RABI ALTHANI 4,1440 AH TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2018 23º 28 Pages Max 150 Fils Established 1961 Min 14º ISSUE NO: 17704 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Turkish ambassador praises Ex-Nissan chief Ghosn charged, Nobel laureates urge world to River edge out Boca after extra 3 Kuwait humanitarian efforts 13 served with fresh arrest warrant 24 help rape victims in conflict 28 time to win Copa Libertadores Nod to compulsory health insurance, fees for expats Panel OKs KD 50 fuel allowance for Kuwaitis • Assembly to debate early retirement bill By B Izzak The Assembly is also expected to debate today the controversial early retirement law amid strong rejection Amir undergoes KUWAIT: The National Assembly’s legal and legisla- by several lawmakers. The bill was approved by the tive committee yesterday approved a draft law stipulat- Assembly’s financial and economic affairs committee ing a mandatory health insurance scheme for expatriates after consultations with the government and accepting ‘successful’ medical living and working in the country. The committee also some of the government’s terms. MPs opposed to the approved a proposal to impose charges on medical new format say that the bill has been totally manipulated examinations services for expatriates opting to seek treatment at to be in line with government demands. The law, which KUWAIT: HH the public hospitals. At present, expatriates are required to allows Kuwaiti male and female civil servants to retire Amir Sheikh pay KD 50 annually on renewal of their residence per- early, was passed by the Assembly in the last term but Sabah Al-Ahmad mits and also pay partial fees for most health services at was rejected by the government. MPs want Kuwaiti Al-Jaber Al-Sabah public hospitals. The opinion of the government, which employees to retire five years ahead of the legal retire- was admitted to is crucial for the passage of the bill, was not explained. ment age but still enjoy full benefits. hospital yesterday The new bill comes even as the government and the Meanwhile, prominent opposition lawmaker Shuaib for “regular med- Assembly had approved a law to establish hospitals for Al-Muwaizri yesterday ignored for the second time an ical examinations” the treatment of expatriates only. The Assembly is invitation by the legal committee to discuss the consti- and they were expected to debate today a draft law calling to impose tutionality of a grilling he had submitted against the “successful”, obligatory health insurance on foreigners who visit the prime minister. The government claimed that the grilling Minister of Amiri country. The bill stipulates that before issuing a visit visa violated the constitution and argued that it must be mittee then invited Muwaizri again for yesterday’s meet- Diwan Sheikh Ali to a foreigner, the sponsor must attach a health insur- reviewed by the legal committee to see if it complies ing, but he again ignored the invitation. The lawmaker Jarrah Al-Sabah ance policy to the application. The committee also with the constitution to be debated. Opposition MPs did not make any comment on the issue, but it is clear HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al- approved a draft law granting Kuwaiti employees and strongly rejected the move, which was approved by said. Sheikh Ali Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah that he is annoyed by the Assembly’s decision to refer prayed to Allah pensioners a KD 50 monthly allowance for fuel. The pro-government lawmakers and all present Cabinet the grilling to the legal committee. Rapporteur of the the Almighty to bestow blessing and grace upon HH move comes a couple of years after the government ministers. panel MP Khalil Abul said the committee will not invite the Amir, who already left the hospital. — KUNA raised the prices of fuel for both expatriates and The legal committee last week invited Muwaizri to Muwaizri again but its report to the Assembly will not Kuwaitis. hear his opinion on the issue but he abstained. The com- be ready for debate today, but for the Dec 25 session. News in brief is introducing age restrictions requiring social media decorum instead of depicting exceptional and talented Kuwait warns social users to be at least 13 years of age, the justice ministry children in a positive light, the statement explained. The Israel can overfly Sudan, Oman cited Dharar Al-Asousi as saying in a statement yester- justice ministry added that all necessary measures will be day. It strictly prohibited the commercial exploitation of taken to ensure that these guidelines are strictly enforced. media not for kids; children on social media websites, with the exception of Meanwhile, researchers have found “different pat- JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “positive advertisements” for products that usually bear terns” in brain scans among children who record heavy said yesterday that Israeli airliners