Saudi TV presenters covered from head to toe

Saudi Awtan TV presenters appear with full veil.

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JEDDAH :  A new TV show that discusses issues concerning teenage girls and female university students was recently broadcast with Saudi presenters dressed in black from head to toe, the Saudi English-language Arab News reported on Thursday.

The show entitled Asrar al-Banat (Secrets of girls) is broadcast on Awtan TV, a Saudi religious channel that was first aired in August 2008 and has women broadcasters who are covered in the all-enveloping abaya and niqab.

There are over 60 religious satellite channels that are broadcast across the Middle East. The channels represent different extremes when it comes to women presenters.

Channels such as Iqraa and al-Resalah have women presenters who do not cover their faces and dress in different colors, not necessarily black. On the other hand, channels such as al-Majd have no women presenters. Awtan is perhaps one that toes the middle line by allowing women to appear but only when covered from head to toe, the Saudi daily said.

Sawsan Salah Eddin, a 26-year-old Saudi BA graduate in Media and Guidance, is the presenter of Asrar al-Banat.

Sawsan presents the show with her sister, Sarah, a specialist in blood diseases, and psychologist Nawal Dawood.

The newspaper quoted Sawsan, who is from Riyadh, as saying she has long been looking to work as a journalist and has previously tried writing for the print media. She, however, said that she found TV shows effective in conveying her message.

She said that Saad al-Obaid, the program's director, " presented the idea to me and I liked it. He gave me the main points and I’ve been preparing the discussions ever since,” she said.

“Basically, this is my hijab and I don’t wear it because of the channel. The channel is an Islamic one and has a rule that I appear in full hijab,” Sawsan said.

Sawsan, who is appearing on TV for the first time, said she was initially anxious. Her family has, however, been supportive, particularly since “people will not see me” and the program reaches out to young women.

Speaking about a woman who criticized her appearance on TV Sawsan questioned why would people criticize her while she is in full hijab and leave other women who appear in improper dresses on various channels.

Asrar Al-Banat, which discusses different issues relating to teenage girls, is aired weekly and receives live phone calls from viewers.

US Army base shooting leaves at least 12 dead. Report

Washington:  At least one gunman opened fire on a US Army base in Texas on Thursday, killing 11 people before being shot and killed by police, authorities said.

An additional 31 people were wounded in the incident at Fort Hood and were being treated in nearby hospitals, Lieutenant General Robert Cone, the base commander, said. The dead gunman was a soldier and was armed with two handguns, he said.

'It's a terrible tragedy. It's stunning,' Cone said.

Two other soldiers were in custody and being questioned for possible involvement in the shootings, he said. There were eyewitness accounts of a a second or third shooter, he added.

Cone could not say what the motive was behind the attack that took place in a readiness centre, where soldiers are processed and medically examined before deploying to battle.

'We don't know that right now,' he said. 'This is all under investigation.'

One of the deceased victims was a civilian police officer on the base, Cone said.

The base, the largest US military installation in the world, was immediately placed on lockdown and traffic into and out of the base was closed, Cone said. A message on the Fort Hood website said: 'Effective immediately Fort Hood is closed' and ordered all commanders to account for personnel.

Fort Hood, which lies about 95 kilometres north of Texas's capital city Austin, houses several units that have been deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

More than 40,000 soldiers and their families live on the base.

US President Barack Obama broke from his planned remarks at a Native American conference in Washington, calling the attack 'tragic' and a 'a horrific outburst of violence.'

'It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas,' he said. 'It is horrifying that they should come under fire on an Army base in the United States.'

Yemen denies Saudi air strike targeted its soil

SANAA/RIYADH :  A Yemeni Defense Ministry official denied on Thursday that Saudi forces had struck targets inside Yemen, after Shiite rebels launched a cross-border attack into Saudi Arabia earlier this week.

"Saudi Arabia did not hit targets in Yemen," the official told Reuters, but declined to give further comment on reports that the kingdom's air force had attacked rebel positions.

A Saudi government adviser said earlier on Thursday that the kingdom had launched heavy air strikes on rebel camps on the border region of Jabal al-Dukhan and moved ground troops nearer the border against them after they killed a Saudi border guard and wounded 11 others on Tuesday.

Hip Pakistan snubs Taliban at fashion week

Fashion week will showcase 32 local designers

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KARACHI :  Bare shoulders, backless gowns and pouting models are wowing Pakistan's glitterati as Karachi fashion week shows the world a different side of the Taliban-troubled nation.

While women in much of Muslim, conservative Pakistan opt for headscarves over baggy shalwar khamis or even burkas, on the catwalks of financial capital Karachi, designers are exposing midriffs and flashing cleavage.

Fashion week runs until Saturday, taking place three weeks late because of security jitters and as a mark of respect for more than 300 people who perished in a string of attacks blamed on Islamist militants last month.

Fashionistas in Karachi, however, shrug off security fears in the southern city of 14 million people, known for its glitzy malls and thriving cafe culture a two-hour flight away from militant hubs in the northwest.

"We, the members of Fashion Pakistan, feel great to be hosting this colorful event at difficult times in our history, when the entire nation is waging a battle against militancy," said upcoming young designer Fahad Hussain.

The eight local designers who opened the event experimented with twists on traditional Pakistani dress and western styles.

Intricate and colorful fabrics lit up the catwalk, while a towering black feather hat, off-the-shoulder dresses and halterneck gowns graced the frames of sultry models strutting in high heels past an awed audience.

"My design philosophy is as diverse as my collection, (which) shows a mix of eastern and western inspirations," said Hussain, known for edgy accessorizing and striking silhouettes.

UN evacuates hundreds of staff from Afghanistan

KABUL:  The United Nations said on Thursday it would temporarily evacuate hundreds of its international staff from Afghanistan due to deteriorating security, a sharp blow for Western efforts to stabilise the country.

“Around 600 non-Afghan staff will be temporarily relocated," U.N. spokesman Dan McNorton told AFP, adding that “the only people who will remain are regarded as essential staff."

Some would be relocated to safer sites within Afghanistan and some withdrawn from the country, said Aleem Siddique, another U.N. spokesman, adding that the final breakdown had not been determined.

Taliban militants killed five foreign U.N. staff in an attack at their international guest house in the capital on Oct. 28.

"The United Nations is reducing the number of its international staff from 1,300 to 400, effective immediately," Siddique told Reuters, adding that the world body would determine how much staff were necessary to run on-going programs.

"We will be looking at bringing people back as soon as the security situation allows and secure accommodation is found," Siddique said. "Instead of having people dotted around the city, they will be consolidated."

A U.N. statement emailed to Reuters said it would not make details of the new measures public, adding: "It is expected that they will involve short-term relocations for some staff while additional security is being put in place."