Kuwait, South Korea Ink Visa, Health and Transport Deals
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SUBSCRIPTION TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015 JAMADA ALAWWAL 12, 1436 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Kuwait, South Outspoken Solar plane Nadal grabs Korea ink visa, preacher wins passes new slice of history health and Saudi prize for test ahead of with win in transport2 deals service13 to Islam world27 tour Argentina20 Opposition vows massive Min 08º Max 26º protest as Barrak jailed High Tide 11:44 & 22:37 Low Tide Ex-info minister acquitted • MP proposes electoral law amendment 05:29 & 17:01 40 PAGES NO: 16448 150 FILS By B Izzak Amir fetes KU grads KUWAIT: Lawyers of opposition leader Musallam Al- Barrak yesterday filed appeals against his two-year jail sentence passed last week by the appeals court as the former lawmaker was taken to jail to start serving the sentence. Lawyer Thamer Al-Jadaei said that reasons for the challenge were submitted to the court of cassation yesterday, which is expected to start looking into Barrak’s appeal very soon. Jadaei said that they will file a petition to release Barrak on bail only after a judge is appointed for the case. This could take a few days. In the first hearing, the judge will decide whether Barrak should remain in jail until the court issues its verdict or freed on bail pending trial. Barrak was handed the tough sentence by the appeals court for allegedly insulting HH the Amir at a public rally against amending the electoral law. Police arrived at Barrak’s residence late Sunday night, and after brief negotiations, he agreed to go with the police fol- lowing an emotional farewell by dozens of his support- ers, who carried him and vowed to protest to secure his release. Opposition activists immediately launched a campaign on Twitter calling for a huge demonstration of 100,000 people to press for Barrak’s freedom, but no details were provided about the protest. In a related development, the appeals court yester- KUWAIT: Demonstrators march towards the Central KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad day acquitted former information minister Saad bin Jail in Sabah Al-Nasser yesterday, calling for the Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Minister of Education Dr Bader Al-Essa cut the ceremonial cake as National Assembly Taflah Al-Ajmi of charges of writing an article deemed release of opposition leader Musallam Al-Barrak, Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem looks on during the graduation of the 44th batch of Kuwait University students offensive to the minister of finance. who was arrested and jailed late Sunday. — Photo for the 2013-2014 academic year yesterday. — KUNA (See Page 3) Continued on Page 13 by Yasser Al-Zayyat News KIO cuts US in brief Saudi diplomat held by investments Qaeda in Yemen freed ABU DHABI: The Kuwait Investment Office (KIO), the RIYADH: A Saudi diplomat, kidnapped in Yemen almost London branch office of sovereign wealth fund three years ago and handed to Al-Qaeda, has been Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), is gradually freed and returned to the kingdom, the interior ministry reducing its overweight stance on US assets after said yesterday. Abdullah Al-Khalidi, keeping that position for seven years, its chief execu- deputy consul in the southern port tive said yesterday. Osama Al-Ayoub, speaking at a city of Aden, who was kidnapped business conference in Abu Dhabi, also said the KIO on March 28, 2012, was freed fol- was going overweight on Europe because of the lowing “intense efforts” by the Saudi European Central Bank’s decision in January to use intelligence services, a ministry quantitative easing, a radical form of monetary stim- statement carried by the official SPA ulus. news agency said without elaborat- “This year, we’re starting after seven years of over- Al-Khalidi ing. Less than one month after his weighting the US market, we’re starting to imple- abduction, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian ment an overweight of European markets and grad- Peninsula demanded the freeing of all its members ually reducing our overweight to US markets,” he detained in Saudi Arabia as well as a ransom in said. “With all this liquidity (ECB president) Mr Draghi exchange for the diplomat’s release. His captors initially is trying to introduce, assets will inflate.” asked for $10 million but later doubled the ransom The KIA is one of the world’s largest sovereign demand to $20 million, a tribal mediator told AFP in wealth funds with about $548 billion under manage- Aug 2012. It was unclear if Saudi authorities paid any ment, according to the Sovereign Wealth Fund money in exchange for Khalidi’s eventual release. The Institute, which tracks the industry. Ayoub also said interior ministry said the diplomat had been handed the KIO believed the fall in oil prices might create over to Al-Qaeda “in a suspicious deal” after his kidnap opportunities to invest in oil services companies out- in Aden. He “will undergo medical