Hong Kong: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said Thursday he would visit Kuwait to seal a labor deal, in a sign of easing tensions after a diplomatic row over the alleged mistreatment of Filipino workers in the Gulf state.
Duterte had lashed out at Kuwait in February, imposing a departure ban on Filipinos planning to work there after the murder of a Filipino maid, whose body was found in a freezer.
The Philippine president said Thursday that Kuwait had agreed to his demands to improve the working conditions for Filipinos, following negotiations between the two countries on an accord.
“To give honor also to the Kuwaiti government, I will go there for the signing (ceremony) just to witness it,” Duterte said in a speech during a visit to Hong Kong.
He did not say when he will travel to Kuwait.
Authorities in Manila say around 252,000 Filipinos work in the Gulf state, many as maids. They are among over two million Filipinos employed in the region, whose remittances are a lifeline to the Philippine economy.
Duterte’s departure ban sparked a diplomatic flap. He alleged that Arab employers routinely raped their Filipino workers, forced them to work 21 hours a day and fed them scraps.
One of his demands is that Filipino workers be allowed to keep their cellphones and passports, which can be confiscated by employers under current conditions.
Philippines’ Duterte to visit Kuwait after worker row
Philippines’ Duterte to visit Kuwait after worker row
- Duterte's announcement is a sign that tensions are easing after a diplomatic row over the alleged mistreatment of Filipino workers in Kuwait.
- A Kuwaiti criminal court sentenced a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife to death by hanging for killing their Filipino maid on April 1, 2018.
Coast Guard rescue 52 migrants off Greece, boy missing
- They found 13 migrants who had arrived on the small, uninhabited island
- Another 39 migrants were found on board an inflatable boat off the southern island of Crete
ATHENS: Greek coast guard were searching Thursday for a missing child off the island of Farmakonisi after rescuing 52 migrants in two separate incidents in the Aegean Sea, local media reported.
They found 13 migrants who had arrived on the small, uninhabited island, but one boy was reported missing from the group, said the ANA news agency.
Another 39 migrants were found on board an inflatable boat off the southern island of Crete, according to the same source. They were taken to the village of Kaloi Limenes in Crete. No details about their nationality were provided.
Two coast guard vessels and an airforce helicopter were deployed for the operation off Farmakonisi, opposite the Turkish coast.
Many migrants try to reach the Greek islands from Turkiye or Libya as a way of entering the European Union. But both crossings are perilous.
Earlier this month, 17 people were found dead in a migrant boat drifting off Crete. Another 15 people were reported missing. The vessel had set off from the Libyan port of Tobruk and most of those who died were from Sudan or Egypt.
The UN refugee agency said more than 16,770 asylum seekers in the EU have arrived on Crete since the start of the year — more than any other island in the Aegean Sea.
