Attackers set a Lebanese news van on fire

This is the 4th attack to target Al Jadeed in the past six months.

"An Al-Jadeed live coverage van Thursday was set on fire by unidentified assailants at the channel's headquarters in Beirut," a source told The Daily Star

According to the newspaper, security employees rushed outside Al Jadeed's studio in the Wata Moseitbeh neighborhood after they heard an explosion-like sound at around 3:15 a.m. Once outside, they discovered that one of their live coverage vans was up in flames.  

"The local TV station said that two unidentified men had broken into their headquarters and set fire to the van."

After the fire was extinguished, police arrived at the scene and are now investigating whether the attack was premeditated or caused by a mechanical accident. 

Al Jadeed's deputy chief editor, Karma Khayat, believes the attack was premeditated and has accused Speaker Nabih Berri's Amal Movement of instigating it. 

Speaking to LBCI she said, "every time we mention or criticize Nabih Berri in a report or program, we are attacked." 

Berri's press office responds

Al Khayyat's claims were quickly denied in a statement released by Berri's press office. 

"Khayat approached us with fabrications and lies, this has become a habit... we hope that the judiciary takes into account this [statement] and carries out its responsibilities before Khayat travels in the next two days to Monte Carlo to celebrate her marriage," the statement read.

Lebanon's Information Minister Melhem Riachi visited the channel on Thursday and denounced the attack saying, "this is totally rejected ... we need practical results." 

Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk also toured the channel's premises to inspect the damage.

In a statement following the attack, the channel’s lawyer, May Halabi, said that this is the fourth attack of its kind to target the channel in the past six months.

Halabi asked government officials to take action and criticized security forces for not pursuing the assailants for previous assaults, saying "we will not allow this farce to pass."

Freedom of the press compromised

Even though Lebanon is hailed by many as a beacon of freedom in the Middle East, it ranked 99 out of 180 countries in the 2017 report on press freedom published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). 

The report investigated freedom of media and journalists in 180 countries and found that "democracies, as well as dictatorships, had increasingly clamped down on press freedom."

According to the report, Mauritania is still the freest country in the MENA region when it comes to the press, ranked at number 55, while Syria is the worst, ranked at 177. 

Saudi Arabia's public sector will fire all expat workers within 3 years

"The complete nationalization of government jobs is an important objective."

The Ministry of Civil Service in Saudi Arabia has asked all ministries and government departments to terminate all contracts with expatriate workers within three years, Saudi Gazette reported on Wednesday. 

The news was announced by Civil Services Minister Abdullah Al-Melfi during a Monday meeting which focused on fully implementing the "job nationalization (Saudization) Plan" by 2020. 

According to the ministry, there are currently an estimated 70,000 expats working in the public sector. 

“The complete nationalization of government jobs is an important objective of the National Transformation Program 2020 and the Kingdom’s Vision 2030,” Malfi said during the meeting.

The meeting was followed by a "job nationalization," workshop attended by a number of senior ministry officials and HR experts.  

Vision 2030

In recent months the kingdom has been intensifying its efforts to boost employment opportunities for Saudi nationals under the kingdom's new 2030 vision. 

The ambitious blueprint aims to fight unemployment, develop non-oil industries, support small and medium enterprises, and create a broader investment base in the kingdom.

Many orders have been passed under it, including an order that limits jobs in shopping malls to Saudi nationals and another that encourages Saudi women to work from home