Kuwait MP seeks five-year cap on less qualified expat workers' stay

January 31, 2014

Dubai, Jan 31: A Kuwaiti Member of Parliament has called for a five-year limit on expatriates' stay in the Gulf nation that is home to over 700,000 Indians.

The draft bill was proposed by the independent MP Abdullah Al Tameemi to reduce the country's dependence on foreign workers and cut the number of foreigners to a maximum of 124,000 from any country, Kuwaiti media reported on Thursday.

The MP's plan mainly targets low and medium qualified workers, those who are often in lowly paid jobs that Kuwaiti nationals have been reluctant to take up.

The proposal, however, did not include skilled professionals such as specialist doctors, lawyers, judges and advisers. The bill discourages expats from establishing themselves in Kuwait.

The proposed bill would not allow less qualified foreign nationals to stay more than five years in the country and the stay period would not be extended under any circumstances.

Those who have been granted the five-year visa would not be allowed to bring their family members to the country on a visit visa.

Two-thirds of Kuwait's total population of about four million are expats. More than 90 per cent of the citizens who work are employed in the severely bloated public sector.

Many of the skilled and unskilled foreign workers also occupy a significant number of jobs in the private sector, the report said.

Apart from around 700,000 Indians, who comprise the largest expatriate community in the country, 500,000 Egyptians, 200,000 Bangladeshis, 160,000 Filipinos, 140,000 Syrians and 120,000 Pakistanis live in the country.

According to the latest figure, the number of expatriates in the country has reached 2.7 million.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

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December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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Think Before You Post! Mangaluru Police Crack Down on Provocative Instagram Accounts

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December 5,2025

Mangaluru: In a significant step to curb online hate and intimidation, Mangaluru City Police have registered a suo motu case against multiple Instagram accounts accused of circulating alleged provocative and threatening content.

While monitoring social media activity on Tuesday, Kankanady Town PSI Anitha Nikkam identified the Instagram handle ‘team_targetttt_900’ for posting a hate message alongside images of lethal weapons. Another account, ‘team_nagara_900’, allegedly shared a threatening post targeting activist Bharath Kumdelu, tagging additional pages such as KARAVALI-OFFICIAL.

Several other accounts — including ‘immu_bhai.fan’, ‘target_boy_900’, ‘kings_of_manglore’, ‘team_target_boys.900’, ‘arshad_mangalore’, ‘target_ka19_ullal’, ‘team_target__’, ‘troll_tigersz_900’, ‘tr_group_900’, and ‘team_target_900’ — are also under scrutiny for spreading similar inflammatory material, police said.

Authorities have urged citizens, especially young social media users, to report suspicious pages and avoid engaging with groups that glorify violence or threaten individuals. Online hate can quickly escalate into real-world harm, and police stress that sharing or promoting such content can attract legal consequences.

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