CR IP TI ON BS SU
MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2012
RABIA ALTHANI 12, 1433 AH
www.kuwaittimes.net
Kuwait National & Liberation Days
Blasts leave 206 dead in Congo Brazzaville
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Explosions flatten buildings; thousands flee
MP Ashour to grill PM over deposits By B Izzak KUWAIT: In a surprising move, leading Shiite MP Saleh Ashour said yesterday he will file a request to grill Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak AlSabah tomorrow over two corruption scandals that happened during the previous government, in addition to allegations of maltreatment of Shiite religious leaders. Ashour told reporters that the grilling will be based on four issues, topped by the corruption scandal involving 12 former MPs and Ashour himself and allegations of former Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. The third issue relates to allegations of maltreatment of religious Shiite leaders at Kuwait Airport and certain border posts, especially Shiite pilgrims returning from Iraqi religious sites through Abdali border post. Ashour declined to reveal the fourth issue, saying he is still preparing it, but insisted he will file the grilling tomorrow and asked the Opposition, which now controls a majority in the Assembly, to respect his move. In a quick response, Opposition MP Mussallam Al-Barrak said the Opposition will not Continued on Page 13
KINSHASA: A plume of smoke can be seen over Brazzaville from across the Congo River in Kinshasa, capital of neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday. (Inset) An injured man is treated by health workers at a hospital. — AFP
Max 22º Min 09º High Tide 10:18 & 20:54 Low Tide 03:17 & 14:25
BRAZZAVILLE: Blasts rocked the capital of the Republic of Congo yesterday morning after a weapons depot caught fire, officials said, killing at least 206 people and forcing thousands to flee. A morgue in Brazzaville took in 136 bodies yesterday afternoon, as more continued to arrive. A local hospital reported at least 237 patients wounded in the blasts. Yesterday’s blasts flattened many buildings in the northern part of Brazzaville and sent more than 2,000 fleeing their homes. The munitions depot is near the president’s private residence, but he was at his official residence in another part of town and was not hurt. President Denis Sassou-Nguesso later visited the morgue, a hospital and the military hospital. The explosions shook houses in Brazzaville and echoed across the Congo River to the capital of the neighboring country. Didier Boutsindi of the presidential office said untold numbers of people were trapped in a church that collapsed. “Many of the faithful are trapped in the debris of the church,” he said. “Several of the dead have been taken out and I confirm there are more deaths inside.” He said his uncle was killed when his home collapsed on him. Another explosion struck the area early in the afternoon, causing panic among those gathered there, including journalists. Other witnesses said the wounded may have included hundreds of Chinese workers. The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Chinese embassy officials as saying three Chinese workers were killed and dozens were injured in the explosions. It said that Duan Jinzhu, political counselor at the embassy, had confirmed the deaths. It was not known if the three workers were included in the morgue and hospital’s counts. Continued on Page 13
Barefoot College turns rural women into solar engineers
61 killed in Yemen 36 soldiers, 25 militants die
MOSCOW: Russian Prime Minister and presidential candidate Vladimir Putin and his wife Lyudmila leave a polling station in Moscow yesterday. — AP
Putin reclaims Kremlin Opposition cry foul MOSCOW: Vladimir Putin won a resounding victory in Russia’s presidential election yesterday, exit polls showed, securing a new six-year term in the Kremlin and a mandate to deal with opposition protests after a vote that opponents said was marred by fraud. Two television exit polls, released after voting ended at 1700 GMT, forecast the prime minister would win 59.3 and 58.3 percent of the votes, easily enough to make a runoff against the second-placed candidate unnecessary. His nearest rival, Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov, fell short of 20 percent in both exit polls. Zyuganov said his party would not recognize the official results of the election, calling it “illegitimate, dishonest and un-transparent.” Putin’s swiftly dismissed fraud allegations, which will be repeated at opposition protests starting on Monday. “This is the cleanest election in Russia’s entire history,” said Stanislav Govorukhin, his
Israel urges end to Syria bloodshed, offers aid
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campaign chief. “The violations our rivals and the opponents of our president will now speak of are laughable.” Official results are not expected from most polling stations until today. But Putin, 59, was expected to portray his return to the presidency after four years as prime minister as strong public backing against the protesters, whom he has portrayed as a minority and pawns of foreign governments. A huge crowd of mostly young Putin supporters gathered in a square outside the Kremlin after dark, waving Russian flags. Hundreds of buses that brought them to the capital in a well organized show of force stood by. The former KGB spy is also expected to return to the Kremlin with tough fighting talk against the West, a trademark of his first presidency and election campaign. Economists said a key test of Putin’s return would be how far he was ready to go to reform an economy Continued on Page 13
Poland’s train wreck kills16, njures score
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ADEN: At least 36 soldiers were killed in twin suicide bombings and ensuing clashes with Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen yesterday, hospital sources said, part of an upsurge in attacks since a presidential election two weeks ago. A Yemeni army officer said at least 25 of the Islamist militants also died in the fighting in the country’s south, an unstable territory near oil shipping routes through the Red Sea. Residents and local officials said a vehicle exploded at a military position at the western entrance to the city of Zinjibar, near the Gulf of Aden. At least seven people were killed in that blast, medical sources said. Another vehicle was detonated at an artillery position at the southern entrance to the city, killing and wounding an unknown number of people. The Yemeni army sent reinforcements to Zinjibar from the nearby port city of Aden after the blasts. Medics at a military hospital in the southern port city of Aden said the bodies of 35 soldiers had been brought in, and dozens more had been wounded. They said the number of casualties was likely to rise. The attacks underscore the challenges facing newly elected President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi as he tries to bring stability to Yemen after a year of protests against his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, that pushed Yemen to the brink of civil war. Months of anti-Saleh protests weakened central government control over whole swathes of Yemen to the benefit of militants linked to Al-Qaeda which has expanded its foothold in the south. A caller who said he was a spokesman for Al-Qaeda said the militant group was responsible for both attacks in which the two bombers died. Continued on Page 13
Audi records healthy surplus, launches new products
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RAJASTHAN: Photo shows women of African origin learning how to integrate circuit boards for solar lights at the Barefoot College in Tilonia town, in the Indian state of Rajasthan. — AFP TILONIA: It gives no degrees and the teachers often don’t speak the same language as the pupils, but India’s Barefoot College has been transforming the lives of rural women for four decades. Located in Tilonia village, 100 kilometers from the capital of the western desert state of Rajasthan, Barefoot is a collection of environmentally friendly dome-shape buildings. Inside, about a dozen teachers take classes of pupils-some of them illiterate grandmothers from remote villages-teaching them the basics of solar engineering, dentistry, mechanics or public health, and even radio DJing. All those sat on the floor or leaning on old desks are women, almost everyone is poor, many are unable to read or write, and some of them hail from as far away as Tanzania in Africa. Barefoot was start-
ed by social entrepreneur Sanjit “Bunker” Roy in 1972 and it has been breaking taboos ever since, educating women who are often second-class citizens discouraged from getting an education. Magan Kanwar, who teaches solar engineering, remembers being told by her father-in-law she should focus on knitting sweaters rather than dreaming of attending the school. “But I just wanted to do something more than cooking and producing babies. This college gave me a chance to find the purpose of my life,” she said. Lots of the women at the school have heavy-drinking and abusive husbands, she says, meaning the study gives them some independence and crucially can secure an income and future for their children. Continued on Page 13
Villas-Boas fired; Di Matteo in charge
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