RABIA ALAWWAL 1, 1441 AH TUESDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2019 28 Pages Max 32º Min 22º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 17970 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Iraq army declares curfew in ‘The Annas?’: Oscar honorees New species found in Woods equals Snead’s ‘crazy’ 7 Baghdad after student protests 19 eye Hollywood gender equality 24 whale shark’s mouth 28 record for US PGA Tour wins Amir to open new Assembly term; 2 grillings on agenda Legal committee declares premier’s grilling unconstitutional By B Izzak The new term is expected to debate a crucial legis- lation to find a solution for the decades-old problem Amir receives message from Saudi King KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- of some 120,000 stateless people or bedoons, who or Jaber Al-Sabah opens the new term of the National their forefathers have been living in the country for Assembly today amid what appears to be strained over 70 years without citizenship. Speaker Marzouq Assembly-government relations after MPs filed to grill Al-Ghanem said he has completed a comprehensive three ministers. The Amir, in his first public appearance law that would provide lasting solutions, insisting that after undergoing successful medical tests in the there will be no bedoon problem after one year if the United States, is expected to address domestic, law is implemented correctly. He said that he decided regional and international issues and urge cooperation to delay filing the bill for a week to allow other MPs to between the government and lawmakers in the last study it and submit proposals. term before general polls. And since this term is the last before parliamen- The opening ceremony will also hear speeches by tary elections, populist demands by MPs seeking re- the speaker and the prime minister, then move to election are expected to rise sharply. An example of debate at least two of three grillings submitted against such demands was the approval on Sunday by the the ministers of finance and public works. A third grilling against the interior minister has been listed on legal and legislative committee of five proposals to the Nov 12 session agenda but could be brought for- resolve the consumer loan problem at the expense of ward if the minister and the Assembly agree. The min- public coffers. isters are accused of committing administrative and In another development, the legal and legislative financial violations. committee yesterday voted to declare that a grilling If enough time remains, the Assembly will then elect filed by opposition MP Abdulkareem Al-Kandari KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al- ties between the two countries and means to develop its various committees amid expectations that the gov- against the prime minister is not in line with the con- Jaber Al-Sabah received yesterday visiting Saudi State them on all levels. In return, HH the Amir voiced utmost ernment and its supporters, who enjoy a comfortable stitution. It was the committee’s second such decision Minister and cabinet member Prince Turki bin appreciation for the Saudi monarch and for Crown majority, will consolidate their grip on a number of key during the previous term. Kandari said the decision of Mohammad Al-Saud and his accompanying delega- Prince, Deputy Premier and Defense Minister panels, especially the financial, legal and interior commit- the committee had been highly anticipated, alleging tion. The Saudi minister conveyed a verbal message Mohammad bin Salman Al-Saud, as well as everlasting tees. Other committees to be elected include the health the grilling was referred to the committee to make from King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud on brotherly prosperity for the brotherly Saudi people. — KUNA and labor, public utilities, housing and petitions panels. such a decision to prevent the grilling of the premier. United Nations, also recalled his UN days as an interna- News in brief Tharoor expounds on tional career diplomat and fondly remembered his inter- actions with Kuwaiti diplomats there. Tharoor arrived in Clampdown on drones Kuwait yesterday to deliver a keynote speech at the 16th politics, diplomacy, anniversary of the founding of the Indian Business and KUWAIT: The ministry of commerce and industry Professional Council (IBPC) Kuwait at Radisson Blu urged all drone importers and outlets licensed by literary escapades Hotel. the interior ministry to register all buyers’ civil ID “We were certainly stunned by the defeat and as a result By Sajeev K Peter and mobile phone numbers. The ministry stressed we neglected to do some of the things we needed to do in importers need prior interior ministry licenses to the first few months, particularly in the immediate aftermath In an inclusive interview with Kuwait Times import drones, adding that a decision had been KUWAIT: of the elections, which is a somewhat difficult thing,” made to ban