18th Nov 2013

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CR IP TI ON BS SU

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2013

OIC chief cries while meeting Rohingyas

Hollande vows tough Iran stance in Israel

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NO: 15990

150 FILS

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www.kuwaittimes.net

MUHARRAM 14, 1435 AH

Jolie kicks off award season with honorary Oscar

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Czechs beat Serbia to defend Davis Cup title

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Arab, African FMs meet to boost cooperation Ministers approve Kuwait Declaration, Palestine statement conspiracy theories

Birds, swine and now camels

By Badrya Darwish

badrya_d@kuwaittimes.net

T

he coronavirus is the talk of the town. It is human nature. People panic, including myself. Once I hear about a possible pandemic, my brain immediately goes on red alert. Last week two patients in Kuwait were diagnosed with latest kind of influenza - the coronavirus which scared many people in the countr y. Wherever you go, to the diwaniya or the salon, be it men or women, the only topic of conversation is the new flu. So if you were not scared before going to the diwaniya, you would come out sniffing, coughing and worrying about possible symptoms. In the last few years, we have had influenzas launched like new luxurious car models. Every year, there is a new upgraded version. It started with SARS which panicked the whole world. Every T V channel was reporting about SARS. Miraculously, a vaccine came to the rescue and countries had to purchase large quantities of it. When things cooled down and SARS left, we had no follow up. It all went hush-hush and the chapter was closed. Then came bird flu. I remember we were advised to cull some of the chicken we had in the farm in Wafra in fear of bird flu. Of course, this was under the supervision of the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources. Bird flu came and left and countries around the world stocked up piles of vaccines. Millions of dollars were spent on the prevention of a pandemic. That flu came and left and a new model came out. Swine flu made the headlines. Again and again, purchasing of vaccines started. Some countries were insistent on their citizens to get vaccinated. There were many rumours and reports that the vaccines would make you even sicker. People panic in the face of fear. The coronavirus is just one type of these influenzas. There are many types of this virus. By God’s mercy, only 153 cases have been reported so far around the globe, of them 127 in Saudi Arabia alone. So far researchers are suspecting that there is a link between the coronavirus and camels as one camel whose owner fell sick also tested positive for the virus. It could be that the owner infected the camel or vice versa. It is also funny how influenzas are linked to these poor animals. Panic does not help. There is no need to create a fear psychosis out of the coronavirus. It only makes things worse. Mercifully, the coronavirus is not very contagious as other kinds of flu. This is a bit comforting.

KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah welcomes Egyptian Interim President Adly Mansour who arrived yesterday to participate in the 3rd Africa-Arab Summit. — KUNA

Max 26º Min 15º High Tide 13:12 & 23:44 Low Tide 06:44 & 18:29

KUWAIT: Arab and African foreign ministers met in Kuwait yesterday hoping to accelerate a strategy to bolster economic cooperation, investment and trade ahead of a summit this week. The Third Africa Arab Summit tomorrow and Wednesday will be the first meeting of its kind since 2010, when leaders met in Libya prior to the Arab Spring uprisings that toppled longstanding dictatorships there and elsewhere in North Africa and the Middle East. The one-day meeting adopted the agenda for the summit, where leaders are expected to approve a raft of new measures to upgrade economic ties between the two regions, including the oil-rich Gulf and sub-Saharan Africa. The top diplomats approved the Kuwait Declaration, a statement regarding developments of the situation in Palestine and draft resolutions of the summit, diplomatic sources close to the meeting said. “It is time to upgrade and activate the Arab-African joint work to serve the peoples in both regions,” Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah told the opening session. Sheikh Khaled told reporters late Saturday the summit, held under the title “Partners in Development and Investment” is expected to discuss the possibility of creating an ArabAfrican common market. Thirty-four heads of state, seven vice-presidents and three heads of government have confirmed their attendance at the summit, which will bring together 71 countries and organisations, according to organisers. The second summit held in Libya three years ago adopted the Africa-Arab Partnership Strategy and the 2011-2016 Joint Action Plan to increase investment, trade and other joint economic projects between the two regions. But implementation has been slow, in part because of the turmoil unleashed across the region by the 2011 Arab Spring, which saw the leaders of Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen toppled by mass protests and the outbreak of a full-blown civil war in Syria. The ministers will review a proposal to set up an AfricaArab Joint Financial Mechanism to provide the necessary means for implementing projects and encouraging investment. They will also discuss establishing the Africa-Arab Technical and Coordination Committee on Migration to help protect migrant workers. — AFP (See Page 2)

