SUBSCRIPTION SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016 RAMADAN 27, 1437 AH No: 16922 Coast Guard to UK, France mark Shootout win Ramadan TImings be equipped with 100 years since sees Portugal Emsak: 03:07 Fajer: 03:17 advanced system Battle of Somme into semis Shrooq: 04:52 Dohr: 11:52 Asr: 15:26 Maghreb: 18:52 3 9 48 Eshaa: 20:23 Israel must stop building settlements, says Quartet Min 35º 150 Fils Prospects of two-state solution eroding: Report Max 49º Amir deplores Bahrain attack KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday sent a cable to Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, expressing Kuwait’s emphatic condemna- tion and denunciation of the terrorist blast that hit East Eker village, south of Manama, on Thursday. In his cable, His Highness the Amir said this act, which targeted innocent peo- ple, contravenes all religions and human values, while reiter- ating Kuwait’s sympathy with the Kingdom of Bahrain, and full support to all measures it is taking in order to preserve its security. A Bahraini woman died and three children sustained minor injuries when their car was hit by a bomb blast on Thursday that police said was carried out by “terrorists” in southern Bahrain. Shrapnel hit the car the woman was in, the police said, and security forces were investigating the scene of the attack in the village of East Eker, south of Bahrain’s capital, Manama, according to an Interior Ministry statement. HH the Amir also offered heartfelt condolence to the Bahraini King, government, people and families of the blast victims, wishing those injured in the bombing quick recovery and praying to Allah Almighty to protect Bahrain and its peo- ple from any harm whatsoever. In addition, two similar con- RAMALLAH: Palestinians take cover from a water cannon being fired by Israeli security forces during clashes at the Qalandia dolence cables were sent to the Bahraini King by His Highness checkpoint between Ramallah and Jerusalem yesterday as Israeli authorities banned men under 45 from accessing the Al- the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Aqsa mosque compound for Friday prayers. — AFP and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. —Agencies UNITED NATIONS: Israel should stop building settlements, deny- report also “perpetuates the myth that Israeli construction in the ing Palestinian development and designating land for exclusive West Bank is an obstacle to peace,” the statement said. Israeli use that Palestinians seek for a future state, the Middle East Nabil Abu Rdainah, the spokesman for Palestinian President Hajj pilgrims must wear peace “Quartet” recommended yesterday in an eagerly awaited Mahmoud Abbas, expressed disappointment with the Quartet report. report. “Any report that does not include the full withdrawal to e-bracelets for safety The report by the Quartet entities sponsoring the stalled the 1967 borders, including occupied Jerusalem, and does not peace process - the United States, Russia, the European Union include a recognition of the illegality of settlement will not lead to RIYADH: Muslim pilgrims joining this year’s Hajj in Saudi and the United Nations - said the Israeli policy “is steadily eroding real and lasting peace and will lead to more tension and more Arabia will have to wear an electronic safety bracelet, news- the viability of the two-state solution.” “This raises legitimate instability in the region,” he said in a statement. UN Middle East papers reported yesterday, after more than 2,000 died in a questions about Israel’s long-term intentions, which are com- envoy Nickolay Mladenov briefed the UN Security Council on stampede last year. The high-tech safety measure will help pounded by the statements of some Israeli ministers that there Thursday on the report and said it would be up to the council and authorities provide care “and identify people”, the Arab should never be a Palestinian state,” according to the eight-page the international community to use the report to decide the way News and Saudi Gazette reported. report. forward. A senior US State Department official said yesterday: At least 2,297 pilgrims died during the stampede on Amid a spike in violence, the Quartet criticized Palestinian “We are open to having the Security Council welcome the report September 24 during last year’s Hajj, according to data from leaders for “not consistently and clearly” condemning terrorist but that’s all at this point. We’re not looking for serious, substan- foreign officials, some of whom expressed concerns about attacks and said illicit arms buildup and militant activities in Gaza - tive, UN Security Council action on this report.” difficulty in identifying the victims. Saudi Arabia issued a controlled by Islamist group Hamas - must stop. The Quartet said urgent affirmative steps needed to be taken death toll of 769. Meanwhile, two Palestinians and an Israeli were killed in a to “prevent entrenching a one-state reality of perpetual occupa- series of attacks and clashes in the West Bank on Friday, in the lat- tion and conflict.” The report said Israel had taken for its exclusive It was the worst disaster in Hajj history. The bracelets are est uptick in the nine-month wave of violence. use some 70 percent of Area C, which makes up 60 percent of the water resistant, connected to a GPS location system, and Diplomatic sources said the report carries significant political occupied West Bank and includes the majority of agricultural store each pilgrim’s personal information including address weight as it has the backing of close Israeli ally the United States, lands, natural resources and land reserves. and medical records, the newspapers said. Crown Prince which has struggled to revive the peace talks amid tensions Under the Oslo accords of the mid-1990s, Israel retains full Mohammed bin Nayef, the interior minister who also chairs between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US control over Area C, where large tracts have been declared closed the Hajj committee, ordered a probe immediately after the President Barack Obama. military areas. “Israel should implement positive and significant stampede disaster last year but there has been no word on Relations between the rightist Israeli leader and the policy shifts, including transferring powers and responsibilities in its findings. The tragedy happened as pilgrims made their Democratic president have yet to recover from their feud over Area C,” the Quartet report said.It said only one permit for way in searing temperatures to the Jamarat, the place last year’s US-led nuclear deal with Israeli foe Iran. Netanyahu’s Palestinian housing construction in Area C was reportedly where they ritually stone the devil in the city of Mina in office welcomed some aspects of the Quartet report but said approved in 2014, while there did not appear to have been any western Saudi Arabia. — AFP Israel took issue with numerous factual and policy assertions. The approved in 2015. —Agencies LOCAL SATURDAY, JULY 2, 2016 Modern slavery By Douglas Silliman, US Ambassador to Kuwait ore than 20 million peo- ple around the world are Mtrapped in human traf- ficking, also called modern slav- ery. It is a crime that happens almost everywhere and affects vir- tually everyone. Yet many still think of human trafficking as an issue affecting only other people, in other countries. The truth is it affects us all. Victims of trafficking may be living right next door to you, because while most foreign workers come to the United States or Kuwait legal- ly, hoping to find a better life and to support their families, they too often become trafficked. When an employer demands to retain an employee’s passport, when a housekeeper is forced to work long hours without rest or prevented from leaving the resi- dence on his or her day off, she or he can be considered a victim of human trafficking. Victims of human trafficking come from a variety of backgrounds. Their stories often begin with aspirations for a better life and a lack of options to fulfill them at home. Traffickers exploit this reality. In particular, people KUWAIT: Photo shows Kuwait ancient and modern landmarks. — KUNA seeking employment opportunities - at home or abroad - face the risk of fraudulent and abusive recruitment that can lead to human trafficking. In such cases, they find that they are unable to leave jobs in factories, construction Kuwait’s Ministry awarded ESRI sites, or escape the commercial sex trade, which often flourishes alongside occupations that are subjected to Special Achievement GIS Award human trafficking. The 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report, released by US Secretary of State Kerry on June 30, high- lights these risks and the actions that governments, busi- WASHINGTON: The Ministry of Electricity nesses, consumers, and citizens can take to combat and Water has been offered the Special human trafficking. Each of us can make a difference. Achievement in Geographic Information I congratulate Kuwait on the progress the government Systems (GIS) Award for 2016 by the and private sector are making to combat human trafficking. Environmental Systems Research Institute I would specifically like to recognize the Migrant Worker (ESRI) - USA during the ESRI annual confer- Shelter, the Ministry of Interior’s Anti-Human Trafficking ence in San Diego, California. Engineers Department, the Domestic Worker Agency, and the Public Bader Humoud Al-Enzi and Hisham Ali Prosecutors Office for the progress they have made in pro- Kertsh represented the ministry at the con- tecting victims of human trafficking and prosecuting those ference late Thursday, and were handed who seek to profit from the exploitation of workers. the award by ESRI founder and President This year marks the first time in nine years that Kuwait Jack Dangermond.