March 10, 2012

Page 1

SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 2012

@alwatandaily

Issue No. 1369

12 PAGES

www.alwatandaily.com

150 Fils with IHT

Al-Mattar: Gas leak in Ahmadi still exists

Ashour’s interpellation is unconstitutional: Government experts Mohammad Al-Salman Mohammad Al-Khaldi

Staff Writters

KUWAIT: At the time when parliamentary majority is preparing to positively deal with the interpellation motion filed by MP Saleh Ashour against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah which is included in the next parliamentary session’s agenda, informed sources revealed that Ashour has asked his office team to be prepared to face the interpellation during the next session. Sources said that Ashour has prepared documents which support the interpellation motion and is preparing for a surprise during the session allocated for discussing the motion. The motion is constitutionally scheduled on Thursday but was added on Tuesday’s session agenda. This could give both Ashour and the Premiere an opportunity to discuss the motion after the approval of the Parliament. In the meantime, sources affirmed that a number of constitutional experts in the government confirm that the interpellation motion presented is unconstitutional because it discusses issues handled by the previous government. The sources explained that the experts submitted a report to the Cabinet, which will make its decision after discussing the report during the next session.

Meanwhile, a parliamentary source said that a number of minority MPs intend to question the Interior Minister, adding that they are drafting the interpellation, which is based on the arbitrary measures taken by the Interior Ministry against some clergies. The source said that the MPs agreed on filing the motion after discussing the one filed against His Highness Prime Minister. In a statement to Al Watan, MP Dr. Hamad Al-Mattar said that he will announce his stance on the interpellation after listening to the responses of His Highness the Prime Minister. He added that the parliament is different from the previous one, noting that he will announce whether to be for or against the interpellation after listening to both the parties. In another development, MP Al-Mattar said that the Environment Committee will submit a request to the parliament demanding the continuation of work in the investigatory committee on the issue of gas leak in Ahmadi because the leak still exists, the residents are still suffering and the previous committee did not finalize its final report on the issue. Al-Mattar revealed that the committee will invite Minister of Defense and Minister of Oil next week to discuss the issue of pollution of “Um Al-Qawati” and “environmental compensations”, noting that the death of fishes, Mishref disaster and pollution in Umm Al-Hayman are priorities for the committee.

MP Mohammad Al-Khalifa said that the issue of writing off loans will be decided by the parliament and not by the government, by considering the bills which have been submitted to address this issue. In a statement to Al Watan, Al-Khalifa said that usurious interests are not permissible in Islam, and that he will push toward the cancelation of these interests. He stressed that he believes in democracy and the final decision will be made by the majority. He expressed hope that this issue will be addressed, noting that the Popular Action Bloc proposed giving 1000 dinars to every citizen who did not take loans. MP Dr. Khaled Shakheer said that the government is required to address the issue of loans and to drop the interests, which burdened citizens. Shakheer stated that the parliament will deal with this issue in order to reach a solution and to serve justice to all citizens. Meanwhile, the Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee will hold a meeting Sunday to discuss a number of draft laws. The Negative Phenomena Committee will hold a meeting to discuss its work plan during the coming period. The Budgets and Final Accounts Committee will hold its periodical meeting to complete discussing the framework of the budgets of ministries and government departments for 2012/2013, in the presence of Minister of Finance and specialists in the ministry and State Audit Bureau.

OPEC pumps record volumes despite demand worry

A helicopter drops water on one of the four wildfires that have so far ravaged 1,200 hectares (3,000 acres) of land, in the northeastern region of Catalonia, near the northern Spain village of Gerri de la Sal on March 9, 2012. Emergency services workers evacuated about 200 people from their homes on Thursday because of the risk from the flames but the majority have already been allowed to return to their homes. Spain is struggling through its driest winter since the 1940s, according to the national weather office. (AFP)

