News in Brief

Al-Zayani meets UK chief of staff: The Secretary General of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr Abdulatif Al-Zayani met on Saturday with British Defence Chief of Staff General Sir David Richards and his accompanying delegation.

According to the GCC General Secretariat office, during the meeting, the two sides exchanged views and discussed issues of common concern, particularly military affairs issues and ways to boost them.

The two sides also tackled developments in the region and international arena. (KUNA) Municipalities eye fraternity deal: Kuwait Municipality Council Chairman Zaid Ayesh Al-Azmi and Deputy Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Ahmed Salamat have agreed on the need to sign a fraternity agreement between to municipalities.

In a press statement, Kuwait Municipality said that two sides have agreed also on taking all required measures to foster bilateral cooperation.

Al-Azmi, currently leading a delegation vising Istanbul, has invited Metropolitan Municipality officials to visit Kuwait shortly.

A Kuwaiti Municipality Council delegation has started an official visit to Istanbul over a week ago to get a glimpse of vital projects being executed in the Turkish city. (KUNA) Municipality warns citizen: Kuwait Municipality Director General Eng Ahmad Al-Sabih has warned citizens against the purchase of apartments in private residential areas based on the public property system, reports Al-Qabas daily.

In a recent press statement, Al-Sabih said some property owners in Jabriya have been partitioning their properties which they sell in the form of apartments to citizens — a violation of Construction Law. He affirmed the Municipality will take the necessary steps against those proven to have violated the law. Bid to cut livestock prices: MP Saad Al-Bous has stressed the need to immediately approve the proposed establishment of a public shareholding company to be named the Kuwaiti National Company for Livestock Trade to end the monopoly in the sector, reports Al-Seyassah daily.

Lauding the Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee for endorsing the proposal, AlBous pointed out the Kuwaiti nation has been suffering because the Kuwait Livestock Transport and Trading Company has been monopolizing the sector since 1973. He said the monopoly in the market has resulted in the high price of livestock, especially the sheep. ‘Increase seats for medical students’: Kuwait’s Cultural Office in Ireland has presented a proposal to increase the seats for Kuwaiti students at the Faculty of Human Medicine in the National University of Ireland for academic year 2013/2014, reports Al-Watan daily quoting Chairperson of the office Dr Waleed Biker Shuaib.

Shuaib revealed he was able to convince two medicine faculties to admit 40 Kuwaiti students in the medicine and surgery programs. He said the office has forwarded a letter to the Ministry of Higher Education on the limited number of seats offered to Kuwaiti students in the Faculty of Human Medicine.