Kuwait Sanctions Firms

In more fallout from the recent labor riots, Kuwait is sanctioning some of the offending firms:

"Kuwait has placed restrictions on five companies accused of abusing foreign workers, most of them cleaners from Asian countries, the countyr's labour minister said on Thursday.

"The companies will be prevented from receiving government contracts and their business licenses could be revoked, Bader Al Duwailah was quoted as saying in the Al-Watan daily.

"The measures were the toughest yet since thousands of labourers from Bangladesh demonstrated last month to demand pay increases and better living conditions. Some of the protests turned violent and hundreds of labourers who took part in them were deported."