SHAWWAL 16, 1440 AH WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 2019 28 Pages Max 45º Min 34º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 17860 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net MP proposes up to KD 700 salary Anger in India as lychee-linked UAE gift helps French palace Platini questioned in 2022 World 4 for housewives, with conditions 9 brain fever kills 113 children 19 reopen ‘forgotten theatre’ 28 Cup probe, denies wrongdoing US piles pressure on Tehran with new troop deployments Saudis call to secure waterways • New US acting defense secretary named WASHINGTON: China and Russia warned yesterday about escalating Middle East ten- Amir to visit Iraq sions after Washington said it would deploy 1,000 more troops to the region and renewed accusations that Iran was behind a tanker amid Gulf tensions attack. The US moves came as Iran set a 10- KUWAIT: HH the Amir of Kuwait day countdown for world powers to fulfill Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- their commitments under a nuclear deal aban- Sabah will visit Iraq today, state news doned by Washington, saying it would other- agency KUNA reported, saying the wise surpass the uranium stockpile limit man- trip comes amid escalating regional dated by the accord. tensions after attacks on tankers near Tensions between Tehran and Washington the Strait of Hormuz. Six tankers have have escalated ever since the US quit the been hit in the past month in two deal, with Washington bolstering its military attacks near the Strait of Hormuz, presence in the region and blacklisting Iran’s through which almost a fifth of the elite Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist world’s oil passes, and Washington organization. On Monday, Washington further and Riyadh have accused Iran of being upped the ante. “I have authorized approxi- A handout photo made available by the US Department of Defense on Monday shows an Iranian patrol behind them, which Tehran denies. mately 1,000 additional troops for defensive boat armed with a Russian-made ZU-23-2, a twin-barreled anti-aircraft cannon, after reportedly Sheikh Sabah’s visit “comes amid purposes to address air, naval, and ground- HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- removing an “unexploded limpet mine” from one of two tankers in the Gulf. — AFP rising and unprecedented tensions Jaber Al-Sabah based threats in the Middle East,” acting and developments witnessed by the Pentagon chief Patrick Shanahan said in a statement. “The recent Iranian attacks vali- ward with his confirmation process so that he The United States has blamed Iran for last region, particularly the acts which ing blame. HH the Amir, who has date the reliable, credible intelligence we can devote more time to his family,” Trump week’s attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of targeted the safety of oil supplies worked to repair relations with Iraq have received on hostile behavior by Iranian tweeted after Shanahan faced questions over Oman, a charge Tehran denies as “baseless”. through destruction and strikes on oil following its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, forces and their proxy groups that threaten his past personal life and an allegation of The Pentagon released new images on and commercial vessels”, KUNA has acted as a regional mediator on United States personnel and interests across domestic violence. Trump said the secretary Monday that it said showed Iran was behind said. Kuwait has described the tanker various occasions. It will be his sec- the region,” Shanahan said. of the Army, Mark Esper, will be named as the the attack on one of the ships. The US argu- attacks as a threat to international ond visit to Iraq since becoming Late yesterday, Trump said Shanahan has new acting defense secretary. Esper had been ment centers on an unexploded limpet mine peace and security, without assign- ruler, KUNA said. — Reuters withdrawn from consideration to head the US considered a leading contender for the job if on the Kokuka Courageous tanker ship that it military. Shanahan “has decided not to go for- Shanahan was ultimately not confirmed. Continued on Page 24 laborers and dealing with legal loopholes some use to private sector and allowing the government sector to Environmental Expat curbs eyed manipulate the law. In this regard, security sources said the recruit expats already in the country instead of bringing committee, comprising of elements from the interior min- others from abroad. istry, the manpower authority and a number of other bod- 5- Increasing residency visa fees as soon as possible to violations targeted to amend Kuwait ies, suggested a number of measures, including the follow- match those imposed in neighboring countries in order to ing: reduce the number of marginal laborers and match the in crackdown demographics 1- Setting a limited quota per community for economic services provided. and security reasons. 