Kuwait Times

Published Date: March 05, 2009

KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health is preparing a draft law to make premarital blood tests compulsory for Kuwaiti citizens. It plans to refer the draft law to the Cabinet's Fatwa and Legislative Department, which will then review it and suggest necessary amendments, reported Al-Rai. An official said that the committee would follow the standard procedure before referring it to Dr Ibraheem Al-Abdalhadi, the Ministry of Health's Undersecretary, who in turn will refer it to the Minister of Health Roudhan Al-Roudha
n. It will adopt the law immediately after different aspects of the law are approved by the department.

Egyptians in Q8 hold an open day

KUWAIT: The Egyptians in Kuwait (EGKW) group will hold an open day on Saturday, March 7th at the Ogailah Beach area from 9 am till 10 pm. The group announced on its website (www.egkw.com) that the event had been rescheduled from last week to March 7th due to last weekend's heavy sandstorms. Commenting on the postponement, Egyptian expatriate journalist and website founder Osama Jalal said that the organizing team turned up early last Saturday morning as planned, all ready to receive visitors. They quickl
y realized, however, that the adverse weather conditions made it highly unlikely that anyone would fancy a day at the beach. "After consulting the Touristic Enterprises Company and the beach management, we decided to postpone the activities to the same place next week," he explained. Jalal also noted that every family participating at the event will get a free Wataniya Telecom mobile line. A host of events will be offered on Saturday including a painting competition for children, as well as volleyball, che
ss, backgammon, dominos and other recreational contests. There will also be performances by folk singers and dancers.

ID tags introduced for entry in ministry

KUWAIT: Employees at the Ministry of Communications and Transport (MoCT) who arrive at work without their work ID cards are to be prohibited from entering the ministry headquarters under recently introduced regulations. According to a memorandum from senior MoCT Undersecretary Abdulmohsin Al-Mezaidi which was circulated to all ministry departments, staff who do not wear their work ID cards in clear view, pinned to their chest or around their neck, will not be allowed into the ministry building and will be
penalized in line with the new regulations. Every work ID card will carry details of the employee's name, nationality, title, department and personal reference number, reported Al-Rai. The validity of expatriate employees' work ID cards will depend on the expiry date of their residency.

ICU isolated after admittance of TB patients

KUWAIT: The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the Contagious Diseases Hospital was completely isolated from the other wards after four patients were admitted suffering from highly infectious tuberculosis. Dr Jamal Al-Duaij, the hospital's director, said yesterday that the move was taken in line with international regulations regarding such cases. The director rejected claims made in local newspapers that the ICU did not meet international standards, describing them as "baseless." He also said that the patients
transferred to the Al-Rashed Allergies Center were those whose condition had stabilized, stressing that they had not been transferred because of any shortage of beds in the hospital's ICU.

MoI allowance

KUWAIT: Official sources recently said that some MPs intended to revive the suggestion of granting all civilian employees at the Ministry of Interior an allowance of KD 60 each. Parliamentary sources revealed that the suggestion was submitted to the Interior and Defense Committee during the 2003 Council and approved with the majority of MPs and the government, Al-Anba reported. However, the Civil Service Commission did not finalize the agreement during this period, which made MPs to demand it again.

Prisoners pardoned

KUWAIT: Officials said the Amiri Pardon Committee has completed a list of inmates who meet pardon requirements. A total of 335 inmates, including 65 females, are set to be pardoned. Additionally, the committee recommended reducing the imprisonment periods for 1,045 inmates and canceled fines for 757 inmates. The deportation of 207 expatriates, mostly bedoons, was also canceled. Sources said that the committee recommended the cancellation of fines worth KD 4 million.

Tuition centers set up

KUWAIT: Several tuition centers have been set up across the country that are aimed at improving the academic performance of weak students, said Waleed Al-Saeed, the Supervisor of High Schools in Jahra. These centers also offer TOEFL courses and special coaching to outstanding courses, reported Al-Rai. Al-Saeed emphasized that a large number of students from different districts has joined these centers. He added that the main the centers were being set up check the spread of private tuition centers.

Solve pollution problems

KUWAIT: The volunteer-driven environmental committee of the Ali Sabah Al-Salem area (formerly known as Umm Al-Haiman) demanded that problems that stem from environmental degradation in the area be solved urgently. Addressing his weekly diwaniya on Tuesday, Committee Chairman Ahmad Al-Sheraye' emphasized that the large number of factories situated in the area emit toxic pollutants, reported Awan. Furthermore, Al-Sheraye said that the committee managed to convince five MPs Saadoun Al-Otaibi, Abdullah Rae Al
-Fahma, Daifallah Buramya, Mohammed Al-Huwaila and Khalid Sultan bin Essa, to adopt a Bill which demands that the industrial plot and facilities from western Shuaiba be removed within six months. He also pointed out that the Bill's memo states that the residents from the area inhaled hazardous, toxic gases that were produced from operating such factories. "This completely defies all environmental laws and WHO regulations on residential areas," he underscored. He pointed out that removing such facilities wo
uld help solve at least 80 percent of the problems.