According to the famous American think tank "Atlantic Council's" "Freedom and Prosperity Index," Kuwait was placed third in the Gulf and 49th overall in terms of "prosperity." Kuwait received 60.2 out of a possible 100 points, making it "relatively prosperous" according to the rating. It was ranked behind the UAE (34 overall) and Qatar (43 globally).

In terms of the freedom rating, Kuwait came in second in the Gulf after coming in 125th overall, according to the "Atlantic Council" index, which gave Kuwait 43.3 out of 100 points for being "largely not free."

Every nation's level of economic, political, and legal freedom is tracked by the Freedom and New Prosperity Index. The world's nations' economic health and human prosperity during the same time span are also measured by the Prosperity Index.

The countries that led the world in prosperity were Switzerland, Norway, Luxembourg, Iceland, Ireland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany. Finland ranked first in the freedom index, ahead of Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Iceland, Luxembourg, Sweden, New Zealand, Ireland, and Germany.

This weekend, high relative humidity is predicted to return to the nation along with a few high clouds and a little drop in temperatures, according to the Meteorological Department.

According to the weather prediction observer, the nation is going through a transitional period with changing weather patterns that are impacting the area with hot, moderately humid air masses.

Over the coastal areas, Friday's weather will be rather warm and muggy, with projected maximum temperatures between 43 and 45 degrees Celsius. Additionally, Saturday will be mostly hot and muggy, especially along the coast. 

Minister of Health Dr. Khaled Al-Saeed inaugurated Wednesday the first operational phase in the new Farwaniya Hospital, which represents a qualitative addition to the health system within the expansion of health services provision in the country and improving its quality level in implementation of the pillars of the development plan and the vision of New Kuwait 2035.

In a press statement after the opening, Dr Al-Saeed expressed “the pride in the achievement of this medical landmark, which was implemented in accordance with the best international standards and confirms that the health system is taking deliberate steps in order to provide the best health services to citizens under the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, may God protect him and his care and His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, may God protect him, and His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Al- Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Prime Minister.

He said that the project is among the largest integrated health service models in the country that are consistent with the latest international standards that take into account the rights, safety and privacy of patients, praising all the sincere national efforts that contributed to the achievement of this medical edifice and providing it with the latest and most advanced equipment in order to ensure the provision of the highest possible quality of treatment, integrated diagnosis and care.

He pointed out that the project, with its huge potentials, constitutes a qualitative addition of high value to serve the citizens in the Farwaniya area, as it is being built on a total construction area of 423,000 square meters and consists of 5 main buildings. He stated that the project includes the main hospital building, the outpatient clinic building B1 and B2, the dental building B3, the service building B4 and the car parking building B5, which consists of 7 floors and a capacity of about 1,400 cars, as well as a suspension bridge linking car parking spaces to the hospital building in order to provide the best amenities.

Minister Al-Saeed indicated that under the supreme directives and in order to achieve Kuwait’s vision, this hospital was gradually opened today, which is comparable to the best hospitals in the world in terms of design and equipment, pointing out that the development of the health sector in Kuwait includes not only facilities, but also medical staff and the infusion of new blood from young people with high qualifications, both genders to head the technical departments.

A tour of the hospital swimming pool for physiotherapy

Security
He affirmed the Ministry of Health’s keenness to achieve pharmaceutical security in the public and private sectors, indicating that it is one of the next steps in developing the health sector in the country so that Kuwaiti citizens receive the best health services. He indicated that the ministry was keen to provide qualified medical cadres at the highest level to operate the hospital, pointing out that there are other construction projects that include the establishment of a number of hospitals, some of which are currently in their final stages, including the New Maternity Hospital, Cancer Hospital, Communicable Diseases Hospital, New Sabah Hospital and Al-Adan Hospital, where construction rates exceeded in some more than.70 percent. For his part, the official spokesman for the ministry, Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad, said that the main building of the hospital and the outpatient clinics consists of 4 main towers consisting of 9 floors, including the basement and the ground floor. Dr Al Sanad added that the hospital includes 314 general and specialized clinics, and the clinical capacity of the project is 955 beds and 35 suites for specialized medical services.

He pointed out that the Accident and Emergency Department includes about 71 clinics and 84 beds for observation and resuscitation. The hospital also includes 31 operating rooms for various specialties and 4 advanced hybrid operating rooms with a capacity for intensive care of 233 beds. He pointed out that the hospital contains an integrated rehabilitation center that includes a pulmonary rehabilitation service, while the hospital includes 7 medical laboratories through a secure system to manage them according to standards of service quality, with 3 pharmacies that will operate according to a tight digital system and the hospital is fully equipped with natural gases so that it is completely transformed into intensive care rooms if that the need arises.

