KUWAIT: Former director of the imported food department at Kuwait Municipality Al-Humaidi Abbad Al-Mutairi filed a complaint with the prosecutor general about allowing Brazilian meat suspected of being infected with mad cow disease into the country. Mutairi said 13 tons of imported meat were proven to be infected. He said that he discovered the incident after taking over as the director of the imported food department.

25 percent

The Manpower Public Authority said registered the food meals sector, which was within the restaurants and food meals union, in the labor recruitment category which allows restaurant and kitchen owners to bring in 25 percent of workers from abroad without paying fees, informed sources said. Once the 12 percent ratio is reached, owners can bring up to 50 percent of workers from abroad after paying a KD 250 fee per employee according to certain rules, most important of which is that the area of the kitchen should not be less than 300 sq m, the sources added.

Finals' timings

Education Minister Hamid Al-Azmi denied reports that the ministry plans to adjust the timings of final exams for the current school term. Azmi said the issue was never discussed and the tests will be on their pre-set dates. Social media reports had said the education ministry plans to change final exams dates for all school stages as they clash with the start of the holy month of Ramadan. Official educational sources had earlier said the ministry is studying the possibility of changing the exam dates for the 2017/2018 school year for the secondary stage because of Ramadan. But Education Ministry Undersecretary Haitham Al-Athari said he hasn't received any final decision in this regard.

Four imams suspended

Awqaf Ministry's Assistant Undersecretary for Mosque Affairs Dawood Al-Asousi said four imams were suspended in 2017 - three Egyptians and one Kuwaiti. All four were punished for deviating from the mosques' charter and getting into violating subjects. He said the mosques' sector organized several courses for imams to enhance their performance. It also established an imam diwaniya, besides printing books on the Friday sermon.

Asousi said there is a special committee that prepares a model Friday sermon, which touches on current events. This model sermon is outstanding in its composition, facts and ideas, making many imams in Kuwait and abroad use it. He said there are no foreign contracts at the current time as per Civil Service Commission decisions as well as the state's instructions. He said that there is no ban on any cultural or social activity in mosques provided that official permissions are obtained.

He said the awqaf ministry still gives incentives to imams, as it organizes an umrah trip every year for outstanding clerics. Their allowances have also been increased in cooperation with the Awqaf secretariat general, such as school expenses for their children from KD 200 to KD 250, and housing allowance from KD 110 to KD 150.

By A Saleh