5 Feb 2016

Friday, February 5, 2016
International
5
Starbucks in Saudi Arabia bans
women from entering store
RIYADH, Feb 4: Women
were banned from entering a
Starbucks in Saudi Arabia
after a ‘gender barrier’ wall
collapsed, it has been
claimed.
A sign posted on the window
of a Riyadh store of the
coffee chain, in Arabic and
English, reportedly read:
“Please no entry for ladies
only. Send your driver to
order. Thank you.”
One woman who said she
was refused service at the
café wrote on Twitter:
“Starbucks store in Riyadh
refused to serve me just
because I’m a woman and
asked me to send a man
instead.”
Starbucks denied that the
store had a ban on women.
According to the Arabic
language daily newspaper Al
Weaam, the country’s religious
police – the Committee
for the Promotion of Virtue
and Prevention of Vice –
ordered the coffee shop’s
management to ban women
from the establishment after it
found that a ‘segregation
wall’ inside the store had
given way during a routine
inspection around a market in
the capital city.
According to Al Weaam,
LONDON, Feb 4: Donor
nations pledged on Thursday
to give billions of dollars in
aid to Syrians as world leaders
gathered for a conference
to tackle the world's worst
humanitarian crisis, with
Turkey reporting a new exodus
of tens of thousands fleeing
air strikes.
With Syria's five-year-old
civil war raging and another
attempt at peace negotiations
called off in Geneva after just
a few days, the London conference
aims to address the
the store’s management told
the police that the wall had
regularly collapsed because
of customer stampedes.
Gender segregation is
widespread in Saudi Arabia,
with women requiring male
permission to work, travel,
needs of some 6 million people
displaced within Syria
and more than 4 million
refugees in other countries.
Underlining the desperate
situation on the ground in
Syria, Turkish Prime
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
study, marry or even access
healthcare. They are also
unable to drive or open a
bank account, and must be
accompanied by a male chaperone
on shopping trips.
A spokeswoman for
Starbucks told that the store
Billions pledged for Syria as tens
of thousands flee bombardments
Junior doctors’ union confirms industrial
actions as talks with govt fail
London, Feb 4: Top officials at Britain’s
National Health Service are trying to avert a
strike as junior doctors confirm they will go
ahead with a planned industrial action next
week.
Doctors accuse authorities of being “left
with no alternative” but to go on strike following
talks on the new proposed contract.
About 38,000 medical trainees observed a
24-hour walkout on January 12. The British
Medical Association then suspended plans for
two days of industrial action due to start on 26
January citing progress in talks with the government.
Jeremy Hunt, Health Secretary also
said that the government’s “door is open” to
Israeli court sentences 2 over
Palestinian teenager's murder
JERUSALEM, Feb 4: An
Israeli court on Thursday
sentenced two Israelis in the
2014 murder of a 16-yearold
Palestinian, sending one
to life in prison for a crime
that sparked deep soulsearching
in Israel and was
part of a series of events
that led to the Gaza war
later that year.
The court sentenced a
second Israeli, believed to
have had a lesser role in the
crime, to 21 years in prison.
Another Israeli is awaiting a
verdict following a psychological
examination.
"The sentence imposed
on the defendants reflects
what we asked for and the
barbaric and atrocious act,"
said Ori Korb, the state
prosecutor. He said the murder
marked a "moral nadir."
The Israelis sentenced
Thursday snatched
Palestinian
teen
Mohammed Abu Khdeir
from an east Jerusalem
neighborhood in July 2014,
driving him to a Jerusalem
forest where he was burned
to death.
avert the crisis. But days of negotiations failed
to make a breakthrough. The government has
also warned that it could push ahead with
imposing the controversial contract in case of
no agreement. The BMA has accused the government
of dragging its feet and warned that
the junior doctors will strike as planned on
February 10, providing only emergency services.
“It is particularly frustrating the government
is still digging in its heels. We have
talked in good faith over the past few months,
but have seen no willingness on their part to
move on a core issue for junior doctors”, Dr
Johann Malawana, BMA junior doctor committee
chairman, said.
DAMASCUS, Feb 4:
Opposition forces in northern
Syria say they are losing their
grip on Aleppo as Russian
bombardment and advances by
pro-Assad militias come close
to cutting their supply lines and
besieging the city.
After a week of the most
intensive bombardment of the
five-year war, forces loyal to
the Syrian leader are in control
of most of the countryside
immediately to the north.
