SHAABAN 23, 1440 AH SUNDAY, APRIL 28, 2019 Max 29º 28 Pages Min 17º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 17818 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Water filling stations Opposition chief demands Sudan Spurs stunned by Hammers, 36ready for the summer join ICC as talks held on civil rule 28 Cardiff in relegation danger PACI launches online service to correct Latin name errors Expats can verify their data before the issuance of civil IDs KUWAIT: Director General of the Public Authority for Civil Information Musaed extended to all remaining categories of support for Qatar’s reforms. “The United Al-Assousi said expats will be able to workers.” States and the international community Qatar to abolish check and correct their names in Latin In Sept 2018, Qatar approved legisla- have noticed and we want to help Qatar online starting today (Sunday), before tion to scrap the “kafala” or sponsorship keep making progress because it’s a con- the issuance of the civil ID. He said the exit visa system system which required foreign workers to stant effort,” he said. launch of this service was at the instruc- obtain permission from their employers to Some two million foreign workers work tions of Deputy Premier, Interior leave the country. In October, it went into in Qatar, many employed directly or indi- by year end: UN Minister and Chairman of the Board of force for all but five percent of a compa- rectly on vast World Cup infrastructure PACI Sheikh Khaled Al-Jarrah Al-Sabah. ny’s workforce - reportedly those in the projects. In February, the gas-rich Gulf He added this move is to ease matters for most senior positions. Homayounpour said state said it was committed to labor DOHA: Qatar is set to abolish its contro- patrons and expand the use of comput- “this year is a big year” for migrant work- reforms, following an Amnesty versial exit visa system for all foreign erization, which will reduce personal vis- ers and the exit visa system “will officially International report that the 2022 World workers by the end of the year, the UN’s its to PACI and interior ministry. be eliminated” by the end of 2019. Cup host was failing to stop widespread Musaed Al-Assousi International Labor Organization said Assousi said the service enables an Homayounpour spoke to AFP on the abuse of workers. Doha said it was on Friday. Qatar has introduced a series of expat to visit PACI’s site and make sure sidelines of a 5 km fun run organized for course to deliver “lasting” change after labor reforms since its selection to host their data is correct, or apply for correc- and IT departments of the interior migrant workers by the ILO, Qatar’s the human rights group said it was “run- the 2022 World Cup, which set in motion tion in case of any mistake in the Latin ministry to discuss technical matters Ministry of Administrative Development, ning out of time” to implement the a huge construction program employing name. He added PACI employees are related to the cancellation of the resi- Labor and Social Affairs and the embassy reforms before the World Cup. Qatar has foreign workers. “Last year, the exit visa authorized to correct or update the Latin dency sticker for expats. He said elec- of the Netherlands. Organizers said more also introduced a monthly minimum wage was eliminated for the majority of work- names of expats in case of a mistake in tronic passport readers will be than 1,000 workers took part. Speaking of 750 riyals ($206) and agreed to work ers,” ILO’s Houtan Homayounpour, head order to speed up services and ease installed at residency centers, which to AFP after completing the run, US closely with the ILO, which now has an of the labor agency’s project office in problems faced by residents. will eradicate errors in Latin names. Charge d’Affairs William Grant voiced office in the capital. — AFP Doha, told AFP. “This year, that will be Assousi said he met last week with Assousi affirmed PACI is keen on the directors of the residency affairs accuracy in recording data. —KUNA Security forces tried to storm the house pledging allegiance to Islamic State leader 15 dead as tips late Friday and a one-hour long gun battle Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi before carrying out ensued before the explosions, a military offi- the Easter attacks. cial said. A civilian was also killed in the Video on state television showed explo- lead Sri Lanka crossfire during the raid near the predomi- sives, a generator, a drone and a large quanti- nantly Muslim town. Hundreds of families lat- ty of batteries inside the converted studio. An forces to hideout er fled their homes. Police and troops have IS flag and uniforms similar to those worn by stepped up searches after the Islamic State the eight fighters in the video were also COLOMBO: Fifteen people including