JUMADA ALAWWAL 19, 1441 AH TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020 28 Pages Max 16º Min 06º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 18034 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Iraq warns of ‘collapse’ Pak court revokes Musharraf ‘Hollywood’ reigns at Critics’ Choice Real beat Atletico on penalties 7 if Trump blocks oil cash 9 death sentence, guilty verdict 20 Awards; ‘Joker’ leads Oscar nods 27 to win 11th Spanish Super Cup Iran denies ‘cover-up’ as anger mounting over downed airliner Police ordered to show ‘restraint’ as protests rage TEHRAN: Iran denied a “cover-up” yesterday after tak- Video from inside Iran yesterday showed students ing days to reveal an airliner was accidentally shot down yesterday chanting slogans including “Clerics get lost!” last week, a disaster that sparked demonstrations and outside universities in the city of Isfahan and in Tehran, calls for a fully transparent investigation. The Ukraine where riot police were filmed taking out positions on the International Airlines Boeing 737 was brought down by a streets. Images from the previous two days of protests missile shortly after taking off Wednesday from Tehran, showed wounded people being carried and pools of killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. The Kiev- blood on the ground. Gunshots could be heard, although bound plane was knocked out of the sky hours after the police denied opening fire. Tehran had launched a wave of missiles at US troops in Scores, possibly hundreds, of protesters were Iraq in retaliation for the killing of a top Iranian general. videoed at sites in Tehran and Isfahan, a major city south The Islamic republic initially denied Western claims of the capital. “They killed our elites and replaced them based on US intelligence that the airliner had been with clerics,” they chanted outside a Tehran university, struck by a missile before acknowledging it on Saturday. referring to Iranian students returning to studies in Its handling of the matter saw a memorial at a Tehran Canada who were on the plane. Internet monitor university turn into a demonstration on Saturday evening NetBlocks reported a drop in connectivity yesterday at before it was dispersed by police. Tehran’s Sharif University ahead of any new demonstra- Demonstrations were also held in the capital on tions. “In these sorrowful days, many criticisms were Sunday night, according to unverified videos shared directed at relevant officials and authorities,” said gov- online, but it was difficult to assess how many people ernment spokesman Ali Rabiei. “Some officials were even attended. “I don’t know why they didn’t cancel the accused of lying and a cover-up but, in all honesty, that flights that night,” a Tehrani named Hamid told AFP. was not the case.” Protesters chanted “Death to dictator” and against the The spokesman said all details provided by officials Revolutionary Guards, Fars news agency said, a rare before Saturday’s revelation had been based on the TEHRAN: An Iranian woman holds a placard reading in Farsi “Your mistake was unintentional, your lie was inten- move for a country where media usually refer to information they had. “All of those who expressed opin- tional” during a demonstration outside Amir Kabir University on Jan 11, 2020. — AFP demonstrators as “rioters” and refrain from publishing ions on those days, at the peak of America’s such slogans. Continued on Page 24 Japanese premier decided to go ahead with Asian envoy in Abe warns Iran the visit and on Sunday discussed regional tensions during an hour-long meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Kuwait accused conflict to have Salman in northwestern Al-Ula province, according to foreign ministry spokesman of sexual assault global impact Masato Ohtaka. “Any military confrontation in the region that includes a country like KUWAIT: Sources said an Asian expat has filed a com- RIYADH/PARIS: Japanese Prime Iran will have an impact not only on peace plaint against her country’s ambassador in Kuwait, claim- Minister Shinzo Abe has warned that and stability in the region but the peace and ing he made sexual advances towards her that she refused, military confrontation with Iran will stability of the whole world,” Abe said, but he lured her to his office and attempted to rape her. impact global peace and stability, as he according to Ohtaka. She claims the incident took place in mid-November 2018, visits the Middle East hoping to ease Abe called “on all relevant countries according to a report in Al-Rai daily yesterday. tensions spiked by the US killing of a top to engage in diplomatic efforts to defuse Sources said the case is being handled by a criminal Iranian general. His comments came at tensions”, Ohtaka added. The spokesman court in the capital of their country. The woman (identified the start of a five-day Gulf tour