Russian jets have pounded
the area throughout the past
week, as Syrian factions have
told the meeting that tens of
thousands of Syrians were
on the move towards his
country to escape aerial
bombardments on the city of
Aleppo.
"Sixty to seventy thousand
people in the camps in
north Aleppo are moving
towards Turkey. My mind is
not now in London, but on
our border - how to relocate
these new people coming
from Syria?" he said. "Three
hundred thousand people living
in Aleppo are ready to
move towards Turkey."
Turkey is already hosting
more than 2.5 million Syrian
refugees. Jordan and
Lebanon are the other countries
bearing the brunt of the
Syrian refugee exodus.
Passengers evacuated
from Madrid-Riyadh
flight after threat
MADRID, Feb 4: Passengers
on a flight to Riyadh that had
been due to take off from
Madrid were taken off plane
Thursday following an unspecified
threat that put the airport
on alert, authorities said.
“Security forces and rescue
services are mobilized. The
plane was isolated and passengers
evacuated,” a spokesperson
for AENA, the group that
manages airports in Spain,
told. The Guardia Civil police
force told they were still
unclear as to what the threat
against the Saudi Airlines
flight was.
The El Pais daily said the
alert was raised by a note
pinned to the interior of the
plane with a knife that read:
“bomb threat”. The SVA 226
flight had been due to take off
at 0950 GMT but the captain
requested that it be evacuated
after the note was found. The
AENA spokesperson, who
refused to be named, said the
airport was functioning normally
as the plane had been
taken to an isolated area where
officials were checking it.
gathered in Geneva for a faltering
peace summit. The Russian
defence ministry said on
Thursday it had hit almost 900
targets in Syria in the previous
three days.
It also accused Turkey of
preparing for a military incursion.
“The Russian defence
ministry registers a growing
number of signs of hidden
preparation of the Turkish
armed forces for active actions
on the territory of Syria,” said
spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
The Russian air attacks
have succeeded in clearing
was currently being renovated
to construct a wall to
accommodate single people
and families, in accordance
with local customs, due to be
completed within the next
two weeks.
In a statement, the company
said: “Starbucks in Saudi
Arabia adheres to the local
customs by providing separate
entrances for families as
well as single people.
“All our stores provide
equal amenities, service,
menu and seating to men,
women and families.
“We are working as
quickly as possible as we
refurbish our Jarir store, so
that we may again welcome
all customers in accordance
with local customs.”
In December, women in
Saudi Arabia voted in municipal
electionsfor the first time
in the country’s history.
Nearly 1,000 females also
stood as candidates in the
elections.
India gathers
navies in show of
maritime might
NEW DELHI, Feb 4: India
kicked off a major display of
maritime might on Thursday,
with ships from 50 navies converging
on the country’s east
coast, as New Delhi seeks to
boost its leadership in the
region.
Ninety ships including from
the US, French, British and
Chinese navies are taking part
in the international fleet review
in the Bay of Bengal — a ceremonial
inspection and parade
of boats and crews.
Indian Navy chief Robin K.
Dhowan, who is hosting the
event, said the review would
increase naval cooperation,
with the “safety, stability and
the security” of the oceans a
“collective responsibility”.
“What you see, all the ships
there, is all about cooperation,
it is how to interact with each
other and how to work together
to make the global commons
safe and secure,” Dhowan told
the NDTV network.
India is working to show
maritime leadership, after
rival Beijing has asserted
growing strategic influence in
recent years in Indian Ocean
region, as its seeks to secure
its trading routes. “This is a
forum that demonstrates
India’s willingness to be a
leading power,” analyst Samir
Saran, from the Delhi-based
Observer Research
Foundation thinktank, told.
DAMASCUS, Feb 4: More
than a dozen people have
been killed and scores of others
injured in rocket attacks
by foreign-backed Takfiri
militants on residential areas
in the Syrian city of Dara’a.
Health officials said 17
civilians lost their lives and
101 others were injured when
rockets fired by militants
struck several neighborhoods
across the city, Syria's official
SANA news agency reported.
Head of Health
Directorate in Dara’a Abdul
Will John Abraham do a film like
fifty shades of grey? 'Maybe'
MUMBAI, Feb 4: Actorproducer
John Abraham said
that he would go broke but
will not produce an adult
comedy through his production
house, John Abraham
Entertainment.
