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SUBSCRIPTION THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2016 MUHARRAM 12, 1438 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Firefighters Divided America: Small Iowa town Future looks control blaze The evolving a window into pink for at Rai food face of US hunger problem Pak cricket warehouse2 immigration8 in13 rural US ball-makers17 MoI raises minimum wage Min 25º Max 37º for family visa to KD 450 High Tide 08:46 & 22:16 MPs to file requests to grill PM, finance minister Low Tide 02:57 & 15:53 40 PAGES NO: 17018 150 FILS By B Izzak New challenges in KUWAIT: The interior ministry yesterday raised the mini- mum salary required for expatriates to be able to spon- Syria as militants sor their wives and children from KD 250 to KD 450 in a weaponize drones move expected to cut the number of foreign families in the country. Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al- WASHINGTON: Groups like Hezbollah and the Khaled Al-Sabah issued a decision amending the for- Islamic State group have learned how to eign residency law to raise the salary requirement for weaponize surveillance drones and use them dependent visas, a step that will prevent thousands of against each other, adding a new twist to Syria’s low-paid expatriates from bringing their families to live civil war, a US military official and others say. A with them on a permanent basis. video belonging to an Al-Qaeda offshoot, Jund al- The decision said that the cases of expatriates Aqsa, purportedly shows a drone landing on Syrian already living in the country or those who were born military barracks. In another video, small explosives here and draw salaries below KD 450 will be studied by purportedly dropped by Hezbollah target the mili- the director general of the residence affairs department tant group Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, formerly known to decide whether they can be exempted from the as the Nusra Front. salary condition. A US military official, who spoke anonymously Only a small percentage of the three million expatri- because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter ates living in the country draw wages above the KD 450 publicly, said the US military is aware of the devel- level. According to the latest statistics, the average opment. Commanders have warned troops to take salary of a male expat in the private sector is only KD cover if they see what they might have once dis- 247. The existing minimum family visa wage of KD 250 missed as a surveillance drone, and they have had been in effect since Dec 2004, when it was reduced warned their partners to do the same, he said. from KD 400 in a bid to make it easier for expatriates to Concerns are mounting after an incident involving sponsor their wives and children in order to make coalition forces in Iraq this week. France’s presiden- Kuwait a family society, after complaints that Kuwait tial spokesman, Stephane Le Foll, said yesterday was predominantly a society consisting of single males. that two French special forces were gravely injured During the past 12-year period, the number of by a drone that exploded once it was grounded BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah waves at the airport after expatriates increased to record levels of three million, near the northern Iraqi city of Irbil, where they are wrapping up an official visit to Brunei yesterday. Sheikh Sabah was received at Kuwait International Airport by constituting almost 70 percent of the total popula- Continued on Page 13 HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday after he returned home. — KUNA tion of Kuwait. Continued on Page 13 LOCAL THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2016 Arab Youth Survey 70 percent of GCC youths prefer government jobs ‘Private sector needs to match salaries, benefits, holidays’ DUBAI: More than two-thirds of young national Arabs in the Gulf states still hope to land jobs with government, despite initiatives to encour- age them to seek out careers in the private sec- tor. This new finding from the eighth annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey was unveiled by Sunil John, the CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, at a presentation to the third KUWAIT: In appreciation and support to Kuwaiti Paralympics champions, Ahamdi Global Islamic Economy Summit, being held in Governor Sheikh Fawaz Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah recently received the Kuwaiti Dubai on the 11th and 12th of October. international diver Faisal Al-Mosawi. Across the whole Arab world, half (50 per- cent) of young people said they would prefer a KFH participates in launching of government job to private sector work. However, this preference rises to 70 per cent plastic bottles recycling project across the Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. When asked KUWAIT: Kuwait Finance House (KFH) par- and its keenness to increase the awareness what would entice them to work in the private ticipated in the launching of the implemen- of having a clean and healthy environment. sector, more than half of all young Arabs sur- tation phase of the plastic bottles recycling The project has 3 phases to recycle bot- veyed cited higher wages (51 percent), followed environmental project (Omnia) as an envi- tles that include spreading the awareness by better healthcare and other benefits (35 per- ronmental partner and the first sponsor for of trash sorting, distributing carton boxes cent), more paid holidays (29 percent) and short- this national project. KFH is the first bank to at schools, houses, universities, hotels, hos- er working hours (27 percent). embrace this idea that aims at increasing pitals etc. and recycling the plastic bottles In the GCC, where governments have tradi- the awareness of the importance of collect- in cooperation with the industrial authori- tionally employed the majority of the national ing and recycling the plastic bottles in ties in an attempt for the latter to produce workforce, only 15 percent of young people said Kuwait. grains of plastic used to manufacture plas- they would prefer to work in the private sector, In collaboration with KFH, Omnia tic bottles or new packaging materials. The while another 14 percent had no preference and installed 8 plastic bottles collection boxes project is based on an array of successful 1 per cent didn’t know. “Persuading young peo- at the main Cooperative Societies in differ- experiments and studies in several coun- ple to take on roles in the private sector is essen- ent areas including Aledayliah, Alsalam, tries in the world. It is the initiative of a tial to creating a strong, sustainable economy,” Sabah Alsalem, Mubarak Alkabeer, Saad group of ambitious Kuwaiti youth who par- said Sunil John. Alabdallah, and Abdullah Almubarak. KFH’s ticipate in raising the environmental aware- “These findings show that despite ongoing partnership stems from its commitment to ness while assuring protecting and preserv- efforts to make the private sector more appeal- assume the corporate social responsibility, ing the environment. ing to young Gulf Arabs, the message isn’t get- ting through as fast as governments - or the pri- vate sector -would like. “New initiatives and poli- cies, such as Saudi’s Vision 2030, the removal of subsidies on fuel and introduction of VAT across the Gulf, show that governments are serious about new economic realities,” he added. However, it seems balancing expectations about public sector work with the realities of private young Arabs - 58 per cent - want to further their policymakers in the region and across the world. sector employment for those young nationals education, be it university, vocational training For this year’s survey, international polling entering the workforce will require more effort.” or post-graduate degree. In North Africa, 73 per- firm Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) conducted Elsewhere in the Arab World, views towards cent intend to further their education, against 3,500 face-to-face interviews with exclusively public sector employment differ markedly. In the 61 per cent in the GCC and just 41 per cent in Arab national men and women aged 18-24 in Levant, young people are almost evenly split the Levant. the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries between preference for the public and private Of those who aren’t seeking further education, of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman sectors (28 per cent and 30 per cent receptively), 40 per cent of young people in the Levant say and Bahrain; Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, while 37 per cent had no preference and 4 per they are put off by the high cost of further educa- Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Yemen. cent didn’t know. In North Africa, 47 per cent of tion; in North Africa 19 per cent are concerned by The interviews were conducted from January 11 young nationals would opt for the public sector, teaching standards; while 62 per cent of young to February 22, 2016. In-depth results from the 26 per cent for private, 20 per cent had no pref- Gulf Arabs are keen to get on with their careers. 8th Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth erence and 8 per cent didn’t know. Now in its eighth year, the ASDA’A Burson- Survey, including survey highlights and a white In another Survey finding unveiled at his Marsteller Arab Youth Survey has established paper in Arabic and English, are available on KFH and Omnia representatives launching the project presentation, John revealed that the majority of itself as a key referral source for businesses and www.arabyouthsurvey.com Fire engulfs warehouse in Rai By Hanan Al-Saadoun Abdaly.