SUBSCRIPTION TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016 JAMADA ALTHANI 20, 1437 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Bloom Expo Pakistan death Bangladesh court Warriors promotes toll mounts as rejects scrapping overpower environmental Taleban targets Islam as state Philadelphia awareness5 Christians7 religion10 76ers20 117-105 Speaker, oil workers hold Min 17º Max 27º talks as salary row rages High Tide 03:31 & 14:44 Low Tide Cabinet approves, refers draft electricity bill to Amir 09:08 & 22:35 40 PAGES NO: 16828 150 FILS KUWAIT: Representatives of the oil work- achieves justice and equality among ers unions yesterday met with National employees and does not hurt any section. Assembly Speaker Marzouk Al-Ghanem, Last Tuesday, more than 3,000 workers who vowed that the unified scale will not and the heads of several unions from be implemented before being thorough- Kuwait’s different oil companies gath- ly studied by the National Assembly. MP ered at the OPIWC headquarters in Faisal Al-Kundari said a number of MPs Ahmadi to protest government plans to also attended the meeting adding that cut benefits and possibly wages, known Ghanem told the unions that the pay as the ‘Strategic Alternative’. “We are scale will not be applied before meeting against the Strategic Alternative which is with the unions and hearing their death to the oil sector. Also we are also demands. against privatizing the oil sector which Head of the oil workers trade union will put us under the power of private Saif Al-Qahtani said Ghanem called the sector and the businessmen,” Qahtani Finance Minister and Acting Oil Minister said at last Tuesday’s protest. Several law- Anas Al-Saleh and asked him not to take makers including MPs Kandari and any decisions regarding oil sector salaries Abdullah Al-Tamimi were present at the before the issue is discussed and an ami- unions’ rally. cable solution is reached. Qahtani said Kuwait’s government-run oil sector that the Speaker also called on all sides employs nearly 20,000 workers. The to cooperate to face the current econom- Strategic Alternative as outlined by the ic situation and that another meeting government would implement a new will take place soon. salary scale that would ‘unify’ the salaries In the meantime, rapporteur of the and benefits for all state employees Assembly Human Resources Committee, including those in the strategic oil sector, which will study the new pay scale, MP though diplomats, doctors, military per- Awdah Al-Awdah stressed that if the new sonnel and engineers would be excluded scale is not applied to all sectors equally, it under the current proposal. KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouk Al-Ghanem meets representatives of the oil workers unions yesterday. — KUNA will fail. He said the proposed scale Continued on Page 13 News Kuwait to deport 60 Lebanese in brief Manpower to allow Those classified ‘dangerous cases’ have just 2 days to leave some visa transfers By A Saleh KUWAIT: Kuwait is to deport 60 Lebanese for alleged links to Hezbollah in the latest Gulf Arab move against KUWAIT: The Manpower Public Authority is considering the militant group, a newspaper reported yesterday. a plan to allow the transfer of visas of expatriates on Those to be deported “all had permanent residency government contracts without the sponsor’s approval. which has been revoked”, Al-Qabas daily said. Those The transfers would only be allowed in specific cases. classified as “dangerous cases” were given just two days The authority explained the conditions needed for a to leave the country, it added. It is the second wave of laborer to transfer his or her visa from one government deportations from Kuwait reported since Gulf Arab contract to another without the sponsor’s approval. states blacklisted Hezbollah as a “terrorist” group earlier They include; having the laborer file a labor dispute this month. Last week, Kuwait reportedly deported 11 complaint that the contract tenure is concluded; mak- Lebanese and three Iraqis for alleged links to the group. ing sure the employer does not need the laborer and Around 50,000 Lebanese live and work in the oil-rich paying a transfer fee of KD 300. state, providing remittances that are vital to the domes- tic economy. The terror blacklisting was the latest step taken by Lankan cop critical; Gulf states, led by Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia, man bites genitals against Hezbollah, the leading force in Lebanon’s gov- COLOMBO: A Sri Lankan police officer was in a erning bloc which is backed by Riyadh’s Shiite rival critical condition yesterday after a man he was try- Tehran. Last month, Saudi Arabia halted a $3 billion pro- ing to arrest over a drunken brawl bit his genitals. gram of military aid to Lebanon to protest what it said The unidentified sub-inspector was trying to was “the stranglehold of Hezbollah on the state”. It also break up the fight at a coastal resort 70 kilometers urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid travelling south of Colombo on Sunday night when the man there. Qatar and Kuwait followed with similar travel bit him ferociously through his khaki trousers. advisories, while the United Arab Emirates banned its “The officer is in intensive care. He underwent nationals from travel to Lebanon. emergency surgery to re-attach a part that was Hezbollah is fighting in support of the government bitten off,” a senior officer in the area said. “The of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad against Gulf-backed suspect had been intoxicated at the time, but he is rebel fighters and extremist militants. now in custody and will be charged for causing KUWAIT: Photo shows a general view of the Fahad Al-Salem Street in Kuwait City. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat Continued on Page 13 grievous hurt to a police officer.” Saudi, Yemen rebels Israel advises citizens to Dubai amusement park leave Turkey citing risks JERUSALEM: Israel yesterday advised its citizens to to add $454m Six Flags exchange prisoners leave Turkey citing the potential for jihadist attacks after three Israelis were among four people killed in a March DUBAI: A massive Dubai amusement park the city at well over $3 billion. RIYADH: Rebels who control the Yemeni handed over, the coalition said in a state- 19 suicide bombing in Istanbul. “It has been decided to project still under construction plans a $454- And by adding the Six Flags, it appears the capital Sanaa have released nine Saudis ment. It did not specify whether the pris- upgrade the existing travel warning vis-a-vis Turkey million addition to include a Six Flags, the company hopes to exorcise the lingering in exchange for 109 Yemenis, the Riyadh- oners were combatants or civilians. from a basic concrete threat to a high concrete threat, company said yesterday, yet another major memory of another massive amusement park led coalition fighting them said yester- The swap follows another exchange and to reiterate our recommendation to the public to bet on tourism by the attraction backed by planned here to include it before the emirate’s day, in the latest sign of tensions easing of one Saudi soldier for seven Yemenis avoid visiting the country and-for Israelis currently in the city-state’s ruler. The new spending by 2008 property crash. Dubai Parks & Resorts said before peace talks. “Nine Saudi prisoners earlier this month amid tribal mediation Turkey-to leave as soon as possible,” a government Dubai Parks & Resorts, which already includes its board of directors agreed to issue shares have been recovered and 109 Yemenis that has helped reduce violence along statement said. The statement said the bombing high- Bollywood and movie themed parks, as well worth 1.67 billion dirhams ($454 million) to who were arrested in the military opera- the Saudi-Yemeni border. lighted the threat from Islamic State group militants as a Legoland, will put the cost of the entire raise money for the Six Flags Dubai park. tions zone” near the border have been Continued on Page 13 “against tourist targets throughout Turkey and proves project in the sprawling desert southwest of Continued on Page 13 high capabilities of carrying out further attacks”. “Terrorist infrastructures in Turkey continue to advance additional attacks against tourist targets-including Israeli tourists-throughout the country,” it said. Belgian police hunt suspect; toll hits 35 BRUSSELS: As the number of victims in the Brussels suicide attacks rose to 35, Belgian police released a video of a mysterious man in a dark hat seen in the company of the bombers who attacked Brussels Airport, indicating that he is still at large. “Police are seeking to identify this man,” the Belgian Federal Police’s website said yesterday. The video’s release came as a Belgian magistrate also ruled that a man identified as Faycal C, who was arrested during the police raids that followed the March 22 attacks, could be released. DUBAI: An architectural model of the Dubai Parks and Resorts complex is dis- played at their site office in Dubai. — AP LOCAL TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016 KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah chairs a meeting for Kuwait His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with Justice Minister Yaqoub Al-Sana, as Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences yesterday. —Amiri Diwan photos well as the newly-appointed chairman and members of the Public Anti-Corruption Authority (PACA). Amir chairs Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences meeting KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah chaired a meeting for Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) at Seif Palace yes- terday. Meanwhile, His Highness the Amir received President of the Kuwaiti Studies and Research Center Professor Abdullah Yusuf Al-Ghunaim, on the occasion of his winning the King Faisal International Prize (KFIP).