Firemen put out fire in Farwaniya

KUWAIT FIREMEN PUT OUT A FIRE AT A RESIDENTIAL BUILDING IN FARWANIYA EARLY FRIDAY MORNING, THE BUILDING WAS EVACUATED & THE FIRE WAS PUT OUT, AND A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WERE INJURED IN THE INCIDENT.

MOI Arrest Hundreds in Wide-scale Security Campaigns

The MOI carried out a wide-scale security campaign in the Farwaniya Governorate recently, which covered several areas including Farwaniya, Khaitan, Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, Andalus, Firdous, Rabiya, Ardiya Industrial & the Friday Market area, the recent crackdowns are the largest wide-scale police campaign against illegal residents in Kuwait since authorities had announced amnesty periods during the pandemic, allowing residents without valid visas to either legalize their status or leave the country without paying fines, the first amnesty in April 2020 allowed illegals to leave the country without paying fines & with a free air ticket, MOI said around 30,000 expats of various nationalities benefited from the amnesty.

Filipino nurse dies from coronavirus

#Kuwait: Manwella, a Filipino nurse has died after she was infected with Coronavirus recently, according to Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Kuwait Nursing Society, Bandar Al-Enazi. “It is unfortunate that one of the nursing personnel died in this way due to the lack of protection and the provision of medical care, “ he said, the Preventive Health Nursing and Ambulance team all have knowledge of the nurse’s condition, who died today as a result of her stay in the nurses’ residence for more than 3 days, and all of them knew of her infection with the virus, he asked the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health to open a comprehensive investigation of all the parties to the tragic incident.

Duterte: The Philippines is particularly vulnerable to any Middle Eastern conflict

A major conflict between the US and Iran could have dire consequences for the Philippines because thousands of Filipino overseas workers in the Middle East send money home in the form of remittances.

That’s because hundreds of thousands of Filipinos work abroad in the Middle East and send billions of dollars home annually in the form of remittances, duterte said, The brewing hostilities following President Donald Trump’s decision to order a drone strike that killed Soleimani have prompted Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to ask the country’s Congress to prepare to evacuate thousands of Filipinos working in Iraq and Iran.

Duterte said he is considering calling a special session of Congress to address the issue of how to help Filipino citizens in the region if conflict were to break out. “We need billions,” Duterte said on Monday.
The Philippine armed forces said that there are 1,600 Filipinos in Iran and 6,000 in Iraq, Many work on oil rigs, in service industries and as domestic workers. If they evacuated and left their jobs, it could have a notable impact on the Philippine economy.
Duterte has tasked the military with preparing plans to evacuate the overseas workers “if and when open hostilities erupt in the Middle East that may endanger their lives.”

An estimated 2.3 million Filipinos or about 2% of the country’s population worked overseas between April and September 2018, according to government figures released in April 2019. Overseas workers sent some $4.64 billion in remittances during that time.

More than half of the Filipinos working abroad were in the Arab Gulf countries. Saudi Arabia alone hosted nearly 25% of all overseas workers from the Philippines.

Pakistani impersonating Kuwaiti held

#Kuwait: Farwaniya securitymen have taken into custody a Pakistani national for impersonating a Kuwaiti, the man who speaks the Kuwaiti dialect fluently, works for two lawyers and his job was to contact the police stations when a verdict in absentia is issued against Kuwaitis for their arrest.
The sources said the Pakistani, according to his civil ID designation is supposed to be working for a contracting company and not as a representative in the field. When he went to the Farwaniya Police Station the officer in charge suspected him and asked him for his ID, Feeling trapped, the man pretended to have left it in his car in a vain attempt to escape.
However, he was seized and when police checked his ID they discovered the truth. The man has been detained and referred for interrogation. In the meantime, the two lawyers who hired him will be summoned for interrogation.