He indicated that the hospital includes a building for dental services and a special power station that covers the entire hospital in case of emergency, in addition to 6 sub-stations, as well as 88 electric elevators and 6 escalators, valuing all the efforts of the workers in this project through its various stages, including planning, construction, implementation and equipment, all the way to the first phase of the project operation and the previous preparations and intensive efforts.

Al-Sanad valued the efforts of all sectors of the ministry and the national and working cadres that contributed to the completion of this project and its entry into service in its first phase. In turn, the director of the hospital, Dr. Ali Al-Mutairi, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on the sidelines of the opening, “We congratulate the Supreme Leader and the Kuwaiti people for this wonderful achievement, which is part of Kuwait Vision 2035,” pointing out that this medical edifice is one of the largest hospitals in Kuwait. , (KUNA)

The total expatriates’ remittances from Kuwait during the past ten years was about 50.75 billion dinars and from 2011 until the end of 2021 the figures fluctuated as in 2011 the remittances were at their lowest (3.54 billion dinars) and during 2021 was the highest at about 5.52 billion dinars, reports Al-Anba daily. According to the official data, the past 11 years witnessed noticeable and varied changes in the remittances of expatriates, as they rose and fell due to crises of different ways and sizes.

In 2011, which witnessed hot political events in many countries, the value of remittances from Kuwait reached about 3.54 billion dinars, and rose by 21%, by more than 700 million dinars, to 4.28 billion dinars in 2012. In 2016, the remittances of expatriates from Kuwait recorded about 4.56 billion dinars, and these remittances declined by about 9% in the immediate following year, equivalent to 421 million dinars, and the value of remittances from expatriates in 2017 became about 4.14 billion dinars.

To the contrary, the Corona period (2020/2021) witnessed an increasing growth in the volume of remittances compared to the year before the start of the pandemic — a record of 5.29 billion dinars, compared to 4.46 billion dinars in 2019.

Although 2021 also witnessed some precautionary measures, the volume of remittances continued to rise again to set a new record, as it increased by 23.7%, exceeding one billion dinars, compared to the volume of remittances immediately before the start of the pandemic. In a related context, the exchange companies sector is closely linked with the remittances of expatriates, as the sector companies are the main outlet for these remittances.

The procedures for examining the certificates of engineers residing in the country did not exclude any of the new or old residents, some of whom have been in the profession for more than 40 years, reports Al-Qabas daily. In order to filter the labor market and purify it from the profession’s claimants, the Kuwait Society of Engineers (KSE), with the cooperation of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM), is continuing with the procedures for scrutinizing and verifying the certificates issued by Arab and foreign universities to ensure that the engineering profession is practiced by only those Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti specialists who hold certificates.

The society subjected the testimony of a Palestinian engineer named Muhammad Howmel (84 years of age) to test when he submitted a request to renew his work permit, despite working for 48 years in Kuwait under the title of “Engineer”. Howmel held a meeting with the interviewing committee in the Kuwait Society for Engineers to complete the accreditation procedures. He explained that he graduated in the former Soviet Union, and has been practicing his profession in Kuwait since 1974. Throughout this period he did not need to use his certificate or its accreditation.

Certificate
Howmel said, “After requesting the approval of my certificate through PAM, we received an appointment with the interviewing committee in the society. Their procedures were carried out, and the certificate was approved”. He praised this step, which he says enhances the value of the profession and preserves the rights of workers in its field.

Also, Head of the Kuwait Society of Engineers Faisal Al- Atl affirmed the society’s keenness to facilitate the engineering expertise residing in the country, but without compromising the issue of approving the certificates they hold, and ensuring their validity and safety of obtaining them, within the procedures and cooperation between the society and PAM, and with the aim of filtering the labor market of the profession wannabes.

He said the society and the authority are keen to facilitate procedures for engineers and applicants for accreditation certificates, to obtain the title of engineer, as the necessary procedures are followed through the interviews and examinations committee, with the cooperation of Kuwait University, the Public Authority of Applied Education and Training (PAAET) and the holders of engineering expertise in the country.

