Central Bank May Act If Budget Deficit Isn't
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SUBSCRIPTION MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016 JAMADA ALTHANI 5, 1437 AH www.kuwaittimes.net World Bank Egypt justice 15-year-old pilot Ibra nets four announces minister fired from England as stylish PSG support for after ‘prophet’ wins Dubai’s seal French title Kuwait2 reforms remark13 World27 Drone Prix in20 record time Central bank may act if Min 17º Max 25º budget deficit isn’t cut High Tide 03:38 & 15:14 Low Tide Monetary policy may have to be changed 09:37 & 22:18 40 PAGES NO: 16813 150 FILS KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Central Bank governor has warned that authorities may have to change monetary policy if the government does not act urgently to cut a budget Car bombing kills 27 in Ankara deficit caused by low oil prices. Mohammad Al-Hashel said the legislative and executive branches of the gov- ANKARA: A car bomb ripped through a busy square ernment needed in the next two months to prove to in central Ankara yesterday, killing at least 27 people the rest of the world that public finances were sustain- and wounding 75, officials said, the latest in a spate able, Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh told state news of attacks to hit Turkey. Ambulances rushed to the agency KUNA yesterday. scene on Kizilay square, a key commercial and trans- If this does not happen, “it will reflect negatively on port hub close to the city’s embassy area, where the the credit rating of the state of Kuwait because of the blast reduced several vehicles including a bus to negative consequences on financial institutions, and burnt-out wrecks. The attack comes just weeks after then it may affect monetary policy,” Hashel was quoted the city was hit by a suicide car bombing on Feb 17 as saying. The Central Bank governor did not elaborate targeting the military that killed 29 people, claimed on how monetary policy might change, but the Kuwaiti dinar, which is pegged to a weighted basket of the cur- by a dissident faction of the outlawed Kurdistan rencies of major trading partners, has been under pres- Workers’ Party (PKK). sure in the foreign exchange market since late last year. The provincial governor’s office said there were The finance ministry projected in January that 27 dead and 75 wounded in yesterday’s attack. “The because of low oil prices, the government would run a blast was caused by a vehicle packed with explo- deficit of KD 12.2 billion ($40.7 billion) in the fiscal year sives close to Kizilay square,” an official statement starting on April 1, nearly 50 percent higher than the said. Medical sources told AFP the wounded had deficit estimated for the current year, after government been taken to 10 different hospitals around the city, contributions to the sovereign wealth fund. with a dozen said to be in a very serious condition. Earlier this month, Moody’s Investors Service put the Turkey has been hit by a spate of deadly attacks credit ratings of four Gulf oil exporters including Kuwait since the middle of last year, most of them blamed on review for a possible downgrade, citing the impact on the Islamic State (IS) group, including a double of cheap oil. HH the Amir has called for budget cuts and suicide bombing in Ankara in October that left 103 better management of spending, but with the most people dead. independent parliament in the region, it has been slow- Continued on Page 13 ANKARA: People carry an injured person on a stretcher at the scene of a blast yesterday. — AFP er than several neighboring states to introduce austeri- ty policies. — Reuters Palestinian teacher wins $1m DUBAI: A Palestinian primary school teacher who grew up in a refugee camp won a $1 million prize for teach- ing excellence yesterday, beating out 8,000 other appli- cants from around the world. Hanan Al-Hroub, who teaches in the West Bank city of Al-Bireh just outside Ramallah, was awarded the second annual Global Teacher Prize during a ceremony in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum was on-hand to present the prize to Hroub, however her name was announced by Pope Francis in a video message after he talked about the importance of education and teachers, especially for children who grow up amid war. “I feel amazing and I still can’t believe that the Pope said my name,” Hroub told AP. “For an Arab, Palestinian teacher to talk to the world today and to reach the high- est peak in teaching could be an example for teachers around the world.” She said she will use the million-dol- lar prize money to create scholarships for students who want to go into teaching. Her win comes at a time of spiking tensions between Israelis and Palestinians. Five months of unpredictable stabbing, shooting and vehicular attacks by ordinary