JAMADA ALAWWAL 22, 1439 AH THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2018 Max 27º 32 Pages Min 10º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 17452 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Crown Prince represents Amir N Korean leader’s sister to visit Los Angeles Times sold to Cavs buried by Orlando as 3 at Saudi Al-Janadriyah festival 8 S Korea for Winter Olympics 11 local biotech billionaire 16 Harden bags 15,000th point ‘Murdered maid’ found in freezer of closed flat Alleged ‘killer couple’ left Kuwait more than a year ago By Ben Garcia and A Saleh KUWAIT: The body of an unidentified woman was found in the freezer of an apartment by police yesterday. The body of the woman, thought to be a Filipina domes- Zain reports KD 160 million in net tic helper, was discovered after police entered the flat in Salmiya after a court order was issued. The apartment had been closed since its renters left Kuwait in income for 2017; Q4 profit up 16% November 2016. KUWAIT: Zain Group, a leading mobile For the fourth quarter of 2017, Zain Police allegedly found fatal stab wounds on the telecom innovator in eight markets across Group recorded consolidated revenues woman’s neck and torture marks across her body, and the Middle East and Africa, announces its of KD 262 million ($868 million), a similar identified her employers as the prime suspects in the consolidated financial results for the full- level to the same period in 2016. EBITDA case, a security source said. Two suspects - a Lebanese year 2017, and fourth-quarter ended Dec for the quarter reached KD 98 million man and his Syrian wife - who were renting the flat are 31, 2017. Zain now serves 46.6 million cus- ($326 million), reflecting an EBITDA wanted for questioning in the case. No immediate cause tomers, reflecting a 1 percent decrease margin of 38 percent. Net income for the of death has been announced and the woman’s identity year-on-year (Y-o-Y). For the full-year period reached KD 37 million ($124 mil- remains uncertain. 2017, Zain Group generated consolidated lion), reflecting a 16 percent increase, Philippine Ambassador to Kuwait Rene Villa was revenues of KD 1.03 billion ($3.4 billion), and representing earnings per share of 9 Chairman of the Board of Directors of Zain Vice-Chairman and Group CEO unaware of the case until contacted by Kuwait Times. down 5 percent Y-o-Y, while consolidated fils ($0.03). Zain Group Mohannad Al-Kharafi Bader Al-Kharafi “We are coordinating with the police, and while there is EBITDA for the period decreased by 19 Commenting on the results, the such a report, we are not sure about the nationality (of percent Y-o-Y to reach KD 414 million Chairman of the Board of Directors of forex challenges we face across our gy upgrades and cost optimization ini- the deceased),” the ambassador later told Kuwait Times. ($1.37 billion), reflecting an EBITDA mar- Zain Group Mohannad Al-Kharafi said: footprint.” Zain Vice-Chairman and tiatives is proving successful as we Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte recently imple- gin of 40 percent. Consolidated net “The company’s performance during Group CEO Bader Al-Kharafi said: “The recorded growth in several key financial mented a ban on Filipinos working in Kuwait, citing cas- income reached KD 160 million ($527 mil- 2017 and especially the last quarter of ongoing implementation of our digital metrics across many of our key markets es of abuse and mistreatment including a high profile lion), up 2 percent and reflecting earnings the year is very pleasing given the vari- lifestyle strategy combined with sub- for the full-year and fourth-quarter of case of a Filipina domestic helper committing suicide. per share of 39 fils ($0.13). ous operational, regulatory, social and stantial investment in network technolo- 2017.” (See Page 17) There are about 265,000 Filipinos in Kuwait, of which 165,000 are working as domestic helpers. not final. The two lawmakers were convicted among 67 Opposition MPs opposition MPs and activists for storming the National Assembly building in 2011 following a street demon- stration against corruption. stage sit-in for Meanwhile, the Assembly yesterday was adjourned prematurely for a lack of quorum, and as a result, could jailed lawmakers not vote on a draft law setting the number of stateless people or bedoons who could be naturalized this year, By B Izzak and another legislation to allow bedoons to join the Kuwaiti army. After a brief debate, acting speaker Essa KUWAIT: About 15 opposition MPs yesterday staged Al-Kandari adjourned the session as he did not have a sit-in at the National Assembly in support of calls to the required number to vote on the bills, although 14 release two jailed opposition lawmakers and activists MPs submitted a motion for not ending the session on charges of storming the National Assembly. During before a vote. the Assembly session, the lawmakers placed