In addition, statistics issued by the Public Authority of Civil Information (PACI) revealed that there are 40,709 engineers in the country, 26.3 percent of whom are citizens. The statistics showed that the percentage of male specialists in engineering and architecture is about 84 percent, and there are approximately 4,000 Kuwaiti female engineers in this field. As for the division of the age group of Kuwaiti engineers, most of them are in the age group between 30 and 34 years. There are 106 Kuwaiti engineers in the labor market who are over 60 years of age

After the approaching elections for the National Assembly, concerns about ex-pats in Kuwait will once again be in the spotlight, according to the local newspaper Kuwait Times. Its report states that during the first parliamentary sessions of the new National Assembly, the issues that were previously brought up in parliament but on which no action was taken—such as imposing fees on resident remittances, reviewing the costs of medical care for expatriates, and directing them to the private sector by the end of the year, as well as implementing a plan on demographics in the form of a new residency law—will be discussed. 

According to the research, Kuwait's political parties feel that there are now three million foreign workers there, which is a significant increase above the country's labor demands, a burden on public services, a security risk, and unhelpful for achieving meaningful economic development. The administration will be under pressure to cut back on the number of immigrants.

While the Public Authority for Manpower announced the opening of the door for workers to transfer their work permits – workers who were affected due to fake or closed companies, after submitting complaints and taking legal measures, responsible sources explained that this procedure will benefit hundreds of deceived expatriates, who were brought in by companies and then closed their files after their entry into the country which is seen as this is not the fault of the affected workers, reports Al-Qabas daily. The Data Recording Monitor at the Inspection Department of PAM, Bashayer Al-Mutairi, stated that the authority gives the worker brought to Kuwait on closed or non-existent facilities the right to transfer his residency, calling on any worker affected by this matter to review the authority to complete legal procedures against violating and non law-abiding employers. PAM revealed that it has recorded 1,314 labor violations, during 73 inspection campaigns carried out by the Tripartite Committee in various regions of the country, during the first half of this year.

Al-Mutairi said that the tripartite committee was able to seize 600 domestic workers working in the private sector, whether they were registered as absconders or not working with their original sponsors. Al-Mutairi added that legal measures were taken against 2,029 violating workers who were arrested during the inspection tours by the Tripartite Committee, in addition to the registration of other violations by the Inspection Department of Establishments and non-compliant employers.

Al-Mutairi called on business owners to update the data and ensure that the workers are given their rights and prevent them from working for others to avoid violations, stressing that if the facility was permanently closed and there was no real work, there are financial fines of up to 2,000 dinars minimum for each worker and up to 3 years in prison, noting that strict measures are being taken against any sponsor who shelters violators of the residence and labor laws.

Gold purchases by citizens and residents in Kuwait from January to the end of June 2022 was about 9 tons of bullion, coins and ready-made gold works, which is the same value as purchases during the first half of 2021, but there are clear changes in the policy acquisition as it increased in bullion and coins that are treated investment only, while it relatively decreased in purchase jewelry wear.

The World Gold Council said Kuwait’s purchases during the first half of 2022 were relatively distributed by 23.3% or 2.1 tons for the country’s purchases of bullion and gold coins, while the ready-made jewelry accounted for 76.7% of the total gold purchases or 6.9 tons.

This is in view of the global geopolitical factors in addition to the economic variables, on top of which comes the high inflation rates and the subsequent successive increases in interest rates by the US Federal Reserve, which increased the attractiveness of the dollar and the tendency towards saving. However, the gold market in Kuwait translated this into increases in the acquisition of bullion and gold coins, which reached its peak during from April until the end of June 2022.

The General Directorate of Traffic Department issued 8 instructions to taxi operating offices/companies. Drivers who violate these instructions will be held accountable.

Within the framework to improve taxi transportation service in the country and to provide best service to Kuwaitis and expats guaranteeing their safety and safety of vehicle driver and facilitating smooth traffic on the roads following instructions have to be followed:

1. English and Arabic permits for taxis should be placed behind the driver’s seat / front passenger seat
2. Taxi companies details and drivers details including phone numbers should be displayed
3. Taxi Fare Meter should be operational for roaming taxis
4. Sign on taxi should be illuminated indicating no passengers
5. Taxi drivers are not permitted to pick up passengers from anywhere on the streets
6. Commitment of taxi and on-call taxi drivers not to pick up passengers from Kuwait International Airport
7. Taxi drivers are not allowed to pick up passengers from highway or main roads
8. Taxis are meant to give transport only to passengers and no goods/equipment’s/food are allowed to be transported

Step 1 - Please visit traffic fine payment link on MOI website

 https://www.moi.gov.kw/main/eservices/gdt/violation-enquiry?culture=en

Step 2 - Enter your Civil id no  if you are individual , company no if you are paying for company and click on enquire

Step 3 -  If you have any fines it will show , you can select the ticket and click pay

Step 4 - Once you amke the payment , you will get a payment confirmation as below , print it or save as screenshot , it wil be useful incase of any issues.

