SUBSCRIPTION THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2017 RABI AL-THANI 28, 1438 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Filipino envoy Bolt loses gold calls for maid as IOC strips moratorium after Jamaica of Filipina 3hanged 200820 relay win Royal, tent arsonist, maids Min 06º among 7 inmates executed Max 22º High Tide 12:14 & 22:27 Prisoners hanged for committing ‘heinous crimes’ Low Tide 05:46 & 16:55 40 PAGES NO: 17122 150 FILS KUWAIT: Kuwaiti authorities hanged seven prisoners in a mass execution yesterday, including a ruling family mem- Tehran, Kuwait urge better Iran-Gulf ties ber and a woman convicted of killing 58 women and chil- dren when she set fire to a wedding tent - the first death TEHRAN: Iran’s president and Kuwait’s foreign minis- sentences carried out in several years in the state. “The ter both appealed yesterday for better relations central prison carried out death sentences against seven between the Islamic Republic and Gulf Arab coun- individuals who committed a number of heinous crimes,” tries, Iranian media reported. According to President the public prosecution said in a statement. Hassan Rouhani’s website, he told visiting Kuwaiti top Those executed included a Bangladeshi, a Filipina, an diplomat Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah that Iran’s Ethiopian, two Kuwaitis and two Egyptians, according to foreign policy is aimed at improving “friendly and the statement carried on the state-run KUNA news agency. brotherly” relations with neighboring Muslim coun- KUNA said that all had been convicted of murder except tries. Rouhani also said cooperation was needed to the Bangladeshi man, who was convicted of rape, kidnap- fight terrorism with “unity, integrity and (by) helping” ping and theft. HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- each other. Sabah authorized the executions, which were carried out Iranian state TV reported earlier in the day that in the morning at the prison. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said Gulf Arab nations hope The royal was identified as Sheikh Faisal Abdullah Al- ties “with Iran will normalize” and that Iran and the Jaber Al-Sabah, who killed his nephew Basil Al-Sabah, also Arab countries should be “regional partners”. The TV a member of the ruling family, in 2010 over a dispute. He is said the foreign minister in a meeting with his Iranian the first ruling family member to be executed in Kuwait. counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, handed over a Executions of royals in Gulf countries are rare but do hap- message from Kuwaiti Amir HH Sheikh Sabah Al- pen. In October, Saudi Arabia executed a prince who fatal- Ahmad Al-Sabah to Rouhani about the “necessity of ly shot another man in a melee. improving relations”. The second Kuwaiti national executed yesterday was “It’s necessary that the differing views and misun- Nusra Al-Enezi. She was convicted of setting fire to a wed- derstandings between the countries of the region ding tent in 2009 after her husband took a second wife. The should come to an end in a calm atmosphere and blaze killed 58 women and children, her lawyer Zaid Al- through frank dialogue,” Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said, Khabbaz said. The Bedouin-style tent, put up so women according to the Islamic Republic News Agency attending could be uncovered for the event, had only one (IRNA). Zarif commended Kuwait for its role in trying entrance. Dozens of others were injured in a stampede dur- to improve relations. “The role of the Amir of Kuwait ing the fire, which later led Kuwait to ban the tents. The in supporting positive neighborly relations between lawyer said he last spoke to his client a month ago. “She countries in the region is worthy of praise,” Zarif said, TEHRAN: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (right) meets Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al- sounded very fragile, very shaken, more than any other time,” according to IRNA. Sabah yesterday, where Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled delivered a letter from HH the Amir on the troubled ties Khabbaz told AP. “It’s impossible to say that she intended to Continued on Page 13 between the Islamic republic and its Arab neighbors in the Gulf. — AFP kill all those women and children. ... It was a tragedy.” Continued on Page 13 Corruption on the rise in Kuwait State sinks 20 spots in global corruption index By A Saleh a possible 100. Kuwait had ranked 55th out of 168 countries in the 2015 index Traffickers using KUWAIT: Kuwait dropped 20 spots in the with 49 points. Kuwait was tied in the 75th latest Corruption Perception Index place with Tunisia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Gulf tourist visas released by Transparency International Furthermore, Kuwait tied with Tunisia for to beat India rules yesterday, which also saw