SATURDAY, JUNE 2 , 2012
@alwatandaily
Issue No. 1453
12 PAGES
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150 Fils with IHT
UN Human Rights Council orders Houla probe
GENEVA: The UN Human Rights Council ordered Friday an independent probe into the massacre in the Syrian town of Houla in order to bring those responsible for the slaughter to justice. Forty-one of the 47-member council backed a resolution urging an investigation by the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, set up by the council last year to gather evidence on alleged rights abuses there. Russia, China and Cuba voted against the resolution which they said was “unbalanced.” Ecuador and Uganda abstained while the Philippines was absent. The resolution “requests the Commission of Inquiry to urgently conduct a comprehensive, independent and unfettered special inquiry, consistent with international standards, into the events in Houla, and if possible to publicly identify those who appear responsible for these atrocities.” It also asks that the probe “preserve the evidence of crimes for possible future criminal prosecutions or a future justice process.” The resolution was voted through at a special session of the council, the fourth to be held on Syria. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said in a statement to the meeting that the Houla massacre could be a “crime against humanity” and repeated a call for events in Syria to be referred to the International Criminal Court in the Hague. Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign ministry on Friday blamed the Houla massacre, in which 108 people were killed, on foreign assistance to Syrian rebels, including arms deliveries and mercenary training. “The tragedy in Houla showed what can be the outcome of financial aid and smuggling of modern weapons to rebels, recruitment of foreign mercenaries and flirting with various sorts of extremists,” the ministry said in a statement. The Russian statement referred to an investigation done by Syrian authorities into the killings, completed Thursday, which made it “evident that the crime was an act well planned by the rebels” in order to undermine efforts to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis. -AFP See also 2
British Navy sailor missing in Dubai
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Suu Kyi gets ovation at first international speech BANGKOK: Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi basked in a longoverdue standing ovation at her first speech before an international audience Friday, but quickly shifted the focus from herself to Myanmar’s many needs - and how the world can help. Despite recently emerging from 24 years of isolation, the former political prisoner appeared completely at ease speaking to the World Economic Forum in Bangkok where she urged the international community to exercise “healthy skepticism” toward Myanmar’s muchtouted reform process. It is not the first time that Suu Kyi has called for caution in the world’s approach to Myanmar - but it is the first time she has uttered the sentiment on foreign soil since becoming her country’s democracy crusader in 1988. The speech was broadcast live across several time zones. The Oxford graduate and longtime political prisoner also delighted the audience with an anecdote about her arrival in Bangkok - on her More on 4 first international flight in decades.
Blasphemy law may be retracted Government could potentially revoke Jaber University, small projects
Staff Writers
Demonstrators protest against Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad after Friday Prayer in Marat AlNuman near the northern province of Idlib June 1, 2012. Banner reads, “Your silence was killing us, now your talk is burying us”. (Reuters)
Tunisia bans weekend demo against extremism TUNIS: Tunisian interior ministry officials said Friday they had banned a demonstration against Salafist extremism planned for this weekend, raising the prospect of fresh clashes on the streets. Activists using the Internet had called the protest for Saturday on the city’s main thoroughfare, avenue Habib Bourguiba. But in a statement on its Facebook page, the interior ministry said the protest would be illegal because no one had asked for authorization. The ministry “reserved the right to react,” the statement added. On April 9, a demonstration on the same avenue went ahead despite having been banned but was violently broken up by the security forces, provoking widespread anger. At least 15 civilians and eight policemen were hurt in the unrest. Interior Minister Ali Larayedh was summoned before parliament, and President Moncef Marzouki denounced the “unacceptable violence”. One group of activists insisted that they had
