KUWAIT: Search is on for a domestic worker accused of stealing her employer’s passport as well as KD800 before escaping. The incident took place in Khaitan where a Kuwaiti woman returned to her apartment and found out that her four children were locked inside a room with the key left near the door. She immediately unlocked the door and found her children in a terrorized state. She looked for the housemaid who she had entrusted the children with but couldn’t find them. She then checked the Indian maid’s room and discovered that she had taken her passport and ran away. The woman then checked her own bedroom and found out that her own passport and KD800 in cash were missing. She headed to the area’s police station immediately and filed a case.

KUWAIT: Every year before Eid Al-Adha, the market price of cattle like sheep, goats, lambs or cows increase owing to high demand. Cattle is bought for the customary sacrifice and subsequent distribution amongst poorer Muslims. Every year, cattle prices get hiked and this year is no exception. The origin and kind of cattle plays a very important role in determining the price. Prices also differ from one company and trader to another. There are many reasons for price hikes. “The political situation in Syria affected the cattle industry in Kuwait.

The decrease in the availability of cattle, especially sheep, has forced people in Kuwait to opt for a local breed despite being expensive. The price hike of fodder from KD 2.5 to KD 4.75 is also another reason for the hike” said Salah Al-Hatem who has been breeding sheep for almost a year. Different kinds of sheep mean different rates. “People always complain of high prices. So if they just want to sacrifice out of religious obligation, they can pick a cheaper kind. I sell the Australian variety at KD 60-70, hybrid ones at KD 85, Iranian variety at KD 90, Shfali from Iraq at KD 100, and the most expensive being Arabic Naeimi which costs KD 150- 160. The price depends on the day it’s sold, the most expensive being on Waqfa day after which the price drops around Eid,” Al-Hatem told the Kuwait Times.

Al-Hatem explained that the seller plays an important role as it is difficult and sometimes impossible for most people to recognize the sheep’s breed and in such cases, they’re taken for a ride by the seller. Prices are also determined by the meat’s taste and age plays an important role as younger sheep are considered more delicious, which automatically makes it more expensive than an adult. If the sheep was bred in Kuwait, no matter where it is bought from, it will have a local flavor. Homoud Al-Mutairi from the Marai National Company said he has local breed sheep but doesn’t have any from Saudi or Australia. “We used to have Australian sheep, but after the Australian Sheep Protection Committee banned slaughtering sheep outside the slaughter houses, we are not allowed to sell them to any third party, except for the charity organization we’re dealing with.

There is a ban on importing Saudi sheep, so we sell Shfali sheep instead. But unfortunately, shipment has been delayed and the breed is still not available. The Syrian variety is available as we imported them almost three months in advance. It’s been about a month now and Syrian sheep isn’t being imported into the country” he pointed out. According to him, there isn’t a huge difference in the price compared to last year. “The increase in price is less than 10 percent, which is about KD 4-6 in our company.

The most popular sheep variety now are the Shfali, Syrian, Jordanian, and Iranian apart from other local ones. We are cooperating with charities who buy the sheep and distribute them to families in need. We maintain the same prices on all days because we don’t want to exploit people and we also provide delivery options for our customers” said Al-Mutairi

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Capital municipality emergency team inspected several cooperatives and food stores in Shuwaikh residential areas. Head of the emergency team Tariq Al-Qattan said the emergency teams work round the clock and during Eid days to inspect foods in restaurants and workers.

He said the team removed congratulatory ads that are abundant in Sulaibikhat, Rawdha, and Qairawan. Al-Qattan said complaints are received on the hotline 1855555 in case of any complaint related to food. He said the inspection campaign resulted in issuing 10 citations related to displaying food material outside the shop, selling expired material and lack of health certificates. He said that 60 kg of cheese, tahina sweet, mayonnaise, canned vegetables and mushroom were confiscated.

