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Kuwait Times

DAVAO CITY: This photo taken and released by Presidential Photographers Division (PPD) on March 1, 2018 shows President Rodrigo Duterte firing a few rounds with a sniper rifle during the opening ceremony of the National Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) Challenge. - AFP

Duterte to lift martial law in S Philippines

MANILA: President Rodrigo Duterte will lift martial law in the southern Philippines by year's end, his spokesman said yesterday, more than two years after it was imposed in an attempt to stop the Islamic State group gaining a foothold there. Duterte put the Mindanao region under military rule in May 2017, hours after gunmen flying the black IS flag seized the mainly Muslim city of Marawi, sparking a five-month battle that left 1,200 people dead....

RIYADH: A general view of the Saudi budget forum in Riyadh yesterday. Saudi Arabia passed its 2020 budget, projecting a widening deficit in the face of tumbling oil prices and production cuts that have hit the top crude producer’s revenues. — AFP

Saudi projects higher budget deficit

Kingdom cuts spending, passes 2020 budget RIYADH: Saudi Arabia passed its 2020 budget on Monday, projecting a widening deficit in the face of tumbling oil prices and production cuts that have hit the top crude producer's revenues. The kingdom projected a shortfall of $50 billion for the year, up $15 billion its 2019 budget, according to an official statement read out on state TV. It predicted next year's deficit would grow to 6.4 percent of GDP,...

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Netflix dominates Golden Globes noms; 'Marriage Story' scoops six

Hollywood disruptor Netflix dominated the Golden Globe nominations Monday as its heart-wrenching divorce saga "Marriage Story" grabbed six nods including best drama, kicking off the race for the Oscars. The streaming giant, which has spent billions to lure the industry's top filmmaking talent and fund lavish awards season campaigns, trounced the traditional Tinseltown studios with a whopping 17 film nominations. "I'm not surprised by the...

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Child's play: Coding booms among Chinese children

Wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses and a red T-shirt, an eight-year-old Chinese boy is logged in for an online coding lesson - as the teacher. Vita has set up a coding tutorial channel on the Chinese video streaming site Bilibili since August and has so far garnered nearly 60,000 followers and over one million views. He is among a growing number of children in China who are learning coding even before they enter primary school. The trend has...

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Banana-eating performance artist was 'hungry'

Performance artist David Datuna waited two hours until "I was hungry" before eating a pricey banana artwork in Miami, he explained with laughter on Monday after returning to New York. "It's the first time one artist eats art of another artist," he said in a mirth-filled press conference. The Tbilisi-born Datuna, who has lived in New York for 22 years, shook up the Art Basel Florida modern art show Saturday when he ate the real banana that had...

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New season for baseball begins

KUWAIT: Baseball team celebrated the start of the new season 2019-2020. The celebration was attended by Public Authority for Sport Deputy Director General for Competitive Sport Dr Saqer Al-Ghanim, President of Kuwait Olympic Committee Sheikh Fahad Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad, Head of Kuwait Hunting and Equestrian Club Sheikh Dhari Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in addition to ambassadors from Canada, France, China, South Korea, India, Malta, Cuba. The...

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Kuwait ready for 20th Junior Water Polo Championship

KUWAIT: Kuwait's Junior Water Polo team continues its training for the 20th FINA World Men's Junior Water Polo Championship, hosted by Kuwait starting tomorrow and will continue until Dec 20 at Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Olympic swimming pools complex under the patronage of National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem. Assistant coach Khalid Al-Shawaf said players began their training early due to the strong teams participating. He said the...

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Saudi eliminates gender-segregated entrances for eateries

RIYADH: Restaurants and cafes in Saudi Arabia are no longer required to have gender-segregated entrances, officials said, in a further easing of social restrictions in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom. Eateries have long required one entrance for single men and another for women and families, in a country where the once-powerful religious police zealously enforced sex segregation in public places for decades. The ministry of municipalities...

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Fitch: Kuwait political disputes to delay debt issuance, reform

Ratings agency forecasts budget deficit of over 5% of GDP as oil prices fall HONG KONG/LONDON: The Kuwaiti government's resignation and subsequent cabinet reshuffle point to political frictions that could delay new debt issuance and weigh on broader fiscal and economic reforms, Fitch Ratings said in a report issued yesterday. Kuwait has been the slowest reformer in the Gulf Cooperation Council in recent years, partly due to these frictions and...

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Social Affairs Ministry owes govt KD 20 million due to 'lax control'

Spending on employees' dues, unlawful social aid increased debt KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs owes the government around KD 20 million, as per the last final statement, Chairman of the parliament's budgets and final statement committee MP Adnan Abdulsamad said yesterday. Abdulsamad added that the committee discussed the ministry's final statement for the fiscal year 2018-2019 and the remarks made by the State Audit Bureau and financial...

JEDDAH: An employee of a restaurant serves hooka (shisha) in Saudi Arabia’s western city of Jeddah. A decision to impose 100 percent tax on bills of restaurants that serve hookah, or shisha has sparked social media fury in Saudi Arabia, which seeks to boost its economy. — AFP

Council approves recommendation to ban shishas in cafes

KUWAIT: The Municipal Council approved a proposal submitted by member Ahmad Al-Enezi to separate restaurant licenses from that of cafes and ban shishas in cafes. The council decided that the mid-year holiday will be from Jan 5 until Jan 23. The council also discussed the public cleanliness issue, which remains on the agenda awaiting a report on the cleaning level and copy of contracts.Councilmember Abdelsalam Al-Randi lauded the role and...

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Body found off Sharq beach

KUWAIT: Firefighters recovered a dead body found floating on the Gulf waters in Sharq yesterday. Firemen had arrived to the scene in response to an emergency call, and recovered the body of the man who was identified as an Asian national in his fifties. Criminal Evidence Department men were called to transport the body for an autopsy. An investigation was opened in the case. In other news, Kuwait Fire Service Directorate carried out a fire...