N E W S

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8, 2017

Continued from Page 1

Accordingly, the lawmakers demanded deporting a mil-lion expats within 5-10 years with an annual rate of 100,000expats, which means their rejection of the minster of socialaffairs and labor’s suggestion to adjust the population struc-ture within 15 years.

“Unless the government is serious in solving the problemand reducing the number of marginal workers, the societywill continue to suffer from imported crimes,” the lawmakerswarned, calling for setting a certain quota per nationalitybecause it is unacceptable that half of the expatriates livingin Kuwait belong to only one nationality.

In this regard, MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei called for setting awell-studied strategic law to organize Kuwait’s demographyand increase the number of citizens to over 50 percent ofthe population. “This means reducing the number of expats

by 10 percent annually and getting rid of those the Kuwaitimarket does not need,” he underscored.

MP Mohammed Al-Huwailah said that like other GCCstates, Kuwait is suffering from demographic imbalancesand that this can only be resolved by good planning. “Thisdoes not need 15 years as the minister said,” he underlined,noting that the problem can be resolved within five years bysetting a well-structured plan.

Commenting on the same, the head of the parliamentaryhuman rights committee MP Adel Al-Damkhi called for hold-ing visa traffickers legally accountable and for incriminatinghuman trafficking. He also called for appointing moreKuwaitis in the government sector. MP Osama Al-Shaheensaid it was unacceptable that expats form two-thirds of thepopulation. “Generally speaking, we are not against expatsand do not deny the contributions of some, but the fact thatKuwaitis are outnumbered calls for a serious stand,” he said.

Deportations surge as 29,000 expelled in 2016

Continued from Page 1

Although Trump accepted the possibility thatMoscow was involved in hacking US targets includingthe Democratic National Committee, the president-electheld fast to his rejection of the intelligence community’sconclusion that Russia interfered in the election. He toldthe New York Times before the meeting that the accusa-tions are part of a “political witch-hunt” against him.

He blamed Democrats for the hacking, accusing theDemocratic National Committee of “gross negligence” inanother series of tweets yesterday. “Only reason thehacking of the poorly defended DNC is discussed is thatthe loss by the Dems was so big that they are totally

embarrassed!” Trump, who has ridiculed the country’sintelligence agencies, repeated his view that the find-ings show “absolutely no evidence” any hacking affect-ed the election results. “Voting machines not touched!”

Moscow denies the hacking accusations. Yesterday,a top Russian lawmaker accused US President BarackObama’s administration of undermining US democracyinstead. “The Democratic process in the United States isundermined not by Russia, but by the Obama adminis-tration and the media which supported (Democraticnominee Hillary) Clinton against Trump, AlexeiPushkov, former parliamentary foreign relations com-mittee chairman, tweeted.” The threat to democracy isthe United States.” — AFP

Trump slams anti-Russia ‘fools’

Continued from Page 1

fighters - were killed in a car bombing of a rebelheadquarters. The rebels accused the Islamic Stategroup of being behind that attack. The group is presentelsewhere in Aleppo province and has sought toadvance on Azaz in the past. In October, at least 17 peo-ple were killed in a car bomb attack on a rebel check-point, the Observatory said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility foryesterday’s attack, but Osama Al-Merhi, a lawyer at thescene of the blast, pointed the finger at IS. “These kindsof crimes are only committed by the terrorist groupDaesh,” he said, using an Arabic acronym for IS. “Theyare the ones who target civilians and the cadres whoare building this country,” he told AFP.

The blast comes during a fragile nationwide ceasefirebrokered by government ally Russia and rebel backerTurkey. The truce came into effect on Dec 30, and isintended to pave the way for new peace talks in Kazakhcapital Astana, which regime ally Iran is also helpingorganize. But the ceasefire and the planned talks havebeen threatened by ongoing violence in the rebel-heldWadi Barada region outside Damascus, which is themain water source for the capital.

