SUBSCRIPTION TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 SHAABAN 17, 1437 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Assembly panel India and Iran GE announces Van Gaal on refers labor agree port $1.4 billion his way out amendments deal, reviving investments in as Mourinho for voting3 trade13 ties Saudi21 Arabia waits19 in wings World Humanitarian Summit Min 27º Max 45º vital to end suffering: Amir High Tide 02:08 & 12:35 Low Tide Leaders meet to fix ‘broken’ aid system 07:16 & 20:10 40 PAGES NO: 16883 150 FILS ISTANBUL: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah stressed on the importance of holding the first World Humanitarian Summit in the Turkish capi- tal amid growing threats to human lives posed by wars, conflicts and terrorism. “Conflicts and natural disasters have left many people homeless and doubled the num- bers of refugees around the world,” Sheikh Sabah said in his opening speech yesterday. According to recent international statistics, there are currently 60 million refugees and displaced people, while there are also over 2.2 billion living below the poverty line, he added. This summit is an opportunity for the international community to unite in easing the suffering of these people, through ending conflicts and providing financial aid for better life conditions, HH the Amir noted. In this context, he touched on Kuwait’s prominent humanitarian role, saying that his country has con- tributed over $2 billion for the cause in the past five years. He added that “according to international statis- tics, Kuwait’s contributions were two times above the GDP rate agreed upon internationally”. Sheikh Sabah said that Kuwait also played a huge role in supporting Syrians living in severe conditions due to the ongoing war in their country. Kuwait has held three donor con- ferences for Syria and also co-headed the fourth one in London. The country has pledged around $1.6 billion KUWAIT: Kuwait Times Deputy Editor-in-Chief Dr for Syrian refugees. Ziad Al-Alyan met the Chinese Ambassador to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the bur- Kuwait Wang Di recently. The two sides discussed den of handling the world’s crises should be better various topics including the many collaborations shared, as leaders and aid groups sought to defy scep- ISTANBUL: HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (right), Turkish President Recep Tayyip between China and Kuwait in both the public and tics at the unprecedented aid summit. Erdogan (center) and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (second right) pose with leaders and representa- private sectors. Continued on Page 13 tives of participant countries yesterday during the World Humanitarian Summit. — AFP IS blasts in Syria kill nearly 150 DAMASCUS: More than 148 people were start of the war. IS claimed the blasts via its killed yesterday in bombings claimed by Amaq news agency, saying its fighters had the Islamic State group in northwestern attacked “Alawite gatherings” in Jableh Minister: Indian Syria, the deadliest attacks yet in the and Tartous, referring to the minority sect regime’s coastal heartland. Seven near- from which Assad hails. IS is not known to women in Gulf simultaneous explosions targeted bus sta- have a presence in Syria’s coastal tions, hospitals and other civilian sites in provinces, where its jihadist rival and Al- jails need help the seaside cities of Jableh and Tartous, Qaeda’s local branch Al-Nusra Front is which until now had been relatively insu- much more prominent. But IS is notorious CHENNAI: Women domestic workers from India’s south- ern Andhra Pradesh are languishing in jails in Gulf states lated from Syria’s five-year civil war. for using deadly sleeper cells to attack its after attempting to flee abusive employers or overstay- The unprecedented attacks on strong- enemies. “I’m shocked, this is the first time ing their visas, said an Indian state minister, urging the holds of President Bashar Al-Assad’s I hear sounds like this,” said Mohsen national government to help them. In a letter to India’s regime came as IS faces mounting pres- Zayyoud, a 22-year-old university student foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, Andhra Pradesh’s min- sure in both Syria and Iraq, where in Jableh. “I thought the war was over and ister for non-resident Indian welfare, Palle Raghunatha Baghdad’s forces yesterday launched a that I could walk safely. But I was surprised Reddy, called for action to bring back the women. major offensive to retake the jihadist-held to see that we’re still in the heart of the “Necessary steps should be initiated to bring them to city of Fallujah. A hundred people were battle,” he said. their native areas safely by providing free travel and nec- killed in Jableh and another 48 in Tartous In Tartus a 42-year-old bank employee essary visa documents at the earliest possible (opportu- to the south, at least eight of them chil- was just as stunned. “It’s the first time we nity),” he wrote. “Instructions should be issued to Indian dren, according to the Syrian Observatory hear explosions in Tartus, and the first time embassy officials in Gulf countries to interfere in the for Human Rights monitoring group. we see dead people or body parts here,” ADEN: People gather at the scene after a pair of suicide bombings in this south- matter and provide necessary help in terms of food, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman Shady Osman said. Jableh lies in Latakia ern Yemeni city yesterday. — AP clothing and shelter.” said they were “without a doubt the dead- province, while Tartous is the capital of the There are an estimated six million Indian migrants in liest attacks” on the two cities since the Continued on Page 13 the six Gulf states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen foes hold direct United Arab Emirates and Oman. These include women who leave their villages to take up jobs overseas paying up to three times more than in India, putting their fate in talks after long pause the hands of recruitment agents, who often dupe them. There is no official data on the exact count of the migrants stranded in Gulf countries but experts put the 41 killed in Aden bombings numbers in tens of thousands, many of them in jail. KUWAIT: Yemen’s warring parties held Ahmed said on Twitter. The troubled nego- Some of the migrants overstay on tourist visas and are unable to pay the fines required to return home. In their first face-to-face meeting in nearly a tiations which began on April 21 broke off some cases, they do not have exit visas. Many others week yesterday after the government del- on Tuesday when the government delega- have been jailed on petty offences waiting for their case egation ended a boycott, the UN envoy tion suspended its participation accusing to be heard, according to the Andhra Pradesh state gov- said. “A joint meeting between the two Iran-backed rebels who control the capital ernment. delegations to the Yemen peace talks has of failing to keep their word. Continued on Page 13 started in the morning,” Ismail Ould Cheikh Continued on Page 13 Pope, Azhar imam embrace in historic meeting VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis embraced the grand imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar Mosque at the Vatican yesterday in a his- toric encounter both sides hope will lead to greater under- standing and dialogue between the two faiths. The first Vatican meeting between the leader of the world’s Catholics and the highest authority in Sunni Islam marks the culmination of a significant improvement in relations between the two faiths since Francis took office in 2013. “Our meeting is the message,” Francis said in a brief comment at the start of his meeting with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, shortly after he had hugged and kissed his guest, Vatican officials told a small pool of reporters covering the event. In a statement on the trip, Al-Azhar, an institution that also comprises a prestigious seat of learning, said the two sides had agreed to convene a “peace conference”. A statement quoted Tayeb as telling Francis: “We need to take a joint stance, hand in hand, to bring happiness to humanity. Divine religions were revealed to make people happy, not to cause them hardship.” The imam’s deputy, Abbas Shuman, told Egyptian TV channel CBC that the two leaders had agreed to resume dialogue and that the pro- posed conference would cover the issues of poverty, extremism and terrorism. VATICAN CITY: Sheikh Ahmed Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, talks with Continued on Page 13 Pope Francis during a private audience in the Apostolic Palace yesterday. — AP TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2016 LOCAL Info Minister: Revamped TV studio now on par with int’l standards KUWAIT: The Ministry of Information Salman also added that the develop- has revamped one of its key television ment of media in the country is head- studios to bring it on par with interna- ing in the right direction, saying it is tional standards, Minister of the result of maximal efforts exerted Information and Minister of State for by employees at the Ministry of Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Information. Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah said yes- Meanwhile, legendary Kuwaiti thes- terday. In a statement to journalists pian Hayat Al-Fahad said that the stu- during the opening of Studio 800, dio has produced some of the most Sheikh Salman touted the studio as unforgettable works of drama in the the biggest in the country, having pro- history of the Arab world, adding that duced a litany of Kuwaiti theatrical she is elated it has been restored to works over the years, saying the studio optimal condition.