SUBSCRIPTION TUESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2016 THULQADA 13, 1437 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Workers of Kashmir hit by Islamic State Suarez gives Municipality deadly unrest recruits Barcelona project not paid on India have poor edge in for months5 Independence12 Day grasp14 of faith Super16 Cup Row over medical tests for Min 32º Kuwait visa in Philippines Max 49º High Tide 09:31 & 23:42 New system could impact deployment of Filipinos Low Tide 03:42 & 17:20 40 PAGES NO: 16964 150 FILS KUWAIT: A crisis is brewing in the Philippines over medical tests for Filipino workers coming to Kuwait. A new system, implemented on Aug 8, now limits the 80,000+ Filipino Rashidi returns to rousing welcome applicants seeking jobs in Kuwait to only seven medical clinics. The clinics are run by a private firm, Winston Q8 By Meshaal Al-Enezi Certification Solutions Inc, that is allegedly working in con- cert with the Kuwait Embassy in the Philippines. According KUWAIT: Kuwaiti shooter Abdullah Al-Turki Al-Rashidi, to its website www.winstonkw.com, the firm also “repre- who won the bronze medal in the men’s skeet event at the Rio Olympics, was welcomed at the airport yester- sents the Ministry of Health in Kuwait”. day after his arrival home. Rashidi bagged the bronze The plan has stirred controversy in Manila and led to medal days after the historic gold medal won by dou- calls for a government investigation into the matter. Critics ble trap shooter Fehaid Al-Deehani, who returned on allege the new system overrides Philippines’ sovereignty Sunday. Rashidi nailed 123 targets out of 125, taking with regards to Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) matters first place in the qualifiers among 32 shooters. He then and unfairly hikes up test fees for Filipinos planning to outshot two others to qualify for the bronze medal work in Kuwait. Medical tests and certifications will now shoot-off, and finally overpowered his Ukrainian chal- cost KD 55, triple the current regulated fees. lenger for the bronze. The new system is only applicable to Filipinos who are An emotional Rashidi said his win is dedicated to HH applying for jobs in Kuwait. It is not clear why Kuwait was the Amir, HH the Crown Prince and the Kuwait people. singled out as applicants to other GCC states can continue “I dedicate this medal to all Kuwaitis - Sunni, Shiite, using any GCC Accredited Medical Association (GAMCA) or Hadhar (urbanites) and Bedouin. If I could present my Department of Health (DOH) accredited clinic for the nec- soul for Kuwait, I would have done it, and if raising the essary medical tests. Kuwait flag meant laying down my life, I would have Filipino news site The Rappler noted that the new sys- done it too,” he said. The six-time Olympian quipped tem could impact deployment of Filipino personnel to that the medal in Brazil came 20 years late, wishing Kuwait. This would affect both workers and employers in Kuwait more achievements in the future. Kuwait and possibly create a slowdown in availability of Acting National Assembly Speaker Abdullah Al- Filipino workers here. The new system breaks the monop- Tameemi thanked the Shooting Sports Club for this oly held by GAMCA clinics in the Philippines that have also achievement, as well as the shooters who won the been criticized for failure to abide by the 2015 law that medals. State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh gives every Filipino migrant worker “the freedom to Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak said this achieve- choose any DOH-accredited or DOH-operated clinics to ment is a source of pride for Kuwait, and commended conduct their medical examinations”. the athletes’ efforts, especially Deehani and Rashidi, There has been controversy over health centers in other and wished Kuwait more achievements. He also labor-exporting countries too. In 2015, the Embassy of wished Kuwait all success in the future to lift the sus- Kuwait in New Delhi announced that the Kuwaiti authori- pension on its sporting activities, adding that Kuwait KUWAIT: Olympic bronze medalist Abdullah Al-Rashidi is welcomed by officials and well-wishers at Kuwait ties will henceforth accept medical reports only from will not bow to pressure. airport’s VIP lounge yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat GAMCA centers in India, replacing the services of Continued on Page 13 Khadamat Integrated Solutions Pvt Ltd. Continued on Page 13 51 to be stripped of nationality Children of divorcees, widows granted citizenship Dubai hands death sentence to child killer DUBAI: A Dubai court yesterday sentenced to death a Jordanian man convicted of raping and killing an eight-year-old boy in a crime that shocked public opinion in the United Arab Emirates, media report- ed. The Dubai court of first instance convicted 49- year-old Nidal Eisa Abdullah of kidnapping Obaida Sedqi from his father’s garage on May 20 before rap- KUWAIT: HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah ing and killing the boy, the local Gulf News daily chairs the Cabinet’s weekly meeting yesterday.