Interior Minister issues new rules for Expats, visas

#Kuwait Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khalid Al-Jarrah on Tuesday issued a ministerial decree No. 957 of 2019 to allow visit visas to transfer to residence visa for expats, Visit visas can be transferred to residence visa for following categories:

-Dependents arriving on family or tourist visit visas

-Domestic helpers

-Holders of valid residence who donot exceed stay of 6 months outside Kuwait and have to enter with a visit visa

-Those who enter for work and start procedure to get residency but have to leave for maximum one month

-Visitors of ministries and public authorities with Govt visit visa.

Fees:

KD 3 to obtain visa on arrival
Renewal of residence KD 10 per year/ per person

Dependent residency fees for spouses and children KD 10 per year/ per person.

Download The by-laws and laws in detail

Two Britons beaten by a group of Kuwaitis in Cyprus after mass brawl in hotel swimming pool

Police said they have arrested 10 Kuwaitis in connection with a brawl in Ayia Napa on Thursday evening during which two British nationals were injured, According to police, at around 7pm, a group of 20 British and Kuwaiti nationals started a fight in a hotel complex in Ayia Napa where around 250 people were present, The fight started near the swimming pool where security guards managed to put a stop to it. They then continued to fight in the street outside, Two Britons were wounded and taken to Famagusta hospital where they are being treated for various injuries, Some Kuwaitis were treated for bruises and scratches in the hospital and released, They are expected to be remanded on Friday.

Kuwaitis in US are safe after Ohio, Texas mass shootings

Washington: Kuwait’s embassy in Washington has affirmed that the Kuwaiti visitors and students in the United States are safe after the two mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio and El Paso, Texas, In a statement on Sunday, the embassy urged all Kuwaitis in the US to keep in touch with it or with any of the Kuwaiti consulates in Los Angeles and New York.
In case of any emergency, the embassy advised nationals in the US to seek help through the following phone numbers: the Kuwaiti embassy in Washington’s emergency number (+12022620758), the Kuwaiti General Consulate in Los Angeles’ emergency number (+13102793644), the General Consulate in New York emergency number (+19172426688), and the Washington Cultural Office emergency number (+ 12023642104).

 

 

Around 400 Indians committed suicide in Kuwait in 10 years

Kuwait: Almost 400 Indian expatriates living in Kuwait committed suicide in the past 10 years.
According to official statistics, 394 Indian expatriates took their own lives between 2007 and 2017, 63 of whom are women, The statistics also revealed that the Indian expatriate community had the highest rate of suicide in ten years in Kuwait, Around one million Indians, live in Kuwait, making up the largest expatriate community in the country.
The high rate of suicides among Indians is not restricted to GCC countries.
A wide-ranging study published in the Lancet found that Indian women make up 36.6 per cent of all females who commit suicide.
The study also found that 15 in 100,000 Indian women living in their country commit suicide, compared to seven for 1,000 as a global average.

Expats face new tests to regulate work

Kuwait: A string of new measures aimed to regulate the work of expatriates in Kuwait were announced, The manpower authority unveiled the decisions which apply namely to expatriate workers doing technical jobs as per their work permits. Minister of State for Economic Affairs Mariam Al Aqeel said the regulations will limit all forms of manipulations and eventually put an end to visa trafficking. “The manpower authority has set very strict measures including banning the change of a worker’s profession or educational level except through certain measures,” Aqeel said.

In case of changing professions to become an educator for persons with special needs, a worker will be subjected to specific tests, a measure that will be later applied to other professions. Special tests are being currently set for 20 technical jobs and crafts. The terms include a commitment to the qualification degree and speciality, the activity practised, passing the set tests and having the required certificates of experience. Transfers will be allowed within the same sector from one technical profession to another based on certain regulations, regardless of the educational level or degree, if a worker had entered Kuwait as a technician or craftsman.

Tests will be initially mandatory for expatriates working as auto mechanics, electrical technicians, safety and security supervisors, pipe fitters, land surveyors, aluminium technicians, welders, turnery operators, advertisement and publicity representatives, salesmen, irrigation grid technicians, steel reinforcement workers, construction carpenters, asphalt lab technicians, purchase officers, accountants, librarians, legal consultants and legal clerks. In case a worker desires to change their profession, they will have to depart and return with a new work visa matching the degree they want to use for work.