SUNDAY, APRIL 15, 2012
@alwatandaily
Issue No. 1405
16 PAGES
www.alwatandaily.com
150 Fils with IHT
Early retirement to cost KD 4 billion
Lifting of Parliament-storming MPs’ immunity likely to be approved Mohammed Al-Salman, Mohammed Al-Khaldi, Osama Al-Qatari and Ahmed Al-Shemmari Staff Writers
KUWAIT: The government has informed the Parliament’s Finance and Economic Committee that the cost of amending Social Securities Law to allow early retirement will cost as much as 4 billion Kuwaiti dinars, which is considered to be too high for the Social Securities to bear; hence it will constitute a burden for the State Treasury. The early retirement package is meant for men who have served the government for 20 years and women who have been in active civil service for 15 years. MP Adnan Al-Mutawa, a member of the committee, revealed that the committee is still examining parliamentary proposals to this effect and that it is seeking a compromise that can achieve the desired goal without undermining the financial status of the Public Authority for Social Securities. He added that the Authority is expected to submit more information during a scheduled meeting today (Sunday). A rep-
Diplomats say Iran nuke talks show progress
ISTANBUL: Nuclear negotiators for Iran and six world powers were making encouraging progress in bridging differences that have doomed previous meetings meant to reduce fears over Tehran’s atomic program, diplomats close to the talks said. But, in a reality check reflecting the gulf dividing the United States and Iran, a powerful Iranian official said his country had rejected an overture from Washington for a one-on-one meeting between the two delegations at the talks. He spoke after the morning plenary session broke and plans were being formed for bilateral encounters between Iran and its six interlocutors. “No bilateral talks with the US will be formed,” Alaeddin Boroujeddi, head of Iran’s powerful parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy told The Associated Press. “It is not Iran’s policy to have bilateral talks with the US Iran will talk to them on the multilateral level.” Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic ties for 33 years, since militant Iranian students took American diplomats hostage in Tehran and relations have faced additional tensions since. As the meeting broke for lunch, the diplomats cautioned against premature optimism about the outcome. Still, they said the unfolding dialogue between the two sides suggested they would find enough common ground for a second round in several weeks’ time. More on 4
resentative of the Authority and the Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali are due to attend the meeting. Reportedly, the committee will compare these proposals with the status quo in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States, as well as deliberate over the merits and demerits of early retirement. In another development, the Legal and Legislative Committee Rapporteur MP Mohammad Al-Dallal affirmed that the committee is likely to approve a request to lift the immunity of MPs accused of being implicated in the storming of Parliament. Al-Dallal added that he personally backs the idea of removing the immunity of MPs involved in the case. Reacting to a request by the Ministry of Interior to lift the immunity of MP Dr. Faisal Al-Mislem, MP Al-Dallal questioned the rationale behind such a request, affirming that it constitutes an unacceptable and dangerous precedent. He argued that the request should have been made by the Public Prosecution rather than the Ministry of Interior.
UN approves first observers for Syria
CONTINUED ON PAGE 2
Food inspection campaigns continue
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Mali talks with mediator begin OUAGADOUGOU, Burkina Faso: West African mediator Blaise Compaore began talks on Saturday with Malian politicians and the military junta that briefly seized power last month to resolve the country’s crisis. Compaore, president of Burkina Faso, said the talks in Ouagadougou were aimed at finalizing an accord reached last week for a return to civilian rule and finding ways to end a rebellion that has left the north of the country in the hands of Tuareg separatist and Islamist groups. Meanwhile the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which named Compaore its mediator, said it had asked regional leaders to approve a troop deployment to end the rebellion. Compaore said the intention of Saturday’s talks was to agree on a roadmap to “ensure the proper functioning of republican institutions, restore territorial integrity and hold free and transparent elections in a peaceful and secure environment.” Compaore called on Malians to back the transitional government which is being formed “to strengthen the rule of law, respect republican values and maintain the integrity of the country.” More than 80 people were taking part in the closed-door talks with Compaore in a conference hall in the Burkina Faso capital, including senior officials of the junta, parliamentary and regional leaders and religious heads. -AFP
China’s Ambassador to the UN Li Baodong votes during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations in New York April 14, 2012. The UN Security Council on Saturday unanimously authorized the deployment of up to 30 unarmed observers to Syria to monitor the country’s fragile ceasefire. (Reuters)
UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Saturday to deploy the first wave of UN military observers to monitor a fragile cease-fire between the Syrian government and opposition fighters. The vote marked the first time UN diplomats on the council all agreed on a resolution since the conflict began more than a year ago. It calls on both sides to immediately “cease all armed violence in all its forms.” It also calls on the Syrian government to implement the six-point peace plan put forward by international envoy Kofi Annan, including the pull-back of troops and heavy weapons from cities and town. The resolution calls for the deployment of an advance team of up to
Madagascar passes amnesty law, excludes ousted leader ANTANANARIVO: Madagascar has passed an amnesty law that blocks ousted leader Marc Ravalomanana from returning to the island country, an official said on Saturday. The law was passed without changes by overwhelming majorities in both the interim parliament and transitional government, but excludes human rights violations -- including murder -- from the amnesty. “We are satisfied because we’ve been waiting for this law for ten years. It will advance the transition process,” said Lanto Rakotomavo, vice president of the High Transitional Council. A roadmap to new elections brokered by regional bloc the Southern African Development Community was signed by the island’s main political factions in November. It allows the return of exiled leaders, including Ravalomanana, who was ousted in March 2009 by current strongman Andry Rajoelina in an army-backed coup after weeks of protests. The amnesty law has been seen as a key step toward allowing his return ahead of new polls, but the inclusion of “murder” implicitly excludes Ravalomanana from amnesty. He had been sentenced in absentia in August 2010
