With the increase in the fees for visiting clinics and obtaining medicines to KD 7 starting from last week, the number of expatriates seeking treatment started declining. A number of health centers recorded a decline of about 85 percent in areas inhabited by a large segment of expatriates.

In the context, informed health sources explained that daily visits to some health centers on Monday did not exceed 150 visits. This is a sharp decline compared to the average rate of visits to these centers, which ranged between 1,000 and 1,200 visits per day before the fee increase. Meanwhile, Director of the Mubarak Al- Kabeer Health Zone Dr. Walid Al-Busairi affirmed in a press statement that the area “was not affected by the decision to increase fees for medicines for expatriates”. He indicated that it differs in Farwaniya, Hawally, Ahmadi and Jahra areas that provide health services to expatriates.

Dr. Al-Busairi said, “Primary health care centers in Mubarak Al-Kabeer area cover domestic workers. Therefore, it is not greatly affected by the decision to increase fees, given that these categories are exempted from them. The percentage of the cost of medicines in the Ministry of Health compared to the value paid ranges between 10 and 25 percent. If it is compared to the purchase value of the same medicine from outside the ministry, we will find that it is very low.” By Marwa Al-Bahrawi Al-Seyassah/ Arab Times Staff

The Public Relations Department at the Kuwait Fire Force (KFF) was able to extinguish a fire in Khaitan. Various injuries were reported on Monday. The central command sent fire squads from Jaleeb, Sabhan and Farwaniya stations to the scene.

The fire started on the 13th floor of a 14 storey building with thick smoke billowing from the building. Firefighters were able to evacuate the building and combat the fire. The injured residents were sent to the hospital for treatment.

US emergency crews counted the grim costs of a colossal winter storm that brought Christmas chaos to millions, especially in hard-hit western New York, where the death toll reached 25 Monday in what authorities described as a “war with mother nature”. Blizzard conditions continue to prevail in parts of the US Northeast, the stubborn remnants of a massive sprawl of extreme weather including severe cold that gripped the country over several days, causing widespread power outages, travel delays and at least 47 deaths nationwide.

The extreme weather forced the cancellation of more than 15,000 flights in recent days including more than 1,700 on Monday, according to tracking site Flightaware.com. Buffalo – a US city that is no stranger to foul winter weather – has been buried under staggering amounts of snow, with the National Weather Service forecasting up to 14 inches Monday in addition to the several feet that have already left the city marooned, with a virtual collapse of emergency services.

The blizzard has stubbornly refused to release its grip on western New York’s Erie County, where Buffalo is located and which has become the epicenter of the crisis. “In addition to the 13 confirmed deaths yesterday, the Erie County Department of Health medical examiner’s office has confirmed an additional 12 deaths, bringing the total for the blizzard to 25 deaths county-wide,” Erie County executive Mark Poloncarz said in a press briefing.

The ferocious weather makes this “the worst storm probably in our lifetime, and the history of the city,” Poloncarz said, noting the death toll in Erie will likely surpass that of Buffalo’s infamous blizzard of 1977, when nearly 30 people died. With more snow in the forecast and most of Buffalo “impassable,” he warned residents to bunker down and stay in place. “This is not the end yet, we are not there,” he said.

National Guard members and other teams have rescued hundreds of people from snow-covered cars and homes without electricity, but authorities have said more people remain trapped. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a native of Buffalo, said she was stunned by what she saw during a Sunday reconnaissance tour of the city. “It is (like) going to a war zone, and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking,” Hochul said, describing eight-foot (2.4-m) snow drifts against homes and how power outages made for life-threatening conditions. “This is a war with mother nature,” she said.

The extreme weather sent wind chill temperatures in all 48 contiguous US states below freezing over the weekend. At one point on Saturday, nearly 1.7 million customers were without electricity in the biting cold, according to tracker poweroutage.us. That number has dropped substantially, although there were still some 50,000 without electricity Monday morning on the US east coast. Due to frozen electric substations, some Erie County residents were not expected to regain power until Tuesday, with one substation reportedly buried under 18 feet of snow, a senior county official said.

