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.
Zelensky says Russia using Belarus territory to circumvent Ukrainian defenses
- While President Lukashenko has vowed to commit no troops to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory to launch its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine
KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Russia was using ordinary apartment blocks on the territory of its ally Belarus to attack Ukrainian targets and circumvent Kyiv’s defenses.
The Kremlin used Belarusian territory to launch its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and Belarus remains a steadfast ally, though longstanding President Alexander Lukashenko has vowed to commit no troops to the conflict.
“We note that the Russians are trying to bypass our defensive interceptor positions through the territory of neighboring Belarus. This is risky for Belarus,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram after a military staff meeting.
“It is unfortunate that Belarus is surrendering its sovereignty in favor of Russia’s aggressive ambitions.”
Zelensky said Ukrainian intelligence had observed that Belarus was deploying equipment to carry out its attacks “in Belarusian settlements near the border, including on residential buildings.
“Antennae and other equipment are located on the roofs of ordinary five-story apartment buildings, which help guide ‘Shaheds’ (Russian drones) to targets in our western regions. This is an absolute disregard for human lives, and it is important that Minsk stops playing with this.”
The Russian and Belarusian defense ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Zelensky said the staff meeting also discussed ways of financing interceptor drones, which officials in Kyiv see as the best economically viable means of tackling Russian drone attacks, which have grown in intensity in recent months.
The president said the Ukrainian military’s general staff had been charged with working out changes to strategy in fending off air attacks “to defend infrastructure and frontline positions.”
Lukashenko this month said Russia’s Oreshnik ballistic missile system, described by Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin as impossible to intercept, had been deployed to Belarus and entered active combat duty.
An assessment by two US researchers, reported by Reuters on Friday, said Moscow was likely stationing the nuclear-capable hypersonic Oreshnik at a former air base in eastern Belarus, a development that could bolster Russia’s ability to deliver missiles across Europe.
