Egypt Finds Belongings, Debris from Crash At
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SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2016 SHAABAN 14, 1437 AH No: 16880 GCC health body Trump and Clinton Cleveland moves condones unified speeches to focus step closer strategy on divisions on to NBA finals 3 guns 7 48 Egypt finds belongings, debris from crash at sea Min 28º 150 Fils Max 41º No clue on cause, but terrorism not ruled out CAIRO: The Egyptian navy said yesterday it had found the personal belongings of passengers and other debris floating in the Mediterranean, confirmation that an EgyptAir jet had plunged into the sea with 66 people on board. The military said it had found the debris about 290 km (180 miles) north of the port city of Alexandria and was searching for the plane’s black box flight recorders. Egypt’s President Adbel Fattah Al-Sisi offered condolences for those on board, amounting to Cairo’s official acknowl- edgement of their deaths. The defence minister of Greece, which has also been scouring the Mediterranean, said Egyptian authorities had found a body part, luggage and a seat in the sea just south of where the signal from the plane was lost early on Thursday. Although suspicion pointed to Islamist militants who blew up another airliner over Egypt seven months ago, no group had claimed responsibility more than 24 hours after the disap- pearance of flight MS804, an Airbus A320 flying from Paris to Cairo. Three French investigators and a technical expert from Airbus arrived in Cairo early yesterday to help investigate the fate of the missing plane, airport sources said. Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said on Thursday that it was too early to rule out any explanation for the disaster. The country’s aviation minister said a terrorist attack was more likely than a technical failure. Yesterday’s announce- ment that debris had been found followed earlier confusion about whether wreckage had been located. Greek searchers found some material on Thursday, but the airline later said this was not from its plane. A European satellite spotted a 2 km-long oil slick in the Mediterranean, about 40 km southeast of the aircraft’s last position, the European Space Agency said. While there was no official explanation of the cause of the CAIRO: Egyptian film director Osman Abu Laban (center) who lost four relatives, all victims of Thursday’s EgyptAir plane crash, suspicion fell on the militants who have been fighting crash, attends prayers for the dead, at Al-Thawrah Mosque, in Cairo, yesterday. — AP against Egypt’s government since Sisi toppled an elected Islamist leader in 2013. In October, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for blowing up a Russian jetliner that exploded after taking off from an Egyptian tourist resort. US adds IS branches in Libya, Russian investigators blamed a bomb smuggled on board. Last year’s crash devastated Egypt’s tourist industry, one of the main sources of foreign exchange for a country of 80 mil- Yemen, Saudi to terror list lion people, and another similar attack would crush hopes of it recovering.— Reuters WASHINGTON: The United States has added the Islamic State had carried out numerous deadly attacks. The militant group’s group’s branches in Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia to its glob- Yemen branch claimed responsibility for suicide bombings in Russia repays Soviet-era al terrorism blacklist and placed six men on its sanctions list. March 2015 against two mosques in Sanaa, killing more than The three IS branches were declared “specially designated 120 people. debt of $1.7bn to Kuwait global terrorists,” a category that imposes sanctions and penal- The IS affiliate in Saudi Arabia attacked Shia mosques both MOSCOW: Russia has repaid Soviet-era debt to Kuwait of ties on foreign persons who pose a serious risk of committing there and in Kuwait, killing more than 50. And the group’s $1.72 billion, the Russian finance ministry said yesterday. acts of terrorism that threaten US nationals or national security, Libyan affiliate is blamed for kidnapping and executing 21 The principal debt stood at $1.1 billion, while interests the State Department said. The IS group in Libya also was Egyptian Coptic Christians, as well as killing scores of others. amounted to $620 million, it said. The Soviet Union raised named as a “foreign terrorist organization.” The designations Separately, the Treasury Department announced sanctions the debt in its dying days in 1991 to pay for “critical” freeze any US assets the groups may have and make it illegal for against six men it accused of providing financial support to imports, the ministry said. Russia has yet to redeem any American national to knowingly provide those groups or terrorist groups. It said the move was aimed at disrupting the Soviet-era debt to South Korea, Macedonia and Bosnia. conspire to provide them with material support or resources. fundraising and support networks of Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra Front, After the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia The State