A1SaudiArabia.com

JEDDAH: The Council of Ministers on Monday night decided to change the power supply from 127/220V to 230/400V in two phases over 25 years. It also decided to increase the salaries of military officers.

The change in the voltage of power supply in new regions and for new subscribers would start with the implementation of the decision, Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said.

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JEDDAH – The Ministry of Culture and Information has published a list that spells out violations of intellectual property rights.
Violations include publishing a work that is not owned by the publisher or not authorized in writing to be published by the work’s author or the author’s heirs or their legal representatives; amending the work’s contents or title or nature without the author’s knowledge and written approval; and reprinting a work without the written approval of the author.
Other violations include commercial use of illegally copied materials, illegally picking up radio signals and manufacturing or importing devices – to be sold or rented – that can be used in piracy.
Sanctions include one or all of the following: a fine not to exceed SR250,000, seizure of all copied materials and a prison term of no more than six months. The authority can also approve financial compensation for the harmed party, the original author or owner and it can choose to publicly name the offender. – Okaz/SG

JEDDAH: Police in Jeddah have raided a villa that had been turned into a factory to produce fake radio cassettes and CDs.

Officers stormed the property, owned by an Arab expatriate, in the eastern Al-Ajwad district. Police said on Friday there were enough CDs and cassettes to fill seven trucks, adding that the confiscated goods were handed over to the Ministry of Culture and Information.

The counterfeited products are estimated to have a street value of more than SR400,000. The police did not reveal the name or nationality of the Arab expatriate, but said he had been living in the villa for three years and that neighbors had not noticed anything suspicious about him. Two illegal Indonesian housemaids were also caught in the villa and handed over to the passport police.

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JEDDAH – Authorities responsible for implementing the royal order restricting the issuance of religious edicts (fatwas) in general cases to the Board of Grievances have started taking action.

Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for the Care for Mosques and Their Personnel Program, issued directives to Imams and Khateebs of the mosques to work according to the royal order restricting the issuance of fatwas to members of the Board of Senior Ulema, and to control Friday sermons (khutba).

In an urgent memo Aal Al-Sheikh sent to directors of the ministrys branches, he stressed the importance of the royal order and the necessity to abide by it. Imams and Khateebs should stress the importance of the royal order in Friday sermons at the end of this week, the memo said.

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JEDDAH – The Agency for Cultural Affairs in the Ministry of Culture and Information has started forming working committees for the next Riyadh International Book Fair, set for March 2011, and approved Indias request to be the guest of honor, said Dr. Abdullah Al-Jasser, Undersecretary at the ministry.

India will contribute to the cultural program accompanying the book fair with activities, lectures and seminars that boost cultural ties between Saudi Arabia and India, he said.

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Saudi women in abaya doing their grocery at a mall in Riyadh. Many exxpat women who have been accustomed to wearing the abaya have found it to be a protective clothing. – Courtesy photo Saudi Arabia is among the countries that host expatriates from other parts of the world. And almost all expats came here with their own preconceived ideas about their host country.

Many have negative notions but these preconceived ideas have changed during their stay in the Kingdom.

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JEDDAH: Suleiman Al-Jumaie, the lawyer of sex braggart Mazen Abdul Al-Jawad who is now serving a five-year prison term with lashes for publicly talking on LBC about his sex exploits, said on Saturday that he has successfully appealed a court ruling.

The lawyer maintains that the Ministry of Culture and Information has not held LBC liable for airing the controversial segment that is viewed as violating social and Islamic standards even though it recognizes that the interview with his client was heavily and selectively edited.

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RIYADH – A leading video game console manufacturer has called for a national campaign to educate parents about the pros and cons of video games that are gaining popularity in Saudi Arabia.

Fouad Natour, head of the Entertainment and Devices Division, Microsoft Saudi Arabia, said that parents need to be more aware of the content of video games that are launched from time to time in the Kingdom.

Natour issued the warning after announcing the launch of a new video game which he categorically stated was not suitable for children under the age of 18. Syed Bilal Tariq, Marketing Manager, Entertainment and Devices Division, was also present at the launching.

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JEDDAH – The Ministry of Culture and Information has reiterated that it is the “authority responsible for looking into all cases of a media or cultural nature arising through audio, visual or written forms of media and electronic publications”.

In a press statement released Monday, official spokesman Abdul Rahman Al-Hazza said that the ministrys jurisdiction was in accordance with “Royal Orders issued to avoid conflict of jurisdiction and to unify procedural measures”.

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ALKHOBAR: An overwhelming majority of Saudi football fans will be rooting for Spain on Sunday night when it tangles with the Netherlands in the FIFA World Cup 2010 final at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg.

There are a variety of reasons – some predictable and some bizarre – as to why the men and women of this nation of 28 million people are supporting the men in red.

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