SUBSCRIPTION MONDAY, APRIL 21, 2014 JAMADA ALTHANI 21, 1435 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Palestine Assad pays At least 42 Hamilton to hold Easter visit killed in seals first trade to recaptured Pakistan road Formula 1 exhibition2 Christian8 town accident12 hat-trick19 Al-Watan, Alam Al-Youm Max 39º Min 23º suspended for two weeks High Tide 04:37 & 15:03 Low Tide Newspapers closed for breaking media blackout 09:43 & 22:45 40 PAGES NO: 16142 150 FILS Ministry denies By B Izzak KUWAIT: The Ministry of Information announced yester- day that a judicial order was issued to close the Al-Watan rumors of AIDS and Alam Al-Youm newspapers for two weeks for violat- ing a ban on news regarding the ‘conspiracy videotape’. patient release The ministry said it has conveyed the order to the two newspapers, adding the order was based on a request KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry refuted news reports by the public prosecution because the two newspapers suggesting that an AIDS patient was allowed to broke a news blackout on the videotape that shocked remain in Kuwait against protocols that call for the country. deporting expatriates if tests reveal that they are HIV The ministry said in a statement that its role is limited positive. Al-Rai reported yesterday that police to implementing the law and the orders of the judiciary. released the Iranian man last August, and since then The order to shut the two newspapers came after they he has been receiving treatment at the Infectious published reports that could undermine the investiga- Diseases Hospital. But the ministry said in a state- tion in the case that was debated in a closed session by ment yesterday that the man was deported after the National Assembly last week, the ministry said. spending three months in the country in accor- Legal sources said the two newspapers received the dance with the required procedures in cases of closure order mainly for publishing a statement by expatriates infected with the disease. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah in response to a state- “The Citizenship and Passports Department is ment issued by National Assembly Speaker Marzouk Al- keen on making sure that all visa-related transac- Ghanem last week regarding the closed door session. tions are approved based on the health and security The government told the Assembly last week the video- qualification of applicants,” read the statement tapes were tampered with and are not reliable, KUNA released by the Security Media Department at the reported. Interior Ministry. Al-Watan newspaper is owned by Sheikh Ali Al- The statement confirmed that medical tests KUWAIT: Central Bank Governor Dr Mohammed Al-Hashel gestures during a press conference yester- Khalifa Al-Sabah, a former minister and a member of the signed by the Ministry of Health last September day. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat ruling family, while Alam Al-Youm is close to the political revealed that the man tested positive for HIV. His opposition. Speaking after receiving the order, Sheikh visa was extended for three months to finalize his Khalifa said the newspaper will stop publication but will procedures, during which he was put in quarantine Local banks won’t share continue to update its website. He also said the paper at the Infectious Diseases Hospital, the ministry said. will start legal procedures today to challenge the order “The man was provided with medical care to pre- which he said was based on a wrong understanding of vent health complications, and was eventually info with foreign govts the law. deported after he completed his procedures and Alam Al-Yawm editor Abdulhameed Al-Da’as said his obtained his full rights,” the statement read. Central Bank chief satisfied with economy newspaper had also received a notice about the verdict Al-Rai claimed that the man escaped from the yesterday and would cease publication for two weeks. Its Infectious Diseases Hospital on April 18, 2013, 10 By Nawara Fattahova Bank’s laws guarantee the banking security of all front page yesterday featured comments from politicians days after he was admitted there when his medical clients, regardless of nationality. Regarding the issue of and media figures against the expected suspension. tests for visa procedures came positive for HIV. The KUWAIT: The Central Bank will not require banks in the requirements of the United States to disclose the A large number of lawmakers also blasted the sus- man was arrested on Aug 29, 2014, after which Kuwait to share customer information with foreign bank account information of American nationals who pension decision, with reports saying that a number of police dropped charges against him and transferred governments, Central Bank Governor Dr Mohammed are clients of