SUBSCRIPTION MONDAY, MAY 23, 2016 SHAABAN 16, 1437 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Amir arrives in Erdogan ally Gaza ‘Spiderboy’ 21 titles in Istanbul to attend becomes PM, seeks to storm seven years Humanitarian vows stronger Guinness isn’t bad, says Summit2 presidency10 world40 records Guardiola19 Education Minister halts Min 27º Max 41º private school fee hikes High Tide 01:27 & 12:08 Low Tide Groups slam ‘conspiracy’ against judiciary 06:42 & 19:38 40 PAGES NO: 16882 150 FILS By B Izzak Yemen govt to end peace talks boycott KUWAIT: Minister of Education Badr Al-Essa issued a ministerial decree yesterday aimed at halting private DOHA: Fragile peace talks aimed at ending fighting school fee hikes. According to the decree, private in Yemen are making progress as a truce largely schools should abide by the decision or face conse- holds, the UN envoy for the country asserted yester- quences. Schools violating the decree will receive a day after the impoverished Arab nation’s govern- warning letter, which will be followed by suspension if ment agreed to return to the negotiating table. The the educational facility continues with the violation, said Yemeni government last week announced it was the decree. It stressed that any additional expenses and suspending talks being held in Kuwait with the charges taken unlawfully by the violating schools should Houthi rebels, accusing them of refusing to accept be returned in accordance with the new decision. the legitimacy of the country’s internationally recog- Earlier this year, the National Assembly approved a nized president. recommendation stipulating that all fee increases by During a Saturday meeting in the Qatari capital, private schools must be Doha, with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and suspended immediately the emir of Qatar, Yemeni President Abed Rabbo until a parliamentary Mansour Hadi agreed to send the government dele- committee reviews the gation back to the talks, according to a UN state- issue with the minister of ment. Foreign Minister Abdulmalek Al-Mikhlafi said education. The recom- on Twitter that the government had agreed to give mendation was passed the peace talks a “last chance”. “We have fixed all the following strong criticism references. This is a first step on the path for a real by MPs against a number peace that leads to implementing Resolution 2216 of private foreign schools beginning with withdrawals, surrender of weapons that unilaterally raised and the restoration of state institutions,” he said. their fees before obtain- Badr Al-Essa Former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a heavy- ing a permit from the weight inside the rebel movement, renewed his ministry. Essa had said the government accepted the rejection of Hadi’s legitimacy and called the talks a recommendation, adding that the ministry had formed “waste of time”. A truce between the warring parties a committee to study the issue of fees at private that began April 10 has largely held despite viola- schools. tions by both sides. Speaking at the Doha Forum Separately, liberal political groups yesterday strongly conference yesterday, UN envoy to Yemen Ismail criticized what they called an attempt by the govern- Ould Cheikh Ahmed said that the drop in violence SANAA: Yemenis take part in celebrations marking the 26th anniversary of Yemen’s 1990 reunification in ment to reduce the independence of the Kuwaiti judici- Continued on Page 13 the capital yesterday. — AFP ary in a new draft law under preparation. Continued on Page 13 Call to raise minimum wage for dependent visa to KD 450 Study seeks to double daily fine for absconders KUWAIT: The government is mulling fines paid by expats facing absconding News increasing the minimum wage for expatri- charges from KD 2 a day to KD 4, while ates to be eligible to issue dependent increasing the maximum amount from KD in brief visas for their family members, as the state 600 to KD 1,000. It also suggests increas- scrambles to find a solution for its demo- ing visa fees paid to immigration authori- graphic imbalance problem. The current ties and limiting the ratio of every expatri- Ramadan begins June 6 law stipulates that a foreigner must earn a ate community in Kuwait to 20 percent KUWAIT: The holy month of Ramadan will begin on minimum KD 250 a month to apply to compared to Kuwaitis’ population, which Monday, June 6, meteorologist Adel Al-Saadoun told sponsor his wife and children, but a recent if applied, would affect large communities KUNA yesterday. The lunar calendar is the reference study suggests increasing the amount to in Kuwait such as the Indian and Egyptian Muslims use for marking religious occasions and sea- KD 450, which excludes a majority of communities. sons. The holy month of Ramadan is the ninth month, CANNES: British director