six group claimed responsibility for the attacks found, police said. That in turn provided a tip children died in a battle between Sri Lankan on three churches and three luxury hotels, off about the hideout in Kalmunai, 370 km security forces and suicide bombers who which killed least 253 people and injured 500. east of the capital. Authorities named blew themselves up in the latest fallout from Kalmunai is in the same region as the home Hashim’s group, National Thowheeth Jama’ath the Easter attacks, police said yesterday. town of the jihadist Zahran Hashim who (NTJ), as the perpetrators of the attacks. Three men set off explosives that killed founded the group accused of staging the They announced Friday that he had been themselves, three women and six children attacks. Police and officials said a series of tip killed in the bombing of the Shangri-La hotel inside what was believed to be a militant offs after the arrest of Hashim’s driver, in Colombo. hideout near the eastern town of Kalmunai. Mohamed Sharif Adam, in Hashim’s home President Maithripala Sirisena used emer- “Three other men, also believed to be sui- town of Kathankudy led them to the safe gency powers to ban the NTJ and a splinter cide bombers, were found dead outside the house. Officials said the driver provided infor- group identified as Jamathei Millathu house,” police said in a statement. They mation leading to a raid on Friday on a hide- Ibraheem (JMI), his office said in a statement KALMUNAI, Sri Lanka: In this picture taken on Friday, security personnel inspect seized were shot dead by security forces, police out south of Kathankudy where they believe yesterday. items after they raid a militant safe house. — AFP officials added. Hashim and other bombers recorded a video Continued on Page 24 clean and green development and reject- ing protectionism,” Xi told journalists at Xi touts $64bn the end of the forum, without taking questions. China police BRI deals; more His signature foreign policy aims to reinvent the ancient Silk Road to con- smash $30m nect Asia to Europe and Africa through countries join massive investments in maritime, road and rail projects - with hundreds of bil- fake Lego ring BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping lions of dollars in financing from Chinese said yesterday $64 billion in deals were banks. But critics say the six-year-old BEIJING: Chinese police have dismantled a ring signed at a summit on his Belt and Road project is a plan to boost Beijing’s global accused of manufacturing some $30 million worth Initiative and more nations would join influence, riddled with opaque deals of counterfeit Lego sold across the country, the global infrastructure program as he favoring Chinese companies and sad- authorities said. Police earlier this week raided the sought to ease concerns over the colos- dling nations with debt and environmen- premises of Lepin - a Chinese toymaker manufac- sal project. Xi and 37 world leaders tal damage. The US, India and some turing Lego knockoffs in the southern city of wrapped up a three-day forum in Beijing European nations have looked at the Shenzhen - arresting four people, Shanghai police with pledges to ensure that projects on project with suspicion. Washington did said on Friday. “In October 2018, the Shanghai the new Silk Road are green and finan- not send any representatives to the police found that Lepin building blocks available cially sustainable following concerns meeting. BEIJING: China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin smile during on the market were extremely similar to that of about debt and environmental damage. Continued on Page 24 the welcoming ceremony on the final day of the Belt and Road Forum yesterday. — AFP Lego,” the statement said. “We are committed to supporting open, The toys were copied from Lego blueprints and sent to a factory in Shenzhen to be manufactured before they were sold all over China. “Across more Bhatnagar said most of the delays were on its than 10 assembly lines, over 90 moulds had been Software ‘glitch’ domestic circuit and they were “doing every- produced... (police seized) some 630,000 complet- thing possible to clear the backlog”. There ed pieces worth more than 200 million yuan ($30 were no flight cancellations and the airline million),” the statement said. leaves Air India expects operations to be back to normal by Continued on Page 24 early evening, the spokesman said. India’s aviation industry is in choppy fliers stranded waters after one of the country’s largest pri- vate carriers, Jet Airways, last week halted its NEW DELHI: Thousands of Air India pas- operations indefinitely following refusal by sengers were stranded at airports across the lenders to pay it cash to run day-to-day world yesterday, after a software “glitch” left operations.