SUBSCRIPTION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014 JAMADA ALAWWAL 11, 1435 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Companies law US Senate Iranian coffee Costa propels amendment intel chief lovers flock Atletico to help boost accuses CIA to new wave into q-finals local economy3 of13 spying of40 cafes 20 Will court ruling open Max 29º Min 18º welfare for expatriates? High Tide 10:20 & 20:18 Low Tide Implications of healthcare decision abound 03:53 & 14:52 40 PAGES NO: 16102 150 FILS By Ben Garcia ment available to Kuwaitis. In fact, a recent trend in Kuwait has seen government serv- KUWAIT: In a landmark decision, a court in ices increasingly denied or limited to expa- Kuwait ordered the Ministry of Health to triates or provided on a less-than-equal provide life saving medicines to a Syrian basis. In one glaring example, foreigners child born in Kuwait. The child, diagnosed may only visit hospitals and health clinics with the rare Gaucher’s disease, reportedly in Jahra governorate in the afternoon. needs to take Cerezyme 400. The health Morning hours are reserved for citizens. ministry refused to provide the child with The court based its decision on Article this prescription, which it argues costs 10 of the Kuwait constitution which stipu- nearly KD 66,000 annually. lates “The State cares for the young and The government of Kuwait provides protects them from exploitation and from free healthcare to all citizens but foreigners moral, physical and spiritual neglect” and are required to obtain health insurance as Article 24 of the UNICEF Convention on the part of their visa applications. The health Rights of the Child which indicates that insurance, however, does not cover all the “Children have the same health services, medicines and treat- Continued on Page 13 Sisi in UAE for joint military exercises ABU DHABI: Egyptian military chief Abdel details on Sisi’s plans or the length of his stay. Fattah Al-Sisi arrived yesterday in the United The Emirates have given Egypt $4.9 billion Arab Emirates, a strong supporter of his July in financial aid since Morsi’s ouster, as well as ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, deposited $2 billion in the Egyptian central the WAM news agency reported. Field bank, interest free. Last week, the UAE joined Marshal Sisi, who is Egypt’s defence minister Saudi Arabia and Bahrain in recalling their and deputy premier, travelled to the UAE to ambassadors from fellow Gulf Cooperation attend the closure of joint military exercises Council member Qatar over its support for there. He was met by UAE deputy army chief Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood. As a sign of sup- SEPANG, Malaysia: Pictures of the two men identified as Pouria Nourmohammadi (right) and Seyed Mohammed Reza Delavar, who Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahayan. The port for the military-installed government in boarded the now missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 with stolen passports, are held up by a Malaysian policewoman during a two men noted the “fraternal and solid rela- Cairo, the UAE’s Arabtec contractor signed a press conference yesterday. — AP tions linking the two countries and their peo- memorandum of understanding Sunday to ples,” and their wish to “consolidate bilateral develop a $40 billion project to build one mil- No sign of missing plane cooperation,” WAM added, without giving lion housing units in Egypt. — AFP Iranians using stolen passports named KUALA LUMPUR: Two suspect men who radius to 100 nautical miles (equivalent to flight to do business in Beijing for an oil flew on a missing Malaysian airliner appear 185 km) around the point where the Boeing company. “My three-year-old grandson is to have been Iranian illegal immigrants, offi- 777 disappeared from radar over the South asking: ‘Where is Dad?’ We tell him father has cials said yesterday, lessening fears of terror- China Sea early Saturday, en route from gone to buy sweets for you,” Gurusamy, 60, ism but shedding no light on the fate of the Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. “We are intensify- said as he broke down in tears. “Please bring plane’s 239 passengers and crew. On the ing our search and rescue, and hoping back my son. I am praying for divine inter- fourth day of a multinational search at sea against hope there is still an opportunity for vention. That is the only hope we have.” and on land, relatives desperate for news of us to rescue (those on board),” Malaysian Malaysia had opened a terror probe, loved ones aboard Malaysia Airlines MH370 Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein joined by FBI agents from the United States. said their hopes for a miracle were ebbing told reporters. But the revelation of the identities of two ABU DHABI: Egyptian Defense Minister Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi salutes as he is away. The 