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RAJAB 18, 1439 AH WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 2018 Max 30º 32 Pages Min 21º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 17498 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net MPs approve rights body, refuse UN raises $2bn for Yemen; Sudan ‘sister coach’ takes Ronaldo powers Real to Juve win; 3 to debate Muwaizri’s complaint 4 Kuwait pledges $250,000 31 love of football to field 11 Bayern come back to beat Sevilla MoI lifts ban on recruiting Ethiopian domestic workers MoCI sets fixed rates of KD 990 and KD 390 for hiring helpers KUWAIT: Kuwait will begin rehiring ministry’s general department of res- Ethiopian domestic workers after a idency affairs. The Philippines Kuwaiti properties in Basra ‘safe’ ban that lasted for years, the interior banned its citizens from working in ministry announced yesterday. The Kuwait after the body of 29-year- decision was made after a series of old Joanna Demafelis was found in a meetings with representatives from freezer earlier this year, bearing the Ethiopian government, the interior signs of torture. Ethiopia five years ministry’s assistant undersecretary for ago instituted a similar ban, follow- citizenship and passports affairs Maj ing reports of abuse and complaints Gen Sheikh Mazen Al-Sabah said in a that employment agencies lured its statement. He pointed out that this is citizens to work under illegal and being done on compassionate appalling conditions. The ban was grounds as well, as the holy month of lifted last Thursday. Ramadan is approaching, which Maarifi said there were more than invariably means more household 15,000 Ethiopians currently living chores for Kuwaiti families. and working in Kuwait. Kuwaiti Sheikh Mazen made clear police in March 2017 detained a Ethiopian delegates were apprised woman for filming her Ethiopian maid Maj Gen Sheikh Mazen Al-Sabah of a raft of measures the govern- falling from the seventh floor without ment has taken to protect the rights trying to rescue her. The 12-second Al-Roudhan, those who prefer to of domestic workers. Kuwait has video shows the maid hanging out- handle the process on their own are long been a magnet for migrant side the building, with one hand tight- required to provide the office with a BASRA: The Kuwaiti media delegation meets head of Basra governorate council Waleed Kitan domestic workers, he said, adding ly gripping the window frame, as she copy of the domestic worker’s pass- yesterday. — KUNA (See Page 2) that the country is keen on explor- begs for help. port, and the cost will be KD 390 ing new opportunities in the domes- Meanwhile, anyone seeking to hire ($1,287). These charges are fixed and BASRA, Iraq: Kuwaiti properties in tively on Kuwaiti-Iraqi relations. The tic work market. the services of a domestic worker not subject to change, the commerce Basra are safe and there is no power situation in Basra, especially within “We aim to open the door to the through any government-accredited ministry stressed in a statement, that can change the status of the the security domain, has improved recruitment of Ethiopian workers to offices throughout the country will warning violators of legal action. It properties’ ownership, an Iraqi official tremendously due to the defeat of the fill the deficit of domestic servants now have to pay KD 990 ($3,267). added the decision will be in effect said yesterday. Speaking to KUNA so-called Islamic State, the Iraqi offi- and reduce prices,” said General According to a decision by Minister for a trial period of six months pend- while meeting a visiting Kuwaiti cial said. Talal Al-Maarifi, head of the interior of Commerce and Industry Khaled ing reevaluation. — Agencies media delegation, Basra Governor Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti media Asaad Al-Eidani said properties delegation also met head of Basra’s belonging to prominent Kuwaiti fami- governorate council Waleed Kitan, sized the need to advance lies still exist and are protected by who briefed them on various service documentation and official statistics. projects in the governorate. The offi- MBS says Israelis the Middle East peace Any attempt to change real estate cial said Basra is eager to witness process in a phone call with ownership must go through the the participation of Kuwaiti have right to land; Trump, which came after Kuwaiti consulate in Basra and the investors in numerous ventures in Israeli forces killed 17 Iraqi authorities, said Eidani, who the city. The Kuwaiti media delega- Palestinians last week dur- affirmed that such a process can only tion arrived on Sunday for talks with Houthis attack ing a demonstration on its be done via original documentation local officials and to visit archeologi- border with Gaza. and authorized procedures. Basra Governor Asaad Al-Eidani cal sites in the nearby Thi Qar gov- Saudi oil tanker Saudi Arabia and Israel He affirmed that Kuwaitis eager to ernorate. The delegation includes have no formal diplomatic the Reconstruction of Iraq (KICRI), RIYADH: Saudi King Salman reaffirmed support for visit their properties in Basra are wel- KUNA Deputy Director General for relations, but behind the Prince Mohammed come to do so, adding that many attended by 75 nations, reflected Editorial Affairs Saad Al-Ali, Editor- Palestinians to US President Donald Trump, state media scenes their ties appear to Kuwaiti families refused to sell their Kuwait’s strong interest in the welfare in-Chief of Al-Anbaa Yusuf Al- said yesterday, after his son and heir apparent said Israel have improved in recent years against what they see as a properties; therefore, they are the of Iraq. Marzouq, Editor-in-Chief of Kuwait has a “right” to a homeland. The king “reaffirmed the common Iranian threat. Israel’s conflict with the rightful owners of the sites. The gov- Eidani welcomed Kuwaiti involve- Times Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan, kingdom’s steadfast position towards the Palestinian Palestinians has long proved an obstacle to a full rap- ernor lauded Kuwait for all its efforts ment in investment and business ven- Media Advisor at HH the Prime issue and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people prochement, however, as Riyadh still supports the to assist Iraq, noting that the recent tures in Basra and elsewhere in Iraq, Minister’s Diwan Hassan Al-Sayegh to an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital,” the Kuwait International Conference for affirming that this will reflect posi- and others. — KUNA Palestinian claim to sovereignty. official Saudi Press Agency said. The king also empha- Continued on Page 11 Russia-Turkey ties last week when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Oil to solar: Saudis Salman unveiled plans to develop the globe’s biggest tighten with nuclear solar power project for $200 billion in partnership with Japan’s SoftBank group. The memorandum of project, Syria talks push to be renewable understanding to produce up to 200 gigawatts of power by 2030 - about 100 times the capacity of the ANKARA: Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday energy powerhouse current biggest projects - was the latest jaw-drop- embarked on a two-day visit to Russia’s increasingly ping statement as the Saudis look to wean them- close partner Turkey to launch the construction of its AL UYAYNA, Saudi Arabia: Saudi engineers whip selves off oil. first nuclear power plant and coordinate policy on the up a simulated sandstorm to test a solar panel’s dura- If built on one site, the solar farm would cover an war in Syria. Putin held an afternoon of talks with his bility at a research lab, the heart of the oil-rich king- area twice the size of Hong Kong, according to a counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, before the two dom’s multibillion dollar quest to be a renewable Bloomberg News calculation. While the scale of the strongmen leaders are joined today by Iranian President energy powerhouse. The world’s top exporter of plan has stirred some disbelief - the agreement Hassan Rouhani for a summit devoted to Syria. crude seems an unlikely champion of clean energy, announced in the US was greeted with determination Their meeting in Ankara opened with Putin and but the government lab in Al Uyayna, a sun-drenched at the laboratory. “We can do it,” said Adel al- Erdogan, via video conference, launching construction village near Riyadh, is leading the country’s efforts Sheheween, director of the solar laboratory under the of Turkey’s first nuclear power station in the for solar power as it seeks to diversify. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. Mediterranean Mersin region, a massive project that will A dazzling spotlight was shone on those ambitions Continued on Page 11 come online in half a decade. In a sign of the importance of the alliance, Putin’s visit to Turkey is his first trip abroad since he won a historic fourth presidential man- date in March 18 polls. Putin and Erdogan - who have both led their post- ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) imperial states out of economic crisis but also into a and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin attend a sym- new era of confrontation with the West - have forged an bolic groundbreaking ceremony for Turkey’s first nuclear increasingly close alliance in recent months. The Russian power station at the Presidential Palace yesterday. — AFP leader was driven to the vast presidential palace sur- rounded by an escort of Turkish troops in ceremonial troubled Turkey’s NATO allies, Ankara has agreed to dress on horseback and was warmly greeted by buy S-400 air defense missile systems from Russia. Erdogan who was waiting in person at the gate. But Ankara-Moscow relations were also tested by a Their meeting comes as ties between Russia and the severe crisis from Nov 2015 when Turkey shot down a West are nosediving to post-Cold War lows after the Russian war plane over Syria, a confrontation both March poisoning of Russian ex-double agent Sergei sides are trying to put behind each other.