Seventeen Filipinas are being held at a prison in Saudi Arabia over a Halloween party held inside a Riyadh compound, the Philippines Foreign Ministry confirmed on Tuesday.
The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh said the 17 women are being held at the Al Nisa prison in the Saudi capital, the statement from Manila said.
Philippine Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Adnan Alonto said the 17 were “among a number of persons who were taken into custody by Saudi intelligence operatives who raided a compound in Riyadh where the Halloween party was taking place”.
Philippine officials have been requesting access to the detained nationals without success.
The statement from Manila reminded expatriate workers to respect local customs and laws in the Middle East. In Saudi, unattached males and females are prohibited from being seen together in public.
More than one million Philippine nationals work in Saudi Arabia, which has the highest population of workers from the Asian country in the Middle East.
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Saudi intelligence agents raided the compound after neighbours complained about noise coming from the complex.
Manila did not confirm what charges have been filed against those detained. But it said initial indications suggested the organisers of the gathering have been charged with holding an event without a permit and for disturbing the neighbourhood.
Shortly after the raid, images emerged online of party-goers dressed as zombie nuns and ghouls.
Riyadh police were concerned by "disorderly conduct" and "the use of masks and strange costumes", a spokesman said in a statement.
Many Saudis voiced their displeasure on Twitter following the online publication of photos of the costumed partygoers, who were reportedly attendees of the Riyadh party. Others voiced concern that the party may have been serving alcohol, which is illegal in the Kingdom.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The view from The National
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Company%20Profile
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Kanye%20West
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')
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PROFILE
Name: Enhance Fitness
Year started: 2018
Based: UAE
Employees: 200
Amount raised: $3m
Investors: Global Ventures and angel investors
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
The biog
Name: Sari Al Zubaidi
Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
Marital status: single
Favourite drink: drip coffee V60
Favourite destination: Bali, Indonesia
Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
