SUBSCRIPTION MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 THULQADA 27, 1435 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Ooredoo Kuwait PM quits as Dubai property Leicester committed Shiite rebels prices show outfox to developing seize Yemen signs of United in local talent3 government8 HQ cooling21 dramatic20 win Police kill hostage Max 43º Min 25º High Tide taker in shootout 10:31 & 23:42 Low Tide Saudi man was under influence of drugs • Weapons found 04:48 & 17:50 40 PAGES NO: 16293 150 FILS By Hanan Al-Saadoun and Agencies conspiracy theories Court asked to KUWAIT: The Interior Ministry yesterday said a Saudi man reinstate grilling who had taken members of his family hostage at gunpoint, and later stabbed one of them, was killed in a gun battle with Well done against premier the police. The young man was a drug addict, and at the time of the incident was under the effect of drugs, the ministry said MP blasts new currency in a statement. He started shooting at the police force that Scotland arrived at the scene in Taima in Jahra with a machinegun and By B Izzak injured two officers, who were taken to hospital, it added. According to the statement, the police received a report KUWAIT: Veteran lawyer and rights activist Mubarak that the 30-year-old man was holding members of his family Al-Mutawa said yesterday he has filed a petition at the at home at gunpoint and had stabbed his uncle. A police administrative court demanding it reinstate a grilling patrol rushed to the scene where he randomly shot at them By Badrya Darwish against the prime minister that was scrapped by the with a machinegun. Policemen ordered the suspect to surren- National Assembly in April. In an unprecedented case, der and had long negotiations with him and members of the Mutawa said he has demanded that the court forces family, giving him enough time, but he proved to be stub- the Assembly to reinstate the grilling against Prime born and continued shooting randomly, posing a threat to Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah. security men and passersby. [email protected] The grilling, filed by former MPs Riyadh Al-Adasani, The police sought assistance from special forces, who Abdulkareem Al-Kandari and Hussein Quwaiaan, was broke into the house at 07.50 am yesterday and exchanged scrapped by the Assembly in an unprecedented man- fire with the suspect who was killed after injuring two non- othing impressed me more in recent years in ner on suspicion that it included a number of issues commissioned officers. They were taken to hospital and are in politics like the referendum which took place that breached the constitution. The three lawmakers stable condition, the ministry said identifying them as Nthis past week in Scotland. It went so later resigned in protest against the cancellation of the Sergeant Saad Al-Enezi, who received three bullets in the smoothly, so beautifully with lots of understanding grilling and two others - Ali Al-Rashed and Safa Al- shoulder, and Sergeant Abdullah German, who was hit in the and logic. As I’m sure you all know, on Thursday, Hashem - later followed suit. By-elections were held thigh, severing some arteries. Sept 18, Scotland held a referendum to decide and five new MPs were elected. Mutawa said that Police found the man had had a number of weapons whether to split from the UK or become an inde- scrapping the grilling in that matter represented a fla- including a hunting rifle, a machinegun and ammunition. It pendent nation. A simple majority won with 55 per- grant constitutional violation by the Assembly and was also found out that he was a drug addict. Investigations KUWAIT: Picture shows weapons that were recov- cent to 45 percent. called on the court to rectify the mistake. have started to reveal more about the incident, the statement ered from a Saudi suspect who died in a shootout said. Meanwhile, Interior Ministry Undersecretary Lt Gen In the days running up to the vote, there were Continued on Page 13 two camps - the Yes and the No groups. Both of yesterday. — KUNA Suleiman Al-Fahd, visited the injured at Jahra Hospital. them campaigned on a platform of nationalism and Scottish identity and it was beautiful to see cam- paigners wearing the Scottish national dress and Arab states lag carrying bagpipes. I’m sure all of you saw the news about it. I was surprised the results came in favor of in media war the No party as analysts and the polls predicted that it was neck-and-neck at 50/50. DUBAI: As the Islamic State group battles across Syria It was so beautiful that the nation realized its and Iraq, pushing back larger armies and ruling over interest, setting aside prejudice, patriotism, etc. entire cities, it is also waging an increasingly sophisticat- Instead, the voters thought about the interest of ed media campaign that has rallied disenfranchised themselves and their children and their families and youth and outpaced the sluggish efforts of Arab govern- the country. A few who