examinations and be side the Middle East and North Africa. The KIO aims reunited with his family,” SPA said. to double its assets under management over 10 years which translates to an annual internal rate of return of 7.3 percent, but this year will be “a very Egypt got $23bn in aid challenging year”, he added. — Reuters from Gulf in 18 months DUBAI: Egypt has obtained $23 billion in aid from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait in the 18 months since Islamist President Mohamed ‘Jihadi John’ Morsi was ousted, Investment Minister Ashraf Salman said yesterday. Speaking at a business con- ference in Dubai, Salman said the aid included oil was bedoon shipments, cash grants and deposits in Egypt’s cen- tral bank. The three wealthy Gulf governments, from Jahra deeply opposed to Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood group, ramped up aid to Egypt after his ouster and are spending heavily to try to ensure the success of KUWAIT: The Islamic State militant known as “Jihadi current President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi. Salman told John” was born to a family of undocumented residents in an impoverished corner of Kuwait, two members of reporters that the nature of the Gulf’s aid to Egypt the country’s so-called bedoon (stateless) community would shift from grants and free oil towards “sup- said yesterday. The details flesh out the background of portive investment” as the economy recovered. Mohammed Emwazi, who was last week identified as the knife-wielding, British-accented masked militant in British coins to feature several of the extremist group’s beheading videos. new portrait of Queen Emwazi left Kuwait for Britain when he was a boy. He LONDON: A new portrait of Queen Elizabeth II which went to state schools in London before studying com- will appear on coins in Britain was unveiled yesterday - puter science at the University of Westminster, leaving for Syria in 2013. A family acquaintance from Kuwait only the fifth one of her 63-year reign. The likeness described the young Emwazi as a polite boy, almost shows the 88-year-old monarch timid in nature. “It’s very shocking to see how he turned facing right in profile and wear- out, a mouthpiece for a terrorist organization. His father ing a crown and drop earrings. It is very distressed over what happened to his son. He’s replaces a previous portrait not well,” said the acquaintance, who only gave his first which dates back to 1998. The name, Tareq, fearing government retribution given his image was designed by Jody undocumented status. Clark, an engraver at the Royal He and Abdul Hakeem Al-Fadhli, an activist for state- Mint, the south Wales-based less rights, said Emwazi lived in the rundown Taima area body responsible for making of Jahra. Jahra is home to many of Kuwait’s bedoon Britain’s coins. The new coins fea- community, which includes descendants of desert turing the portrait went into production from yesterday nomads and others who are considered stateless by and are likely to start appearing in peoples’ pockets lat- Kuwait. er this year. Continued on Page 13 TUESDAY, MARCH 3, 2015 LOCAL South Korean business delegation holds meetings Seoul seeks to bolster economic ties with Kuwait By Ben Garcia and A.gencies businesses,” he mentioned. Lee also said that the business delegation KUWAIT: A business delegation from South includes representatives of some renowned Korea formally met with their Kuwaiti counter- hospitals offering medical treatment facilities parts yesterday. Yoon Sang-jick, South Korean that can help Kuwaiti people. “We know that Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, was wel- many Kuwaitis seek medical treatment abroad. comed at the Korea-Kuwait Business Most of them go to Europe, United States, Partnership Conference where business net- Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. We want to working and one-on-one meetings took place. encourage them to consider our medical servic- The business delegation was part of the es and facilities in Korea,” he added. entourage of South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who is currently visiting the country Economic ties to discuss with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Minister Yoon said on the sidelines of the Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah ways and means to forum that South Korea is seeking to promote strengthen cooperation in the fields of energy, economic ties with Kuwait to the level of energy construction, communication technology and cooperation. Kuwait is the second biggest healthcare. exporters of oil to Korea. Bilateral trade hit $19 Speaking to Kuwait Times on the sidelines of billion in 2014, Minister Yoon told Kuwait News an economic conference at the Regency Hotel, Agency (KUNA). Samsik Lee, Director General of the Korean South Korea is working on enhancing coop- Embassy’s Commercial Section, said their presi- eration in vital sectors like construction, health- dent with an entourage of about 80 business- care, industry and electricity, Yoon added.