Payment is succefully done , if you have any suggestions or any queries , you can send us an email to info@kuwaitlocal.com

Several employees of the Airport Security Department at Kuwait International Airport recently stopped working for an hour in protest against the decision to change the shifting system from three working days and two days off to six working days and two days off, reports Al- Jarida daily quoting sources. Sources disclosed that the decision was taken after the employees demanded for recognition of their rights when Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and acting Minister of Interior Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled approved the shift allowance for airport security inspectors.

Sources said the protest was aimed at delivering a message to the interior minister that their rights have repeatedly been disregarded, while the nature of their work changed without any official statement or instruction from the Civil Service Commission.

Sources added the department took action based on a verbal decision. Meanwhile, Kuwait Airways cabin crew exhibited their admirable professionalism and expertise in dealing with emergency situations for the second time this month, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The crew of a Kuwait Airways aircraft (flight KU117) bound for New York City, United States of America on Sunday succeeded in helping a pregnant woman give birth while on board the plane. According to Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC), it regularly conducts integrated training programs for its employees to make them always ready to handle emergency situations

In a new reform step to preserve public money, an official source revealed to Al- Qabas that the Minister of Information and Culture and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Abdul Rahman Al-Mutairi issued decisions to terminate the contracts of more than 50 consultants and experts in the Ministry of Information. A reliable source told the daily that the contracts were terminated from various sectors of the ministry. He said they received salaries although there was no need for them. Minister Al-Mutairi has kept a very limited number of consultants according to the needs of the media sectors.

On the other hand, upon directives from Al-Mutairi, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information, Muhammad bin Naji, issued a decision to cancel all committees and work teams in the ministry, with immediate effect.

Evaluation
The source stated that all committees will be subject to evaluation and study again, so that the right person will be placed in the right place, away from “nepotism and favoritism and to ensure the implementation of the Ministry of Information’s strategy in qualifying creative youth to support national competencies and expertise.” The source indicated that some of these committees and work teams will be re-formed to ensure experienced and qualified youth are absorbed in the ministry to carry out the tasks of these committees to the fullest. Meanwhile, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information, Muhammad bin Naji, issued a circular to the ministry’s employees in which he stressed that “not to work for institutions, bodies, companies or individuals, whether during or outside official working hours, whenever that is, without obtaining a permit or prior written permission from the Ministry,” noting that “anyone who violates this will be subject to legal responsibility,” reports Al-Jarida daily.

Circular
Bin Naji said that the circular comes in implementation of Article 25 of Decree-Law No. 15 of 1979 in the matter of civil service, which states in the third item that it is prohibited to “perform work for others with or without a paycheck, even during nonofficial working hours, except with written permission. “The failure to obtain this permission is considered a disciplinary offense that requires accountability.” In the meantime, the Minister of Social Affairs and Community Development, Fahd Al-Shariaan, has issued a series of decisions regarding the reappointment of temporary directors for a number of cooperative societies, within the framework of completing the cancellation of decisions issued by the former Minister of Social Affairs, Mubarak Al- Aro, reports Al-Qabas daily. Al-Shariaan’s decisions issued on Sunday include the appointment of 6 temporary managers in cooperative societies. The sources indicated that 50% of the temporary managers are employees of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Sources pointed out that Al- Shariaan asked the appointed members and temporary directors to submit monthly periodic reports on the work and activities of the associations.

The strange accident that happened at the Jahra Traffic Department building when the roof suddenly collapsed, has sounded alarm bells of the need to expedite certification of certificates and the accreditation mechanism, and to conduct professional tests for engineering support staff to avoid such accidents in future, which over the past years have led to the demolition of old government buildings, some of which were built by unskilled labor, reports Al-Qabas daily.

None of the employees or the visitors was injured because one of the employees who felt something was wrong urged the visitors and colleagues to leave the hall seconds before the roof came crashing down. Head of the Society of Engineers, Faisal Al-Atl, believes the latest incident in the Jahra Traffic Building blamed unqualified workers, and leniency in engineering supervision and contractors.”

