MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2012
@alwatandaily
Issue No. 1465
12 PAGES
www.alwatandaily.com
150 Fils with IHT
Cabinet to decide on Al-Humoud’s grilling today
Mohammed Al-Salman, Mohammed Al-Khaldi, Osama Al-Qatari and Ahmed Al-Shemmari Staff Writers
KUWAIT: Parliamentary circles will be awaiting the outcome of the Cabinet’s scheduled meeting today, which certain MPs have billed as crucial in defining the country’s current political direction. An official source has affirmed that the Cabinet will also discuss, during its meeting, issues pertaining to the National Assembly. In this regard, the ministers are expected to deliberate over the critical remarks made by some MPs against the judiciary authority, casting doubt over its integrity. The tirade was made against the judiciary even though the Constitution clearly stipulates that “The system of Government is based on the principle of separation of powers functioning in co-operation with each other in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. None of these powers may relinquish all or part of its competence specified in this Constitution.” In addition, the Cabinet is expected to discuss proposed amendments to some provisions of the Parliament’s Internal Charter, particularly in relation to a clause that
makes the presence of Cabinet members a prerequisite for the validity of sessions held by the Parliament. In the meantime, certain MPs within the Minority Bloc have warned the government against making any uncalculated moves, which may earn the Majority Bloc gains, as it seeks the inclusion of nine of its members in any future Cabinet. Further, MP Dr. Ali Al-Omair described Cabinet’s meeting today as important to clarify issues and determine the government’s approach towards them. Speaking to Al Watan, the MP said that the government’s position can be determined through the decision it will take with regard to the interpellation of the interior minister who is currently on vacation overseas, while his questioning is due after tomorrow. “Will the minister come back, particularly since the deferral of the interpellation necessitates the presence of the concerned minister who makes such a request? If he does not return, this might imply his reluctance to have the interpellation discussed, so today the picture will shape up through the Cabinet’s meeting,” the MP was quoted as saying. For his part, MP Dr. Mohammad Al-Kandari empha-
‘Fire safety important concern for construction sites’ Michael A. Koalrov Staff Writer
KUWAIT: Kuwait is dotted with many construction sites ranging from small houses to larger apartment buildings, and mega projects on more massive scales. Safety concerns for workers have been on the rise following a report published in 2009 by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor in which 20,000 companies in Kuwait were warned that they were courting disaster by violating basic health and safety regulations. In the same year 3,313 workers were injured in work-related accidents, which included falls on construction sites, fires, misuse of construction equipment, and exposure to toxic chemicals. The report also revealed that the department had suspended the licenses of 7,089 companies for safety violations and failing to provide lists of their registered workers. The report also said that a large number of workers were being forced to work outdoors in Kuwait’s extreme summer heat in violation of the nation’s applicable labor laws. In April, Kuwait was beset by a fire in a massive tire dumping yard in which over five million tires were ignited, blanketing Kuwait in thick smoke and causing what MPs referred to as an environmental catastrophe. Fires have also erupted in a scrap yard, and most recently at a construction site More on 2 in Kuwait city.
Haas shocks Federer to win battle of over-30s
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Rodney King, key figure in LA riots, dead at 47
sized the need for a Cabinet reshuffle, particularly since two ministers have recently quit. The lawmaker alluded to the possibility of Cabinet resignation or a Cabinet reshuffle, which may involve the appointment of two new ministers to fill the vacant posts. With regard to Al-Juwaihel’s pending interpellation against the interior minister, Al-Kandari played down the motion, saying that it does not contain anything new. Moreover, MP Nabeel Al-Fadhl asserted that Kuwait is passing through an unprecedented critical phase, hence undermining the pillars of the State and its institutions. “A demand by the Majority Bloc for the inclusion of nine of its members is deceitful,” the lawmaker remarked, and claimed that the bloc is eyeing the total control of Cabinet. Al-Fadhl added that nine ministers constitute a majority in the 16-member Cabinet, while quoting Article 128 of the Constitution, The said article stipulates that “Resolutions are passed only when the majority of its members are present and with the approval of the majority of those present. In case of an equal division of votes, that side prevails on which the Prime Minister has voted.”
Retinal prosthesis could help the blind see
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Homs battered as weekend death toll nears 100
BEIRUT: Troops pounded besieged districts of the flashpoint city of Homs as 15 people were killed in violence across Syria on Sunday, taking the weekend death toll to 84, a watchdog said. A civilian was killed in the rebel stronghold of Khalidiyeh, which, like other parts of the central city, was “being shelled since this morning and shot at by regime forces who have been trying to take control of these districts,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.A rebel fighter was killed in a clash with regime troops in the Karm Shamsham
neighborhood of Homs, while another man was shot dead by a sniper in the Old City. Speaking to AFP via Skype from the Old City neighborhood, activist Abu Bilal said the regime siege of several parts of the city was “suffocating.”“They are shelling us all the time. There’s very little food and water, and we’re running out of medication.” Video posted on YouTube by activists showed clouds of black and grey smoke rising over buildings in the Old City, as the sound of shelling and shooting ripped through the silence of what appeared to be a ghost town. More on 3
21 dead, 100 injured in Nigeria church blasts, rioting
PARIS: Bomb attacks on five churches in Nigeria’s Kaduna State and subsequent rioting by Christian youths targeting Muslims killed at least 21 people and injured 101 others Sunday, an official told AFP. “The official figures from medical personnel on the total deaths from the bombings and protests are 21 deaths and 101 injured,” said an official from the National Emergency Management Agency who requested anonymity. The number of casualties in the blasts in the neighboring cities of Zaria and Kaduna was not immediately clear. Police and the military cordoned off the areas around the churches. The state-run National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said the blasts happened in the Wusasa and Sabongari districts of Zaria, previously targeted by the Islamist group Boko Haram. Residents in the areas said many people were injured in the attacks on the Christ the King Catholic Cathedral and ECWA GoodNews Church. “Many people in the church were injured but I have not seen any dead bodies,” a woman who was in the church in Wusasa at the time of the explosion said by telephone from her hospital bed. Several residents in Sabongari said the See also 5 church was badly damaged.