would be able to screen time impacts the likeness of kids. smart device and video game use, according to initial overfly Sudan en route to South America. Last Examples of positive adverts usually deal with philan- data from a major ongoing US study. The first wave of month, Netanyahu and Chadian President Idriss thropic deeds, healthcare and education, all of which information from the $300 million National Institute of Deby renewed relations severed by N’Djamena in children’s brains leave a lasting impression on the lives of children, the Health (NIH) study is showing that those nine and 10- 1972. Netanyahu told a briefing of diplomats his statement clarified. Any material deemed as an invasion of year-old kids spending more than seven hours a day talks with Deby had helped open up a new air corri- KUWAIT/ WASHINGTON: Kuwait’s attorney general privacy or an intrusion into the personal lives of children using such devices show signs of premature thinning of dor to South America. “At this time, we can overfly has called for strict guidelines to ensure that children are is not allowed, in addition to the exploitation of children the cortex, the brain’s outermost layer that processes Egypt. We can overfly Chad, that has already been adequately protected from the potential dangers associ- for financial gain, it added. Such topics usually create sensory information. set. And to all appearances, we can also overfly this ated with social media. Chief among the new guidelines fodder for conversation that steers away from proper Continued on Page 24 corner of Sudan,” he said, pointing to a map. Israeli diplomats say there have been low-level contacts with Sudan in recent years, although the authorities there have been reluctant to acknowledge them UN meet adopts publicly. In October, Netanyahu made a surprise visit to Oman, a Gulf state that does not formally migration pact recognize Israel. Netanyahu said yesterday that Omani leader Sultan Qaboos had agreed to over- flights by Israeli airline El Al. — Reuters despite pullouts MARRAKESH: A United Nations conference adopted a Israeli child sex network busted migration pact in front of leaders and representatives from around 150 countries in Morocco yesterday, despite a BOGOTA: Colombian police have arrested six string of withdrawals driven by anti-immigrant populism. Israelis on charges of running a sex tourism opera- The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular tion that exploited underage girls. After a two-year Migration - finalized at the UN in July after 18 months of investigation, Prosecutor General Nestor Humberto talks - was formally approved with the bang of a gavel in Martinez said agents have broken up “an Israeli Marrakesh at the start of a two-day conference. But the mafia that exploited and used girls, adolescents and United States and 15 other countries either opted out or women as sex slaves in Colombia”. Two Colombians expressed concerns, with some claiming the pact infringes national sovereignty. were also arrested. Among those arrested was Israeli Billed as the first international document on managing alleged gang leader Mor Zohar, and a Colombian migration, it lays out 23 objectives to open up legal migra- police officer said to have helped protect the gang. tion and discourage illegal border crossings, as the num- The network was allegedly led by Israeli citizen ber of people on the move globally has surged to more Benyamin Mush, who has traveled in and out of than 250 million. Describing it as a “roadmap to prevent Colombia and Central American countries. According suffering and chaos”, UN Secretary General Antonio to testimony obtained from victims, the minors Guterres sought to dispel what he called a number of MARRAKESH: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (center) speaks as Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs received between $65 and $126 and were forced to myths around the pact, including claims that it will allow belong to a WhatsApp group code-named after the Nasser Bourita (right) and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for International Migration the UN to impose migration policies on member states. Louise Arbour listen during the UN conference on migration yesterday. — AFP Jewish holiday Purim. — AFP Continued on Page 24 Taj Mahal ticket hiked fivefold speech in October that undermining the bank’s inde- NEW DELHI: Authorities have hiked fivefold ticket Indian central pendence could be “potentially catastrophic”. prices for Indian visitors to the Taj Mahal, in the lat- Patel’s short statement yesterday made no mention est attempt to lower tourist numbers and reduce of the rift, highlighting only what he called the RBI’s damage at the country’s top tourist site. Indians bank gov quits; “considerable accomplishments in recent years”. “On make up the majority of the Taj Mahal’s 10,000- account of personal reasons, I have decided to step 15,000 average daily visitors.