CAPITALS: Europe’s debt crisis and an oil price rally are the biggest threats to global oil demand this year, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Friday, adding it was still pumping above its target despite a slide in Iranian production. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) retained its view that world oil demand will grow by 900,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year, unchanged from last month, but warned the weak pace of growth in developed economies could crimp global appetite for oil. “The weak pace of growth in the OECD economies is negatively affecting oil demand and imposing a high range of uncertainty on potential consumption growth”, OPEC said in its monthly report. “Although US economic data points toward a better performance, the situation in Europe along with higher oil prices has resulted in considerable uncertainties on the future oil demand for the remainder of the year.” More on 5

UK lawmaker admits assaulting four in Parliament bar

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South Sudan accuses Khartoum of ‘enslaving’ thousands

ADDIS ABABA: South Sudan accused former foe Sudan on Friday of holding 35,000 Southerners as “slaves,” stalling talks to resolve a furious oil dispute as tensions remain high between the two neighbors. South Sudan’s chief negotiator Pagan Amum said the abductees were taken hostage during Sudan’s bloody 1983-2005 north-south civil war which ended in a peace deal that paved the way for South Sudan’s formal independence in July. Thousands of South Sudanese were allegedly abducted by pro-government militia forces during the war and forced to work in the north, claims rejected by the government in Khartoum. The rivals are in the Ethiopian capital holding the latest round of dragging African-Union led talks. The two coun-

tries have been at loggerheads since the South broke away, threatening to reignite conflict between the two former bitter enemies. Oil has been a major sticking point in the talks, since Juba took 75 percent of Sudanese oil at independence but Khartoum controls processing and export facilities. But deals must also be made on contentious nationality issues, as well as border demarcation and the future of the contested Abyei region, claimed by both sides but occupied by Khartoum’s army. Some 500,000 South Sudanese remain in Sudan, and Khartoum has given them until April 8 to leave or regularize their status. However, the United Nations has said it is logistically impossible to repatriate all within the timeframe. -AFP

Dravid announces retirement from international cricket MUMBAI: India batting great and former skipper Rahul Dravid announced his retirement from international cricket on Friday, saying it was the right time to “move on” and make way for the next generation of players. The 39-year-old second highest run scorer in test history announced his decision at a news conference in Bangalore with Indian cricket board (BCCI) president N. Srinivasan and former India leg spinner Anil Kumble also in attendance. Dravid has scored 13,288 runs in 164 tests, including 36 hundreds, and became the first of India’s senior batsmen to retire from the longer format after the team slumped to eight consecutive test defeats away from home. “I would like to announce my retirement from international and domestic first-class cricket,” a sombre-looking Dravid read from a prepared statement, confirming what many observers had expected when the news conference was arranged on Thursday. More on 7

Syrian forces kill at least 54 ahead of Annan’s visit Kuwait stresses on need to coordinate international efforts to deliver aid equally to Syrian people

CAPITALS: Syrian forces killed at least 54 people on Friday as they sought to quell demonstrations against President Bashar Al-Assad before a peace mission by UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan, opposition activists said. Tank rounds and mortar bombs crashed into opposition districts in the rebellious central city of Homs, killing 17 people, activists said, while 24 were killed in the northern province of Idlib and more deaths were reported elsewhere. Leader of Syria’s most prominent opposition group has rejected Kofi Annan’s call for dialogue with the government. Burhan Ghalioun, president of the Syrian National Council (SNC), said on Friday that any solution to the crisis must be accompanied by military pressure on President Bashar Al-Assad. Meanwhile, Kuwait stressed on the need to find an international mechanism to coordinate humanitarian efforts to secure delivery of aid supplies to the Syrian people equally. The mechanism is to be under the UN’s umbrella. Kuwait urged the international society to fully support humanitarian organizations for them to perform well towards the Syrian humanitarian disaster. The Adviser at the permanent Kuwaiti mission to the the United Nations in Geneva, Talal Al-Mutairi, said at the UN international forum on Syria, held Thursday, that Kuwait welcomed such a gathering for its role in studying how to aid the people of Syria. Al-Mutairi affirmed Kuwait’s position against the inhumane behavior taken out on civilians by the Syrian regime, which resulted in the displacement of thousands of them. He also illustrated Kuwait’s efforts towards the people of Syria since the beginning of the crisis, and noted the campaign launched by the International Islamic Charitable Organization under the orders of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. The campaign was able to collect USD 12 million, of which USD 5 million were from the Amir. More on 2