local banks, we have found a middle MPs are contemplating to file a request to grill the infor- him to the hospital again. Al-Hashel said during a press conference yesterday. solution - banks must ask the permission of the clients. mation minister over the move. Continued on Page 10 “Both the Kuwait constitution and the Central Continued on Page 10 Continued on Page 10 Jump in new MERS cases RIYADH: Saudi Arabia confirmed 20 new cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) on Saturday and yesterday, adding up to 49 infections in six days, a Qaradawi attempts sudden increase of a disease that kills about a third of the people infected and has no cure. MERS, a SARS-like novel coronavirus that emerged in Saudi Arabia two to soothe Gulf rift years ago, has infected 244 people in the kingdom, of DOHA: An influential Qatar-based tion of the Qatari government ... I do whom 76 have died, the Health Ministry said on its web- Islamist whose fiery sermons strained not take on an official position, but just site. ties between Doha and its neighbors express my personal opinion,” he said in However, Health Minister Abdullah Al-Rabia yester- sent a conciliatory message to coun- an emailed statement on Sunday. day told reporters there was no scientific evidence yet tries he has criticized in an apparent The ageing cleric used unusually to justify ordering additional preventative measures attempt to help end a rift placatory language about such as travel restrictions. He said he did not know why between the Gulf Arab Qatar’s neighbors, some of there had been a surge of cases in Jeddah but said it allies. Sheikh Youssef Al- whom he has accused of a might be part of a seasonal pattern since there was also Qaradawi, an Egyptian- variety of failings including a big rise in infections last April and May. Another clus- born cleric whose sermons being insufficiently Islamic. MOJAVE, California: This Sept 25, 2013 file photo shows British entrepreneur ter of cases has been detected in the United Arab have often admonished “I would like to say I love all Richard Branson at the Virgin Galactic hangar at Mojave Air and Space Port. — AP Emirates and a Malaysian who was recently in the Gulf the authorities in Saudi the countries of the Gulf, has been confirmed as infected, his country said. Arabia and the United and they all love me: Saudi MERS has no vaccine or anti-viral treatment, but Arab Emirates (UAE), said Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE firm to send international and Saudi health authorities say the dis- all views expressed in his United Arab Emirates, ease, which originated in camels, does not transmit eas- preaching were his own Oman, and Bahrain. I con- ily between people and may simply die out. Health and not those of Qatar. sider them one country citizen into space experts have warned, however, that MERS has the “My personal position and one house,” he said. potential to mutate eventually. does not reflect the posi- Youssef Al-Qaradawi Continued on Page 10 Continued on Page 10 DUBAI: One lucky citizen of the oil-rich after pumping in additional funds that United Arab Emirates could soon get the would go toward developing a satellite chance to be rocketed into space. launch program. Government-backed Aabar Investments The free ride on offer is a way to give Construction frenzy yesterday announced a competition to something back to the UAE, Virgin Galactic award an Emirati a free spot aboard Virgin CEO George Whitesides said. “Without the Galactic’s spaceship when it begins ferrying support of Aabar Investments, this program alters Beirut skyline paying tourists on suborbital trips promis- would not be where it is today,” he said in a BEIRUT: One by one, the old traditional going for it. A famously scenic ing a taste of weightlessness and a view of statement. Virgin Galactic’s initial deal with houses of Beirut are vanishing as luxury Mediterranean city surrounded by once the Earth’s curvature. The UAE is a seven- Aabar called for plans to build a spaceport towers sprout up on every corner, alter- lush mountains, Beirut may soon be over- state federation that includes Dubai and the in Abu Dhabi, though the company is for ing the city’s skyline almost beyond run with buildings - all at the expense of federal capital Abu Dhabi. The OPEC mem- now focused on completing flight tests of recognition amid an ongoing construc- green parks and pedestrian areas. ber country has a nascent satellite program its SpaceShipTwo and launching commer- tion frenzy seemingly immune to ten- Robert Saliba, professor of architec- and is eager to develop its own space indus- cial service from its custom-designed space- sions from the civil war raging next door. ture and urban planning at the American try as part of a broader push to diversify its port in New Mexico.