24th Dec

Page 1

CR IP TI ON BS SU

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2013

Community group crochets for charity

www.kuwaittimes.net

SAFAR 21, 1435 AH

Talks threatened as Syria pounds Aleppo, killing hundreds

Saudi Arabia unveils record $228bn budget for 2014

Manning sets TD pass record as Denver clinches playoffs

NO: 16026

Assembly declared legit

40 PAGES

150 FILS

20 3All ministers 7 21 resign after Dashti, Fadhl named winners, Maasouma, Tahous out

Max 17º Min 03º High Tide 02:55 & 16:42 Low Tide 09:23 & 21:42

By B Izzak ambassador’s message

Electronic visa waiver explained

By Frank Baker

British Ambassador to Kuwait

I

am sure many of you will have seen the announcement by British Prime Minister David Cameron that Kuwait is to be included in the rollout of a new ‘electronic visa waiver’ scheme during 2014. This news was reconfirmed by Foreign Secretary William Hague when he visited Kuwait earlier this month. This decision reflects the close links between our two countries, and in particular how welcoming the UK wants to be to the many Kuwaitis who visit us each year, whether for tourism, business, investment, healthcare or education. Since the announcement of the scheme, many of my Kuwaiti friends have asked me how it will work and when it will come in. There is clearly still uncertainty, rumour and misinformation out there. So let me explain. Firstly, on the timing, the same visa waiver scheme will apply in four Gulf countries. It will come in on Jan 1 for the UAE, Oman and Qatar. The rollout to Kuwait will be later, once the technology works. The reason Kuwait is later is a simple matter of numbers and technology. Kuwait has more visitors than the other countries combined. If we added Kuwait to the scheme in January, the system might fail. Rather, Kuwaitis will get to benefit once we’re sure the system works. But until then, and including from Jan 1, Kuwaitis travelling to the UK still need a visa. Secondly, on what a visa waiver will cover. It provides for a single entry visit to the UK for tourism, business, healthcare or study for a period of up to six months. However those travelling to work or to study for a period longer than six months will still need to apply for the relevant visas as usual. Thirdly, on process - applicants have to submit a form online at least 48 hours before they intend to travel. There is no requirement to go to an application centre or submit biometrics. The online form has an account system which means you only have to submit personal information once (name, date of birth, passport number etc). You will also have to give travel details. You will then be sent a visa waiver which you need to print out and take to the airport. Each visa waiver is only valid for a single trip. But, you are able to have as many as you need simultaneously and can apply in advance. So if you went to Brussels for the day, you could print out two separate visa waivers, one for when you arrive in the UK and the second for your return trip from Brussels. Getting a visa waiver is completely free. This is the first time the UK has ever introduced such a system, and we’re delighted that the Gulf is the first place it will be used.

KUWAIT: Newly-declared MP Nabeel Al-Fadhl (left) is all smiles as fellow MP Abdulhameed Dashti flashes the victory sign at the National Assembly yesterday after the constitutional court declared them winners in the July polls. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: All 15 Cabinet ministers yesterday submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber AlMubarak Al-Sabah almost immediately after the constitutional court ruled that the current National Assembly is legitimate and can complete its four-year term. State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammad AlAbdullah Al-Sabah said the ministers “placed their resignations at the disposal of the prime minister in order to enable him to prepare the necessary requirements for the next phase” amid reports that the premier is undertaking a Cabinet reshuffle. Sheikh Mohammad said the prime minister decided to refer the matter to HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah AlAhmad Al-Sabah to take measures that will serve national interests. The prime minister is expected to axe several members of the Cabinet that was formed less than five months ago after many of them came under fire from lawmakers who grilled several ministers and the prime minister himself. Sheikh Mohammad said the government will not be able to attend today’s parliamentary session because the ministers have resigned. Assembly speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem said he has received an official letter from the government informing him that all the ministers have resigned and that the government will not attend the Assembly session today. But Ghanem said he will come to the session and will announce its cancellation if the government does not attend. Under the law, parliamentary sessions cannot be held without the presence of at least one minister. Ghanem said that it’s time to form a Cabinet that fulfills the aspirations of the Kuwaiti people. Lawmakers have already called on the prime minister to axe several Continued on Page 13

