SHAWWAL 26, 1439 AH TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018 Max 49º 28 Pages Min 34º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 17578 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Owner blames ex-partner UK foreign secretary Boris ‘State of war’ is over France eye WCup final but 5 of Kuwait food poisoning 6 Johnson resigns in protest 24 Ethiopia, Eritrea say 28 Belgium have Henry factor Kuwait-China joint statement reveals ‘strategic partnership’ Amir, Xi Jinping discuss regional, international issues BEIJING: In the midst of his official three-day state tion to other humanitarian initiatives Kuwait has been visit to Beijing, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- known to pursue, by virtue of the “Humanitarian Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah held extensive talks with Leader” moniker the UN has bestowed upon His Chinese President Xi Jinping, focusing on bilateral ties. Highness the Amir. The two countries have also The Kuwaiti and Chinese leaders have spoken highly of emphasized their commitment to one another’s sover- the tremendous progress in relations between the Gulf eignty through a non-interventionist and non-med- state and the world’s most populous nation - seeing eye dling policy, with Kuwait seeing the self-ruled island to eye on a myriad of significant issues including cur- of Taiwan as a breakaway province to be reunited rent world events. with mainland China. Since diplomatic relations began in earnest a little The two leaders pointed out that peace and stability under half a century ago, Kuwait and Beijing started in their countries is partially contingent upon a free and to develop camaraderie that still stands to this very open Indo-Pacific, as well as ensuring peaceful resolu- day, with their respective economies being the ulti- tions to conflicts in the region. Kuwait also said that it is mate beneficiaries. Citing a mutual desire to take ties a proponent of the Chinese government’s “Belt and to new levels, His Highness the Kuwaiti Amir and the Road Initiative”, in addition to other similar develop- Chinese president have pinpointed a number of fields ment strategies that allow Beijing to reach out to the that they have agreed to cooperate on, chiefly, the rest of the world. need to establish a platform for dialogue as a constant They agreed that energy production and invest- form of engagement. ment are crucial aspects of scientific development, in BEIJING: Kuwait’s Amir His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (left) shakes hands with Chinese President Meanwhile, Beijing has thrown its weight behind addition to being two concrete concepts that can help Xi Jinping after witnessing a signing ceremony at the Great Hall of the People yesterday. — AFP (See Page 3) His Highness’s efforts to quell a Gulf dispute, in addi- Continued on Page 24 of Turkey,” Erdogan told parliament as he Erdogan is expected to name a stream- Erdogan sworn in took the oath of office. The introduction of lined cabinet of 16 ministers yesterday the new presidential system marks the evening after a ceremony at the presidential biggest overhaul of governance since the palace for more than 7,000 guests, including with new powers Turkish republic was established on the ruins Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, of the Ottoman Empire nearly a century ago. Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ANKARA: Tayyip Erdogan was sworn in The post of prime minister has been and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. again as Turkey’s president yesterday, scrapped and the president will now be able No major Western leader was included on a assuming sweeping powers he won in a ref- to select his own cabinet, regulate ministries list of 50 presidents, prime ministers and oth- erendum last year and sealed in a hard- and remove civil servants, all without parlia- er high-ranking guests published by state fought re-election victory two weeks ago. mentary approval. Erdogan’s supporters see news agency Anadolu. Erdogan, who has dominated Turkish politics the changes as a just reward for a leader who Investors were waiting to see whether for 15 years, says the powerful new executive has put Islamic values at the core of public cabinet appointees would include individuals presidency is vital to drive economic growth, life, championed the pious working classes seen as market-friendly, and particularly ensure security after a failed 2016 military and overseen years of strong economic whether Mehmet Simsek, currently deputy coup and safeguard the country from conflict growth. Opponents say the move marks a prime minister, would continue to oversee the in Syria and Iraq. lurch to authoritarianism, accusing Erdogan economy. “For the cabinet appointments in “As president, I swear upon my honor and of eroding the secular institutions set up by the past several years, the