SUBSCRIPTION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014 JAMADA ALTHANI 2, 1435 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Sir John Major to NATO to bolster Jailed Israeli spy Neymar deliver inaugural forces in east could be key rescues lecture 2at KU Europe7 to peace8 talks Barcelona20 Kuwait to create Max 27º Min 12º High Tide telecom regulator 00:53 & 12:52 Low Tide Kuwait to upgrade connectivity 07:07 & 19:33 40 PAGES NO: 16123 150 FILS KUWAIT: Kuwait’s parliament yesterday approved a bill to Kuwait is the only Gulf Arab country without a telecom Many Kuwait residents have opted for mobile broad- conspiracy theories create an independent telecom regulator, which should regulator and the creation of such a body may indicate the band instead. The creation of an independent regulator end a conflict of interest as the Ministry of government will revive plans to privatize the fixed net- still requires the ruling Amir’s approval although that is Communications currently regulates the industry and work, which has been under consideration for more than considered a formality and would end about a decade of The summit hub operates the fixed-line network. It was not clear though 20 years. Market participants such as Internet service debate and indecision over the establishment of a telecom what the new regulator’s powers will be or what impact it provider Qualitynet have complained that state control of watchdog. Kuwait relies largely on ageing copper net- might have on the country’s four major Internet service the fixed network has left Kuwait lagging behind its Gulf works for fixed telecoms services. It has fallen behind providers or its three mobile operators, Zain, Saudi peers in terms of Internet connectivity. As of July 2012, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, whose Telecom Co affiliate Viva and Wataniya, a subsidiary of Kuwait’s Internet connection speed was a little over a third government-linked telecom operators have invested heav- Qatar’s Ooredoo. of the UAE’s, according to Business Monitor International. ily in fiber-to-the-home. — Reuters By Badrya Darwish Turkish president meets Amir [email protected] t was good that Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Minister of State for ICabinet Affairs refuted the information spread- ing on social media that the Arab Summit confer- ence held in Kuwait last week cost the government around KD90 million. Actually, Sheikh Mohammad gave the price - not only of the last conference held in Kuwait but also of the previous eight summits that had been held in Kuwait. Lately, Kuwait has become a summit hub, holding events like Friends of Syria, GCC ministerial meetings or Arab African Economic forums. There were other three Arab League summits held too in addition to more such forums. Since Kuwait has succeeded in becoming a sum- mit hub, I pray to God that we can become a finan- cial and touristic hub as well. That would be more beneficial for the nation. I am not going to bore you with the names of all the summits held here. But we do care about the size of the bill. According to Sheikh Mohammed the nine summits cost Kuwait KD40 million. But look at how rumors had spread. Prior to the official’s estimate of the cost of the eight conferences, diwaniyas in Kuwait were chew- ing on the rumors that the cost of the last summit alone was KD 90 million - almost the size of the budget of a country. The rumors also had it that a carton of tomato bought for the summit cost as KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah welcomes the Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his wife yesterday. The Turkish much as KD19. I think that a carton of the best president is on a three-day official visit to Kuwait. —KUNA (See Page 3) tomatoes you can buy in Kuwait would not cost more than KD4. I am sure the rumors were exag- gerated. The problem with rumors is that if there was something positive, people would not share it NA holds secret session over budget with others. If the case is about something negative then all tweets and WhatsApp will be buzzing - spreading it. By B Izzak I am sure Sheikh Mohammad was referring to the summits’ logistics cost. If he counts the contri- KUWAIT: The National Assembly yesterday agreed to butions and donations which Kuwait government postpone the issue of raising children and housing had provided to Friends of Syria and the African allowances until the next term starting late October at Summit, for example, to whom Kuwait is known to the request of the government, following a presenta- contribute, then the number will be far from the tion on the country’s financial situation in a closed ses- given one. Donations and contributions are a differ- sion. As the Assembly was about to start debating pro- ent thing of an event like this. posals to raise children allowance which stands at KD 50 The most important thing for us is the outcome per month per child, Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh of these summits, especially the Arab Summit demanded to make a presentation on the country’s which was held last week. What was the real out- financial status behind closed doors. come? Without the picture options and hand- At the end of the two-hour debate, Speaker Marzouk shakes, we dream of serious action being taken at Al-Ghanem said the National Assembly agreed at the an Arab Summit, for a change. We want the nations request of the government to postpone issues which to wake up and realize that the only thing for them have financial cost until the next term. is unity. I don’t think any of them is blind not to see Continued on Page 13 that. We wanted them to talk for a change, admit their mistakes and open their hearts to each other and have a new start as a united nation. I think I am Qatar - UAE’s a dreamer. But sometimes dreams can be costly. KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah gestures during a parliament session at Kuwait’s National Assembly yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat 8th emirate? DUBAI: A top Dubai security official, General Dahi Khalfan, Apocalyptic prophecies fuel war in Syria has claimed Qatar as forming part of the United Arab Emirates, adding a new dimension to a dispute with Doha. BEIRUT: Conflict in Syria kills hundreds of intervention from the north and west of “Qatar is an integral part of the UAE,” the outspoken thousands of people and spreads unrest the country. Khalfan, a longtime critic of the Doha-backed Muslim across the Middle East. Iranian forces bat- The power of those prophecies for Brotherhood, wrote on Twitter on Monday, demanding his tle anti-Shiite fighters in Damascus, and many fighters on the ground means that country “reclaim” Qatar. “We must put up signs on our bor- the region braces for an ultimate show- the three-year-old conflict is more deeply ders with Qatar stating: ‘You are now entering the UAE’s eighth emirate,’” said Khalfan. down. If the scenario sounds familiar to an rooted - and far tougher to resolve - than The UAE is a seven-member federation. Leading up to anxious world watching Syria’s devastat- a simple power struggle between the region’s independence from Britain, Qatar and Bahrain ing civil war, it resonates even more with President Bashar Al-Assad and his rebel in 1968 joined the Trucial States, as the UAE was then Sunni and Shiite fighters on the frontlines foes. Syria’s war has killed more than known, but their union fell apart three years later. The - who believe it was all foretold in 7th 140,000 people, driven millions from their Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain last month withdrew Century prophecies. homes and left many more dependent on their envoys to Doha, accusing it of meddling in their From the first outbreak of the crisis in aid. Diplomatic efforts, focused on the internal affairs by supporting Islamists. the southern city of Deraa to apocalyptic political rather than religious factors driv- Qatar is a staunch supporter of the Muslim forecasts of a Middle East soaked in blood, ing the conflict, have made no headway. Brotherhood, viewed by most conservative monarchies in many combatants on both sides of the “If you think all these mujahideen the Gulf as a threat to their grip on power. Khalfan, who conflict say its path was set 1,400 years came from across the world to fight was Dubai’s police chief before being promoted to second ago in the sayings of the Prophet Assad, you’re mistaken,” said a Sunni in command of security, has more than 600,000 followers Mohammad (PBUH) and his followers. Muslim jihadi who uses the name Abu on Twitter. His comments on Qatar sparked a wave of con- Among those many thousands of sayings, Omar and fights in one of the many anti- troversy on the social network. A Kuwaiti user compared him to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, whose YABRUD, Syria: A handout picture shows the bodies said to be those of rebel or hadith, are accounts which refer to the Assad Islamist brigades in Aleppo. “They confrontation of two huge Islamic armies are all here as promised by the Prophet. troops invaded Kuwait in 1990 calling it Iraq’s 19th fighters after pro-Syrian government forces took control of the Observatory 45 province. — AFP in the north of Latakia.