RABIA ALAWWAL 9, 1442 AH MONDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2020 16 Pages Max 35º Min 16º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 18267 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Al-Seif Staircase connects PM visits election department Dominant Khabib calls time Hamilton passes Schumacher 3 Kuwait’s past with present 5 as registrations open today 16 on undefeated MMA career 16 with record 92nd F1 victory FM meets French envoy, says sacrilegious acts should stop Kuwait had condemned teacher’s killing • Macron comments provoke ire, boycotts KUWAIT: Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad side his school in a suburb outside Paris workers stripping shelves of French-made Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah met earlier this month, after he had shown car- St Dalfour jams and Saf-Instant yeast in a French Ambassador to Kuwait Anne-Claire toons of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) dur- branch of the Al Meera supermarket chain Legendre yesterday, discussing with her a ing a class he was leading on free speech. on Saturday. Al Meera competes with number of important topics. During the On Saturday, Jordan’s foreign ministry French supermarket chains Monoprix and meeting, the two officials touched on the said it condemned the “continued publica- Carrefour for market share in the lucrative gruesome murder of a history teacher in tion of caricatures of the Prophet Qatari grocery sector. Al Meera and anoth- France, an act condemned by Kuwait in a Muhammad (PBUH) under the pretext of er grocery operator, Souq Al Baladi, previous statement, which reflected disdain freedom of expression” and any “discrimi- released statements late Friday saying they of all acts of terrorism. natory and misleading attempts that seek would pull French products from stores On the other hand, Sheikh Ahmad to link Islam with terrorism.” It did not until further notice. They stopped short of stressed it is vital to stop actions desecrat- directly criticize Macron, although the explicitly naming Macron or citing his ing religion and important religious figures, French president had on Wednesday also comments, but the Al Meera statement said especially within official and political dis- contended that Paty was “killed because customer “comments guided our actions”. course, to avoid the spread of hatred and Islamists want our future”. Turkey said yesterday “offensive carica- racism. He also indicated that Kuwait But Jordan’s opposition Islamic Action tures” of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were strongly objects to policies aimed at linking Front party called on the French president being used to intimidate Muslims in Europe Islam and its teachings to terrorism. to apologize for his comments and urged under the guise of freedom of expression. Calls to boycott French goods are citizens in the kingdom to boycott French European attitudes demonizing Muslims growing in the Arab world and beyond, goods. Such boycotts are already under- were reminiscent of how the Jews in after President Emmanuel Macron criti- way in Kuwait and Qatar. Dozens of Europe were treated in the 1920s, said cized Islamists and vowed not to “give up Kuwaiti stores are boycotting French prod- Fahrettin Altun, communications director at cartoons” depicting Prophet Muhammad ucts, with images on social media showing the Turkish presidency. (PBUH). Macron’s comments, on workers removing French Kiri and Babybel “The dog whistle politics of offensive KUWAIT: Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah meets French Wednesday, came in response to the processed cheese from shelves. caricatures, accusations of separatism Ambassador to Kuwait Anne-Claire Legendre yesterday. — KUNA beheading of the teacher, Samuel Paty, out- In Doha, an AFP correspondent saw Continued on Page 2 Ministry, society Israeli troops ink accord for beat Palestinian worker safety teen to death KUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs and Minister RAMALLAH: An 18-year-old Palestinian died of State for Housing Affairs Rana Al-Fares has yesterday after a confrontation with Israeli signed a cooperation agreement with Kuwait troops, with the army saying it happened while Society for Human Rights regarding safety of per- trying to flee and Palestinian officials saying he sonnel at workplaces. Fares said in a statement yes- had been beaten. The Palestinian health ministry terday that “ensuring labor rights in any enterprise said that Amer Abdel-Rahim Sanouber from the boosts work environment safety”, noting the min- istry’s approach to enhancing such rights as “a val- village of Yatma in the occupied West Bank KUWAIT: Minister of Social Affairs Rana Al-Fares signs an agreement with Kuwait Society for Human ue and practice”. arrived at hospital after being “severely beaten Rights on worker safety yesterday. — KUNA on the neck”. Continued on Page 2 The head of the Palestine Medical Complex, Ahmed Al-Betawi, was quoted in the ministry airport. statement as identifying Sanouber as a “martyr” Dubai, which sees itself as a lead- who was brought to the hospital at 