Officials described historically dangerous conditions in the snow-prone Buffalo region, with hours-long whiteouts and bodies discovered in vehicles and under snowbanks. Emergency workers continued the difficult search for those in need of rescue. The city’s international airport remains closed until Tuesday and a driving ban remained in effect for Buffalo and much of Erie County. Road ice and white-out conditions also led to the temporary closure of some of the nation’s busiest transport routes, including part of the cross-country Interstate 70 highway. Drivers were being warned not to take to the roads – even as the nation reached what is usually its busiest time of year for travel. – AFP

 The Japanese Embassy has announced that the government of Japan is offering scholarships for Kuwaiti teachers who intend to do a research on education in Japanese universities, reports Al-Qabas daily.

In a press statement, the embassy enumerated the conditions for Kuwaitis applying for the scholarship as follows:
■ Born on April 2, 1988 or later;
■ Graduates of universities or teacher training institutes;
■ Worked as a teacher in primary, intermediate or secondary levels for at least five years;
■ Physically fit;
■ Interested in Japan and keen on gaining more knowledge about the country;
■ Ability to do research work in Japan and could easily adapt to the way of living there. The embassy said the deadline for submitting the required documents is on Feb 23, 2023; while the written exam will be conducted on March 6, 2023.

Applications should be hand-delivered to the embassy, then there will be a written exam in English and Japanese, and a personal interview.

The Ministry of Electricity and Water revealed until Sunday it has received more than 45 requests from companies and individuals to install electric car chargers, since the ministry opened the door to receive applications in this regard on December 4. The sources told Al-Qabas that the ministry is still studying the extent to which the applications it received conform to the standard specifications it had previously set, and that none of these applications has been approved yet.

Approval process
The sources expect the approval process for the first application would take place at the beginning of the new year, after which the provision of these chargers would begin for those wishing to obtain them in the local market. The sources stated that no chargers have been approved so far, whether in private housing or in government agencies or the private sector, as this step is supposed to start after approving requests to provide chargers in the local market.

Clean energy
In addition, the sources said that ministry officials held a meeting a few days ago with the Ministry of Finance to discuss activating the decision to purchase clean energy from citizens and producing companies in light of the recent amendment to the ministry’s terms of reference decree, which allowed purchases from citizens and private entities. The sources stated that the meetings with the Ministry of Finance revolve around the expected cost of that procurement process, and the budget that must be available to start this step, which have not yet been resolved between the two parties.

On Sunday, the Interior Ministry warned people against downloading and using AnyDesk because it poses a security threat. In a press release, the Interior Ministry stated that many cases of fraud and theft were reported after using the application, which allows remote access to other people's computers and phones.

It also warned against sharing One-Time Password (OTP) messages, personal or bank information with suspicious individuals and organizations.

Kuwait International Airport has geared up to maximum level of readiness to facilitate travellers and keep pace with the moment of departures and arrivals for New Year’s holiday 2023

A recent statistic issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation revealed that 139,000 passengers will travel through Kuwait Airport, 1,284 flights will be departing and arriving from December 29 to January 1, 2023. Dubai, Doha, Cairo, Istanbul and Jeddah are the top most traveled destinations in terms of reservations. 642 flights are departing carrying about 78,000 passengers, while  642  flights arriving with 61,000 passengers.

There has been increasing demand from Kuwaitis and expats to spend their vacation outside Kuwait, so the operational sector is ready to deal with the movement of travelers during holidays, reports Al Qabas. There are teams working around the clock to implement field plans that aim to regulate the movement of passengers at the airport, as the number of employees will be doubled at the gates, in the transit area, and the departures and arrivals halls.

Arrivals and departure halls and the accompanying services were equipped to ensure the speedy completion of the work, as well as coordination with the Ministries of Customs and the Interior to facilitate procedures, and operate additional “counters” at peak times.

After the Public Prosecution rang alarm bells about electronic fraud, announcing that it had received 300 complaints from the victims, technical experts warned of international gangs targeting Kuwaiti bank accounts, as well as the use of suspicious applications to hack personal data, and then blackmail their owners to obtain money, reports Al- Qabas daily. The technicians explained that some gangs operating in Kuwait and abroad seek to cause the largest number of victims and use them to download a set of applications on their phones to steal their personal data, in addition to stealing credit card numbers.

They pointed out that these gangs work with people of both sexes and contact citizens and residents to deceive them by deluding them into investing by providing them with fictitious investment, financial and marketing services, as well as deceiving them by claiming that they have won prizes.

They added: Despite the repeated warnings of the Ministry of Interior over the past month about remote access applications, victims are still falling every day until the total number of complaints received by the Public Prosecution exceeded 300 complaints pertaining to one application.

