Arabic press review: Saudi journalist calls for mass Middle East exodus

Saudi journalist says citizens to leave the Middle East

A well-known Saudi journalist has called on citizens of her country and others in the region to emigrate from their countries and live elsewhere.

"After many sleepless nights of observation, and reflection, I recommend you and myself to take the passport and emigrate," said Iman al-Hamoud, a journalist living in Paris who is also a programme presenter for Radio Monte Carlo, in a tweet.

"Freedom in our home countries is a dream that no longer exists and will never be fulfilled".

Al-Hamoud's tweet comes three weeks after Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul.

Sudanese minister says he worked without pay for 12 years

Sudan's Minister of State for Livestock, who was dismissed earlier this month, said that the government hasn't paid his salary for the past 12 years, according to the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper.

Mabrouk Mubarak Salim told the paper that he was astonished that he had been fired by the government despite the fact that he hadn't cost the treasury a single penny since 2006.

By forgoing a salary, Salim said that he had saved the country million of dollars which were then used on successful projects, including a dam and a reservoir.

Salim said members of his tribe have inquired about his dismissal, adding that Sudan's "structure of governance does not mean violating the rights of others," he said. 

With $4,500, you can buy a European visa in Algeria - or can you?

Algerian newspaper Echorouk El Yawmi has revealed the emergence of a new black market for the sale of European visas for up to $4,500.  

The visas are being sold to Algerians whose applications have been rejected through the normal legal process - and whose numbers have recently climbed with increased demand for emigration.

Advertisements from the companies offering "guaranteed visas" have been widely shared on social media platforms and also in tourist agencies and business offices.

One agency says it's close relations with "official institutions" in Spain and Austria can help Algerian customers to obtain visas from those countries.

But Mustafa Zebedi, the head of Algeria's National Union for Consumer Protection, has slammed the advertisements and described them as an act of fraud which have tricked Algerians to pay large sums of money for nothing.

* Arabic press review is a digest of reports that are not independently verified as accurate by Middle East Eye.