Overnight, the Observatory said seven Syrian soldiersand two civilians were killed in clashes. Fighting in theregion has continued despite the truce, which does notapply to IS or former Al-Qaeda affiliate Fateh al-ShamFront, known previously as Al-Nusra Front. The govern-

ment says Fateh al-Sham is present in Wadi Barada, andblames rebels there for cutting water to Damascus sinceDec 22. Rebels deny the jihadist group is in the regionand say the mains supply was severed after governmentstrikes hit pumping facilities in the area. The damage hasleft 5.5 million people in Damascus and its suburbs with-out water, according to the UN. Yesterday, state mediasaid maintenance teams had arrived in the area 15 kmnorthwest of Damascus and were “prepared to enter” tobegin repair work. A source close to the regime said atemporary ceasefire had been agreed to allow the repaircrews to enter, though it could take days before themains supply is restored.

More than 310,000 people have been killed in Syriasince the conflict began in March 2011 with anti-gov-ernment protests. The fighting has displaced more thanhalf the population, internally or abroad, and provedstubbornly resistant to international attempts to brokera political solution. Turkey and Russia want to convenenegotiations in Astana later this month, but rebels havesuspended participation in preparatory talks, blamingregime “violations” in Wadi Barada.

Elsewhere, an alliance of Arab and Kurdish fightersbacked by US special forces moved to within four kilo-meters of the Tabqa dam held by IS, the Observatorysaid. The monitor said the Syrian Democratic Forces hadtaken the last IS-held village between them and thedam on the Euphrates, which is the country’s largest.The dam is just 500 m from the town of Tabqa, wheremany senior IS commanders have been based. — AFP

Tanker bomb kills 48 in Syria town

Continued from Page 1

exhibiting “erratic behavior” that led agents to contactlocal police, who took him to a medical facility for a mentalhealth evaluation, Piro said. However, he was not placedon a no-fly list, Piro added.

A former member of the Puerto Rico and AlaskaNational Guard, Santiago served in Iraq from April 2010 toFebruary 2011. He ended his service in August.Investigators were probing Santiago’s recent travel.“Indications are that he came here to carry out this horrificattack,” Piro said, adding that officials had not yet “identi-fied any triggers”. The suspect, who earlier complained thatthe CIA was forcing him to watch Islamic State videos,allegedly opened fire randomly with a semi-automatichandgun Friday shortly before 1:00 pm (1800 GMT).

Following the initial gunshots, a deputy officer cameinto contact with the gunman after approximately 70 to 80seconds, Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters.Santiago was detained without law enforcement havingfired any shots, the sheriff added. An aunt, Maria Luisa Ruiz,told the NorthJersey.com news site that Santiago becamea father to a baby boy in September - and that he was hav-ing mental problems. “Like a month ago, it was like he losthis mind,” Ruiz said. “He said he saw things. My family and Iare in shock right now,” she added. “It’s sad, but we have toconfront the situation.” FBI agents later interviewed Ruiz,CNN reported. In addition to those killed and wounded, upto 40 people went to the hospital for various other injuriessuch as falling and sprains, Israel said. Three of the wound-ed were still in the intensive care unit. The sheriff empha-

sized that if people “are suffering from a mental illness orthey’re on a no-fly list or they’re a convicted felon, they flatout shouldn’t be allowed to own handguns or rifles.”

The shooting renewed anxieties about airport security -a concern that has loomed large in the post-9/11 era - andshed new light on ongoing US gun-control debates.Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who repre-sents the Florida district that includes the airport, said theincident brought into question federal rules that allowfirearms to be carried on a plane in checked baggage.

Speaking to CNN, the congresswoman said “baggageclaim areas are not secure” and that the incident shouldprompt close review of “whether or not you should beallowed to check a firearm at all” - as well as how passen-gers traveling with firearms should be able to retrieve theirweapons after landing. “If there is still exposure to the trav-eling public of someone who wishes to do them harm and,like this individual, was reunited with their firearm and wasable to wreak havoc... it absolutely needs to be addressed.”

Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut,rebuked the government for not taking legislative actionto tighten gun laws. “Political cowardice is the accompliceof every mass shooter,” he wrote on Twitter. “The uttersilence of Congress in the face of this carnage has becomeconsent.” The Fort Lauderdale airport was open again yes-terday, aiming to run at about 85 percent of its normalcapacity, according to the airport director. Airport person-nel were also busy conducting the complicated task ofreturning nearly 20,000 pieces of luggage and other per-sonal items abandoned by passengers fleeing at the timeof the shooting, officials said. — AFP

US not ruling out terrorism in Florida...

A sailboat is silhouetted against the setting sun on Friday off the coast of Key West, Florida. — AP