Habib Toumi

Yuli Edelstein

Israel’s Public diplomacy minister Yuli Edelstein on Monday said that the assassination of Hamas leader Mahmoud Al Mabhouh should not be considered as murder.

In a blatant “smiling PR drive”, the minister told the Henry Jackson Society think tank at the House of Commons in London that it would be wrong to become “overly emotional” about Al Mabhouh’s death.

“Even if it will turn out that the worst secret service of the worst country in the world had managed to get to that guy, I will still not call it murder,” he said, according to a report in Ireland On Line. “Let’s not get overly emotional about his death and let’s not start mourning his death.”

Edelstein insisted that he did not know who carried out the assassination in Dubai last month.

Khalid Al Khayyat

A Bahraini man is trying to use the hit “My Name is Khan” to help his country’s lawmakers overcome the sectarianism that has gripped the parliament and threatened to divide society.

Khalid Al Khayyat, a Bahraini who works for a bank, has offered the 40 MPs tickets to watch the movie in Manama and use its message to spread greater tolerance in the lower chamber and society and foster national unity.

 “My name is Khalid and I am not a sectarianist,” said Khalid, taking the words from the main line in the movie, ‘My Name is Khan and I am not a terrorist’ that Rizwan Khan, the main Muslim character, needs to tell the people and president of the United States to win back his angry Hindu wife. continue reading…

Shura session on Monday - BNA

Bahrain’s main political society has come under the fire of the upper chamber, the government, several lawmakers and a national company who accused it of overstepping the bounds of political correctness.

Al Wefaq, holders of 17 of the 40 seats in the lower chamber, was rapped by the Shura Council at its weekly session on Monday for “undermining national unity and civil peace” in Bahrain during its general assembly.

On Monday, the society was criticized by the government for its “diatribe against Bahrain’s political regime, the constitution and the royal rule.”

Lawmakers and officials from Mumtalakat, the owners of Gulf Air, the airline company that rented out its club hall to the society to hold its general assembly last Thursday, said that Al Wefaq had misused the premises and the occasion to engage in activities that defamed individuals and families and demanded that it apologise for its attitude. continue reading…

Kuwait’s health ministry has warned against the consumption of “Green Coffee 500″ and “Slimming Bag Green Tea”, two tea and coffee drinks promising successful diets, saying that they could have negative effects on the heart.

Dr Omar Al Sayed Omar, assistant deputy of Drugs and Medical Supplies Affairs, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the Drug Monitoring Directorate found that the herbs contained a chemical element that could be used only under a strict medical prescription.

The official said that such products are brought to Kuwait unchecked by the competent health authorities and without a proper medical license. “They are usually brought in through unofficial means such as the Internet, passengers or personal parcels,” he said.

Omar said that people should avoid purchasing such drugs or herbs through the Internet or bringing them from abroad without being awareness of their latent hazards.

“Smuggling and counterfeiting products containing chemical materials or getting drugs without medical licenses is a crime punishable by law. The Ministry of Health takes all necessary legal measures and refers all violators to the legal agencies concerned with protecting human health even if the amount seized is small and is for personal use,” he said

Entrance to Kuwait University

Kuwaiti intellectuals and academics have warned of the growing dangers of tribal and sectarian tendencies within the society, saying that they were having ominous effects on society.

According to a study presented at a forum on citizenship in Kuwait, 70 per cent of Kuwaiti students tended to look at issues through the prism of sectarianism and their tribe.

Dr Isa Al Ansari, the author of the study, said that the university immunity supposed to shield students against subcultures and “narrow” tendencies has weakened under the onslaughts of sectarianism and a sense of belonging to the tribe.

“Today at the University of Kuwait, you could detect these negative elements in the conversations between students, in their verbal standoffs and in their writings,” he said. “The sense of belonging to a tribe or to a sect could replace the sense of belonging to a state,” he was quoted as saying by Al Siyassah daily. continue reading…

Foreign workers in Kuwait - Kuwait Times

Kuwait’s new private labour law that includes the establishment of an independent authority that will bring and hire foreigners took effect on Sunday following its publication in the official gazette.

Its implementation will spell better benefits for thousands of foreign workers, but not for domestic helpers who are not covered by the law.

The law bans the employment of people under the age of 15 and of women past 10 pm. Pregnant women are given 70 days paid leave, up from 14 in the previous law, and mothers two hours off their daily workload for breastfeeding.

A widowed Muslim woman has the right to a fully paid leave for four months and ten days in line with Islamic tenets, while a non-Muslim woman who is widowed gets a 21-day paid leave. continue reading…