In Hawally, a campaign resulted in issuing one citation for a worker with expired health license and destruction of 7.5 kg of expired chocolate, 12 kg of industrial gelatine used in making cake and citations for employing workers without health license

KUWAIT: Criminal Investigation Department officers arrest- ed three people who were preparing to leave the country after stealing nearly KD 80,000 worth of jewelry. The arrest took place at the Kuwait International Airport on Friday in coordination with the Airport Security Department officials, and the detainees were referred to the Salhiya police station for further action. Investigations which led to the arrest began after a number of jewelry shops in Kuwait City reported similar incidents in which a man and two women stole jewelry by hiding them while the shopkeeper was distracted. Detectives were able to identify the Armenian suspects using CCTV tapes. They arrested the male suspect at a hotel in Kuwait City before a police unit rushed to the air- port to arrest the two women based on their accomplice’s testimonies. The three are currently cooling their heels behind bars.

KUWAIT: According to a recent report of the World Bank on the money transfers of migrants and expatriates, Kuwait ranked third in the Gulf with $8.5 billion sent abroad in 2012, while the expats in Saudi Arabia transferred $27.6 billion, and expats in United Arab Emirates remitted $20.3 billion. The United States ranked the first worldwide with migrant transfers of $123 billion.

The report also mentioned that remittance flows to developing countries are estimated to have totaled $401 billion in 2012, an increase of 5.3 percent over the previous year. Global remittance flows, including those to high-income countries, were an estimated $529 billion in 2012. The developing world is expected to receive $414 billion in migrant remittances in 2013, an increase of 6.3 percent over the previous year. Globally, the world’s 232 million inter- national migrants are expected to remit earnings worth $550 billion this year.

Samer, a 55-year-old sends about 60-70 per- cent of his salary to Jordan every month. “I’m transferring money to my children who live there with their mother. I transfer the money on a monthly basis for their expenses only, and I’m not saving any money,” he told the Kuwait Times. The majority of the Asian community are transferring money back home, and lean more towards savings and investment.

Paul, a 52- year-old is living in Kuwait with his wife only and the rest of his family and children are living in India. “I transfer about 20-30 percent of my salary to my family abroad, but a part of it goes into savings. When we finally leave Kuwait and head home, we should have some savings to depend on. I know many Arab expats don’t save any money and spend all their salary,” he pointed out.

Victor from Nigeria transfers about 50 per- cent of his salary to his family living in two countries. “About 45 percent of my salary goes into paying the house rent. I transfer about half of my salary to both UK and Nigeria, and I live off only 5 percent. I’m not saving as my income is not enough to save. My existence is one of hand to mouth. Over the past five years, my situation has been the same which was caused by the financial crisis, when all the fees were hiked. Even transferring money is expensive now because it was $7 for $100 earlier and now it’s $14 for the same amount. Before 2008, I used to save about 40 percent of my salary, which is now impossible,” he explained.

Ibtisam, a 37-year-old Syrian expat multiplied her money transfers after the bad situation in Syria since the last two years. “Two years ago, I was transferring about 5 percent of my salary and sending it to mom for her to use as pocket money. I used to spend all my salary on myself and wasn’t saving anything. Now after the bad situation in Syria, I’m sending my family about 80 percent of my salary to Egypt as they moved there after the war started in Syria. I hope this will change once the situation gets better,” she said.

Yahya, a 30-year-old from Egypt is transfer- ring about 25 percent of his salary every month to his family back home. “I’m living with my wife and children, and the rest of family lives in Egypt and I send them money for their needs, so I haven’t been able to save much. Sometimes, I send more money if they have an emergency and need money. In general, I can’t send more money as I haven’t got a raise in my salary over the past few years,” he stated 

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Annual dastarbandi / Completion for Huffaz ul Qurain held in Mosque Uthman on 4th October 2013. H.E. Syed Abrar Hussain was the chief guest. The ceremony was started after the prayer of Ish’a. Qari Saeed ur Rehman welcomed community’s representatives from Religious, Cultural, Educational, Doctors, Engineers, teachers societies/Associations who were present on the occasion
The first part of the program started with speeches from Kuwaiti and Pakistani community, In the second part prizes distributed among the students for their annual performance.

Reported : Tariq Iqbal
Edited by: Atif Siddiqui
Photography by: Shazad Khan

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