6- Intensifying security inspection campaigns to deport By A Saleh 2- Banning residency visa renewals for expats older marginal laborers and visa violators on a monthly basis. than 65 years of age with legal exemptions of some pro- 7- Taxing expat remittances. KUWAIT: The Cabinet’s demographic adjustment com- fessions. 8- Accelerating the construction of “bachelor” cities in mittee is currently studying a number of measures to regu- 3- Banning private sector visa transfers to other spon- order to reduce crimes and prevent the presence of single late and adjust Kuwait’s population structure, including sors before five years and immediately deporting those men in private residential areas. controlling the difference between the total numbers of who refuse to work for their own sponsors. 9- Setting stricter penalties for harboring violating various communities, reducing the number of marginal 4- Banning visa transfers from the government to the laborers and stiffening current laws. body and prayed the last rites early yes- Morsi buried in terday morning at the Leeman Tora By Hanan Al-Saadoun Hospital. That lies near the prison where Egypt’s first civilian president, a promi- KUWAIT: The environment police carried out a wide Cairo; thousands nent Muslim Brotherhood member, had ranging campaign targeting gathering places at beach- been held for six years in solitary con- es and public parks, and 25 environmental citations pray in Istanbul finement and deteriorating health. The were issued. The environmental violations according to prosecutor general’s office said the 67- article 143 (a) of environment protection law 42/2014 CAIRO: Egypt’s first democratically year-old leader had collapsed and “died are as follows: elected president Mohamed Morsi was as he attended a hearing” Monday over 1- For throwing trash and not discarding it in designated buried yesterday, as the UN backed calls alleged collaboration with foreign pow- places, the minimum fine is KD 50 and maximum KD 500. for an independent investigation into the ers and militant groups. 2- For harming beaches and islands, the minimum fine is causes of his death after he collapsed in Abdel Maksoud told AFP that only KD 250 and maximum KD 5,000. a Cairo courtroom. The Islamist leader, around 10 family members and close 3- For harming Kuwait Bay, such as by throwing rubbish who was overthrown in 2013 after a year Morsi confidants were present at the or fishing, the punishment is a minimum of one year in jail of divisive rule and later charged with funeral, including himself. An AFP and a maximum of three, with a minimum fine of KD 1,250 espionage, was buried at a cemetery in reporter saw a handful of mourners and maximum KD 5,000, or either punishment. eastern Cairo’s Medinat Nasr, one of his entering the cemetery complex, accom- 4- For harming the soil (according to article 40) by dig- lawyers said. panied by police officers, but journalists ISTANBUL: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses mourners during a sym- ging or harming its natural components, the fine is KD 250. Abdel Moneim Abdel Maksoud said were prevented from entering the site. bolic funeral ceremony for former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi at Fatih Mosque family members had washed Morsi’s Continued on Page 24 yesterday. — AFP reserve to keep its value stable. Cleaners’ work Facebook takes The initiative has the potential to allow more than a bil- lion “unbanked” people around the world access to online timings changed commerce and financial services at minimal cost, said on crypto world Libra Association head of policy and communications Dante Disparte. “We believe if you give people access to amid searing heat with ‘Libra’ money and opportunity at the lowest cost, the way the internet itself did in the past with information, you can cre- By Meshaal Al-Enezi SAN FRANCISCO: Facebook unveiled plans yester- ate a lot more stability than we have had up until now,” day for a new global cryptocurrency called Libra, Disparte told AFP. KUWAIT: In a bid to boost cleaning companies’ pledging to bring a stable virtual money that lives on Libra Association debuted with 28 members including efficiency and improve cleaning levels in various smartphones and brings the “unbanked” billions into the governorates, as well as protect cleaners’ health Mastercard, Visa, Stripe, Kiva, PayPal, Lyft, Uber and financial system. The Libra coin plan, backed by finan- Women’s World Banking. “Sending money to your friend during the current heat wave, Municipality cial and nonprofit partners, represents an ambitious new Director Ahmad Al-Manfouhi issued an administra- shouldn’t be harder than getting them an Uber ride home,” initiative for the world’s biggest social network with the said Uber head of payments and risk Peter Hazlehurst. tive decision on the working hours of cleaners potential to bring crypto-money out of the shadows and deployed on various streets.