The PKK terrorist group's Syrian branch YPG is building cells to hold civilian detainees in tunnels it is digging in northern Syria's Manbij and Ain al-Arab regions, according to local sources.

Despite promises by both the United States and Russia on the YPG/PKK terrorist group to withdraw 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from Turkey's southern border, the terrorist group continues to dig tunnels in the cities of Manbij and Ain al-Arab, which it continues to occupy in northern Syria.

Footage by Anadolu Agency (AA) teams on the ground showed that tunnels were dug 4 meters (13 feet) under the ground.

The tunnels, about 2 meters deep and 1 meter wide, are connected to each other and have excavation tools, cells, crenelated doors, ventilation gaps and power lines.

The terrorists are also using civilians they detain to conduct the illegal tunnel excavation works, according to local sources.

The tunnels, running hundreds of kilometers in different regions that the YPG/PKK occupied in northern Syria, are also being reinforced with concrete against air attacks.

The YPG/PKK terrorists still threaten the secure atmosphere of the safe regions with their terrorist attacks in northern Syria.

The terrorist group mostly carries out attacks in Manbij, Ain Al-Arab and the Tal Rifaat district of Aleppo. The group even uses these regions as bases for its attacks.

The terrorist organization, which occupied around one-third of Syria's territory with support from the United States, often targets Azaz, Marea, al-Bab, Jarablus, Afrin, Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ain in northern Syria with heavy weapons.

The terrorists also often target Turkish security forces that provide security in the Euphrates Shield, Olive Branch, and Peace Spring operation areas, and try to infiltrate the positions of Syrian opposition fighters from regions that the terrorist group was supposed to withdraw from under the agreements with the United States and Russia.

After chairing a Cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara on Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: "We will soon take new steps on the incomplete portions of the project we launched on the 30-kilometer safe zone we established along our southern border."

Erdoğan said the operation would be launched as soon as the military, intelligence and security forces have completed their preparations.

Since 2016, Turkey has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).

In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union – has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants./aa

The top United Nations human rights official said Saturday that she raised concerns with Chinese officials about the impact of the broad application of counterterrorism and deradicalization measures on the rights of Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim groups in China's Xinjiang as she defended her contentious visit to the region where Beijing is accused of widespread human rights abuses, detaining over a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities, as well as carrying out forced sterilization of women and coerced labor.

Michelle Bachelet, who visited the northwestern region as part of a six-day trip to China, insisted the visit was "not an investigation" but a chance to have direct talks with senior Chinese leaders and pave the way for more regular interactions to support China in fulfilling its obligations under international human rights law, all the while Chinese officials boasted that the visit had achieved "positive concrete results."

"It provides an opportunity for me to better understand the situation in China, but also for the authorities in China to better understand our concerns and to potentially rethink policies that we believe may impact negatively on human rights," she said in a video news conference before leaving the country.

Bachelet's measured words, while expected, did not satisfy activists and likely will not sit well with governments such as the United States, which have been critical of her decision to visit Xinjiang. China’s ruling Communist Party, which has vehemently denied all reports of human rights violations and genocide in Xinjiang, showed no sign of being open to change in a government statement on the trip.

The statement, attributed to Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu, accused some Western countries and anti-China elements of fabricating sensational lies about Xinjiang under the guise of human rights. It said that the government had adopted lawful measures to combat violent terrorism and brought security, stability and prosperity to the region in China's northwest.

"The Chinese side pointed out that essentially, Xinjiang is not at all a human rights issue, but a major issue concerning upholding national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity,” the statement said. "All ethnic groups of Xinjiang belong to the family of the Chinese nation," it added.

Agnes Callamard, the secretary general of Amnesty International, said that Bachelet should condemn human rights violations in Xinjiang, and call on China to release people arbitrarily detained and end systematic attacks on ethnic minorities in the region.

"The high commissioner’s visit has been characterized by photo opportunities with senior government officials and manipulation of her statements by Chinese state media, leaving an impression that she has walked straight into a highly predictable propaganda exercise for the Chinese government," Callamard said in a news release.