Iran, world powers set for showdown in Moscow
FILE - This July 16, 1992 file photo shows Rodney King being escorted from jail in Santa Ana, Calif. after he was arrested for investigation of drunken driving. (AP)
LOS ANGELES: Rodney King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation’s history, died Sunday. He was 47. King’s fiancŽ called 911 at 5:25 a.m. to report she found him at the bottom of the swimming pool at their home in Rialto, Calif., police Lt. Dean Hardin. Officers arrived to find King unresponsive in the water, Hardin said. He was transported to Arrowhead Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:11 a.m. There were no signs of foul play, Hardin said. The San Bernardino County coroner will perform an autopsy within 48 hours. The 1992 riots, which were set off by the acquittals of the officers who beat King, lasted three days and left 55 people dead, more than 2,000 injured and swaths of Los Angeles on fire. At the height of the violence, King pleaded on television: “Can we all get along?” In the two decades after he became the central figure in the riots, King was arrested several times, mostly for alcohol-related crimes. He later became a record company executive and a reality TV star, appearing on shows such as “Celebrity Rehab.” In an interview earlier this year with The Associated Press, King said he was a happy man. -AP
MOSCOW: World powers resume crisis talks with Iran today amid hope that a crippling oil embargo and pressure from host Russia will finally force the Islamic Republic to scale back its nuclear drive. The two-day meeting follows a bruising May session in Baghdad during which Iran nearly walked out of negotiations aimed ultimately at keeping it from joining the exclusive club of nations with an atomic bomb. Host Russia however is keen to flex its diplomatic muscle and make Iran an example of how Moscow’s influence over Soviet-era partners could be used to avoid foreign military intervention in the 16-month crisis in Syria. “There are reasons to believe that the next step will be taken in Moscow,” Russia’s Deputy Foreign Sergei Ryabkov said. Failure in Moscow could leave the process in tatters and raise the threat of air raids from arch-foe Israel -- a fateful scenario in which broader conflict would lead to a spike in oil prices that could tip over the world’s teetering economy. But a July 1 deadline for a full EU oil embargo and the June 28 rollout of tough US sanctions against a host of Iranian oil clients is providing added pressure for Tehran to bargain more seriously. -AFP
His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (left) being received by His Highness the Governor Prince Mishaal bin Majed bin Abdulaziz (right) at the King Abdulaziz International Airport Sunday, June More on 2 17, 2012. (KUNA)
Denmark 1
VS
Germany 2
Portugal 2
VS
Netherlands 1
MORE ON 12
Today’s Matches:
Croatia vs Spain & Italy vs Ireland
Egypt votes on final day of presidential election
CAIRO: Egyptians voted for a second day Sunday in a presidential runoff pitting Hosni Mubarak’s last prime minister against a conservative Islamist, with a sense of gloom hanging over many at the polls over the choice and the prospect that the ruling military will still hold most power even after their nominal handover of authority to civilians by July 1. In a sign of how much power they wield, the military generals were preparing to define the next president’s authorities in an interim constitutional declaration that state media said could come by Monday. Under the declaration, the council of generals would be the nation’s legislators and control the budget after the Islamist-dominated parliament was dissolved under a court order last week. The generals will also likely take on the parliament’s task of appointing a 100-member assembly to write the permanent constitution, giving them enormous influence over the document that will shape Egypt’s future and allowing the opportunity to enshrine for themselves a political say. As a result, for some voters even as they stood in sweltering heat at the polls, it seemed that the choice for Mubarak’s successor - between Ahmed Shafiq, a longtime friend and admirer of Mubarak, and Mohammed Morsi, the candidate of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood - would ultimately make little difference. After the first day of voting ended Saturday, the Brotherhood sought to rally the public behind it, saying that a Morsi win for the presidency was now the only hope for the revolution after the military’s consolidation of power. -AP
Lack of US aid to Syrian rebels ‘shameful’: McCain
WASHINGTON: Sen. John McCain says the lack of US aid to Syrian rebels is “shameful,” and that helping the opposition would be the biggest blow to Iran in 25 years. The United States has refused to arm Syrian rebels in part to avoid a proxy fight with Iran and Russia, which back the Syrian government. The crisis in Syria is likely to come up when President Barack
Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Mexico on Monday. McCain tells NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that members of the Syrian opposition are being “killed and massacred and tortured and raped” and “the fact that Americans aren’t helping them is shameful.” Syrian activists say the rebel-held areas in Homs have been under attack for a week. -AP
Egyptian men line up to vote at a polling station in the Shobra neighborhood of Cairo, Egypt on Sunday, June 17, 2012. (AP) See also 3