SUBSCRIPTION TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2017 RAJAB 28, 1438 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Tangible strides, Nearing 100-day Syrian refugees No hurry as clear reforms to mark, Trump are New York inspirational build economy says milestone tourists for centenarian in Vision4 2035 not ‘meaningful’9 the39 day wins20 gold Barrak urges reconciliation, Min 23 º reforms to ‘rescue’ Kuwait Max 35º High Tide 11:07 & 23:29 Low Tide Freed opposition leader extends olive branch to govt 05:05 & 17:27 40 PAGES NO: 17209 150 FILS KUWAIT: Prominent opposition leader Musallam Al- Barrak called yesterday for national reconciliation to res- Russia increases cue the state just days after his release from jail. Barrak, 61, was freed from prison on Friday after serving a two- military spending year sentence for insulting HH the Amir in public, a charge he had denied. The former lawmaker told thou- despite sanctions sands of supporters at a rally yesterday that the state had reached “the lowest point in its modern history”. STOCKHOLM: Russia became the world’s third largest “Kuwait is headed to catastrophe in all fields... It is so military spender in 2016 despite low oil prices and eco- close to becoming a failed state,” Barrak said. He called nomic sanctions, as the global expenditure rose for a on the government to initiate talks to achieve compro- second consecutive year, a study said yesterday. Russia’s mise in the state which has suffered bitter political dis- military spending was $69.2 billion in 2016, a 5.9 percent putes in the past decade. “If the government makes a rise over 2015, the Stockholm International Peace serious step towards political reforms, we are ready to Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report, adding this was make many steps,” Barrak said. the highest proportion of its GDP since it became an He said that no one in the opposition was trying to independent state. “This increased spending and heavy burden on the economy comes at a time when the overthrow the regime. “No one disputes the constitu- Russian economy is in serious trouble due to low oil and tional legality of the Al-Sabah family,” he said. But Barrak gas prices and the economic sanctions imposed since said that for reconciliation to succeed, the government 2014,” (by the West over the Ukraine conflict), SIPRI said. must reinstate revoked citizenships of opposition fig- Saudi Arabia was the third largest spender in 2015 ures and scrap all freedom-curbing legislation issued in but dropped to fourth place in 2016 as its expenditure the past few years. He also demanded amnesty for all fell by 30 percent to $63.7 billion, “despite its continued activists, that the judiciary should be allowed to handle involvement in regional wars”, it added. “Falling oil rev- citizenship cases and called for cleaning security agen- enue and associated economic problems attached to cies of “corrupt” elements. the oil-price shock has forced many oil-exporting coun- As a result of lingering political disputes between the tries to reduce military spending,” SIPRI researcher Nan government and opposition groups, the National Tian said — AFP (See Page 10) KUWAIT: Freed opposition leader Musallam Al-Barrak addresses supporters at a rally yesterday. — Photo by Assembly has been dissolved seven times since 2006, Yasser Al-Zayyat the last of which was in October. — AFP Qatar Airways slams ‘bullying’ Obama says ready to train new leaders in first speech Airline sees ‘manageable’ decline in flights to US CHICAGO: Former US president Barack power over to Donald Trump - said he Obama returned to the public spotlight was “incredibly optimistic” about the DUBAI: The chief of Qatar Airways yester- Speaking to reporters at the annual yesterday, saying he hopes to spend the future, and that problems facing day accused American carriers complain- Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, Qatar next phase of his life helping to “prepare America could be solved. ing over alleged subsidies to Gulf airlines Airways chief Akbar Al-Baker said he the next generation of leadership”. After “On the back end now of my presi- of “bullying”, as he announced new US didn’t expect any action from US blacklists 271 three months off, Obama broke his dency, now that it’s completed, I’m routes in defiance of mounting airport Washington. “President Trump is a wise Syrian chemists silence in his adopted hometown of spending a lot of time thinking about restrictions. US carriers Delta, United and individual and a very good businessman, Chicago, speaking to high school and what is the most important thing I can American Airlines have accused Qatar and I don’t think he will buy into bullying over sarin attack college students about the need for do for my next job?” Obama said in his Airways along with Dubai’s Emirates and by the three American carriers,” Baker