3:00 am Dubai metro ing “smart city” in the Middle East, (0100 GMT) with “signs of violence and beat- has ambitions to become a hub for ings on his neck from the back”. In a statement, sees facial technology and artificial intelligence. the Palestine Liberation Organization accused Both sectors will be on show when it Israeli troops of “a monstrous act of brutality recognition opens the multibillion-dollar Expo fair. against a defenseless young man whose only “We aspire to raise our performance crime was being Palestinian”. DUBAI: Dubai is introducing a facial by building on our current capabili- Senior PLO official Hanan Ashrawi said in the recognition system on public trans- ties, to ensure a high level of security statement that Sanouber had been “blud- port to beef up security, officials said in metro stations and other transport geoned” by Israeli troops. Asked about the inci- yesterday, as the emirate prepares to sectors,” said Hathboor. dent, Israel’s army said soldiers responded to an host the global Expo exhibition. “This Earlier this week, under the watch incident north of Ramallah after rocks were technology has proven its effective- of Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh hurled at an army vehicle. Troops “in the area ness to identify suspicious and want- Hamdan bin Mohammed, the city’s were dispatched to the scene and searched the ed people,” said Obaid Al-Hathboor, police used facial recognition in a area for assailants,” the army statement said. director of Dubai’s Transport Security simulated scenario to identify gunmen “Initial details suggest that upon the arrival Department. The emirate already launching an attack on a metro sta- of the troops... the two suspects tried to escape operates a biometric system using tion. A special police unit, trained in DUBAI: A handout image shows members of Emirati security conducting a simula- by foot,” it said. “While fleeing, one of the sus- facial recognition at its international Continued on Page 2 tion during the opening of the smart simulation training station yesterday. — AFP pects apparently lost consciousness, collapsed and hit his head. The suspect was not beaten by IDF troops,” the army added. It said troops at the They spent weeks searching for the nest, trapping scene and army medical teams provided medical ‘Murder hornet’ hornets and tracking them, using dental floss to tie attention to the suspect, who was “declared tiny radio trackers on the insects, which are nearly dead” following several “resuscitation attempts”. nest vacuumed five centimeters in length and have a painful sting. Details of altercations involving Before dawn on Saturday, a team of workers dressed Palestinians and Israel’s army in the West from head to toe in protective suits vacuumed the Bank have been harder to access since the out of US tree insects out of their nest in the cavity of a dead tree. Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority ended “Got ‘em. Vacuumed out several security coordination with Israel in May. LOS ANGELES: Agricultural department workers #AsianGiantHornets from a tree cavity near Blaine Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said wearing protective suits have eradicated the first nest this morning,” the state agriculture department said the decision was made in response to Israeli of giant “murder hornets” discovered in the United on Twitter later Saturday, along with a video showing plans to annex parts of the West Bank. Israel States, vacuuming them out of a tree in Washington a mass of hornets in a transparent container. It said state. The nest of Asian giant hornets was found on removal of the nest appeared to have been successful BLAINE, Washington: Sven Spichiger, Washington State put its annexation plans on hold in return for Department of Agriculture’s managing entomologist, the establishment of full diplomatic ties with Thursday by Washington State Department of and more details would be provided at a press con- Agriculture (WSDA) entomologists on a property in displays a canister of Asian giant hornets vacuumed the United Arab Emirates. — AFP ference today. Blaine, near the border with Canada, the agency said. Continued on Page 2 from a nest in a tree behind him on Saturday. — AFP 2 Established 1961 Monday, October 26, 2020 Local Amir receives Crown Prince, senior officials Defense Minister introduces Army’s new Chief of Staff to Amir His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets Deputy Prime Minister and Defense KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets His Highness the Crown Prince Minister Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Kuwait Army’s new Chief of Staff General Sheikh Khaled Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. — Amiri Diwan and KUNA photos Saleh Al-Sabah and Deputy Chief of Staff General Fahad Abdulrahman Al-Nasser. His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets Deputy Prime Minister His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets National Assembly Speaker and Defense Minister Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Kuwait Army’s new Chief of Staff Marzouq Al-Ghanem.