filed a request for Saturday’s “day of anger” on time. The demonstration would be in response to violence last weekend in the northeast of the country, when radical Salafist groups attacked several police stations. The ultra-conservative Salafists, some armed with clubs and swords, also burned down the shops of alcohol vendors who refused to close. They have been intensifying their attacks over the last 11 days. On Thursday, responding to the attacks on the police stations, Larayedh warned that the police were authorized to use live rounds. “Those who think that sovereign institutions such as police barracks can be attacked with impunity should know that in such cases the law authorizes the use of live rounds,” the interior minister told reporters. “The state of emergency is still in force and we will take all necessary steps to restore security in the country,” he added. -AFP
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Unemployment in EU increases to 10.3%
Kosovo Serbs and NATO troops clash in tense north
ZVECAN, Kosovo: At least three Kosovo Serbs and a NATO soldier were wounded in a gunfight on Friday, as peacekeepers tried to dismantle Serb barricades blocking traffic, a Reuters witness said. NATO troops in the Kosovo Force (KFOR) fired tear gas and small arms and some protesters fired back with handguns. The troops, in armored personnel carriers, were confronted by hundreds of Serbs who pelted them with stones near roadblocks in the villages of Rudare and Dudin Krs outside the town of Zvecan in a Serb-dominated northern area of Kosovo. The roadblocks are among the last on major roads yet to be dismantled by KFOR. They were erected as part of a long-running Serb campaign to prevent the government of Albanian-majority independent Kosovo from imposing its rule in the area. “One KFOR soldier has been wounded, has been evacuated and he is stable,” said NATO spokesperson in Kosovo Uwe Nowitzki. “KFOR will not allow the situation to escalate and will use a proportional level of force necessary to maintain a safe and secure environment,” Nowitzki said. The operaMore on 3 tion to remove the roadblocks was continuing, he said.
Our galaxy on a collision course with another: NASA
Faithful wait in front of Milan’s cathedral, the Duomo, prior the arrival of Pope Benedict XVI on June 1, 2012. The Pontif sets off for the World Meeting of Families in Milan, leaving behind a scandal-hit Vatican in a bid to promote traditional family values as the key to the Church’s future. (AFP)
Compiled by Al Watan Daily
PARIS: Our galaxy is on a collision course with its nearest neighbor, Andromeda, and the head-on crash is expected in four billion years, the US space agency NASA said this weekend. Astronomers have long theorized that a clash of these galaxy titans was on the way, though it was unknown how severe it might be, or when, with guesses ranging from three to six billion years. But years of “extraordinarily precise observations” from NASA’s Hubble Space telescope tracking the motion of the Andromeda galaxy “remove any doubt that it is destined to collide and merge with the Milky Way,” NASA said in a statement. “It will take four billion years before the strike.” After the initial impact it will take another two billion years for them “to completely merge under the tug of gravity and reshape into a single elliptical galaxy similar to the kind commonly seen in the local universe,” NASA added. More on 9
Bunting and flags mark four days of Queen’s jubilee celebrations
Activists of the Defence Council of Pakistan, an alliance of right-wing, shout anti-US slogans during a protest rally in Karachi on June 1, 2012 against the Pakistani governments plan to reopen NATO supplies route to Afghanistan. (AFP)
KUWAIT: MPs expressed their utter disapproval against the government as reports came in suggesting that the government is planning to revoke any decisions related to maximizing penalties against those who disparage the divine name as well as the decision related to Jaber University. MP Mohammad Al-Kandari warned the government against such a thing calling for its resignation if indeed they are planning to retract their decision. “I believe if the government retracted from their former decision, it would show how weak and vulnerable the government is, and in my opinion all ministers should submit their resignation as a result,” he remarked. Meanwhile, speaking to the Al Watan, MP Al-Saifi said that he had received reliable information which points out that Minister Ahmad Al-Rujaib is planning to evade the parliamentary confrontation by submitting his resignation prior to any formal discussion into the matter. “You need to take a stand and stop being evasive. After all, you are a military man and had returned with the rank of lieutenant-general. So, to say the least, you need to respect your military rank and your military career and stand at the podium before