The Philippines has temporarily suspended the accreditation of foreign recruitment agencies operating in Kuwait after the murder of Filipina domestic worker Jullebee Ranara.
A representative of the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), Toby Nebrida, told The Philippine Star that new rules were being implemented on those recruiting domestic workers from the country.
The Philippines said it would only work with foreign recruitment agencies in Kuwait with a clean record and those without any domestic workers assigned to the company currently seeking refuge at the Filipino embassy's welfare home, according to Catherine Duladul, the officer-in-charge at the Migrant Workers Office in Kuwait.
“Application for accreditation of new, dual and replacement is suspended pending a review of existing accredited foreign recruitment agencies,” Ms Duladul told The Philippine Star.
Ranara's body was flown home last week from Kuwait, where the 35-year-old was reportedly killed by her employer’s son and then dumped, DMW secretary Susan Ople said.
“It’s a very gruesome, senseless crime and so the perpetrator must be punished,” Ople said in an online news conference.
Kuwaiti security forces made an arrest last Sunday, less than 24 hours after Ranara’s body was found on Al Salmi road. An autopsy showed the woman was pregnant at the time of her death, according to Al Rai newspaper.
Filipino officials said they were attempting to confirm whether Ranara was raped and was pregnant when she was killed by the 17-year-old suspect.
Kuwait and the Philippines signed an agreement regulating conditions for domestic workers in the Gulf state in March 2018. It ended a two-month diplomatic crisis sparked by reports that abuse by employers in Kuwait had driven several Filipinos to suicide.
The latest crime comes about five years after the murder of Joanna Daniela Demafelis, a Filipina domestic worker whose body was found in a freezer after she was killed by her employers.
It sparked a diplomatic rift and saw former president Rodrigo Duterte impose a temporary ban on workers from the Philippines moving to the Gulf country.
The DMW said it was going to send a delegation to review the agreement this week.
Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