Bachelet, making the first visit by a U.N. high commissioner for human rights to China in 17 years, said she raised the lack of independent judicial oversight for a system of internment camps that swept up a million or more Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities, according to estimates by experts.

China, which describes the camps as vocational training and education centers to combat extremism, says they have been closed. The government has never publicly said how many people passed through them.

Bachelet, who visited a prison and a former center in the Xinjiang city of Kashgar, noted the reliance by police on 15 indicators to determine "tendencies toward violent extremism" that could result in detention, the allegations of use of force and reports of unduly severe restrictions on religious practices.

"It is critical that counterterrorism responses do not result in human rights violations," she said. "The application of relevant laws and policies, and any mandatory measures imposed on individuals, need to be subject to independent judicial oversight, with greater transparency of judicial proceedings. All victims must be able to seek redress," she added.

Bachelet described as "deeply worrying" the arrest of lawyers, activists, journalists and others under Hong Kong's national security law, noting the semi-autonomous Chinese city's reputation as a center for human rights and independent media in Asia.

She said it is important to protect the linguistic, religious and cultural identity of Tibetans and that they be allowed to participate fully and freely in decisions about their religious life. "I ... stressed the importance of children learning in their language and culture in the setting of their families or communities," she said.

Before her trip, Bachelet heard from Uyghur families living abroad that have lost contact with their relatives. In her meetings in China, she said she appealed to authorities to make it a priority to take steps to provide information to families.

"To those who have sent me appeals asking me to raise issues or cases with the authorities, I have heard you," she said. "Your advocacy matters and my visit was an opportunity to raise a number of specific situations and issues of concern with the government."

The U.N. and China agreed to set up a working group to hold follow-up discussions on a range of issues, including the rights of minorities, counterterrorism and human rights, and legal protection, Bachelet said./AP

Kuwait’s Central Statistical Bureau showed an unprecedented increase in the monthly consumer price index, which amounted to about 4.36 percent during March 2021 on an annual basis. And despite the price increase on luxury items locally and the concerns of a global economic crisis, buying behavior in Kuwait continues to escalate on non-essential products.

Consumer Behavior Consultant Salah Al-Jemaz explained the reasons why local consumers keep spending their money on luxurious products despite the current global economic situation. “People in the Gulf region are not qualified to consume or spend their money with a studied step, especially with the stability of their income; they see that there is no reason to reduce their spendings and save money while the prices keep going up,” he said.

“GCC governments encourage this consuming behavior by constantly supporting its citizens financially, which has led to creating an environment in which the citizen does not take care of his responsibilities,” he argued. “Not to mention the cash flow from the supporting communities such as families, friends or charities institutes.”

Jemaz assured that the social appearance is one of the main problems that affect consumer behavior regarding reducing their spending on luxuries. “We are not telling people to deprive themselves, therefore saving money, good spending or investing in gold helps them avoid future financial crises, especially among the global economic concerns,” he explained.

“Educational institutes in Kuwait should start teaching the coming generation ways of managing their financials, which helps them to prevent inflation, price hikes or reduce the consuming culture,” he added. “When the ministry of finance announced during the pandemic that they will have a shortage regarding the salary disbursement, people, instead of stashing their money, went to malls and spent their money unconsciously.”

On the other hand, Jemaz mentioned that “changes of economic conditions are forcing us to keep pace with the global saving methods. Therefore, gold is the safest way to prevent economic swings, while increasing the monthly income helps to save the surplus.”

Inflation

Regarding inflation and its effect on consumer spending, economist Amer Al-Tamimi, said that “inflation in Kuwait is starting to exceed 4-6 percent, and since basic food commodities in Kuwait are subsidized by the government, inflation does not easily appear in Kuwait as it does in other global countries.”

He added, “In countries such as GCC states which depend on natural resources, consumer behavior will only change when their financial conditions start to be affected by the inflation, which is expected to start in the upcoming 6-12 months. However, if the inflation rate stays as it is, the amount of spending will keep going up.”

To explore more about this issue, Kuwait Times visited several shopping malls and asked people about their spending behaviors on non-essential products in the last three months. Some citizens said that they did not reduce their spending on luxurious items due to their high income, while others think that the global economic concerns are a great opportunity to learn how to manage their finances.

