JAMADA ALAWWAL 18, 1439 AH SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2018 Max 23º 32 Pages Min 07º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 17448 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Kuwait hosts International World’s longest zipline Egypt unveils tomb Sanchez breaks duck as 5 Arabian Horse Festival 11 opens in Ras Al-Khaimah 30 of ancient priestess 16 Man Utd cut gap on City Farwaniya residency dept open all week long during amnesty MoH workers arrested for tampering with expat blood tests By Hanan Al-Saadoun and Agencies KUWAIT: The relations and security Kuwait spending information department at the interior ministry said residency affairs depart- ments in Kuwait’s six governorates are substantially on receiving residency law violators who can benefit from the ministerial amnesty cancer treatment decree either by correcting their status or leaving the country. KUWAIT: The cost of medicines for treating cancer It said all departments will be open in Kuwait’s health budget amounted to KD 23 million during official working hours, while the ($76 million) in the 2017-2018 fiscal year, an official Farwaniya residency affairs department at the health ministry said yesterday. The value of will also receive expat violators during medicines for breast cancer has reached KD 6.1 mil- afternoons and weekends (Fridays and lion ($20.1 million), the most costly category, fol- Saturdays) from 2:00 pm till 7:00 pm. lowed by lymphatic and blood cancers with KD 4.9 The department urged violators to take million (16.1 million), said Abeer Mansour, director of advantage of the amnesty and correct the health ministry’s medical stores, in an interview their status or leave. with KUNA. Colon cancer ranks below the above- Meanwhile, a group of people working mentioned segments, with the cost of the drugs esti- at the health ministry’s foreign labor test mated at KD 1.2 million ($4.2 million), followed by center were arrested because they tam- prostate cancer with KD 618,362 ($2.04 million). pered with blood test samples, the min- Farah Dashti, manager of the medical engineering istry’s Assistant Undersecretary for Public department, said the cost of diagnostic equipment health Dr Majda Al-Qattan said Friday. stands at KD 1.6 million ($6 million). Dr Hadeel Al- The health ministry, acting on an urgent Mutawa, deputy manager of the Kuwait Center for request by the interior ministry on Combating Cancer, said number of cancer patients in KUWAIT: Expats are seen at the Farwaniya residency department, which is also open on weekends and afternoons on weekdays Wednesday, carried out tests on four the country stands at 2,204 - 1,058 citizens and 1,146 during the current amnesty period. — MoI Egyptians for hepatitis, tuberculosis and expatriates (according to the center’s 2013 figures). AIDS, Qattan told KUNA. The results Dr Hanaa Al-Khawari, the head of the national been monitoring employees at the for- security guard and a health ministry ples,” she said, adding they identified a came out on Thursday, showing two of program for early detection of cancer, recently said eign labor test center for four months inspector were implicated, she said. number of expatriates who passed the the Egyptians were infected with hepati- 142 Kuwaiti women were diagnosed with breast can- who were tampering with tests’ results Qattan said the gang was led by an medical test through this gang. Qattan tis-b and two with hepatitis-C. The tuber- cer. Up to 11,100 Kuwaiti women have been by tampering blood samples while mov- Egyptian woman who forged stamps said the health ministry will also coordi- culosis tests were negative, she added. Continued on Page 11 ing them between the room where the used to clear tests. “This woman put the nate with the foreign ministry to pre- Qattan noted the interior ministry has samples are taken and the laboratory. A clear-to-go stamp on polluted sam- vent such forgery. to the press release. The ratings agency S&P confirms forecast Kuwait’s growth will average Trump claims around 3 percent over 2019-2021 on the Kuwait rating, back of rising oil production and invest- GOP memo ment projects, affirming the country’s outlook as “stable”. outlook stable Moderately high oil prices expected vindicates him KUWAIT: Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has this year, along with a broad public affirmed its credit rating of AA/A-1+ for investment program, are expected to PALM BEACH, Florida: US President Donald Trump said yesterday that a contro- Kuwait with a stable outlook. The global support growth momentum over the versial memo attacking federal law enforce- ratings agency said in a press release forecast period, the agency added. S&P ment written by congressional Republicans anticipated Kuwait’s oil output to rise to that the stable outlook reflects its vindicates him in the investigation of Russian expectation that Kuwait’s public and