Outrage over limiting burials to locals Municipality denies plan • Rights group slams affront By A Saleh KUWAIT: Kuwait Municipality has denied a report that it was considering limiting burials in Kuwait to citizens only. The report surfaced when a memo, dated Dec 18, was published in the local press. Fahd Al-Musbahi, acting assistant director general of municipal services, wrote the memo to Kuwait Municipality Director General Ahmed Al-Subaih. It said that there has been a rise in the number of expatriate dead buried in Kuwait and as a result, land meant for Kuwaitis is being used to bury foreigners. The memo recommends that the government bans all burials of expatriates, except in extreme cases. Following the publication of the memo, the Municipality issued a strong denial. In a statement to the press yesterday, Subaih explained that the internal memo was simply a part of the annual proposals submitted by various departments within the governing body. “The Municipality continues its duties towards the dead and there is no discrimination between Kuwaitis and expatriates. We respect the dignity of all,” said Subaih. President of Kuwait Human Rights Committee Khalid Al-Humaidi Al-Ajmi yesterday condemned the alleged plan, adding that “a human being has dignity and the right to be buried in a suitable grave, and what this official has said is

Russian punks vow to fight on after release MOSCOW: The two jailed members of anti-Kremlin punk band Pussy Riot, whose imprisonment prompted a wave of global outrage, walked free yesterday and immediately vowed to fight injustice in Russian prisons. Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were released two months early under a Kremlin-backed amnesty after serving most of their two-year sentences. They immediately slammed the measure as a publicity stunt before the Olympic

Games Russia will host in February. “I don’t think the amnesty is a humanitarian act, I think it’s a PR stunt,” the 25year-old Alyokhina said. The pair, who both have small children, and fellow activist Yekaterina Samutsevich were convicted on charges of hooliganism motivated by religious hatred after staging a “punk prayer” in an Orthodox cathedral in Moscow in Feb 2012. During the event, they asked Continued on Page 13

Maria Alyokhina

Nadezhda Tolokonnikova

The alleged municipal memo that sparked the furore. very dangerous and extreme”. He said in a statement that such a move is an exaggeration of force against the weak expat, as Almighty Allah said in the Holy Quran that He alone has knowledge in what land a person will die. Continued on Page 13

in the

news

AK-47 designer dies

UAE jails American

MOSCOW: Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of fabled AK-47 automatic rifle, died yesterday, the office of the presidency in the Udmurtia region where he worked said. He was 94. Kalashnikov designed a weapon that became synonymous with killing on a sometimes indiscriminate scale but was seen in the Soviet Union as a national hero and symbol of Moscow’s proud military past. Lavished with honours including the prestigious Hero of Russia prize for designing the iconic rifle, Kalashnikov has said he had never intended for it to become the preferred weapon in conflicts around the world. “I sleep well. It’s the politicians who are to blame for failing to come to an agreement and resorting to violence,” he said in 2007. AK-47’s name stands for “Kalashnikov’s Automatic” and the year it was designed, 1947. Its variants are the weapons of choice for dozens of armies and guerrilla groups around the world. More than 100 million Kalashnikov rifles, which rarely jams even in adverse conditions, have been sold worldwide.

ABU DHABI: A UAE court jailed yesterday an American and four other men for one year after they made a YouTube video that mocked Dubai teenagers. Shezanne Cassim, a 29-year-old from Minnesota, has been held since April after being charged with endangering the security of the United Arab Emirates under a cybercrimes law. He was also fined 10,000 dirhams ($2,725). Two Indian defendants were handed a similar punishment, while two Emirati brothers, already behind bars, were jailed for eight months and each fined 5,000 dirhams ($1,362). A Canadian woman, a British woman and an American man who were never detained were also sentenced to one year in jail, in addition to being fined. Their link to the spoof video was unclear. The 19minute video, called the “Satwa Comedy School”, gently parodies Dubai teenagers from the city’s Satwa district who styled themselves as tough “gangstas” wearing hiphop clothes and listening to rap music, but who in reality were known for very mild behaviour.

Mikhail Kalashnikov

Shezanne Cassim


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24th Dec by Kuwait Times - Issuu