Ken Loach celebrates onstage after being awarded expatriates working in Kuwait. In parallel, the study makes several and is a month of fasting from sunrise till sunset during The average salary of expatriates in the suggestions to help encourage Kuwaiti with the Palme d’Or for the film “I, Daniel Blake” during the closing ceremony of which additional prayers and acts of worship are the 69th Cannes Film Festival yesterday. — AFP private sector stands at KD 251 a month, manpower to work in the private sector, observed. The start of Ramadan is not announced according to statistics released earlier this at a time when almost 87 percent of according to astronomical calculations alone, but the year by the Labor Market Information Kuwait’s national labor force works in the testimony of sighting the crescent by two men or a man System (LMIS), which is affiliated to the public sector. These suggestions include Loach wins Cannes gold and two women is required. Central Statistical Bureau (CSB). paying child allowances to female work- Meanwhile, nearly 94 percent of expat ers in the public sector similar to their with tale of austerity workers in general earn less than KD 600 a male counterparts, regulating work-from- Tow truck hotline month. Almost 95 percent of employees home activities, organizing labor training CANNES, France: British director Ken Romania’s Cristian Mungiu for his drama KUWAIT: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the private sector are foreigners, and it sessions for Kuwaitis in cooperation with Loach won the Palme d’Or top prize at “Graduation” about the moral rot of cor- yesterday announced a special hotline 22277722 currently employs nearly 75 percent of co-operative societies and schools and Cannes yesterday for the second time in a ruption in a post-communist society, and to call a tow truck in the event of traffic accidents expatriate workers in Kuwait (not includ- allocating sites inside co-op societies decade with his moving drama “I, Daniel France’s Olivier Assayas for his supernatu- or breakdowns on highways and roads for a fixed ing domestic helpers, who make up 17 where young Kuwaiti women can ‘show- Blake” about the shame of poverty in aus- ral thriller “Personal Shopper” with fee to any area of Kuwait. percent of expatriate workers). case their culinary talents’. terity-hit Europe. The award marked a Hollywood phenomenon Kristen Stewart. The study also calls for increasing the Continued on Page 13 major upset at the world’s top film festival Philippine star Jaclyn Jose won best in favor of the leftwing director, who turns actress for her mesmerizing performance 80 this year and is known for shining a in Brillante Mendoza’s “Ma’ Rosa” as a light on the downtrodden. He beat out mother selling drugs to survive who falls Abu Dhabi sacks staff amid austerity runaway favorites including the rapturous- prey to corrupt police. ABU DHABI: Thousands of layoffs at state- firm or deny the cuts but said: “In keeping with response to production cutbacks; the UAE has ly received German comedy “Toni Iran’s Shahab Hosseini clinched best linked companies in Abu Dhabi are a fresh sign the entire oil and gas industry, ADNOC is con- not reduced its oil output, and says it is pro- Erdmann” by Maren Ade, one of three actor for Asghar Farhadi’s taut moral dra- the Gulf’s wealthy oil states are hunkering down stantly looking at ways to be more efficient and ceeding with long-planned oil and gas develop- women directors in competition, and US ma “The Salesman”, about a married cou- for a long period of austerity as low crude prices more profitable, particularly in the current mar- ment projects. indie legend Jim Jarmusch’s “Paterson” ple thrown into turmoil after the wife is pressure their economies. Since mid-2015, the ket environment.” Nor do the layoffs mean Abu Dhabi is run- starring Adam Driver as a poetry-writing attacked in their home. Farhadi also United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Qatar “Thousands of staff at ADNOC and its affili- ning out of money. With hundreds of billions of bus driver. Both left empty-handed. scooped the screenplay honors. Hosseini and other countries in the region have curbed ates” are affected, said one source in the indus- dollars in its sovereign wealth fund, the emirate Loach now joins an elite club of two- had also starred in Farhadi’s breakout suc- spending on some construction projects and try, asking not to be named. ADNOC has “asked could draw down its reserves to sustain current time victors at the French Riviera festival cess, 2011’s “A Separation”, which won an reduced energy subsidies to limit budget its affiliates to cut costs”, said the source, point- levels of spending for decades. But the govern- including Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne Oscar for best foreign language film.