SUBSCRIPTION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016 JAMADA ALTHANI 21, 1437 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Lawmakers Syrian soldiers Only 26.4% of Jazz hand Kobe want Dashti pound Islamic 12 year olds worst loss ever; citizenship State; capture in Kuwait are 123-75 in last revoked3 strategic8 hilltops ‘cavity29 free’ visit20 to Utah Kuwait, Saudi to resume Min 17º Max 27º production at Khafji field High Tide 04:20 & 15:14 Maintenance contracts signed for the disputed oilfield Low Tide 09:42 & 22:35 40 PAGES NO: 16829 150 FILS KUWAIT: Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have reached a deal to resume production at the disputed Khafji offshore ‘Childhood oilfield, Kuwait’s acting oil minister said yesterday. “An agreement has been reached with the Saudi side at on the Brink’ Aramco to resume production at Khafji field in small quantities,” Anas Al-Saleh told parliament during a Yemeni kids face malnutrition debate. Saleh, who is also the Finance Minister, said the quantities will increase “gradually” after resolving envi- GENEVA: Hundreds of thousands of children in ronmental issues over which the field was shut down. A Yemen face life-threatening malnutrition, millions number of maintenance contracts have been signed in lack access to health care or clean water, and some preparation for the resumption of production, the min- have been drafted as soldiers in the year-old war, ister said without saying when production will resume the United Nations Children’s Fund said yesterday. or how much oil will be pumped. A UNICEF report said all sides had “exponentially Production at Khafji, which pumped over 300,000 increased” the use of child soldiers in the conflict barrels per day and was jointly operated by the two between Houthi forces, allied to Iran, and a Saudi- countries, was halted in October 2014. Riyadh cited led coalition supporting Yemen’s President Abd- environmental issues for the shutdown. Khafji is part of Rabbu Mansour Hadi. It knew of 848 documented the neutral zone which is operated jointly by the two cases, including boys as young as 10. Arab nations and production is divided equally. The oth- “On average, at least six children have been er field is Wafra where production was also halted in killed or injured every day,” said the report May last year. Wafra pumped around 200,000 bpd. “Childhood on the Brink”. UNICEF has confirmed Kuwait had initially said that Saudi Arabia unilaterally 934 children directly killed and 1,356 injured, but stopped production due to pollution concerns even says they are “only a tip of the iceberg”. “Sixty-one KUWAIT: Kuwait Interior Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Khaled Al-Sabah (center) attends a parliamentary though it was entitled to five years’ notice under the percent of those (children) killed and injured were joint agreement. Continued on Page 13 session in Kuwait City. The Acting Minister of Oil yesterday announced that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have reached a deal to resume production at the disputed Khafji offshore oilfield. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat Continued on Page 13 EgyptAir hijack drama ends Passengers freed unharmed; suspect arrested LARNACA: An EgyptAir plane flying from Alexandria to Cairo was hijacked and forced to land in Cyprus yesterday but the passengers and crew were freed unharmed and the hijacker, whose motives remained a mystery, was arrested after giving himself up. Eighty- one people, including 21 foreigners and 15 crew, had been onboard the Airbus 320 flight when it took off, Egypt’s Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement. Conflicting theories emerged about the hijacker’s motives, with Cypriot officials saying Six students hurt in early on the incident did not appear related to terrorism but the Cypriot state broadcaster school bus accident saying he had demanded the release of women prisoners in Egypt. After the aircraft KUWAIT: Six students were injured yes- ents have been informed, the state- landed at Larnaca airport, negotiations began terday when the bus they were travel- ment added. Five of the six injured were and everyone onboard was freed except three ing overturned, an Education Ministry discharged after receiving necessary passengers and four crew, Egypt’s Civil statement said. The students, all atten- medical treatment, the statement said. Aviation Minister Sherif Fethy said. Soon after dees of a special needs school, were on The sixth student is expected to be dis- his comments, Cypriot television footage their way to campus when their bus charged later today after receiving showed several people leaving the plane via overturned. All injured students were extra treatment, the statement con- the stairs and another man climbing out of LARNACA: A man believed to be the hijacker of the EgyptAir Airbus A-320, which