As authorities sprang into action to drain waterlogging, tenants and homeowners had to navigate the aftermath of nature's unpredictability
The government had threatened to cut off BlackBerry’s Messenger function to Saudi users on Friday, but so far has allowed the service to continue.
RIM has come under increasing scrutiny from countries including India, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Algeria that want access to the Canadian company’s encrypted network so they can monitor messages they say might signal a potential security threat. RIM had said earlier in the week that third-party access to its network was impossible.
On Saturday, the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission said it gave the three telecom operators—state-controlled Saudi Telecom, Mobily and Zain Saudi Arabia -- 48 hours to try out “the proposed solutions and fulfill the requested regulatory requirements.”
CITC said it would decide whether to allow the service to continue or not “depending on the results achieved by the service providers.”
The regulator’s brief statement did not say what the solution was, but a source told Reuters on Friday that RIM was testing the use of servers in Saudi Arabia to address government concerns.
Using local servers would give the Saudi authorities better access to messages that have been handled exclusively through servers in Canada and the United Kingdom.
With about 700,000 BlackBerry users, Saudi Arabia is RIM’s biggest Middle East market.
Neighboring UAE, with 500,000 users, has proposed a ban starting October 11 targeting email and Web browsing, as well as the Messenger service, on the device.
The U.S. and Canadian governments have expressed concern about the implications of banning such services.
As authorities sprang into action to drain waterlogging, tenants and homeowners had to navigate the aftermath of nature's unpredictability
The 51-year-old recently competed in the Masters Indoor World Cup — his 10th international tournament since undergoing surgery
Met Department advised people to take precautions during strong convective cloud activity associated with rainfall over Eastern and Northern areas
Earlier, interest-free loans were announced for Emiratis whose businesses were affected by the rains, with a grace period of 6 to 12 months
Following a $3 per barrel average global price increase in March, petrol prices for April increased by 12 fils per litre in the UAE
Annual rents in Dubai are usually paid in two, four or six instalments via post-dated cheques
NCM official says May 2-3 is identified as the ‘peak’ of the situation