that had said the two leaders agreed on working as K K) said she has been residing in Kuwait since 2005 been thrown into doubt after Tehran closely on maritime security in the and worked as a social specialist at the embassy, following responded to the attack on Qasem region and discussed Tokyo’s decision to and coordinating social events and affairs of her commu- Soleimani by launching a barrage of mis- send a destroyer for intelligence activi- nity, besides working on their problems. siles at bases hosting American troops in ties along with two P-3C patrol aircraft She said she frequently went to the embassy premises Iraq, prompting fears of all-out war. to the Middle East. AL-ULA, Saudi Arabia: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meets Japanese and was in direct contact with the ambassador, either in But as those concerns receded, the Continued on Page 24 Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in this town in northwestern Saudi Arabia on Sunday. — AFP person or over the phone. Continued on Page 24 called the discussions “very constructive” and said she their own finances without compromising the monar- Queen agrees to and her family were “entirely supportive of Harry and chy. Meghan’s desire to create a new life as a young family”. Earlier yesterday, Prince Harry and his brother News in brief “Although we would have preferred them to remain Prince William put on a united front as they lashed out ‘transition period’ full-time working members of the royal family, we at a story alleging that William bullied his younger Haftar delays ceasefire signing respect and understand their wish to live a more inde- brother, as newspapers speculated on what caused the for Harry, Meghan pendent life as a family while remaining a valued part of Duke and Duchess of Sussex to quit their roles in MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei my family,” she added. “Harry and Meghan have made search of a new life. William, 37, and 35-year-old Harry Lavrov said yesterday’s talks on a ceasefire deal SANDRINGHAM, United Kingdom: Queen clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds formed a close bond following their mother Diana’s between the warring sides in Libya had made some Elizabeth II yesterday said Prince Harry and his wife in their new lives. It has therefore been agreed that death in 1997 but Harry admitted last month they had progress, but strongman Khalifa Haftar asked for Meghan would be allowed to split their time between there will be a period of transition in which the drifted apart and were now on different paths. more time to study the document. “There has been Britain and Canada while their future is finalized. The Sussexes will spend time in Canada and the UK. These A story in The Times newspaper said yesterday that certain progress” after talks in Moscow with Russia couple said last week they wanted to step back from are complex matters for my family to resolve, and there Harry and Meghan saw themselves as having been and Turkey lasting some seven hours, Lavrov told the royal frontline, catching the family off guard and is some more work to be done, but I have asked for “pushed away from the royal family” by William’s “‘bul- journalists in a short statement. He said the head of forcing the monarch to convene crisis talks about the final decisions to be reached in the coming days.” lying’ attitude” - adding that sources close to the Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National pair’s future roles. The queen has previously said she wanted to find princes had denied this version of events. A statement Accord (GNA) Fayez Al-Sarraj and head of High The 93-year-old queen, her son and heir Prince “workable solutions” to the crisis, which has dominated on behalf of Harry and William said: “Despite clear Council of State in Tripoli, Khaled Al-Mechri “have Charles, and his two sons princes William and Harry the media since the bombshell announcement last week. denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today just signed” the ceasefire agreement. But Haftar and began a family summit at her private Sandringham Harry and Meghan’s effective resignation has thrown speculating about the relationship between the Duke of Aguila Saleh, a Haftar ally, “have asked for a bit estate in Norfolk, eastern England, yesterday. She up a series of questions, including how they can raise Continued on Page 24 more time until morning to make a decision on its signing,” Lavrov said, though claiming they also “view the document positively”. — AFP Geologists said the volcano remained Philippines on active, spurting red-hot lava some 500 UAE to start nuke reactor in ‘months’ m into the air from new cracks that have opened in its northern flank, as accom- ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates’ first alert as volcano panying earthquakes rattled the area.