34-year-old son of Malaysian security men who boarded the flight using stolen welcomed by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, Crown Prince of Abu Authorities have doubled the search guard Subramaniam Gurusamy was on the Continued on Page 13 Dhabi, upon his arrival yesterday. — AFP Debtors fund reopened for three months By B Izzak KUWAIT: In an unusually quiet session, the National Assembly yesterday approved a law calling for the gov- ernment’s debtors fund, established about a year ago, to reopen for three more months to accept more cases. The fund was established through legislation accepted by both the government and Assembly to help Kuwaiti citizens who had taken bank loans and were unable to repay them. The fund had admitted over 18,000 debtors before closing its doors. Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh said that the fund has paid over KD 122 million to banks in settlement of citizens’ debts. Under the law, debtors considered defaulters get their debt paid by the gov- ernment to banks and the repayment is rescheduled after waiving the remaining interest. The new amend- ment will enable debtors who refused to join the fund in the past to register to benefit from it. The Assembly also refused by a narrow margin of just one vote to lift the immunity of Communications and Municipality Minister Essa Al-Kandari so he can appear in court over a lawsuit. Seventeen MPs voted against lifting the immunity while 16 voted for it. Kandari denied after the vote the accusations made against him in the lawsuit and insisted that it was not him but Kuwait Airways that scrapped a deal to purchase five used Airbus planes from India’s Jet Airways. Kandari had sacked formed KAC chairman Sami Al-Nisf over the deal, who later sued the minister in court. But the Assembly agreed with a comfortable margin to a request by the public prosecution to lift the immu- nity of MP Nabeel Al-Fadhl to appear in court in connec- tion with a defamation lawsuit filed by former Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani. Fadhl was accused of slander in an article he wrote in Al-Watan newspaper, where he writes a daily column. Continued on Page 13 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2014 LOCAL KUWAIT: The National Project for Sustainable Development hosted a graduation ceremony for participants in the ‘Thukhur Program for Leadership and Institutional Innovation’, which was held recently in cooperation with Cornell University, Monitor Deloitte Middle East and sponsored by South Korea’s SK Holding Company. Hind Al-Subaih, the Minister of Social Affairs and Minister of State for Planning and Development Affairs, as well as Sheikha Al-Zain Al- Sabah, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth Affairs, attended the event at the Sahara Resort. —Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat Five-year development plan underway KUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs and Labour the Brunei’s Crown Prince and Senior Minister in Committee of the Supreme Council for sector is holding meetings with the private sec- Secretariat of Planning, indicating that the and Minister of State for Planning and the Prime Minister’s Office Al-Muhtadee Billah Planning, which in turn agreed to choose one tor and non-profit organizations, academics, Council of Ministers called for involving the Development Hind Al-Sabeeh unveiled here accompanied by State Minister for Housing of the alternatives, indicating that “the plan is professionals and young people to domesticate Supreme Council for Planning in the prepara- yesterday that the ministry is in the process of Affairs yasser Abul at the Ministry of Planning measured in hours, rather than days.” their opinion on the plan. tion of the plan. preparing the next five year plan to be forward- and Development. She stated that the plan will be forwarded at Al-Sabeeh stressed the ministry’s keenness The minister hoped that the five-year devel- ed to the National Assembly early next June for The minister added that the ministry is the beginning of June to the National Assembly on taking into account all the aspirations of the opment plan would be “closer to reality” with- approval. This came in a statement to the press working on the preparation of the develop- in order to grant a period of more than six community and highlight them in the policies out giving the community promises that can- made by the Minister after her meeting with ment plan which was presented to the Policies months for approval, noting that the planning plan, which will be presented to the General not be implemented on the ground. —KUNA Compensation for man jailed wrongly Ministry ordered to pay KD 250,000 By A Saleh time of his arrest. The man reportedly managed to He was released on parole after escape before police could put him KUWAIT: A Kuwaiti man was awarded serving one year in prison, during under arrest.