said. greater civic engagement. The 55-year- opening remarks at the University of Abu Dhabi’s Etihad of benefiting from Qatar Airways was among the airlines WASHINGTON: The US government put 271 Syrian old Democrat, who ended his two terms Chicago, where he once was a lecturer government subsidies to expand their affected by the ban imposed last month chemists and other officials on its financial blacklist at the White House in January - handing Continued on Page 13 transcontinental networks. They have on electronic devices larger than a smart- yesterday, punishing them for their role in the deadly urged US President Donald Trump to phone on flights to the United States from chemical weapons attack on a rebel-held town in ear- take action against the Gulf airlines, who 10 airports in the Middle East and Turkey. ly April. In one of its largest-ever sanctions announce- deny any form of subsidy. Continued on Page 13 ments, the US Treasury Department took aim at the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), which it said was responsible for developing the alleged sarin gas weapon used in the April 4 attack. The attack left 87 dead, including many children, in the town of Khan Sheikhoun, provoking outrage in the West, which accused Syrian President Bashar Al- Assad of being responsible. The sanctions include a freeze on all assets in the United States belonging to 271 individuals on the blacklist, and block any American person or business from dealing with them. According to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a Washington-based think-tank, the SSRC is Syria’s leading scientific research center, with close links to the country’s military. The center itself was already the subject of two sanctions declarations, in 2005 and 2007, due to its alleged role in developing weapons of mass destruc- tion. The Treasury said in a statement yesterday that the SSRC is specifically behind the Syrian govern- ment’s efforts to develop chemical weapons and the means to deliver them. The 271 either have specific scientific expertise for the program or have been involved in it since 2012, it said. DUBAI: Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al-Baker speaks at a press conference during the Continued on Page13 Arabian Travel Market exhibition yesterday. — AP ‘Flying machine’ maker plans deliveries WASHINGTON: A Silicon Valley “flying car” startup, Kitty Hawk, reportedly backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, released a video yesterday of its airborne proto- type and announced plans for deliveries of a “personal flying machine” this year. “Our mission is to make the dream of personal flight a reality. We believe when everyone has access to personal flight, a new, limitless world of opportunity will open up to them,” said a state- ment on the website of the Kitty Hawk company, based in Google’s home town of Mountain View, California. “Today we’re announcing our first prototype of The Flyer, a personal flying machine that will become avail- able for sale by the end of 2017.” The video showed the single-seat aircraft - with two pontoons and a spider web-like platform - taking off from a lake at an undisclosed location and hovering above the water, where it is meant to be used. The craft, propelled by eight rotors, takes off and lands vertically, like a helicopter. It is said to weigh about 100 kg, fly at speeds up to 40 kph and can hover at 4.5 m high. The company describes the Flyer as “a new, all-electric air- craft”, which is “safe, tested and legal to operate in the Cimeron Morrissey, an outdoor sports enthusiast and freelance writer, flies on the Continued on Page 13 Kitty Hawk Flyer prototype. — AFP TUESDAY, APRIL 25, 2017 LOCAL Palestinian leader leaves Kuwait KUWAIT: Palestinian President lowing a two-day official visit to the with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Mahmoud Abbas has left Kuwait fol- country, where he held official talks Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The Palestinian leader was seen off at the airport by His Highness the Amir, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al- Hamad Al-Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al- Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al- Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khaled Al- Jarrah Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Anas Al-Saleh, and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Minister of Information Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al- Mubarak Al-Sabah, in addition to sen- KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and ior commanders of the army, police, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas walk hand-in-hand prior to the National Guard and Kuwait Fire Service His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah bids farewell Palestinian leader’s departure yesterday.