Astronomer thunders against storm Saadoun rubbishes US warnings • Heavy rains forecast By Ben Garcia

Floods swamp Riyadh RIYADH: Rare heavy downpours triggered flash floods in the Saudi capital yesterday, forcing schools and universities to close and prompting calls by the authorities for citizens to remain indoors. At least three people were reported missing, the state news agency SPA said quoting civil defence spokesman Colonel Abdullah Al-Harithi. He added that authorities assisted dozens of people trapped by the floods, a rare phenomenon to hit the capital of the desert kingdom. Heavy rains, accompanied by thunderstorms, have lashed Riyadh since late Saturday triggering flash floods in several districts and cutting off power in the RIYADH: A worker tries to clear a flooded street yesterday after Continued on Page 15 heavy rains fell overnight in the Saudi capital. — AFP

Gulf airlines splash out $150bn By Velina Nacheva

DUBAI: Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum (center), is presented with a model of the Emirates new 777X airliner by Boeing CEO Jim McNerney during the opening ceremony of the Dubai Air Show yesterday. — AFP

DUBAI: It was a historic day for the aviation industry yesterday when Emirates, the world’s largest international airline and flydubai, Dubai’s low-cost carrier, announced aircraft orders valued at $110 billion. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed AlMaktoum, Chairman of flydubai and Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group, revealed the news about the orders during a press conference at the 13th edition of Dubai Air Show that opened at Dubai World Central yesterday. Emirates placed a record order for 150 Boeing 777X valued at $76 billion and an additional 50 Airbus A380 aircraft valued at $23 billion. Flydubai announced commitment for an order of up to 111 Boeing aircraft valued at $11.4 billion. Emirates’ Boeing and Airbus orders, worth an estimated $99 billion at list prices, are the largest ever aircraft orders in civil aviation history. Qatar Airways yesterday placed a firm order for five new Airbus A330-200 freighter aircraft. The airline’s CEO Akbar Al-Baker later announced an order of 50 aircraft. Included in the order are eight additional A330-200F options. Etihad Airways announced an order for 56 new Boeing wide-body aircraft, with options and purchase rights for a further 26, to support its continued global expansion. The deal includes 25 next-generation Boeing 777X aircraft of which 17 are 777-9X and eight are 777-8X aircraft. (See Page 21)

KUWAIT: Amid flooding in Riyadh and warnings of torrential rains and thunderstorms, there was anxiety in Kuwait after the US Navy in Bahrain allegedly declared a state of emergency for Bahrain, Qatar, eastern Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. It predicted thunderstorms in these countries would be the strongest in 30 years and warned marines of torrential rains that were to begin late on Saturday and continue until Thursday. “How come a country like the US issued such a warning without using their media networks Adel Al-Saadoun and perhaps their government spokesperson? Why use social media?” asked Fintas Astronomical Observatory Director Adel Al-Saadoun, slamming the alleged Facebook forecast after no rain fell in Kuwait yesterday. “Don’t believe such rubbish. The fact is, yes, we will have rains starting tonight until Thursday or early next week. This season is called Wasmi in Kuwait - it usually lasts from Oct 15 to Dec 6. Nothing Continued on Page 15

MP to file grilling against Othaina Panel meets over coronavirus By B Izzak KUWAIT: Shiite MP Abdullah AlTameemi said yesterday that he will file a request to grill State Minister for Municipality Salem Al-Othaina over the removal of tents erected by Shiites to mark Ashura. Tameemi was supposed to submit the grilling yesterday morning but decided to postpone it after the Cabinet’s weekly meeting, apparently to see what actions the council takes. Tameemi’s action came although the Cabinet strongly criticized the removal of the tents and ordered the formation of an investigation committee to probe the issue and penalize those responsible for the action. The drama began on Friday when

bulldozers from Kuwait Municipality removed a number of tents that were used by Shiite mourners who were marking the martyrdom of Imam Hussein some 1,400 years ago. Hundreds of Shiites gathered in Rumaithiya after the removal but later dispersed after special forces intervened. There were no reports of injury. Shiite MPs and activists strongly condemned the action, with Tameemi describing the action as an “aggression against Shiite sacred places”, and they demanded the resignation of the municipality minister. The municipality said that it had only removed small tents that were unlicensed and were being used to offer food and beverages without Continued on Page 15


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