regression seventh among Arab countries, falling across the board among Arab countries. behind the United Arab Emirates (24th MUMBAI: Traffickers are bypassing government The Corruption Perception Index 2016 worldwide), Qatar (31), Jordan (57), Saudi efforts to protect thousands of Indian housemaids KUWAIT: Panelists attend the Petroleum Economist GCC Energy Strategy Forum ranks Kuwait 75th out of 176 countries Arabia (62) Oman (64) and Bahrain (70). from slave-like conditions in the Gulf by transporting worldwide, with a score of 41 points out of Continued on Page 13 yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat women on tourist visas, according to Indian emigra- tion officials. The officials told Thomson Reuters that Marzouq: Oil market is women who fly out as tourists were mostly rendered untraceable once overseas. “They fly on a tourist visa so they can skip the emigration check and then we starting to rebalance don’t know where they go,” said M C Luther, Protector General of Emigrants in India. “I have no data of how By Faten Omar agreed in December to reduce output by many women have gone and what happened to a total of 1.8 million barrels per day “are them. We are now requesting countries to not con- KUWAIT: Oil markets have already begun complying with their commitments to vert tourist visas to employment visas.” to rebalance after strong signs that pro- cut”. Marzouq heads a five-country com- Government figures show there are an estimated ducers are complying with output cuts, mittee tasked with monitoring the six million Indian migrants in the six Gulf states of Kuwaiti Oil Minister Essam Al-Marzouq implementation of the landmark deal. Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab said yesterday. “We are confident that The committee met in Vienna on Sunday Emirates and Oman. One housemaid working in rebalancing in the oil markets has and said that compliance with the six- Riyadh alleged in 2015 that her employer had sev- already started,” Marzouq said. “We month accord, which took effect on Jan ered her hand - a case that hit international headlines expect a positive impact on the market 1, had been very encouraging. The aim is and highlighted the plight of thousands of Indian by the end of the first quarter of 2017,” to reduce a global glut that has housemaids working in Gulf countries. he told the Petroleum Economist GCC depressed oil prices and blown a huge India has since been insisting that employers fol- Strategy Forum organized by Petroleum hole in the public finances of producer low the rules by registering with the Indian Mission Intelligence. nations, despite being good news for and lodging a security deposit of $2,500, but these Marzouq said that signs indicate that consumers. Continued on Page 13 KUWAIT: The sun sets behind the Kuwait City skyline. — KUNA OPEC and non-OPEC producers who Continued on Page 13 Saudi Arabia unveils next-gen F-15 fighter RIYADH: Saudi Arabia unveiled its next-generation fighter- Riyadh feared the Houthis would seize all of Yemen and bomber yesterday, nearly two years after beginning an air move it into the orbit of Iran, Saudi Arabia’s regional rival. war in Yemen. At a ceremony and air show in the Saudi cap- Saudi Arabia is to add 84 F-15SA warplanes to its air ital, a hangar opened to reveal one of the F-15SA Eagle air- force under a nearly $30 billion deal signed in 2011 that craft made by US manufacturer Boeing. A missile was also included Black Hawk and Apache helicopters. attached to the belly of the plane displayed against the According to IHS Jane’s Defense Weekly, the first of the F- backdrop of a giant Saudi flag. 15SAs - the most advanced version of the Eagle built so far - Watched by King Salman and his son, Defense Minister arrived in December. Saudi Arabia also has Eurofighter and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Typhoons and Tornados, which joined several F-15s - unveiling at the King Faisal Air Academy was part of a cere- including the newest version - in the air show held over the mony to mark the school’s 50th anniversary and the gradu- skies of Riyadh. ation of its latest class. Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir, The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute whose country is part of the Saudi-led coalition fighting reported in April that Saudi Arabia was the world’s third- rebels in Yemen, also attended. largest defense spender. According to the International RIYADH: Saudi Air Force officers stand at attention in front of an advanced F-15SA fighter jet during a ceremony The coalition began air strikes over Yemen in March Institute for Strategic Studies, Saudi Arabia had an air force marking the 50th anniversary of the King Faisal Air Academy at King Salman Airbase yesterday. (Inset) King 2015 after Iran-backed Houthi rebels and allied troops loyal of 20,000 personnel and 313 combat-capable aircraft.