Palestinian civilians have killed 28 Israelis and two Americans. Israeli forces have killed at least 179 Palestinians, the majority said by Israel to have been attackers. Israeli officials blame Palestinian leaders and social media for inciting the violence, while Palestinian DUBAI: Palestinian primary school teacher Hanan leaders say it is the product of frustration and despair Al-Hroub reacts after she won the second annual after nearly 50 years of occupation. Global Teacher Prize yesterday. — AP Continued on Page 13 Trafficked women trapped in Syria MURALI BHANJYANG, Nepal: day, Magar says she spent 13 who travelled to the Middle East on Nepali villager Sunita Magar months working as a maid for a the promise of a good job, only to thought she was heading to a safe Syrian household and pleading to be trafficked into Syria, wracked by factory job in Kuwait, but only when be allowed to go home. “I was just in five years of civil war. Nepal’s top she landed in Damascus did she shock, I couldn’t stop crying,” the diplomat in the region said nation- realize “something had gone very single mother-of-two told AFP. als from the Philippines, Indonesia wrong”. Frequently beaten with a Magar is among scores of poor and other countries, which, like baton and given only one meal a Nepali and Bangladeshi women Nepal and Bangladesh, have large migrant labor populations, stopped working in Syria because of the dan- gers involved. “Since then traffickers have been targeting Nepalis,” said Kaushal Kishor Ray, head of Nepal’s diplomatic mission based in Cairo. “The numbers have gone up hugely in recent years, we estimate there must be around 500 Nepali women in Syria,” Ray told AFP. In nearby Bangladesh, Shahinoor Begum lies in a Dhaka hospital bed recovering from her seven-month ordeal after being trafficked into Syria as a sex slave. “I was sold to a Syrian man who tortured and raped me every day, sometimes along with his friends,” Begum, also a single mother-of-two, said. “I begged for mercy, but they didn’t have any. DHADHING, Nepal: This photo taken on Jan 25, 2016 shows Nepalese Instead they used to beat me so bad- migrant worker Sunita Magar, who was trafficked to Syria, being greet- ly that I broke my arms,” she told AFP. ed by her son Bipin and daughter Elina at their home. — AFP Continued on Page 13 MONDAY, MARCH 14, 2016 LOCAL KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with the Arab Scout Parliamentary Union’s del- meets with the UN special envoy to Yemen Ismail Weld El-Sheikh. egation. —Amiri Diwan and KUNA photos Amir receives UN envoy, Somali foreign minister Kuwait supports Somalia in fight against terrorism KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh the United Nations (UN) special envoy Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled meanwhile being held in Kuwait from March 11 to Also yesterday, His Highness the Prime King of Saudi Arabia Dr Saad Al- Shathri, Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to Yemen Ismail Weld El-Sheikh reiterated Kuwait’s support to the March 14. Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad in the presence of Minister of Awqaf and received at Seif Palace yesterday First Ahmad. His Highness the Amir also Somali Government’s efforts in com- His Highness the Crown Prince lauded Al-Sabah received Turaiji and the Arab Islamic Affairs Yaqoub Al Sane. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of received Minister of Foreign Affairs in bating and eliminating terrorism. their efforts in spreading peace and Scout Parliamentary Union’s delegation. Furthermore, he received Somali Minister Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Somalia Dr Abdulsalam Hadliye Omar, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled made this Islamic values as well as utilizing youth’s He also received the Special Advisor of Dr Abdulsalam Omar, as well as Sheikh Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, accompanied by and his accompanying delegation. remark during a meeting with his energies and skills in promoting positive the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Mishal Al-Ahmad. —KUNA Somali counterpart at the Foreign concepts within their communities. The Ministry’s Headquarters. The Somali meeting was attended by head of His minister expressed his appreciation to Highness the Crown Prince Diwan Sheikh the Kuwaiti Government and people Mubarak Al-Faisal Al-Saud Al-Sabah. for their continuous support to his Earlier, His Highness the Amir received country that has undergone various His Highness the Crown Prince, National hardships. He also thanked the Gulf Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al- country for hosting a donors’ confer- Ghanem, His Highness the Prime Minister ence for supporting education in and Deputy Chief of National Guards Somalia.