In parallel with the efforts of the Public Prosecution, the Ministry of Interior arrested 20 residents, men and women, who provided services that violate Kuwaiti laws and regulations and defrauded individuals through applications and social networking sites using international and encrypted numbers. The head of the Kuwaiti Society for Information Security, Dr. Safa’a Zaman, said that the applications that rely on the remote access system are the ones against which the prosecution receives the most complaints, as these applications “allow people to enter remotely to the device for several reasons, including what companies use to provide assistance to customers remotely, and unfortunately recently, some of these telephone services have been used for bad purposes, which is accessing devices for the purpose of fraud.

Messages
Zaman went on to say, it is one of the most important advices to confront the dangers of such applications, “not to trust messages or calls from any party, whatever the reasons, and not to download any applications or click on links at the request of other people, whatever the reason. She added, if a person feels any change or strange movement in the telephone, must promptly inform the competent authorities, and not give any person who does not know him/her any data that enables them to access the telephone equipment, regardless of the pretexts.

She called on people not to share any details of logging into bank accounts via the Internet, or even to send passwords to anyone. She indicated that in the event of any penetration, the telephone device must be immediately examined with anti-virus software or by an expert in this aspect, and the concerned authorities should be informed of the fraud, in addition to changing the data directly from different passwords and addresses, and informing the bank with which you deal and credit card institutions and others.

In addition, the daily monitored that a group of men and women obtained money through social networking sites, relying on activating fake accounts, suspicious invitations to users, and sending bank links as prizes through WhatsApp.

Some of these gangs also exploited the victims through smart applications based on the virtual network that supports the VPN encryption system, as users are required to purchase financial cards ranging from 14 to 200 dollars, depending on the type of services required. Some scammers take advantage of citizens and residents through fake accounts and international phone numbers, where they communicate with the victim through “WhatsApp” and then invite them to buy materials in exchange for offers in local markets, which are often fake, in addition to options for purchasing digital currencies and investment, or calling to win prizes on condition of payment of a certain value, and accordingly, financial links bearing the names of local banks are sent, in order to defraud and steal phone data.

Member of the Arab Union for Astronomy and Space Sciences, Bader Al-Amira, announced “temperatures are expected to reach below zero in the second half of January when the northwest winds begin to blow in the direction of the Arabian peninsula, reports Al-Rai daily. Al-Amira told the daily that “the second of January will witness the appearance of the last star of the square stars, which is the star of Al-Shoula or the tail of the scorpion, which will last for 13 days, and with comes to an end the first part of the winter season,” pointing out that “after the end of Al-Murabaaniyyah, “we will enter the second season, which is Al-Azreq, which is considered the coldest day of the year and is called by the Eastern Arabs (Mubki Al-Husni).”

Regarding the most important tips for dealing with the cold, Al-Amira said, “We advise the people to wear heavy clothes and not to make charcoal fire in closed tents, because coal in closed places may lead to suffocation, especially when sleeping,” noting at the same time that “it is advised not to allow children to play outside the house during the night to avoid exposure to cold for fear of fl u attacks. We also recommend that the elderly people avoid going out or get exposed to cold air after having bath to protect themselves from winter diseases.”

 Official statistics revealed that the Ministry of Health’s revenues from health insurance for expatriates increased by 15 percent or KD13 million last year – KD100.2 million in fiscal 2021/2022 compared to KD87.116 million in the previous fiscal year, reports Al-Anba daily. The statistics showed that the ministry received KD490.6 million for health insurance services over the past five years ($1.6 billion dollars at an exchange rate of 304 fils per dollar).

The amount collected in fiscal 2017/2018 was KD94.59 million, KD101.43 million in fiscal 2018/2019 and KD107.28 million in fiscal 2019/2020 – the highest so far. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health will study the possibility of unifying prices of medicines with neighboring countries, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources. Sources confirmed that the concerned officials in the ministry and other government institutions had earlier discussed this issue with the Federation of Drug Importers. They said Minister of Health Dr Ahmed Al-Awadi is keen on completing this step to provide patients with safe medicines at reasonable prices.

In a related development, the ministry added 26 medicines to the list of medicines that are exclusive for citizens as per a circular distributed to pharmacists and doctors in health districts; stressing these medicines should not be given to expatriates.

