Christmas Incident Was "Screw Up" - Obama Said
If Obama can’t speak better than this, he needs to go back to school! A “screw-up” indeed! This is mall-speak, and we expect better than mall-speak from the President of the United States of America. – © Mark

REUTERS: WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama told his security chiefs on Tuesday that the botched Christmas Day plane bombing was the result of a screw up by U.S. intelligence and that the country had barely dodged disaster, according to a quotation released by the White House.

"This was a screw up that could have been disastrous," the president said during a meeting in the White House situation room, according to the White House media office. "We dodged a bullet but just barely. It was averted by brave individuals not because the system worked and that is not acceptable. While there will be a tendency for finger pointing, I will not tolerate it." [Source: Reuters] Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by Bill Trott | Tuesday, January05, 2010

Saudi Woman Attacked on Board a Plane
ARAB NEWS: RIYADH: An Emirati man attacked a Saudi woman on board an Emirates flight from Frankfurt to Dubai, a report in Al-Eqtisadiah daily said yesterday.

The incident took place because of seating problems. The Saudi woman and her husband asked the Emirati family to move, which the Emiratis refused to do.

The Emirati man then attacked the Saudi woman causing injuries which resulted in her losing consciousness.

The woman’s husband and other passengers intervened to rescue the woman and a doctor on board called for landing in Istanbul in order to treat the woman.

The woman’s husband asked that the Emirati man be handed over to Turkish authorities but the plane crew refused his request.

The crew’s report of the incident said that the woman was attacked by her husband.

The Saudi woman’s husband said that after the crew admitted that the report provided false information, the Saudi Embassy in Ankara sent memos to both the Saudi Interior Ministry and the UAE Embassy in Ankara.

The husband expressed his disapproval of what happened, adding that his wife had done nothing to warrant such a violent reaction. A source at the Saudi Embassy in Ankara said that the incident happened but refused to give any further details.

The Saudi couple were returning to Saudi Arabia after spending their honeymoon in Germany, the local daily stated. [Source: Arab News] | August 27, 2008

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