the pic- Some opposition MPs charged that the lack of quorum tures of MPs Waleed Al-Tabtabaei and Jamaan Al- was deliberate and orchestrated by the government to Harbash on their seats to press for calls to release them prevent the vote. About 110,000 bedoons live in Kuwait, after almost two and a half months in jail. some of whom are deprived of basic human rights of After the session was adjourned prematurely, the employment and even marriage. A number of MPs even lawmakers moved their protest to the members’ hall in doubted that the new legislation is sufficient to guarantee the main building and sat there for some time. The pro- that bedoons will be employed in the army. Others testers included MPs Al-Humaidi Al-Subaei, Riyadh Al- demanded that the law should guarantee that bedoons Adasani, Mohammad Hayef and others. The lawmakers secure jobs everywhere and not only in the army. have been demanding that Harbash and Tabtabaei In other business, the Assembly voted unanimously should be released because they are sitting MPs and to ask the government to refer a report on suspected KUWAIT: Opposition MPs - one of them holding a portrait of jailed MP Jamaan Al-Harbash - stage a sit-in at the enjoy parliamentary immunity, and that their sentence is Continued on Page 11 National Assembly yesterday. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh Rescuers scour tilting World’s biggest buildings after quake rocket soars HUALIEN, Taiwan: Rescue workers quake hit the popular tourist city late toward Mars after pulled survivors and bodies from Tuesday. The national fire agency said buildings tilting precariously in the seven people had been killed across Taiwanese city of Hualien yesterday the city, and 260 were injured. Some perfect launch after an overnight earthquake killed at 67 people remained unaccounted for CAPE CANAVERAL: The world’s most pow- least seven people, injured more than late yesterday evening. erful rocket, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, blasted 250 and left dozens missing. There were grave concerns for the off Tuesday on its highly anticipated maiden Emergency responders were focusing badly leaning Yun Tsui residential test flight, carrying CEO Elon Musk’s cherry on a 12-storey apartment block and a building, which also housed a restau- red Tesla Roadster toward an orbit near Mars. nearby hotel, both of which were lean- rant, shops and a hostel. Dozens of Screams and cheers erupted at mission control ing dangerously with their lower floors residents - and several pets - were in Cape Canaveral, Florida as the massive pancaked after the 6.4-magnitude Continued on Page 11 rocket fired its 27 engines and rumbled into the blue sky over the same NASA launchpad that served as a base for the US missions to This still image taken from video shows “Starman” sitting in SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s the Moon four decades ago. cherry red Tesla roadster after the Falcon Heavy rocket delivered it into orbit around the “The mission went as well as one could Earth on Tuesday. — AFP have hoped,” an ecstatic Musk told reporters after the launch, calling it “probably the most exciting thing I have seen literally ever”. “I Galaxy”. The Roadster was also outfitted with After surviving a five-hour journey had this image of a giant explosion on the pad a data storage unit containing Isaac Asimov’s through the Van Allen Belt - a region of high with a wheel bouncing down the road with science fiction book series, the Foundation radiation - the car now embarks on a journey the Tesla logo landing somewhere,” he said. Trilogy, and a plaque bearing the names of through space that could last a billion years “Fortunately that is not what happened.” 6,000 SpaceX employees. and take it as far as 400 million km from Loaded with Musk’s red Tesla and a man- Musk posted a live video showing the Earth, the same as a trip around the equator nequin in a spacesuit, the monster rocket’s “Starman” mannequin appearing to cruise, its 10,000 times. “Maybe it will be discovered by historic test voyage captured the world’s gloved hand on the wheel, through the dark- some future alien race,” Musk told reporters. imagination. ness of space, with the Earth’s image reflect- “What were these guys doing? Did they wor- SpaceX’s webcast showed the Tesla ed on the car’s glossy red surface. He tweeted ship this car?” he mused. Roadster soaring into space, as David Bowie’s late Tuesday night that the rocket’s upper About two minutes into the flight, the two “Space Oddity” played in the background - stage had made a successful final burn, send- side boosters peeled away from the center HUALIEN, Taiwan: Rescue workers block off yesterday the area outside a build- with the words “DON’T PANIC” visible on ing the car and its mannequin passenger out core and made their way back toward Earth ing which tilted to one side after a strong quake rocked eastern Taiwan.