Air laptop ban in workaround

DUBAI, April 5, (RTRS): Emirates airline said on Wednesday it would start lending first and business class passengers tablets in response to the US ban on most personal electronic devices from passenger cabins of United States-bound flights.

On March 25 the US banned electronic devices larger than a mobile phone from cabins on direct flights to the United States from 10 airports in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey, including the United Arab Emirates.

Emirates is introducing the service to mitigate the inconvenience of the ban on passengers, the Middle East airline said in a statement. The service started on Wednesday.

The decision follows similar measures introduced last week by Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways, which are also affected by the ban.

The restrictions, prompted by reports that militant groups want to smuggle explosive devices in electronic gadgets, state that electronics larger than a mobile phone — including laptops and tablets — must be stowed with checked baggage on US-bound passenger flights.

KUWAIT CITY:

The Kuwaiti Army on Wednesday categorically denied reports that an aircraft of the Kuwaiti Air Force had violated the Iraqi air space.

The chairmanship of staff said it was determined that no such breach had taken place after reviewing electronic and radar data.

The army affirms its literal adherence to international treaties and charters on respecting States’ sovereignty as well as its commitment to principles of good neighborliness. (KUNA)

WASHINGTON:

Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday introduced legislation that would require border agents to obtain a warrant before searching data held on electronic devices belonging to Americans.

The bill comes amid rising concern among civil liberties advocates about the effect on privacy of border searches of social media information, photos and email held on phones and laptops, which have grown in frequency in recent years and do not require a warrant.

President Donald Trump’s

administration has fanned those concerns as it has sought to implement “extreme vetting” security checks to restrict the flow of immigrants and refugees into the United States, an effort that has included consideration of a requirement that visitors share their social media passwords. (RTRS)

BRUSSELS:

The embassy of Saudi Arabia in Brussels has said that the Kingdom’s commitment to combatting terrorism and radicalisation is all too often unacknowledged. “Saudi Arabia does not fund, support, or excuse any radical institution in Belgium, Europe, or anywhere. In fact, the Kingdom is recognised as a pioneer in addressing the problem of radicalisation and terrorism at its root,” Saudi Ambassador to the EU and Belgium Abdulrahman Alahmed said in a statement Wednesday.(KUNA)

TEHRAN, Iran:

A powerful magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck northeastern Iran near the holy city of Mashhad on Wednesday, killing at least two people as residents fled onto the streets and aftershocks shook the region.

The shallow temblor damaged at least four villages near its epicenter in the Sefid Sang district, a remote mountainous area home to 5,000 people, located about 80 kms (50 miles) southeast of Mashhad, state TV’s English-language Press TV channel reported. It said rescue teams and helicopters had deployed in Iran’s Khorasan Razavi province to the area to assess the damage. (AP)

DOHA:

Hundreds of Asian workers pay recruitment fees for jobs building World Cup stadiums in Qatar and some end up working for nearly five months without a day of rest, according to an investigation funded by the Gulf state’s World Cup organising body.

Conditions for workers from India, Nepal and Bangladesh powering a $200 billion infrastructure upgrade for the 2022 World Cup have come under scrutiny from rights groups who say migrants live in squalor and work without proper access to water and shelter. (RTRS)