Foreigners Will Be Limited to 20% of Saudi Workforce

In an effort to ease rising unemployment rates for native Saudis, the government of Saudi Arabia has announced plans to limit the number of expatriate workers and their dependents in the Kingdom to 20 percent. The decision was reached by the Manpower Council, chaired by Interior Minister Prince Naif, after analyzing the results of a recent labor study.

Council Secretary-General Abdul Wahid Al-Humaid also released plans to put a 10 percent cap on workers from any single country among the total number of expatriates. The government plans to reduce the number of expatriates to the 20 percent rate within 10 years, with a review of the policy every two years, the secretary-general said. Up to three million foreigners living and working in Saudi Arabia would be affected by the quota.

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U.K. Group Says Working Asylum Seekers Would Benefit Economy

Research done by the London Development Agency suggests that a one percent increase in the number of refugees working could help expand London's job market by twice that amount. Experts say the economy is missing the opportunity to tap into the skills of asylum seekers living in the capital because of restrictions preventing them from work. Asylum seekers are currently banned from working until their cases are decided.

The Home Office's own research suggests there could be a "multiplier effect" benefiting the economy if more refugees had jobs. The agency's prediction is also in line with previous research that shows new migrants fill job market gaps and tend to contribute more than they get back from the state.

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Stranded Migrants Repatriated In Bangladesh

A group of 213 migrants on the Indo-Bangladesh border had been stranded for several days after being denied entry by Indian authorities. India said the migrant's documents proved they were Bangladeshis, but Bangladesh insisted they were not its citizens but instead Muslims from India's West Bengal state who resemble Bangladeshis and speak the same language, Bengali.

Border guards traded gunfire twice during the six-day ordeal, while the men, women and children remained stranded on the Indian side of the border without food, water or shelter. No casualties were reported.

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Overseas Filipinos Will Be Allowed To Vote

This week Philippine legislators finished drafting a bill that would allow millions of Filipinos to vote overseas. The idea has been hailed as a boost for democracy but criticized for its potential costs.

A joint committee of the House and Senate approved the draft, which then moved to the full chambers for a vote. The Senate has approved the bill. The House of Representatives was expected to pass it Friday, and officials said President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo would sign the bill into law.

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Canadian Immigration Minister Pushes For National ID Card

Denis Coderee, Canada's immigration minister, is pushing for a national identity card. Coderre told the Commons committee on citizenship and immigration that citizens' ability to travel abroad will be based on the integrity of identification, and he warned that the days of entering the United States with a driver's permit would soon be over.

Critics point to the use of passports, saying citizens do not need another piece of ID, and another bureaucracy to administer it.

Coderre said the card would protect privacy and help fight identity theft by including fingerprints and other information that could be collected in a central database.