The sources told Al-Qabas that there was a delay in adopting the testing mechanism and operating the professions center in the Kuwait Society of Engineers, despite its readiness, due to some concerns among the Public Authority for Manpower about the enormity of the project. The sources stated that the “engineers” had prepared a center for professional tests for supporting jobs in the engineering sector, which was screened during the last period, and to enable the certification of the certificates of its employees, and to ensure their expertise and testing.

Sources added PAM and the society met on several occasions during the past two months, and agreed to operate the center and start approving professional certificates and the step will be linked to new or renewal of work permits. The linking mechanism will be electronic between the authority and the association, regarding the accreditation and issuance of work permits for professionals affiliated with 71 different professions.

Al-Atl cited five elements that threaten incidents such as the traffic department — many government buildings are old and dilapidated, use of unskilled labor in construction work, lax supervision of engineering works by contractors, delay in adopting the testing mechanism for engineering workers and the slowdown in the operation of the ‘Professional Center’, despite its readiness

Ahmadi Health District Director Ahmad Al-Shatti has vehemently denied the rumor that Adan Hospital recorded a case of monkeypox; stressing both the hospital and the district remain free of monkeypox, reports Al-Seyassah daily. In an exclusive statement to the daily, Al-Shatti disclosed that the medical specialists at Adan Hospital monitored a Kuwaiti child, who came from Bosnia a few days ago, due to suspicion of being infected with monkeypox. Although the doctors in charge of treating the child did not notice any monkeypox symptoms, they referred the child to the Communicable Diseases Hospital as a precaution, he explained.

He added the results of tests proved that the child has no smallpox, and that he is suffering from rashes caused by change in weather conditions or intake of certain foods. He affirmed the alert level has been raised to efficiently deal with any possible monkeypox infection by holding workshops and lectures on the disease in coordination with the Public Health, Primary Health Care, Dermatology and Emergency departments in the hospital.

He went on to confirm that the epidemiological situation in the region remains stable, pointing out the decreasing number of Covid cases in the country. He said Adan Hospital is closely monitoring developments, as well as circulars issued by the concerned international and local authorities, about epidemics and emerging diseases.

 Kuwait Federation of Restaurants, Cafès and Catering Services Chairperson Fahd Al-Arbash said the revenues of the sector has decreased by 40 percent compared to its earnings in June when it incurred millions of losses, reports Al-Anba daily. In a statement to the daily, Al-Arbash revealed that the sector is facing certain challenges; foremost of which is the rising prices of raw materials used in operational processes like oil, butter, chicken, rice, cheese, chocolate and others.

He added there has been 100 percent increase in the prices of some items, prompting many restaurant owners to procure primary products on credit. He warned that lack of control over the prices will further increase the losses of restaurants.

Turnover of the company, formed by 2,677 women, from cultivation of indigenous varieties pegged at ₹3 crore for the year
Panchabati Baske of Damodarpur village and Nirmala Mahato of Murakhati village are trendsetters in their respective villages in West Bengal’s Jhargram district. Though not highly educated, Ms. Baske and Ms. Mahato have started a revolution by cultivating indigenous varieties of rice organically, without using any chemical fertilisers. There are 55 women farmers in Damodarpur village and 21 women farmers in Murakathi village following in their footsteps by growing indigenous varieties of rice.

Hundreds of women farmers have taken up the cultivation of indigenous rice varieties like Kalabhat (Black rice), Mallifullo (brown rice) and Kerala Sundari (raw aromatic full bran folk rice) and Red Rice, locally called as Sathia, in the remote villages of Jhargram.

What started in 2017 with a dozen women has taken the form of a company with 2,677 women farmers as shareholders to Aamon Mahila Chasi Producer Company Limited. The number of women cultivators, across the five-gram panchayats of Nayagram block in Jhargram, participating in this initiative now stands at over 4,500. The area of land cultivated this year is more than 1,100 hectares .

Ms. Baske started by cultivating the indigenous rice varieties in two to three cottahs of land in 2016-17. This year, she has cultivated black rice in 1.5 bighas (1 bigha = 20 cottahs) of land and Sathia rice in one bigha land. “We are saving ₹4,000 to ₹5,000 per bigha on fertilisers and there is not much difference in the yield,” she said. Both Ms. Baske and Ms. Mahato told  The Hindu that they have made profits by cultivating organic indigenous rice varieties. They also said that as stakeholders to Aamon, they have a greater say in decision making when it comes to farming. 