the import of remote control-operat- yesterday, prominent Indian MP and Congress party Tharoor replied to a question on the chaos the Congress ed drones equipped with video recording or com- leader Dr Shashi Tharoor said his party is now recovering party plunged into following the elections in India. munication devices without interior ministry from the shock it sustained in the parliamentary elections “I think Rahul Gandhi stepping down as Congress authorization. — A Saleh earlier this year. He added recent assembly election president actually was a bit of a surprise, because nor- results from Maharashtra and Haryana states make things mally, political leaders in our country have a habit of say- “more hopeful for the party” and point the way forward. ing ‘these are parts of the ups and downs in democracy Shashi Tharoor Floods kill 7 in Saudi Arabia Tharoor, a former undersecretary general at the Continued on Page 24 RIYADH: Seven people have been killed and 11 injured in floods after heavy rain lashed northeast- orderly Brexit process, the IMF said in a tor for the Middle East and Central Asia. ern parts of Saudi Arabia, Al-Ekhbariya state tele- Unemployment report on the regional economic outlook. “We are in a region where the rate of vision reported yesterday. Rescue services in the Earlier this month it lowered the 2019 fore- unemployment at the youth level exceeds 25- northeastern city of Hafer al-Batin, about 100 km cast for the region - taking in the Arab 30 percent and this requires growth to be southwest of Kuwait, said that 16 people were fuels unrest in nations and Iran - to a meager 0.1 percent higher by 1-2 percent” in order to make a forced to evacuate their homes. Seven affected by from 1.1 percent last year. dent in joblessness, Azour told AFP in an the rain were provided with shelter, it added. Arab states: IMF The IMF slashed its outlook for the interview. The IMF report said that the high Schools in Hafer al-Batin suspended classes yes- region’s three largest economies - Saudi unemployment was worsening social tensions terday due to the weather. In January, 12 people DUBAI: Unemployment and sluggish eco- Arabia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. in Arab countries. “Unemployment averages were killed in floods in Saudi Arabia. Ten died in nomic growth are fuelling social tension and The risks around the forecast of earlier this 11 percent throughout the region versus sev- Tabuk, one in Madinah and another in a northern popular protests in several Arab countries, month “are skewed to the downside and are en percent across other emerging market and border area.— AFP the International Monetary Fund said yes- highly dependent on global factors,” the IMF developing economies,” it said. “Women and terday. The unrest is in turn contributing to said in its report yesterday. “The level of young people are particularly likely to be out slower growth in the Middle East and North growth that countries in the region are having of work, with more than 18 percent of Africa (MENA) region, alongside global is below what is needed to address unem- women... without jobs in 2018.” Top executives expected at FII Jihad Azour trade tensions, oil price volatility and a dis- ployment,” said Jihad Azour, the IMF’s direc- Continued on Page 24 RIYADH: Top finance executives and political leaders have converged on Saudi capital Riyadh for a Davos-style investment forum. US officials and the heads of giant banks, top asset manage- Trump booed at ment firms and major sovereign wealth funds top the guest list at the three-day Future Investment World Series Forum (FII) that starts today. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro, whose countries are key emerging baseball game markets, are set to speak at the summit along WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump was with King Abdullah II of Jordan and four African booed by baseball fans as he attended a World Series leaders. — AFP game with his wife Melania in Washington Sunday. Trump attended the tie-breaking game five of the series on the day his administration announced the death, long-sought by the Pentagon, of Islamic State 67-year-old gives birth group leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. After the game’s third inning, the stadium’s video display showed military BEIJING: A 67-year-old woman has given birth in members in attendance - but then quickly cut to Trump. China, a hospital said yesterday, with the parents The cheering crowd immediately switched to loud claiming they are the country’s oldest couple to con- and sustained boos. When the display cut back to the ceive a baby naturally. The woman, surnamed Tian, soldiers, the booing died down, but fans soon took up a delivered a healthy girl by Caesarean section on chorus of “Lock him up!” - a play on the chant fre- Friday, Zaozhuang city’s Maternity and Child Health quently heard at pro-Trump rallies against Hilary Care Hospital told AFP.