rushed to Amiri hospital and their par- cluded. — KUNA the cockpit window and running off. was diverted to Cyprus, leaves the plane before surrendering to security forces Continued on Page 13 after a six-hour standoff on the tarmac at Larnaca airport yesterday. — AFP Fire engulfs UAE tower AJMAN: Firefighters extinguished a blaze yesterday that burned up the side of several towers in the United Arab Emirates city of Ajman, the latest in a series of sky- scraper infernos in the Gulf nation, which is home to the world’s tallest building. Civil defense workers sprayed water to cool down any remaining embers at the Ajman One development. The city is home to many commuters who work in the Gulf commercial hub of Dubai, further to the south. The complex, developed for an estimated $720 mil- lion by Aqaar, includes 12 residential towers. Two sus- AJMAN, United Arab Emirates: Fire engulfs a tower at a residential cluster in tained severe damage to their exteriors, while others Ajman, in the United Arab Emirates yesterday. — AFP appeared to have light damage. The cause for the blaze, which began Monday night, wasn’t immediately clear. Civil defense officials declined to comment, while tele- phone numbers for Aqaar rang unanswered yesterday. The state-run WAM news agency said Ajman’s ruler, Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, visited the com- plex yesterday and praised firefighters’ efforts. He also ordered authorities to accommodate those affected until they find housing. The fire started around 9 pm Monday at Tower No 8 in the complex, then spread to neighboring Tower No 6 when winds carried burning debris toward it, resident Syad Faisal Shah said. “No one knew that this was a real fire. No one understood,” said Shah, a Pakistani expatri- ate. “When we got downstairs ... we saw that the build- ing was on fire from every angle.” Mina Fayez, another resident, was stunned. “You are losing your things in front of your eyes,” Fayez, an Egyptian, said. “There is no feeling. I am just shocked.” Continued on Page 13 LOCAL WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2016 Amir meets PhD holders KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan Palace yesterday Dr Hussein Mahdi Bahbahani, who dedicat- ed to His Highness a copy of a doctorate thesis on breeds of cattle. His Highness the Amir then welcomed Dr Ghadir Rashed Al-Fandi, who gave him a copy of a doctorate thesis on capabilities of construction companies of manag- ing risks in GCC member states. His Highness the Amir also received Dr Walid Mohammad Al-Hamad, who presented to him two books on Quran and Tajweed, the knowledge and application of the rules of reciting Quran. Furthermore, His Highness the Amir received Mohammad Saud bin Thuwairan, who presented him with a book on poetry, and Anwar Bader Al-Mutairi. Earlier, His Highness the Amir received His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al- Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. Meanwhile, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad, and Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. His Highness the Crown Prince also received Dr Abdullah Yousef Al-Ghunaim on the occasion of winning the King Faisal international prize for Islamic studies 2016. His Highness praised Ghunaim’s constructive and fruitful efforts in this domain aimed at serving the country and highlight Kuwait in the international, wishing him success. His Highness the Crown Prince also received Kuwait’s His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets Ambassador to Turkey Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Thuwaikh. — KUNA with Anwar Bader Al-Mutairi. — Amiri Diwan photos with Dr Walid Mohammad Al-Hamad. His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with Dr Ghadir Rashed Al-Fandi. KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets with Dr Hussein Mahdi Bahbahani. Kuwait, Egypt share historic ties: Envoy KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah continuously growing between the two sides, Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is the highest noting that trade has grown prominently in ranking Arab leader to visit Egypt after the June 2015. Kuwaiti-Egyptian petroleum trade was 30 revolution, said Egyptian Ambassador to recorded at $3.2 billion per year, he said, Kuwait Yasser Atif. In a seminar on the Kuwaiti- adding that Kuwaiti investments reached $15 Egyptian relations held at Kuwait National billion. As for the cultural and scientific ties, Atif Library late Monday, Atif said that Egypt was said that thousands of Kuwaiti students study one of the first countries to open an embassy in in Egypt and vice versa, pointing to the the Kuwait on December 23, 1961, upon the latter’s Egyptian cultural week which was held since independence. March 20, which will be concluded by the end Referring to the strong ties between the of this seminar.