to life in prison and hard labor for the deaths of some 30 opposition protesters killed by his presidential guard in February 2009. Ravalomanana’s movement abstained from voting and left the chambers during the polls. “We don’t agree with the personal interpretation of “human rights violations” because it does not conform to international convention. Isolated killings should not be included in the term “human rights violations”,” said Mamy Rakotoarivelo, who heads the former leader’s movement. But Rakotomavo, who also leads Rajoelina’s party, disagreed. “We just followed the indications of the Southern African Development Community, which in its recommendations includes murder under “human rights violations”,” she told AFP. Ravalomanana’s plane was blocked from landing on the island in January when he attempted to return from South Africa after three years’ exile. An upcoming law on the status of former presidents should clarify his position. UN experts will in May pronounce on the feasibility of elections planned for Nov. 30, which now seem increasingly unlikely. -AFP
See also 4
Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt get engaged after 7 years
Eat less meat to prevent climate disaster, study warns
Supporters of French Front de Gauche (FG) leftist candidate for the 2012 French presidential election, listen to his speech during a campaign meeting on April 14, 2012 at the Plages du Prado in Marseille, southern France. (AFP)
30 unarmed military observers to initiate contacts with both sides and begin to report on whether there has been “a full cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties.” The council said it intends to immediately establish a larger UN supervision mission after consultations between Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the Syrian government. Deployment of a larger force will be “subject to a sustained cessation of armed violence in all its forms by all parties.” Annan’s spokesman, Ahmad Fawzi, has said that Annan - who is an envoy on behalf of the UN and the Arab League envisions a mission with about 250 observers. -AP
LONDON: Meat eaters in developed countries will have to eat a lot less meat, cutting consumption by 50%, to avoid the worst consequences of future climate change, new research warns, reports The Guardian. The fertilizers used in farming are responsible for a significant share of the warming that causes climate change. A study published in Environmental Research Letters warns that drastic changes in food production and at the dinner table are needed by 2050 in order to prevent catastrophic global warming. It’s arguably the most difficult challenge in dealing with climate change: how to reduce emissions from food production while still producing enough to feed a global population projected to reach 9 billion by the middle of this century. The findings, by Eric Davidson, director of the Woods Hole Research Centre in Massachusetts, say the developed world will have to cut fertilizer use by 50% and persuade consumers in the developed world to stop eating so much meat. Davidson concedes it’s a hard sell. Meat is a regular part of the diet in the developed world. In developing economies, such as China and India, meat consumption has risen along with prosperity. “I think there are huge challenges in convincing people in the west to reduce portion sizes or the frequency of eating meat. That is part of our culture right now,” he said. Researchers have been paying closer attention in the past few years to the impact of agriculture on climate change, and the parallel problem of growing enough food for an expanding population. Some scientists are at work growing artificial meat which would avoid the fertilizers and manure responsible for More on 11 climate change.
An image taken with a mobile phone shows a Yemeni army vehicle firing a rocket during fighting between army forces and militant supporters of the Al-Qaeda in the south Yemen town of Loder, in Abiyan province, on April 14, 2012. At least 222 people including 183 militants have been killed in five days of clashes around the strategic town of Loder which Al-Qaeda is trying to seize, a security official said. (AFP)
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New North Korean leader emphasizes ‘military first’
PYONGYANG: Hours after a failed rocket launch criticized abroad as a covert test of missile technology, North Korea’s new leader underlined the country’s “military first” policy with a budget that allocates a sizable chunk of funding to defense spending. North Korea’s legislature also formalized Kim Jong Un’s leadership of the country and promoted a host of younger military officials to the powerful National Defense Commission, state-run media reported Saturday, in a strong indication that the “military first” rule of the late Kim Jong Il will continue under his young son. Still, Premier Choe Yong Rim told legislators the nation’s top priority is to build up the economy and improve the people’s standard of living, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly convened Friday for a special one-day session to ratify appointments and promotions, discuss this year’s budget and to make constitutional amendments to formalize Kim Jong Un’s leadership of the country. Hours earlier, in a precursor to the gathering, North Korea defied the US and others by firing a long-range rocket that space officials said was mounted with an observational satellite despite warnings against pushing ahead with the More on 5 provocative launch.
Apple works on Mac malware fix but takes heat SAN FRANCISCO: The cybersecurity community raked Apple Inc over the coals on Wednesday, saying the company had dragged its heels on eradicating malware that experts say may have infected up to 600,000 Macintosh computers and can be used to ferret out sensitive user information. The consumer electronics company said it was working on finding and ridding “Flashback” malware that exploits a flaw in Oracle Corp’s Java software. Apple has issued patches and is now developing software to detect and eliminate Flashback, it said on its website. The company declined to elaborate. But Apple is catching heat for not having quickly addressed the issue, even after Oracle distributed its own patch in February. Several security blogs accused Apple of having not been forthcoming in the past about security issues, but gave the company credit for stepping forward now. “Someone in Apple has broken ranks following the recent revelations of a Jolly Big OS X botnet,” Paul Ducklin at security specialist Sophos wrote. “Apple has -- apparently for the very first time -- talked about a security problem before it had all its threat response ducks in a row.” More on 12