changed their mind at the ments to stem its appeal. Long gone are the days when last minute, according to polls, made a significant militant leaders like Osama bin Laden smuggled grainy difference in the final results. Actually, I can never videos to Al-Jazeera. Nowadays Islamic State backers use imagine a Scotland without England or an England Twitter, Facebook and other online platforms to entice without Scotland. They both back each other - finan- recruits with professionally made videos showing fight- cially, economically, militarily, strategically, socially. ers waging holy war and building an Islamic utopia. It’s like a marriage that has its good years and its bad The extremist group’s opponents say it is dragging years but works overall. the region back into the Middle Ages with its grisly But I want to ask: Where would you see a referen- beheadings and massacres, but its tech-savvy media dum for independence go so peacefully without vio- strategy has exposed the ways in which Arab govern- lence anywhere in the world? Nations go to war over ments and mainstream religious authorities seem to be separatist movements. But not in the UK. There they living in the past. Most Arab governments see social had campaigns and parades, but logic and common media as a threat to their stability and have largely failed sense prevailed. Whether you supported the No or to harness its power, experts say. Instead, they have tried the Yes party, the reality is that the people were giv- to monitor and censor the Internet while churning out en the choice and chose wisely. They also did it stale public statements and state-approved sermons on peacefully. It was more like a festival than a sepa- stuffy government-run media. ratist movement. No bombing, no clashes, no Last week, Saudi Arabia’s top council of religious killings, no threatening, no blackmailing, no vio- scholars issued a lengthy Arabic statement via the state- lence. run news agency denouncing terrorism and calling on I admired the transparency of the voting and the citizens to back efforts to fight extremist groups like the result. There were no figures of 99.9 percent - and Islamic State and Al-Qaeda. Leading Sunni Muslim you know what I mean guys. It was free and fair and authorities in Egypt have issued similar government- transparent - 45% vs 55%. backed statements. Well done Scotland and good luck to you guys. Compare that to the Islamic State group. Its Furqan You have set an example for many other nations media arm produces slick videos complete with inter- who are killing each and conspiring against them- views, graphics and jihadist hymns echoing in the back- selves. I recommend that the Scottish referendum ground, with Arabic and English subtitles. It promotes be added to Arab schools’ curricula in our history the videos and its glossy monthly magazines on an array books, instead of the false propaganda that they put of social media, reaching out to people in the Arab world in our books and implant in our minds. and beyond. Continued on Page 13 Cairo blast kills 3 policemen CAIRO: A bomb blast beside Egypt’s foreign ministry killed three policemen yesterday, including a key wit- ness in a trial of deposed Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. The blast, the worst attack in Cairo for months, killed two police lieutenant colonels and a recruit, according to the foreign ministry. Ajnad Misr, the Islamist militant group that carried out the last signifi- cant attack in Cairo, claimed responsibility for the blast in a statement posted on their official Twitter account. “This new operation shows we can penetrate and reach the vicinity of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs...to destroy the officers of the criminal security agencies and make them taste some of what they have made Muslims taste,” it said. “Operations of retribution and revenge by this blessed group will not stop,” said the group, whose name means Soldiers of Egypt. The blast was the latest attack in a simmering insur- gency against the US-backed government, underlining security challenges facing President Abdel Fattah Al- Sisi. Sisi, who has just completed 100 days in office, has CAIRO: Egyptian security forces inspect the scene pushed through some badly-needed economic reforms after a roadside bomb went off on a busy street near such as a rise in fuel prices. the foreign ministry yesterday. — AP Continued on Page 13 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 LOCAL Premier, UN Secretary General discuss regional, international developments Sheikh Jaber represents Amir in UNGA meeting NEW YORK/ROME: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al- Sabah met yesterday with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York, where he is currently located to represent HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- Jaber Al-Sabah and head the Kuwaiti delegation to the 69th session of the United Nations’ General Assembly and Climate Change summit.