"There is a market for
adult films, as they have the
potential to do well. But as
an actor I would definitely
not do it. Not because it's
wrong, but I, as a person,
will not do it. I don't stand in
a position to pass judgment
saying this is right or wrong,
but I am a very clear person
and I want to maintain that,"
John told.
"Would I do a Fifty
Shades of Grey? Maybe. But
would I do whatever is coming
out? Hell no. I will go
broke, but I will not produce
an adult comedy," added
John.
John has produced films
like Vicky Donor and
Madras Cafe. He also said
that he likes doing comedy
films.
"I concentrate on content
as an actor. The genre I
enjoy the most is comedy. I
love comedy and I have got
a grasp of comic timing now.
I can handle comedy with
TEHRAN, Feb 4:
Commander of Iran’s Army
Major GeneralAtaollah Salehi
says the country will enhance
its missile capabilities despite
US-led efforts to curb them.
The US government
imposed fresh sanctions on
Iran over its missile activities,
a day after Tehran and the
West agreed to implement a
nuclear accord, called the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA).
Washington argued that
Iran's missile activities violated
a UN Security Council
which bars the Islamic
Republic from developing
ease," he added.
John will soon be seen in
missiles designed to carry
nuclear warheads.
Tehran says no Iranian missile
has such an intention and
new sanctions are thus illegal,
which also breach the JCPOA.
On Thursday, Gen. Salehi
said, "We are neither paying
any attention to the resolutions
against Iran, nor implementing
them."
"We are doing our job and
our missile program for the
future will be stronger and
more precise," he told
reporters in Tehran. "This is
not a breach of the JCPOA,”
he added.
The Army chief said Iran’s
Rocky Handsome, Force 2
and Dishoom.
Iran to enhance missile
capabilities despite resolutions
TOKYO, Feb 4: North
Korea's mobile missile
launcher, carrying a ballistic
missile, has been seen moving
near the east coast and
activity has also been seen at
a long-range rocket launch
pad on the west coast,
Japanese public broadcaster
NHK said on Thursday.
International pressure has
grown on North Korea to call
off a planned rocket launch,
seen by some governments
as another missile test, since
Pyongyang told U.N. agencies
this week it would
launch what it called an
"earth observation satellite".
Japan has put its military
on alert to shoot down any
rocket that threatens its territory.
The NHK report said the
weapons present no threat to
friendly and neighboring
countries. "They are rather a
threat to the enemies of this
establishment. Israel should
fully realize the meaning of
this concept," he added.
Salehi further dismissed
the threat of Daesh terrorists to
Iran, saying the Takfiri group
“cannot do a damn thing.”
“Today, we see from the
events in Syria that Daesh’s
propaganda is more than its
real capability. But its sponsors
want to use this germ of
atrocities as a means to harass
regional nations to the last
moment," he said.
North Korea's mobile missile
launcher seen moving: Japan's NHK
Wadood al-Homsi said most
of the wounded were women
and children, and that one of
them was in a very critical
condition.
The projectiles also
caused substantial damage to
several houses.
Separately, three civilians
were injured in a rocket
attack by Jaysh al-Islam militants
on Harasta, a suburban
city northeast of Damascus.
Ten other people were
injured when projectiles
struck a number of neighborhoods
in the northwestern
city of Aleppo, some 355
kilometers (220 miles) north
of Damascus.
Peace talks halted
mobile missile launcher was
thought to normally remain
stationary in places such as
an underground facility.
North Korea fired two
mid-range ballistic missiles,
which appeared to be
Rodong-class missiles, from
the mobile launcher off its
east coast into the sea toward
Japan in March 2014, the
report said.
Militant rocket attacks leave 17 dead, dozens hurt in Dera'a
rebel strongholds that had
defied two earlier regime pushes,
and allowed loyalist forces
led by Lebanese Hezbollah
and Shia militias to advance
towards a large industrial area
The attacks came amid a
fresh bid for peace which a
UN envoy halted on
Wednesday.
Syrian rebels losing grip on Aleppo
at the gateway to the rebel-held
east that has been transformed
into a wasteland over three
years of bombardment.
The fall of Aleppo would
be a devastating blow to anti-
Assad forces. Opposition
groups, among them the al-
Qaida aligned Jabhat al-
Nusra, which sent large numbers
of fighters to the city last
week, have controlled
Aleppo’s eastern half since
the summer of 2012. Syrian
forces, heavily backed by
their allies have remained in
control of the west.