Philippines and Kuwait sign deal on domestic workers

Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter S. Cayetano and Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah at the signing ceremony. (Photo/Department of Foreign Affairs)
Updated 11 May 2018
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Philippines and Kuwait sign deal on domestic workers

  • Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah signed the agreement at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kuwait.
  • It brings to an end the diplomatic crisis triggered by a video, which showed Philippine Embassy staff “rescuing” allegedly distressed OFWs from their employers’ households in the Arab nation.

MANILA: The diplomatic dispute between the Philippines and Kuwait has been resolved with the signing of an agreement between the two countries to provide protection to thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the Gulf state.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III confirmed to Arab News that the agreement, which both sides have been working on since early this year, had been signed.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) released photos showing Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah signing the agreement at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kuwait. 

Bello III and other Filipino officials, led by Special Envoy Mohammed Mama-o and President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman Harry Roque, and their Kuwaiti counterparts witnessed the signing.

It brings to an end the diplomatic crisis triggered by a video, which showed Philippine Embassy staff “rescuing” allegedly distressed OFWs from their employers’ households in the Arab nation.

Earlier Bello said that the agreement would include provisions demanded by Duterte, including seven hours’ sleep for workers, a decent meal, an eight-hour working day and a paid day off each week. Workers will also be allowed to keep their passports and mobile phones.

Philippine Senator Win Gatchalian described the agreement as an important milestone in the government’s fight to secure the rights and uphold the welfare of the 260,000 OFWs in Kuwait.

He said: “The Department of Foreign Affairs, along with the senior state officials who helped make the final push, deserve credit for persevering and closing this deal, despite the recent difficulties between our countries.

“Our government must do everything in its power to ensure that the OFW rights enshrined in the agreement are upheld by the Kuwaiti government.”

He added that the Philippine government should work with Kuwaiti authorities to establish effective enforcement mechanisms to ensure compliance with the MOA and impose tough sanctions on offenders. “Otherwise, the MOA will become a mere paper tiger,” he said.

“Learning from the tough lessons taught to us by this challenging ordeal, the Department of Foreign Affairs should also be proactive in negotiating similar deals with countries that have yet to establish adequate safeguards for the rights of OFWs stationed there. OFWs across the world need to know that their government is looking out for them,” he added.

Migrant and recruitment expert Emmanuel Geslani attributed the deal to Duterte’s appointment of Mama-o as special envoy to Kuwait, commenting that the Muslim leader is respected by officials in Kuwait. He also praised labor secretary Silvestre Bello’s persistence in pushing forward a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for OFWs.

“We look forward to giving our OFWs renewed opportunities for their future,” he added.


Explosion occurs at Turkish oil refinery during drills, but no casualties are reported

Updated 46 sec ago
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Explosion occurs at Turkish oil refinery during drills, but no casualties are reported

ANKARA: An explosion occurred at an oil refinery in northwestern Turkey on Tuesday, an official said, adding the situation was “under control” and there were no reports of any casualties.
Mayor Tahir Buyukakin told private NTV television that the blast occurred at the Turkish Petroleum Refineries company, Tupras, in Izmit provicince during “routine drills.”
A fire was quickly brought under control by the privately owned company’s own emergency crews and no request for help was made, he said.
Video footage from the site showed smoke rising from the refinery.
It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion.

Lebanon media reports strike on residential building south of Beirut

Updated 9 sec ago
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Lebanon media reports strike on residential building south of Beirut

BEIRUT: Lebanese state media reported a strike on an apartment in the Jiyeh coastal area south of Beirut on Tuesday, more than a month into the Israel-Hezbollah war.
The official National News Agency said “a raid targeted a residential apartment in a building in the town of Jiyeh,” where an AFP correspondent said a large plume of grey smoke covered the area.


Iran says killed eight militants since attack on police in province bordering Pakistan

Updated 38 min 40 sec ago
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Iran says killed eight militants since attack on police in province bordering Pakistan

  • Militants from the Jaish Al-Adl group killed 10 police officers during a raid in Sistan-Baluchistan province on October 26
  • Sistan-Baluchistan, which straddles border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, is one of Iran’s most impoverished provinces

TEHRAN: Iran’s military has killed eight militants in an operation in the restive southeast since a deadly attack last month on a police station, state media reported Tuesday.
Militants from the Pakistan-based Jaish Al-Adl group killed 10 police officers during a raid on October 26 in Sistan-Baluchistan province — one of the deadliest attacks in the region in recent months.
Sistan-Baluchistan, which straddles the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, is one of Iran’s most impoverished provinces.
It has long been a flashpoint for cross-border attacks by separatists and extremists, opposed to the authorities in Iran.
Revolutionary Guards commander Ahmad Shafahi said “a total of eight terrorists have been killed” since the beginning of operations in the province, according to the official IRNA news agency on Tuesday.
“Fourteen other terrorists have been arrested,” including key figures involved in the attack, he said, adding security forces seized weapons and ammunition.
Shortly after the attack in Taftan county, some 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) southeast of the capital Tehran, a report on the Tasnim news agency said four militants had been killed and four others arrested.
Late on Monday, IRNA quoted Guards ground forces commander Mohammad Pakpour as saying the attackers “were not Iranian,” though he did not specify their nationalities.
In early October, at least six people including police officers were killed in two separate attacks in the province.
Jaish Al-Adl said on Telegram they had carried out the attacks.
Formed in 2012 by Baluch separatists, the group is proscribed as a “terrorist organization” by both Iran and the United States.
 
 


Over 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

Updated 05 November 2024
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Over 100 patients to be evacuated from Gaza, WHO says

  • The patients will travel in a large convoy on Wednesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing

GENEVA: More than 100 patients including children suffering from trauma injuries and chronic diseases will be evacuated from Gaza on Wednesday in a rare transfer out of the war-ravaged enclave, a World Health Organization official said.
“These are ad hoc measures. What we have requested repeatedly is a sustained medevac (medical evacuation) outside of Gaza,” said Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, adding that 12,000 people were awaiting transfer.
The patients will travel in a large convoy on Wednesday via the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel before flying to the United Arab Emirates, he added, and then a portion will travel to Romania.


Iran says two French detainees held in good conditions

Updated 05 November 2024
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Iran says two French detainees held in good conditions

  • In recent years, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security

DUBAI: Two French citizens detained in Iran since May 2022 are in good health and being held in good detention conditions, Iran’s judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said on Tuesday, according to state media.
Last month, France’s foreign ministry said the conditions that three of its nationals were being held in by Iran were unacceptable.
“According to the relevant authorities, these two people have good conditions in the detention center and are in good health, so any claim regarding their conditions being abnormal is rejected,” Jahangir said.
The spokesperson was referring to Cecile Koehler and Jacques Paris, who he said were arrested on charges of espionage and will have their next court hearing on Nov. 24.
Jahangir did not mention the third French national detained in Iran. French media have disclosed only his first name, Olivier.
In recent years, Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards have arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.
Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests.