By A Saleh

KUWAIT: The online issuance of replacement lost or damaged driving licenses will start on Sunday, well-informed security sources announced, adding that the Interior Ministry's new decision to renew driving licenses online had largely contributed to reducing the number of people having to show up at traffic departments to do so. The sources said 31,884 licenses have been renewed over the past two months.

Full amnesty
With three votes to two, the parliamentary legislative affairs committee approved the proposals for a full amnesty after merging them in one report, said informed sources, noting that MPs Khaled Al-Shatti and Khalil Abul voted for the proposal while Faisal Al-Kandari and Ahmed Al-Fadhl voted against it, which made the committee chairman vote in favor after the withdrawal of MPs Khaled Al-Otaibi and Mohammed Al-Dallal in protest over the merger.

Commenting on his withdrawal Dallal, justified it by some members' insistence on merging the proposals and including all those accused in the Abdali cell and breaking into the parliament cases and fugitive former-MP Abdulhameed Dashti in the amnesty. In the meantime, five MPs filed a motion asking for allocating two hours in the next session to debate the housing problem in the country, saying that the government has failed to resolve the housing problem.

Cold weather
Manager of the marine stations at the Meteorological Department Yasser Al-Bloushi said the coming days will witness cold weather by day and cold with low clouds and a chance of scattered rain by night. Bloushi added today's weather will be rather cold and partially cloudy with light to moderate southeasterly wind, high temperature of 18-20 Celsius and slight to moderate waves that can sometimes be rough at daytime.

Bloushi said the weather tonight will be rather cold with southeasterly to southwesterly moderate winds with a chance of rain and probably thunderstorms in some areas, with temperatures of 6-8 degrees C and moderate waves of 3 to 6 feet. Bloushi forecast tomorrow's weather to be considerably cold with fewer clouds and northwesterly moderate wind, high temperature of 14 to 16 degrees centigrade and moderate to high waves during daytime.

He added tomorrow night will be extremely cold with light to moderate northwesterly wind, a chance of frost in some desert and agricultural areas and a low temperature of 2-5 degrees C and moderate to high waves of 3 to 6 feet.

Sewage plant
The Ministry of Public Works (MPW) announced signing a project contract with Um Al-Haiman Holding Company yesterday to expand the Um Al-Haiman sewage plant. MPW explained that Um Al-Haiman Holding is a shareholding company in which the German investor WTE owns 40 percent of the shares, while the Kuwait government owns the remaining 60 percent, including 10 percent by MPW and 50 percent by the investment authority, which would be later offered for public bidding to citizens.

MPW explained that the plant will serve southern Kuwait in the area between the Sixth Ring Road till Sabah Al-Ahmad City - almost one third of Kuwait's total area - with a total capacity of 500,000 cu m of treated water per day that would be used for landscaping in southern areas. "The first phase of the project will be concluded in three years at a total cost of KD 382,131,000.