PRADAN, a non-government organisation, have hand-held the women by providing training in the cultivation process. Photo: Aamon women
PRADAN, a non-government organisation, have hand-held the women by providing training in the cultivation process. The body has also set up a rice processing mill and has started marketing the indigenous produce to different parts of the country. A bio- fertiliser unit has also come up in the region replacing the chemical-based fertilisers used in high-yielding varieties by farmyard manure and other natural inputs.

Madhura Kanjilal, an executive with PRADAN, said that the turnover for Aamon this year is pegged at ₹3 crore. “The women who are part of Aamon have a voice now. Though agriculture is considered a male domain, most of the labour is provided by women. Women farmers at Aamon have the final say as to what to do when it comes to agriculture,” she said.

According to the women farmers, the yield varies with the varieties. While it is about five to six quintals per bigha for indigenous varieties, for the high-yielding paddy cultivated with chemical fertilisers, this can be about nine to ten quintals. With the price of the indigenous varieties being three times, the women farmers are making profit. 

Supplementary product
Aamon has also provided the women farmers with control over what seeds they could use to grow their food, thereby relieving them of dependence on the high-yielding varieties available in the market which require chemical-based fertilisers.  Along with rice, the women also produce plates made of sal leaves, which are abundantly found in the region.  This year onwards, the women farmers are also selling this ecofriendly product.

Buddhadeb Jana, manager at Aamon, who looks after the marketing of the indigenous organic rice varieties, said that the challenge remains to reach individual customers. “We have customers in different parts of the country from Maharashtra to Tamil Nadu. We at Aamon are mostly dependent on institutional buyers but are ready to sell those seeking orders above 50 kgs,” he said.

Mr. Jana also added attempts are being made so that the rice varieties are available to individual customers through online platforms.

Today, India supplied the tenth batch of medical assistance as part of India’s ongoing humanitarian assistance. The same was handed over to the Indira Gandhi Hospital, Kabul.

In view of the urgent appeals made by the United Nations to assist the Afghan people, India has, so far, supplied 32 tons of medical assistance in ten batches, which includes essential life saving medicines, anti-TB medicines, 500,000 doses of COVID vaccine etc. These medical consignments have been handed over to the World Health Organization(WHO) and Indira Gandhi Children Hospital, Kabul.

In Kuwait, the Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital has already performed over 100 robot-assisted surgeries, with the number expected to rise to 200 by the end of the year.

Among the medical procedures performed at Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital were obesity, colon, abdominal wall, hernia and bladder operations, according to Dr. Sulaiman Al-Mazidi.

Based on the great support of the Ministry of Health, his surgical department boasts that it uses endoscopies and robots in surgical operations.

The achievement is in line with Kuwait's vision to overhaul the health system and provide citizens with the best care in the world.

Dr. Maher Al-Chaar, Co-Medical Director of Bariatric Surgery at St. Luke's University Hospital in Pennsylvania, said he visited Kuwait to perform complicated robot-assisted surgeries.

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In a decision recently released by the Minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Fahd Al- Shariaan, a guarantee of KD5,000 is now required to obtain a license to operate a nursery, reports Al-Jarida daily. In addition, the owner should be a Kuwaiti who holds a diploma, university certificate or its equivalent; and should not be employed in the government or private sector.

For new applicants and those renewing licenses, the concerned committee will review the license application within 10 days and approve it within 30 days. The applicant will be notified in writing within one week from the date of issuance of approval or rejection, including a statement justifying the decision. Sources revealed that the amendment also includes conditions for selecting the nursery's location.

The Minister of Municipality, Dr. Rana Al-Fares has a 3-phase time plan for Kuwaiti jobs in the municipality, reports Al- Qabas daily. The first phase begins with the termination of contracts of 33% of non- Kuwaitis with a notice period, starting from next September 1, followed by the second phase by ending 33% on February 1, 2023, provided that in the third phase the notice period will begin period from July 1, 2023 for the remaining number of expatriate employees.

Al-Fares in a letter addressed to the Director- General of the Municipality, Eng. Ahmad Al- Manfouhi, a copy of which is obtained by the daily, has asked him to provide her with lists of the names of non-Kuwaiti employees in preparation for taking the necessary legal measures to terminate their services within one week.

Excluded
The letter excluded the following categories — the non-Kuwaiti employee of a Kuwaiti mother, children of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and permanent residents (bedoun), provided they are registered with the Central Apparatus for Illegal Residents’ Status and others as determined by the letter. Al-Fares stressed the suspension of all procedures for the appointment of non- Kuwaitis, and the suspension of all transfers of non- Kuwaiti workers between departments and sectors.