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THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT
Established in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2015 / RABEE’A AWWAL 16, 1436 AH
emergency number 112
NO. 15643
56 PAGES
150 FILS
VISA FREEZE ON EBOLA STATES ... INTERIOR QUIZZED ON ‘TRADERS’
MPs bemoan burden on citizens as Oil stands kerosene firm
‘Traffic’ raised
Kuwait tightens
border security
Opinion
Abdullah, Salman
take united stance
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
The speech given by Crown Prince Salman bin
Abdulaziz on behalf of the Custodian of the Two
Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz during the inauguration of the third term of Saudi
Shura Council reaffirms the status of the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia as a nation of robust institutions —
a nation which follows a clearly defined path and
does not change with time or the circumstances but
moves along with the modern age.
The speech confirms it is not a country of ‘reactions’. It is, as Prince Salman said in the speech, a
country based on justice and will remain so.
This rhetoric is full of wise and inspirational ideologies for the one who seeks to build a strong
nation — a nation which can confront the challenges and contain situations without giving up on
its principles.
It is more important to note that the speech
Continued on Page 12
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By Ahmad Al-Naqeeb and
Abubakar A. Ibrahim
Arab Times Staff
Carrier due
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 6
(Agencies): Security authorities of Kuwait have tightened security at the borders following the terrorist
attacks carried out by
some armed militia at the
Saudi-Iraqi
borders,
reports Al-Qabas daily
quoting a security source.
He revealed that instructions
have been issued to ensure the
military intelligence is on alert
and working persistently, to dispatch a team from State Security
Department to the borders and to
strengthen the security surveillance at border areas by assigning
increased number of security
patrol teams.
The source affirmed that the concerned Kuwaiti and Iraqi authorities are on constant communication
to control security and confront any
terrorist activities.
Kuwait meanwhile condemned
the terrorist attack that took place
in northern Saudi Arabia yesterday,
killing three border guards and
injuring two others.
“This terrorist cowardly attack on
the kingdom is considered an
aggression on all the GCC countries,
Continued on Page 12
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (second from right), lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in
central Baghdad on Jan 6, during celebrations marking the Iraqi Army Day. (AFP)
Near-term pessimism on Iraq
By Cinatra Fernandes
Arab Times Staff
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 6: Professor Toby Dodge, Kuwait
Professor and Director of the London School of
Economics Kuwait Programme, delivered a pessimistic
near term outlook for Iraq. He warned that if the country
does not stabilise, and if regional powers do not rally
together to help the Iraqi government, then it may once
again become the epicentre of regional instability — a
failed state that exports jihadi terrorists, ideological
instability, and violence across its borders for generations
to come.
Dodge speaking on ‘Iraq’s geopolitical risk in regional perspective’ at an exhaustive public lecture hosted by
the Kuwait Economic Society, Monday evening, began
by sharing Iraq’s long term economic potential before
proceeding to elaborate on its long term structural problems, and reflecting upon the drivers of Iraq’s near term
and long term future.
Even a cursory glance in the contemporary history of the Middle East
show that demographics, economics,
and religious dynamics have given Iraq
a key role in the destabilisation of the
region over the previous 40 years.
Iraq’s destabilising role began in
earnest after the United Kingdom
announced its withdrawal from the
Gulf in 1968. The removal of this
external hegemon coincided with the
Dodge
seizure of power in Baghdad by the
Ba’athist regime first led by Hassan al
Bakr and then Saddam Hussein.
“It is intriguing that the Ba’athist leadership used the
autonomy that oil had given it both domestically and its
ability to reject regional power after the nationalisation
of Iraq in 1972 to establish its credentials as a regional
Continued on Page 6
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 6:
Minister of Oil Dr Ali AlOmair insists that the government does not intend to withdraw its decision of lifting the
subsidy on diesel and kerosene
despite the resultant commotion in the Kuwaiti society.
He said the decision was
based on a study that was carried out prior to its implementation, whereby it was determined that increasing the
prices of diesel and kerosene is
a good step as long as companies that directly affect the citizens are excluded from this
decision in order to prevent
inflation in the market.
The minister affirmed that
necessary legal measures will
be taken against violating companies that increase the prices
of their commodities in an
unreasonable manner as a reaction to the government’s decision.
Meanwhile, the lawmakers
are continuing to voice their
concerns regarding the matter
and urging the government to
reconsider its decision if it
Continued on Page 12
Ooredoo wins
DUBAI, Jan 6, (RTRS):
Ooredoo Kuwait has won a
court appeal against a 36.69
million dinars ($124.97 million) judgement in favour of
the Ministry of Communications, the telecom operator said
in a bourse statement on
Tuesday.
Continued on Page 12