A Kuwaiti couple told Kuwait Times that they did not reduce their spending on luxury products, saying, “the price hikes are a normal result for the current global economic situation, while we are expecting that the economic issue will not be as bad as speculated.”

“After the prices of luxury items started to increase to more than 20 percent, I started to buy international brands so I won’t spend my money on perishable products,” a female citizen said, mentioning that the current economic crisis is “over-exaggerated.”

Spending less

Another citizen started to spend less on luxury products worrying about a potential crisis or price hikes especially on basic goods, adding that “prices have already started to increase, mostly on non-essential products such as make-ups, clothes, and perfumes.” An expat said that she started to spend less than before as prices on luxury products started to increase and, in some cases, “exceeded 15 percent of the original price”.

Regarding consumer spending, a salesman in a phone accessory shop confirmed that there is a notable increase in purchases by consumers in the last three months, according to the variety of products. Meanwhile, salesmen in a sports shop said that the demand for sportswear started to increase after the pandemic and the lockdowns and reached its highest in the last six months. “We noticed 15-20 percent increase in our profits for this year compared to last year,” they added.

On another hand, a business owner said that there was a decline in sales this year due to the price differences compared to markets abroad, noting that people started to save money by buying their luxury needs while traveling. Another shop owner said that his business sales are down by 20 percent due the recent global economic situation./KT

Moody’s Investors Service (“Moody’s”) has on Thursday affirmed the government of Kuwait’s long-term local and foreign currency issuer ratings at A1. The outlook remains stable. The decision to affirm the ratings is underpinned by Moody’s assessment that Kuwait’s balance-sheet and fiscal buffers will remain strong for the foreseeable future, which preserve macroeconomic and external stability and anchor the credit profile.

Balanced against this key credit strength is the persistently challenging political environment that limits the prospects for reforms that would reduce the vulnerability of the economy and government finances to long-term carbon transition risks. The stable outlook reflects balanced risks to the ratings. Effective implementation of measures to reduce the government’s exposure to oil revenue and diversify the economy, which Moody’s does not currently factor into its baseline assumptions for at least the next two years, may raise the resilience of Kuwait’s credit profile to oil price fluctuations. By contrast, accelerating global momentum towards carbon transition that lowers the demand for and price of oil, in the absence of reforms including the passage of legislation to expand the government’s financing options, may reintroduce liquidity risks and weigh on the credit profile longer term. Kuwait’s local and foreign currency country ceilings remain unchanged at Aa2.

The narrower-than-average two-notch gap between the local currency ceiling and the sovereign rating reflects the country’s stable balance of payments through episodes of oil price volatility, against the economy’s exposure to a key revenue source and a challenging domestic political environment that constrains reform and diversification prospects. The zero-notch gap between the foreign currency ceiling and local currency ceiling reflects very low transfer and convertibility risks, given the country’s very large net external creditor position that includes ample foreign exchange reserves held by the central bank.

Kuwait’s credit profile is supported by its large sovereign wealth buffers and very low debt level, and Moody’s expects the government’s balance sheet to remain extraordinarily strong for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, in the current environment of high oil prices and rising production agreed by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) with some other major oil exporting countries, Moody’s expects the government to reaccumulate liquid assets in its General Reserve Fund (GRF), which will eliminate liquidity risk – even if self-imposed – for at least the next two to three years. Moody’s estimates that liquid sovereign wealth fund (SWF) assets managed by Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) far exceeded the size of its GDP at the end of 2021 and dwarfs the government’s debt of just below 6 percent of GDP at the end of fiscal 2021 (year ending March 2022). The size of Kuwait’s SWF assets as a share of GDP is one of the three largest globally, together with Norway and Abu Dhabi. With the sharp increase in oil prices this year driven by the Russia-Ukraine military conflict, coupled with higher oil production under the OPEC+ agreement, Moody’s expects Kuwait’s stock of SWF assets to grow over the next two years. This is driven by Moody’s forecast that Kuwait will run a fiscal surplus of 7-8 percent of GDP in fiscal 2022 and around 2-3 percent of GDP in fiscal 2023, based on the rating agency’s oil price assumptions of $105 and $95 per barrel on average in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Moreover, with very limited amounts of debt to repay and no requirement to transfer surpluses to the Future Generations Fund (FGF, which is at the discretion of the finance minister after the change in law in September 2020), Moody’s expects the surpluses to be accumulated in GRF as liquid buffers.