Department said the three groups emerged as IS Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic has taken up the responsibility to pay off its debts. branches in November 2014 when IS leader Abu Bakr al- State group. The sanctions target “financiers and facilitators According to central bank data, as of April 1, Russia’s for- Baghdadi announced he had accepted oaths of allegiance responsible for moving money, weapons and people on eign debt stood at $516.1 billion, the lowest for five years. from fighters in Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It said that behalf of these terrorist organizations,” said Adam Szubin, the Banks and other corporates account for more than 92 per- while IS’s presence in each country “is limited to specific geo- Treasury’s acting under secretary for terrorism and financial cent of the total external debts. — Reuters graphic locations,” the group’s affiliates in all three countries intelligence. — AFP LOCAL SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2016 News In brief Kuwait and Maldives sign trade agreement KUWAIT: Kuwait and the Maldives have hammered out an agreement aiming at developing and promoting bilateral cooperative relations and boosting two-way trade exchange. The agreement was signed by the Kuwaiti minister of trade and industry and the economic development ministers of the Maldives during the former’s visit to Male between May 18-19, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a press release yes- terday. By signing cooperative agreements, the ministry is seeking to develop national products and to boost and pro- mote Kuwaiti exports to foreign and industrial markets, as well as to provide necessary commodities at reasonable prices, it added. Tourism makes up 28 percent of the Maldives’ gross domestic product (GDP) and over 60 percent of its for- eign currency earners. KUWAIT: Traditional wooden boats dock in the local port. —KUNA Arabs demand that UN remove a panel from Israeli exhibition Kuwaiti Ambassador to Uzbekistan Ahmad Al-Jeeran is pictured with Speaker of the Legislative chamber of UNITED NATIONS: Arab and Islamic as the capital of a future state. The letter Jerusalem” and called on Ban and the Oliy Majlis.— KUNA nations are demanding that the United said any references “which purport to Lykketoft to take “the necessary meas- Nations remove a panel from an Israeli assert Israeli sovereignty on this land ures for the removal of the panel.” UN exhibition that calls Jerusalem “the spir- are legally, politically and morally incor- spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the Kuwait envoy meets itual and physical capital of the Jewish rect and unacceptable.” Palestinian Israeli mission followed the rules for Uzbekistan’s speaker people.” A letter from the Palestinian Charge d’Affaires Feda Abdelhady- mounting an exhibition. While the UN KUWAIT: Kuwaiti Ambassador to Uzbekistan Ahmad Al- UN mission to Secretary-General Ban Ki- Nasser said the “misleading and inap- tries to balance the wishes of the coun- Jeeran met with Speaker of the Legislative chamber of the moon and General Assembly President propriate depictions of Jerusalem try wishing to exhibit without offend- Oliy Majlis to discuss bilateral relations of the two coun- Mogens Lykketoft circulated Thursday negate the Palestinian existence in the ing another country, he said, it “is not tries. During the meeting, the two sides also discussed evening expressed “vehement rejec- city as well as its historical Arab, Muslim an exact science and ... is not always issues of mutual concern and ways to boost bilateral rela- tion” at the description, echoing and Christian identity and heritage over easy.” The exhibition, in a corridor near tions in various fields, namely in the economy, a state- protests by Arab nations at the UN and the centuries.” a popular cafe in the UN basement, ment by the Kuwaiti Embassy in Uzbekistan said. The the 57-member Organization of Islamic She said the UN Security Council and includes panels on Israel’s Arabs, its Uzbekistani lawmaker praised Kuwaiti parliament’s role in Cooperation. General Assembly “have clearly rejected technology innovations and other international conferences and arenas. He also expressed The Palestinians want east Jerusalem Israel’s illegal annexation of east aspects of Israeli life.— AP appreciation to the Kuwaiti government and its contribu- tion through Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) in financing various projects in his country. A visit to Mexico City part of tour to muster support KUWAIT: A visit by the Kuwaiti sports delegation to Mexico City last week, ahead of the FIFA Congress 2016, was part of a tour that previously covered the GCC countries, to muster support to lift the suspension of the Kuwaiti sports, MP Abdullah Al-Mayouf said on Thursday. The delegation found out that most football associations taking part in the Mexico City FIFA Congress had no idea about the reasons behind the suspension of the sport in Kuwait, Al-Mayouf, who is head of the parliamentary youth and sports committee, told a press conference at the National Assembly.