over three million barrels per day (bpd) meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. external balance sheets will remain by 2021 from its current level of 2.7 mil- Trump’s fervent embrace of the memo raised strong over the forecast horizon, backed lion bpd. again the prospect that he may use it as justi- by a significant stock of financial assets. Gradual fiscal consolidation mean- fication to fire special counsel Robert The agency expected these strengths to while is expected through to 2020 with Mueller, who is conducting the investigation, offset risks related to lower oil prices, likely introduction of spending caps and or Deputy Attorney Rod Rosenstein, who Kuwait’s undiversified economy and ris- value added tax in 2019, it indicated. The oversees Mueller. ing geopolitical tensions in the region. Kuwaiti government is expected to post Tweeting from his resort in Palm Beach, Kuwait’s economic flexibility will be a deficit of 16 percent for the current fis- Florida, Trump said the memo “totally vindi- backed by governmental investment cal year after the deduction of govern- cates” him but added “the Russian Witch Hunt goes on and on. Their (sic) was no Collusion spending and gradually controlled public ment revenues to the Future Generations WASHINGTON: The Republican memo released by Congress is displayed on a journalist’s and there was no Obstruction.” He called the budget, it said, pointing to a reasonable Fund, it said. The financial system in computer screen at a newsroom on Friday. — AFP investigation “an American disgrace”. The rise in oil prices this year. Falling oil Kuwait is stable and Kuwaiti banks enjoy White House told Reuters on Friday there US House of Representatives Intelligence and Russia was a product of political bias a strong capital base with cash adequa- prices have severely impacted the coun- would be no changes at the Justice Department Committee chaired by Devin Nunes, argues against Trump at the Federal Bureau of try’s economy since oil prices began cy according to Basel III, the rating as a result of the memo’s conclusions. the federal investigation of potential collusion Investigation and Justice Department. their downward slide in 2014, according agency pointed out. — KUNA The memo, written by Republicans on the between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign Continued on Page 11 assistant professor at King’s College London. home to the largest US airbase in the Middle Diplomacy and Doha bought F-15 planes from the United East, Al-Udeid, which houses some 10,000 States barely a fortnight after the crisis American troops. And Turkey, which also has began and at the same time as US President a military base in Qatar, could also deploy fear fuel Qatar’s Donald Trump appeared to take the Saudis’ naval forces there. side in the dispute. In December it signed a Symbolically, during December’s National military spending Rafale fighter jet deal with France during a Day celebrations, Qatari troops paraded with visit to Qatar by French President Emmanuel recently acquired Chinese short-range ballis- DOHA: Since the Qatar diplomatic crisis Macron. That deal caused consternation tic missiles. “It’s a massive investment into the started, one response by the emirate has among some officials in Britain - desperate military,” says Andreas Krieg, a military become increasingly clear - Doha is using its for its own bilateral deal as it negotiates its adviser to the Qatari government until last extraordinary wealth to fund a massive push withdrawal from the European Union - until year. This huge leap in spending - until 2013 in defense spending. A flurry of military con- days later London too signed an agreement Qatar was spending around $3 billion a year tracts have followed since Saudi Arabia and to supply Typhoon jets to the Qatari air on defense, according to the Stockholm its allies dramatically cut all ties with Qatar force. Britain will also supply air security International Peace Research Institute - last June, accusing the 2022 World Cup host during 2022. Last month it was announced reflects Doha’s fear of invasion especially at of sponsoring terrorism and cozying up to that Qatar was in talks to buy Russian air the beginning of the crisis. Riyadh’s bitter regional rival, Iran. defense missiles. Qatari officials admit privately they were Isolated by and increasingly vulnerable to Sandwiched between the air force deals, stunned when the crisis began, taken com- its more powerful neighbors, Qatar has in the Qatar, bordered on three sides by water, also pletely unaware by the Saudi-led states. past eight months subsequently announced negotiated a multi-dollar billion contract to Despite the sometimes bizarre nature of the military contracts worth some $25 billion. buy seven Italian navy vessels. There has also crisis - Doha flying in thousands of cows, “While Qatar’s defense spending has been been military diplomacy.