Morocco rejects probe into Western Sahara incident Morocco rejects a probe into violent clashes between its security forces and residents of Western Sahara by the United Nations, its foreign minister said in an interview published on Saturday. Rabat also refuses any role by the UN mission in the territory in the question of human rights, Taib Fassi Fihri told Spain's El Pais daily. The European Parliament called Thursday for an independent UN probe into the clashes that followed a Moroccan raid on a protest squatter camp near the Western Sahara capital of Laayoun on November 8. Algerian employers want to hire more OFWs Employers in Algeria wants to hire more overseas Filipino workers, the Philippines Department of Labor and Employment said in a news release. DoLE Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said Labor Attache Nasser Mustafa of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo) in Tripoli, Libya has recently checked on the working places of three companies in Algeria, namely, Cojaal, Samsung, and Doodsal, which have signified intention of hiring more OFWs for their various projects. Tunisia to boost cooperation with Arab, Islamic insurance companies On the sidelines of “Aman” Union's first annual meeting, held from November 23 to 24 in Tunisia, the Finance Minister Mr. Mohamed Ridha Chalghoum conferred On Thursday in Tunis with Islamic Investments and Credits Insurance to Export Company (SIACE) Executive Chairman, Mr. Abderrahmen Ali Taieb Taha. The event focused on means to boost co-operation between Tunisia and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) in general and SIACE in particular, notably in the insurance domain. Young Punjabi men duped, stranded in Libya Less than a year ago, 24-year-old Sukhwinder Singh was promised a cushy job in a factory in Libya by a travel agent. His family members took a loan of Rs. 1 lakh and sent him there. But their dreams were shattered when they received his call a few weeks later. The factory did not exist, he said, and he was living on the streets. Sukhwinder is one of 53 youths from Punjab who were duped by travel agents. They have been stranded in Libya since December 2009 and their passports have been seized by the agents. Their families are now pinning their hopes on Lok Bhalai Party (LBP), a Punjab-based NGO, to bring them back. Sudan's Bashir will attend Africa-EU summit Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, wanted on war crimes charges, will attend an African-European summit in Libya next week, former South African President Thabo Mbeki said on Saturday. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Bashir alleging he masterminded genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity during the country's seven-year conflict in the Darfur region. BM