the eyes of the MPs, so they may question you over your destructive ideas which can only be described as seriously damaging to the country’s national unity, at a time when the country is in desperate need for it,” he said addressing the minister. Al-Saifi was asked about the accusations made by Minister Al-Rujaib, wherein the minister alleges the reason behind Al-Saifi’s submission of a motion for questioning comes as a result of the minister’s refusal to appoint one of the MP’s acquaintances as assistant undersecretary in the Ministry of Social Affairs and that in return the MP would halt his attack and interpellation. Al-Saifi replied by saying “this is all gibberish.” Meanwhile, sources have confirmed to Al Watan that His Highness the Prime Minister was indeed approached by the Majority MPs hoping to convince Minister Al-Rujaib to declare reforms and addressing of the issues raised in the interpellation sheet submitted by MP Al-Saifi, and that in return they would interfere to postpone the interpellation against the minister. Sources further confirmed that there has been division in the camp of the Majority MPs over Al-Saifi’s interpellation. Some have gone a step further stressing that they would never support the removal of the minister from his position. Consequently, some MPs have decided to meet today in the diwaniya of MP Jamaan Al-Harbash to discuss the implications of the interpellation submitted by MP Khalid Shakheer against the Minister of Defense. A draft of Shukheer’s interpellation is expected to be submitted during the meeting to discuss the pros and cons.
LONDON: Britain embarks on four days of pomp, pageantry and patriotism on Saturday to mark Queen Elizabeth’s 60th year on the throne, with the monarchy’s popularity surging and celebrations bringing cheer to a nation struggling in harsh economic times. “Union Jack” flags fluttered from buildings, shops and train stations across the country, thousands of street parties have been planned and huge crowds are expected to flock to Diamond Jubilee festivities in a country emblazoned red, white and blue. To royalists, the occasion is a chance to express their thanks and appreciation to the 86-year-old Elizabeth, head of state for 16 countries from Australia and Cana-
da to tiny Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean, for her years of public service. For others, the chance of some extra days off work and to enjoy the sort of extravaganza and public ceremony for which Britain is renowned has made it a welcome break from austere times, pay freezes and deep public spending cuts. Republicans hope the occasion marks the last hurrah of a dying anachronism, while some 2 million people are leaving Britain altogether to go on holiday. “Original jubilees were invented in the 19th century by the popular press as modes of national celebration for which the monarchy and monarch was almost incidental,” said royal biographer Robert More on 10 Lacey.
Madonna kicks off MDNA world tour
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Tuareg rebels reject deal with Islamists over Sharia
BAMAKO: Tuareg rebels said Friday they had rejected a deal with Islamist rebels to form a breakaway state in northern Mali because of their insistence on implementing Sharia law. The Islamist Ansar Dine (Defenders of Faith) have refused to back off from their demand for the implementation of radical Islamic law, which the rebel National Liberation Movement of Azawad (MNLA) has already rejected. “The MNLA’s political leadership, faced with Ansar Dine’s intransigence on applying Sharia law in Azawad, and to remain faithful to its resolutely secular position, rejects the deal dated May 26, 2012 made with this group and declares everything pertaining to it null and void,” said a statement. The document, dated Thursday and signed by senior MNLA member Hamma Ag Mahmoud in Azawad’s capital Gao, was the first official confirmation of the rebels’ rejection of the accord.
The rival groups, who seized main cities in northern Mali after a March 22 coup in the southern capital Bamako, hold separate ideologies and objectives and the relationship has been an uneasy one. A brief bid to merge the two groups quickly dissolved over Ansar Dine’s desire to impose radical Islamic rules on the state. Mossa Ag Attaher, a Paris-based MNLA spokesman, told AFP Friday they had “accepted the idea of an Islamic State but it should have been written that we will practice a moderate and tolerant Islam, with no mention of Sharia. “We are not ready to find ourselves closed-in by Sharia from one day to the next,” he added. But while the MNLA was ready to fight Islamic terrorism, he said, the Tuaregs would not give up on their aim of an autonomous state of Azawad, their name for their homeland in northern Mali, an area larger than France. -AFP