episode. "We can't wait to do it all again next year," said ITV Studios creative director Richard Cowles. Although the series officially finished last night with Nathan Massey and Cara De La Hoyde crowned champions, it will return for a special episode on Sunday 17 July. Love Island: Heading Home will follow the islanders as they're reunited at the wrap party. Which will no doubt mean clashes as exes come face-to-face

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  • Rouhani uses UN to hit US over nuclear deal - Region - World

    Iran used the UN General Assembly on Thursday to accuse the United States of failing to meet its commitments under a historic nuclear deal. President Hassan Rouhani complained that America is dragging its feet on its side of the bargain. "The lack of compliance (with the deal) on the part of the United States in the past several months represents a flawed approach that should be rectified forthwith," Rouhani told the world body. The agreement between Tehran, Washington and five other major powers came into force in January. Iran accepted curbs to its nuclear program in exchange for their lifting sanctions. While observers say Iran has met its commitments, Tehran accuses Washington of continuing

    english.ahram.org.eg q

  • Female Saudi chefs excel in profession

    Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Female Saudi chefs are vigorously competing in the culinary industry, dedicating their abilities and expertise to offer distinctive dishes that express their passion for cooking. But success has come at a price, with some obstacles and difficulties. Chef Somayya Al-Idrissi said she encountered difficulties in the field cooking in the Kingdom. “This area is relatively new in Saudi Arabia and there are misconceptions about the profession of chefs, which scares young women from pursuing this experience. But my determination and my enthusiasm to hone my talent led me to the pursuit of excellence even though it is difficult,” she said. Al-Idrissi’s passion for cooking

    Saudi Gazette q

  • Italian driver races China daredevil road in record time

    An Italian driver has raced up China's Tongtian Road, considered one of the world's most dangerous, in record time. Fabio Barone covered the nearly 11km (6.8 mile) route in just 10 minutes 31 seconds, on 21 September. The road has 99 sharp turns on its way up Tianmen Mountain, rising from 200 to 1,300 metres above sea level. He had his Ferrari specially modified for the attempt, shaving crucial kilos off its weight by swapping metal for carbon fibre parts. Mr Barone is not new to racing hairy mountain roads, having set another speed record last year on the Transfagarasan mountain road in the Transylvanian Alps in Romania. Tianmen Mountain is no stranger to extreme motor sports either, having

    BBC News q