IPT IO N SC R SU B
SATURDAY, JULY 7, 2012
No: 15501
SHAABAN 17, 1433 AH
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48
Emiratis want crackdown on skimpy dress
State security releases leader of Eneza tribe
Federer makes 8th Wimbledon final, trounces Djokovic
150 Fils
Assad under pressure as top general defects Max 49º Min 32º
46 killed across Syria PARIS: International leaders yesterday urged the UN to ratchet up pressure on Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad by threatening his regime with tough sanctions, as the defection of a top general rocked his inner circle. Some 100 nations and organizations meeting in Paris called on the UN Security Council to adopt a transition plan for Syria backed by economic sanctions if the regime refuses to comply. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also issued a clarion call for all nations to do more to push for political change in Syria and end the 16month conflict, while lambasting Russia and China for “blockading” progress. The Friends of Syria talks in the French capital took place amid news that one of Assad’s most trusted inner circle had defected in what would be a major blow to the regime as it battles the opposition. “General Munaf Tlass defected three days ago,” a source close to the Syrian government said on condition of anonymity. Tlass, the highest-ranking military officer to have abandoned the Assad regime, was on his way to Paris to join his wife and sister, Nahed Ojjeh, widow of Saudi millionaire arms dealer Akram Ojjeh, said the source. A general in the elite Republican Guard charged with protecting the regime, he is the son of former defense minister Mustafa Tlass, a close friend of Assad’s late father and predecessor, Hafez. “A senior official from the Syrian regime, a commander in the Republican Guard, has defected and is headed for Paris,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius confirmed at a news conference, although his final destination was unclear. Participants at the Paris meeting called on the UN Security Council to urgently adopt the six-point peace plan drawn up by UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Kofi Annan under the UN Charter’s Chapter 7. But the final statement stressed that any immediate action under Article 41 provided only for non-military intervention. French President Francois Hollande also pushed for the Security Council to get tough with Damascus, while the Syrian opposition called for humanitarian corridors and a no-fly zone. “This is a major blow to the Assad regime,” Abdel Basset Sayda, the head of the main opposition Syrian National Council told journalists in Paris. “We cannot comment where he is. We are going to seek some cooperation with him. We call for other defections.” The Pentagon hailed Tlass’s defection saying it signals cracks in Assad’s inner circle. A rights watchdog reported at least 46 people were killed across Syria yesterday, including 29 civilians, as protesters took to the streets in several provinces after being urged to call for a “People’s liberation war.” Earlier Sayda also called on the international community to set up humanitarian corridors and establish a no-fly zone, claiming Assad’s regime “is about to fall”. Morocco will host the next Friends of Syria meeting, but no date has been set. — AFP
KUWAIT: Kuwait Special Forces disperse protesters at Taima area yesterday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat
Special Forces storm Taima By A Saleh KUWAIT: Kuwait Special Forces storm the Taima area as bedoons demonstrate after Asr prayers yesterday. Troops and security patrols dispersed the protesters at Taima’s main streets and surrounding areas. Protesters responded to calls via
the social websites to gather at the Taima square yesterday. The bedoons are demanding for an instant solution to their problems. They accused the government of backing down on its promises on their naturalization and rights. Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry said that the bedoons do not have the right to
gather and demonstrate on the streets. Human rights groups have urged Kuwait government to solve the bedoons issue and end their 50 years of suffering. In a recent statement, rights groups called on the government to naturalize more than 30,000 bedoons who (the government admitted) deserve citizenship.
in the
news
Selling organs online
France outlaws hijab
US fraud suspect freed
WARSAW: Twenty-three people have been indicted in Poland for attempting to sell their own organs, mostly kidneys, over the Internet, national police headquarters said yesterday. “None of these people found a buyer. We found no evidence to indicate that,” national police spokesman Mariusz Sokolowski said. Recent reports suggest that economic hard times are seeing a rise in the number people offering their own organs for sale on the Internet across the globe. According to Sokolowski, those charged in Poland came from “a variety of socio-economic backgrounds.”
PARIS: The French Football Federation (FFF) said yesterday that it would “not authorize players to wear a veil” while playing for France or in organized competitions, a day after world footballing authorities said the hijab could be worn on the pitch. “Regarding the participation of female French national team players in international competitions on one hand, and the organization of national competitions on the other, the French Football Federation reiterates its duty to respect the constitutional and legislative principles of secularism that prevails in our country and features in its statutes,” declared a statement from the FFF.
DUBAI: A Dubai court has freed on bail American Zack Shahin, who was in jail on fraud charges and has been on a hunger strike since May 14, media reported yesterday. The National daily said Shahin was freed on Thursday and turned his passport over to the court, where he must make an appearance on July 23. Shahin, at the time managing director of property developer Deyaar, was arrested in 2008 and charged the following year with embezzling more than 98 million dirhams (then $27 million). He was also charged with taking bribes. However, he has never been convicted of any offence and been held ever since.