The reaccumulation of assets after seven consecutive years of drawdown because of fiscal deficits will bolster Kuwait’s credit profile and eliminate the need for government financing and any associated liquidity risk while the fiscal balance is in surplus. While these needs will return from fiscal 2024 onwards, when, based on Moody’s oil price assumptions, Kuwait will again run fiscal deficits, the near-term period of high oil prices provides time to the government to take some measures that would allow it to finance its deficits. Meanwhile, the large proportion of SWF assets invested in liquid, foreign currency assets help preserve macroeconomic and external stability. Moody’s estimates that Kuwait runs a very large net international investment position because of FGF and foreign exchange reserves are ample.

At the same time, Kuwait’s very high exposure to developments in the oil sector weighs on the resilience of its credit profile because of the long-term transition away from hydrocarbons. Moreover, compared to many hydrocarbon producing peers that are making progress in fiscal and economic diversification away from reliance on hydrocarbons, prospects for reforms and diversification will remain weak in Kuwait, hampered by the country’s political climate. In Kuwait, oil revenue accounts for around 90 percent of government revenue while hydrocarbon exports make up around 80 percent of total exports; the contribution of the hydrocarbon sector is among the largest across sovereigns that Moody’s rates. Although the government has sought to introduce fiscal reforms, it has yet to implement any nonoil revenue measure since the oil price shock in 2015, unlike other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The country’s focus on welfare for citizens through wages and subsidies also implies limited scope for deep expenditure cuts as wages and subsidies account for around three-quarters of spending. As a result, Kuwait’s fiscal balance is significantly more volatile compared to GCC peers. As for economic diversification, the government has made some initial progress, but prospects remain limited. The completion of the Clean Fuels Project in 2021 and the likely completion of the Al-Zour refinery this year will provide some downstream diversification within the hydrocarbon sector. However, other projects aimed at spurring non-hydrocarbon sectors such as transport and logistics – including the Silk City and the Mubarak Al-Kabeer port – have faced delays, with the economic returns still uncertain. Economic diversification prospects are in part limited by Kuwait’s still weaker economic competitiveness compared to GCC peers. In Moody’s view, the inability to implement fiscal and economic reforms and lack of progress in diversification stem from the fractious relationship between the government and parliament.

In particular, the possibility of Kuwait’s balance-sheet strength significantly eroding over time will increase with the acceleration in carbon transition trends if institutions are unable to adjust to an environment of lower oil prices and demand. The stable outlook reflects balanced risks to the ratings. On the upside, the implementation of reforms to reduce the government’s reliance on oil revenue may raise the resilience of the credit profile to oil price fluctuations and longer-term carbon transition risks. The government has been considering various types of nonoil revenue but has yet to push any new tax through parliament. Moody’s does not currently factor any such measures into its baseline assumptions for at least the next two years. Moody’s expects Kuwait’s oil production to increase over 2022-23 and underpin real GDP growth of 8 percent this year and 5.5 percent next year.

Kuwait has the ability to increase oil production further if allowed by OPEC+, as its expected capacity for fiscal 2022 is 3.1 million barrels per day (mbpd), compared to an average production of around 2.7mbpd that is likely this year. On the downside, Kuwait is highly vulnerable to accelerating momentum towards carbon transition that may reduce the demand for and price of oil.— Moody’s Investors Service./KT

 The Residency Affairs stated that residency holders of Article 20 (Domestic Workers) are not permitted to stay out of Kuwait for more than 6 months. Their residencies will be terminated as per regulations. The accounted period incudes any date before and to December 1st, 2021, which will be terminated on May 31st, 2022 regardless of validity of residence.

The department clarified that the sponsors could approach MOI (residency affairs) centers at their governorates to request extension before May 31st, 2022. The department took the initiative to issue a reminder to aid the public and encourage them to do the necessary at earliest./Arab Times