Regulate
Earlier, the ministry issued a decision to regulate the distribution of 372 medicines to Kuwaiti patients to prevent wastage, rationalize spending by giving alternatives to non-Kuwaitis, and collect KD5 fee for medicines given to expatriates in public clinics and KD10 in public hospitals. In the meantime, domestic labor expert Bassam Al-Shammari said the collection of treatment or medical service fees from domestic workers in hospitals or clinics contravenes Domestic Labor Law number 68 of 2015, reports Al-Anba daily. In a statement to the daily, Al-Shammari affirmed that the law does not allow any deduction from the salary of a domestic worker. He made the clarification in view of Health Ministry resolution number 383 of 2022 on increasing medical fees for expatriate workers, including the household workers. He pointed out this is an additional problem for the domestic labor market, which has been suffering due to the high cost of recruiting domestic workers – a huge burden for the owners of domestic labor recruitment offices and household heads.

Resolution
He warned that the new resolution will increase the number of complaints between the sponsors and workers, not to mention the reluctance of domestic workers to work in households. He urged employers to abide by the Domestic Labor Law, stipulating that the monthly salary of the worker should be calculated from the actual date he started working and no amount should be deducted from the salary. Article Nine obliges the employer to shoulder the domestic worker‘s food, clothing, treatment, nursing and housing expenses.

The Ministry of Health confirmed that the methodology for providing health services has not undergone any change, denying all that is being published about the abolition of separation when it comes to providing health services for men and women, reports Al-Qabas daily. In a statement published on its official account on Twitter, the ministry stressed that all medical institutions are committed to protecting and preserving the patient’s right to privacy and the confidentiality of information, stressing the need to receive news from official sources and to be careful when publishing controversial reports

In cooperation between the public and private sectors, the Ministry of Finance has completed the first phase of the entertainment city project implementation.

According to an informed source in a local Arabic newspaper, the Ministry of Finance has contacted the Municipality regarding the cabinet's decision to appoint Abdul Wahhab Al-Rasheed to supervise the implementation of the entertainment city project, indicating that the ministry plans to build a major entertainment center modeled on international entertainment trends.

The Ministry of Finance requested that the advisory team members be facilitated in obtaining all the information and services needed so that they could begin working on the project as soon as possible so that the project can be completed on time and within the deadline.

The health ministry is planning to reconsider the delivery fees for expats at maternity hospital under ministry of Health. According to local daily Kuwait Times report, the charges could increase by 50 to 75 percent after a study is completed and approved, pointing out that the final decision of acceptance, rejection or postponement will be clearer at the beginning of the new year.

Currently, fees collected from non-Kuwaiti patients registered in the health insurance system, amounts to KD 100 dinars for normal childbirth and KD 150 dinars caesarean section. This include delivery charges, ultrasound examinations, laboratory tests and medicines, but not hospital stay. The study calls to separate delivery charges from fees for ultrasound examinations, laboratory tests and medicines, as well as doubling the price of a private room, the report added.

The total number of births at health ministry hospitals by expatriates exceeds 20,000 annually, while those of Kuwaiti women is only around 8,000.

Rajaa Bouarki, the Assistant Undersecretary for Administrative Affairs and Administrative Development at the Ministry of Education has announced the launch of electronic services on MOE's website.

According to the Ministry, it is keen to simplify procedures, including combining the previous service and replacement during service and uploading the required documents via the Ministry's website. The minister is implementing Dr. Hamad Al-Adwani's directives to facilitate and simplify procedures.

Bouarki stated that the sector was eager to provide and make available to the ministry’s employees a range of electronic services, including this one, in cooperation with the Information Systems Department, stressing that a complete digital transformation is on the rise.

The Departments of Immigration and Passports Affairs of the Ministry of Interior have started receiving applications from residents for the issuance of family visas for their children under the age of five years who are stranded abroad, reports Al-Qabas daily.

According to informed sources, some of the departments have received applications from expatriates, after ensuring that all the necessary conditions for obtaining visas for their children are met.

Since the beginning of this week, all immigration departments started receiving family visa applications from those who meet the requirements.

Among the conditions for issuing family visas is a monthly salary of not less than KD 500, valid residence permits for both the father and mother in Kuwait, and that the age of the child should be less than five years.

The salary requirement was excluded for the excluded professions based on the applicable Cabinet decision, or if the child is less than a year old, provided both the father and the mother have valid residence, and the approval of the director of the department is available. No applications will be received from the suspended nationalities.

