KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait has suspended all new visas for Philippine nationals indefinitely, the interior ministry confirmed this week, in an escalation of a row between the oil-rich Persian Gulf state and Manila over worker protections and employer rights. Philippine nationals make up around 6% of Kuwait’s 4.7 million population, government data shows. Kuwaitis make up 32%. The visa suspension comes after the Philippines in February stopped the first-time deployment of domestic workers to Kuwait after the body of domestic worker Jullebee Ranara was found in the Kuwaiti desert in January.