Filmmaker Cameron plans world record 7-mile ocean dive

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Greece secures biggest debt cut in history

ATHENS: Greece’s creditors agreed Friday to take cents on the euro in the biggest debt write down in history, providing much-needed breathing room for European nations living beyond their means. The agreement paves the way for Greece to receive an enormous second bailout in the hopes of containing the crisis before it drags the entire continent further into chaos. Without the agreement, Greece would have risked defaulting on its debts in two weeks’ time, an event that would have sparked turmoil in the financial markets and sent shockwaves through the other 16 countries that use the euro. Following weeks of intense discussions, the Greek government said Friday that 83.5 percent of private investors holding its government debt had agreed to a bond swap that would involve them taking a cut in more than half the face value of their investments with softer repayment terms for Greece. The bond swap was a radical attempt to pull Greece out of its debt spiral and put its shrinking economy back on the path to recovery. The deal is also a key condition for Greece to receive a euro130 billion ($172 billion) package of rescue loans from other eurozone

Greece’s Finance minister Evangelos Venizelos arrives for a news conference in Athens March 9, 2012. (Reuters)

countries and the International Monetary Fund. “We have achieved an exceptional success ... and I believe everyone will soon realize that this is the only way to keep the country on its feet and give it a second historic chance that it needs,” Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos told Parliament. Of the investors holding the euro177 billion ($234 billion) in bonds governed by Greek law, 85.8 percent joined. The

deadline for those holding foreign-law bonds was extended to March 23. Creditors holding Greek-law bonds who refused to sign up will be forced into the deal, with the Cabinet approving during a meeting Friday the activation of legislation known as “collective action clauses.” The settlement date for Greek-law bonds is set for Monday, and April 11 for foreign-law bonds. -AP

Full Titanic site mapped for first time

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine: Researchers have pieced together what’s believed to be the first comprehensive map of the entire 3-by-5-mile Titanic debris field and hope it will provide new clues about what exactly happened the night 100 years ago when the superliner hit an iceberg, plunged to the bottom of the North Atlantic and became a legend. Marks on the muddy ocean bottom suggest, for instance, that the stern rotated like a helicopter blade as the ship sank, rather than plunging straight down, More on 9 researchers told The Associated Press this week.

World’s oldest Charles Dickens film discovered

The northern lights fill the northern sky above Gnesen Township, north of Duluth, Minn., early Friday, March 9, 2012. While a nearly full moon washed out some of the display, what the northern lights lacked in brightness they made up for in motion, with arcs and rays dancing across the sky. (AP)

LONDON: An archivist at the British Film Institute has stumbled across a 1901 movie just one minute long which turns out to be the earliest surviving film featuring a character from the works of Charles Dickens, reports The Guardian. Bryony Dixon was researching early films of China when she noticed an entry in a catalogue referring to The Death of Poor Joe, which she realized could refer to a character in Dickens’ Bleak House.Not expecting to find a film to match the catalogue entry - most movies this old have not survived - Dixon says she was astonished to discover the film was actually in the BFI’s collection, albeit under More on 10 a different title.

Hundreds of Egyptians shout anti-US slogans and raise national flags and Arabic banners reading “people demand the expulsion of the US ambassador, “ in front of the American embassy in Cairo, Egypt, Friday March 9, 2012 as they protest against what they say is American intervention in Egypt. Several hundred protesters gathered Friday outside the US Embassy in Cairo, raising their shoes at a picture of President Barack Obama and calling on Egypt to expel Washington’s ambassador amid a heated national debate about the trial of Americans working with pro-democracy groups who have been charged with using foreign funding to foment unrest. (AP)


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March 10, 2012 by Al Watan Daily - Issuu