The Fatwa Authority of the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs issued a fatwa based on the Ministry of Justice’s referendum on the legality of marriage using modern means of communication via the Internet, reports Al-Anba daily.

The fatwa stated that the ministry presented to the Fatwa Authority the referendum submitted by the Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Justice for Family Affairs and Arbitration concerning the legality of concluding and documenting marriage contracts through modern electronic means.

A study was conducted by the Sharia Documentation Department of the draft conclusion and documentation of marriage contracts via modern electronic means (the Internet) at the Ministry of Justice through an approved electronic system through which the concerned parties can submit their identification papers and documents necessary for the conclusion of marriage contracts, in addition to enabling the notary (the legal authorized person) through this program to address and see the husband, the wife, the legal guardian and two witnesses, hearing the speech and image of all parties at the same time.

Since this perception enables the parties to the contract and the witnesses to participate in one session in terms of time and judgment and in terms of place, even if they are far apart in reality, as they hear the speech at the same time, then the offer is from the guardian and acceptance from the husband. The witnesses hear and see the guardian and the husband at the same time.

The Public Authority for Civil Information data shows that the total population in Kuwait, according to the latest statistics, is about 4.464 million, who live in about 213 thousand buildings spread in various governorates, and the number of Kuwaitis is 1.5 million and expatriates 2.962 million, reports Al-Rai daily. The data shows the largest concentration of population density in Kuwait is in the Farwaniya Governorate, where the number of Kuwaitis and expatriates reached 1.118 million people, constituting about 25 percent of the population in the country, and they live in 31.8 thousand buildings distributed between houses and buildings.

According to the latest report issued by Kuwait Finance House (KFH), the average rents of investment apartments in Farwaniya increased by about 1.4 percent in the second quarter of this year to about 326 dinars, while the average rents in private housing properties in the governorate increased by about 5.3 percent to 583 dinars.

The Al-Ahmadi Governorate ranked second in terms of population concentration in Kuwait, with about 944.3 thousand Kuwaitis and expatriates living in it, constituting 21.15 percent of the total population, and residing in 48,754 thousand units ranging from houses to buildings. The Hawalli Governorate ranked third, with a total population (expatriates and Kuwaitis) of 941.43 thousand people, constituting about 21.087 percent of the total population, and they live in 33.8 thousand buildings between houses and buildings.

A local newspaper reported that Kuwaiti government employees would get three days off for the New Year's holiday.

Al Anba quoted "well-informed" sources as saying the holiday will take place on Sunday, January 1.

It will be a three-day New Year's holiday in the country because Friday and Saturday are weekends.

On Monday, January 2, employees will return to work.

Sources indicate that government agencies providing special services will need to consider the common good when determining their holidays.

Within the framework of the continued digital transformation efforts for health services to facilitate the citizens, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for the digital health sector, Ahmed Gharib, announced the launch of two new services through the unified government application Sahel — submitting a request for premarital examination and notification of the valid examination result, reports Al-Jarida daily.

Regarding the service of requesting a premarital examination, Gharib explained that the application is submitted through the unified government application by any of the parties who are about to get married, so that the applicant specifies the date of the appointment, the location of the examination center and the required data on the other party, then a notification is sent to both parties. To fill out the medical questionnaire required by the center, and in the event that the second party is not subscribed to the Sahl application, the link to the questionnaire will be sent by e-mail.

The Ministry of Interior, represented by the Residency Affairs Sector, will issue instructions within the next few days to resume the issuance of family visas, reports Al-Rai daily quoting informed security sources.

They indicated that, “The first stage will cover children, after which the process of allowing wives, mothers and fathers to join their families in the country will gradually begin, based on the criteria to be determined by the ministry.” The salary cap of sponsor should be KD 500 per/month.

The sources explained that such a step comes after the suspension of the issuance of visas for a specific period within the framework of the Ministry of Interior’s keenness to set specific controls and procedures in this regard in a way that harmonizes efforts to modify the demographics and preserve the rights of residents to reunite with their families according to specific controls.

The source stated that the salary cap for infants and for humanitarian considerations is not applied, the timing of the opening of visit and the dependent visas and others is not known, and if the salary condition will change, especially since there is a study that was submitted according to which it is raised salary cap.

Earlier, the Ministry of Interior had stopped receiving visa requests for dependent visa, many expat families faced a problem in bringing their children who were born in their home countries or due to the the loss of residency or due to the renewal of passports.