— KUNA RIO DE JANEIRO: Jamaica’s Usain Bolt celebrates after he won the men’s 100m final said. He was also ordered to pay 21,000 dirhams during the athletics event at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium ($5,700) to the victim’s parents, the newspaper said. KUWAIT: The interior minister, during the cants. In line with the graceful guidance on Sunday.— AFP Abdullah had admitted he raped and murdered Cabinet session yesterday, informed min- by HH the Amir to grant citizenship to the boy, also Jordanian, but denied kidnapping the isters about a recommendation by the children of Kuwaiti widows, divorcees, victim, the Dubai daily said. The defendant, who higher citizenship commission to strip 51 children and grandchildren of natural- became publicly referred to as “Obaida’s killer”, ‘Lightning’ strikes individuals of the Kuwaiti citizenship. ized persons, Sheikh Mohammad claimed that the boy “had willingly sat with him in Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad informed the Cabinet that it had been the car”, it added. According to Gulf News, Abdullah Al-Sabah, also deputy prime minister, given to a number of persons of this seg- thrice as Bolt wins is said to have “lured the eight-year-old to his car by presented the executives with the rec- ment. The move is in line with the offering to buy him a scooter” before having forced ommendation “due to fraud, false infor- Articles II and VII mentioned in the law of sex with the boy and then strangling him. mation and testimonies,” said Minister of citizenship, he noted. First gold for Bahrain But during one of the hearings, Abdullah told the State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Sheikh Mohammad announced on court that he had mental problems. “I was not con- Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al- Thursday the Amir’s graceful instruction RIO DE JANEIRO: Usain Bolt roared into scious or awake and do not remember what hap- Sabah in a statement to KUNA following to grant citizenship to some 180 children Olympic history yesterday, capturing an pened that day,” the daily quoted him as saying. By the Cabinet’s weekly session. of Kuwaiti widows and divorcees and 120 unprecedented third consecutive 100m law, the death sentence will automatically be In turn, the ministers lauded the pan- children and grandchildren of natural- crown to confirm his place in the pan- appealed. el’s tasks to ensure that the Kuwaiti citi- ized citizens who have reached the legal theon of the greatest athletes the world Continued on Page 13 zenship is granted solely to eligible appli- age. — KUNA has ever seen. The 29-year-old Jamaican legend, competing in his final Olympics, powered over the line in 9.81sec, van- NYPD questions man in killing of imam quishing drug-tainted American rival Justin Gatlin who took silver with Andre NEW YORK: New York City police said yester- Islamic or ethnic identity. “Muslim community the street and took them to a hospital where De Grasse of Canada claiming bronze. day they were questioning a man about the members feel the double-homicide was a they were pronounced dead. Gatlin, who had been booed by the Rio fatal shooting of a Muslim cleric and his asso- hate crime, even though the NYPD has not “While we do not yet know the motivation crowd as he was introduced, crossed in ciate after prayers at a mosque in the borough labeled it as such,” said the International for the murders of Maulama Akonjee and 9.89sec with De Grasse just behind in 9.91. of Queens, an attack that many in their Action Center (IAC), which describes itself as Thara Uddin, we do know that our Muslim Bolt galloped away in celebration after Bangladeshi community insisted was a hate an anti-war and social justice advocacy group. communities are in the perpetual crosshairs a superb win, basking in the adulation of crime. The man was detained on unrelated cir- The emailed IAC statement announced an of bigotry,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio the stadium and even taking selfies with cumstances and has not been charged in the outdoor funeral yesterday for the two men in said in a statement. “Rest assured that our fans during his lap of honor. He then killings, a police spokesman said. Earlier, local the Ozone Park section of Queens, near the NYPD will bring this killer to justice.” Ozone delighted the fans with his traditional media, including NBC News and the New York site of the slayings. The victims, identified as Park, a diverse, largely working-class neigh- “lightning bolt” pose as reggae blasted Daily News, said the man was a suspect, citing Imam Maulana Akonjee, 55, and Thara Uddin, borhood, is home to a growing number of out of the stadium sound system.