most important integrity, before the great Turkish nation and modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal issue has been the presence of the current ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with his wife Emine Erdogan history, to work with all my power to protect Ataturk, and driving it further from Western deputy prime minister, Mehmet Simsek,” said wave as he arrives at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) to take oath and exalt the glory and honor of the Republic values of democracy and free speech. Continued on Page 24 of office yesterday in Ankara. — AFP ation of objects, especially those predating the Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH). The Saudi Arabia Prophet Mohammed’s (PBUH) life in the 7th 62-year-old royal, a son of the king and an old- century, as tantamount to idolatry, and has er half-brother of the Crown Prince, told advocated their neglect or outright destruction. Reuters in a recent interview about ongoing bid to protect But under reforms pushed by Crown Prince cooperation with senior Muslim scholars Mohammed Bin Salman, who has vowed to including bimonthly discussions with the Grand its pre-Islamic promote a more moderate form of Islam and Mufti, the kingdom’s top religious figure, about loosened strict social rules like a ban on women the latest “discoveries”. driving, the kingdom has allocated $1 billion to Those include Al-Ahsa, one of the world’s heritage sites preserve its heritage. Many of the cultural largest natural agricultural oases, which areas date back thousands of years and the became the country’s fifth UNESCO World RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is preserving pre- attention given to them could risk a possible Heritage site last month. In addition to fresh- Islamic heritage sites, like a date palm oasis backlash from religious fundamentalists. and hot-water springs and vast tracks of date from the Stone Age, in a break with the austere “National heritage wasn’t an easy trip, to get palms, the 10,000 hectare region holds archae- strain of Sunni Islam that has dominated the people to reflect and go back, especially the ological sites dating to the Neolithic period. country for decades, as the reclusive kingdom antiquities. All the discussions that were about Another UNESCO site, Madain Saleh, is a tries to open up. Wahhabism, the ultra-conser- antiquity-this is not Islamic, this is Islamic-this 2,000-year-old city carved into the rocks of MUSCAT: Photo shows a view of Oman’s ancient city of Qalhat that dates back to vative branch of Islam that emerged in Saudi is - I think behind us now,” said Prince Sultan the northern desert by the Nabateans, the pre-Islamic times. UNESCO has added Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahsa Oasis and Oman’s Arabia some 250 years ago, regards the vener- Bin Salman, head of the Saudi Commission for Continued on Page 24 ancient city of Qalhat to its World Heritage List. — AFP Turkey train sources also ruled out the possibility of Groups call for a collective resignation since MPs have not met. MP Mohammad Al-Mutair, who disaster kills was acquitted along with 16 other urgent law on activists and former MPs, yesterday twenty-four called on lawmakers for a meeting on public amnesty Thursday to study their course of action ISTANBUL: Twenty-four people were killed after the ruling. and hundreds injured when a train packed By B Izzak Sources said that the meeting is with weekend passengers derailed in north- expected to discuss the issue of resigna- west Turkey due to ground erosion after KUWAIT: Opposition MPs, groups and tions or calling for an extraordinary heavy rains, officials said yesterday. The train, activists yesterday called for moves and meeting for the National Assembly, cur- which was carrying 362 passengers, was trav- actions to contain the consequences of a rently in summer recess, to discuss issu- elling from the Edirne region on the Greek stunning ruling by Kuwait’s top court in ing a law for public amnesty to pardon and Bulgarian borders to Istanbul’s Halkali which it jailed two serving lawmakers, all activists sentenced to jail or found station on Sunday when six carriages derailed six ex-MPs and eight activists after con- guilty but the court did not punish them. in the Tekirdag region. Deputy Prime Minister victing them in the highly publicized Most of those who received jail terms Recep Akdag said 24 people died, in a sharp storming the Assembly case. Postings on are outside the country, especially MPs rise from the previous toll of 10. social media said that as many as 16 Waleed Al-Tabtabai and Jamaan Al- The state-run Anadolu news agency quot- TEKIRDAG: A helicopter flies over the site where a train derailed at Corlu district in Tekirdag, opposition and pro-opposition lawmak- Harbash and former MPs Mussallam Al- ed Akdag as saying search operations northwest Turkey yesterday.