KUWAIT: Kuwait could soon introduce a new form of identification cards for expatriates to replace civil IDs that would be issued exclusively to citizens, a local daily reported. According to security sources quoted in an Al-Rai Arabic daily report, the Interior Ministry's Directorate General of Residency Affairs made a proposal to issue magnetic ID cards for expats that contain all information about the holder. The proposed system, which the sources say is "followed by many countries around the world," would limit expats' transactions to the residency affairs directorate, while the card would expire with the expiration of the holder's residency.

Residencies allowed to expire

KUWAIT: Official statistics revealed that 935 residencies of expats stranded abroad had expired in the past 10 days, Al-Qabas Arabic daily reported. This happened because the workers' sponsors failed to renew their employees' residencies despite the availability of online renewal, the paper wrote. Meanwhile, statistics released by the Manpower Public Authority revealed that 2,716 residencies were canceled through the Ash'al online system since January 12, 2021, while around 30,000 residencies were renewed using the service during the same period.

Oil price down

KUWAIT: The price of Kuwaiti oil went down 36 cents to $55.40 per barrel on Friday after being at $55.76 pb the day before, said the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) yesterday. At the international Level, the price of the Brent crude went down by 69 cents to $55.41 per barrel, the same case with the West Texas Intermediate, which went down by 86 cents to $52.27 pb.