SUBSCRIPTION THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2016 RABI AL-AWWAL 30, 1438 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Quran award Venezuela army Sichuan cannot UK cycling winner meets trafficking food get enough legend Amir, hails as country spicy marinated Wiggins his support2 goes hungry7 rabbit28 heads bows20 out Kuwait, Iraq eye closer Min 12º Max 21º ties, sign 4 agreements High Tide 13:12 & 23:25 Low Tide Kuwait to start importing gas from Iraq 06:40 & 18:05 40 PAGES NO: 17095 150 FILS BAGHDAD/KUWAIT: The sixth session of a joint Kuwaiti- An extra second Iraqi ministerial committee convened in the Iraqi capital yesterday, with participation of a Kuwaiti delegation headed by First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign to see out 2016 Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. On PARIS: As if 2016 has not been long enough, the the Iraqi side, the delegation was headed by Iraqi Foreign year’s dying minute will last an extra second to Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari. Official discussions were held make up for time lost to Earth’s slowing rotation, during the two-day meeting over increased cooperation timekeepers say. Countries that use Coordinated between both nations. Universal Time - several West African nations, The Kuwaiti foreign minister traced the history of bilat- Britain, Ireland and Iceland - will add the leap sec- eral ties, noting that such meetings are imperative to ond during the midnight countdown to 2017 - mak- meet the collective aspirations of the peoples of both ing the year’s final minute 61 seconds long. For oth- nations. Moreover, he underscored Kuwait’s firm support ers, the timing will be determined by the time zone of Iraq in the country’s fight against terrorism, noting that they live in, relative to UTC. concerted efforts are required to exterminate this “This extra second, or leap second, makes it pos- scourge. At the conclusion of the session, a series of four sible to align astronomical time, which is irregular agreements were signed between both countries, dealing and determined by Earth’s rotation, with UTC which with culture, industry, security and aviation. Kuwait’s dele- is extremely stable and has been determined by gation to the joint Kuwaiti-Iraqi ministerial committee’s atomic clocks since 1967,” the Paris Observatory said session included senior officials from the country’s gov- in a statement. The observatory houses the ernment and private sectors. International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems During the concluding session, the Iraqi foreign minis- Service (IERS), responsible for synchronizing time. ter recalled the good positions and support of HH the “The sequence of dates of the UTC second mark- Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ers will be: 2016 December 31 23h 59m 59s, 2016 towards Iraq during difficult circumstances since 2003. He December 31 23h 59m 60s, 2017 January 1, 0h 0m thanked Kuwait for its backing of Iraq in its war against 0s,” the IERS website states. The adjustment is neces- the so-called Islamic State (IS), for its condemnation of ter- sary because Earth’s rotation is not regular - it rorist attacks in Iraq, for its swift response to requests to sometimes speeds up, sometimes slows down, but join efforts to extinguish oilfield fires in the country, and is gradually slowing overall. This is caused by factors for its agreement to delay due compensations. including the Moon’s gravitational Earth-braking Jaafari congratulated Kuwait on the election of the forces, which give rise to the ocean tides. BAGHDAD: Kuwait’s First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al- new parliament and formation of a new government, Continued on Page 13 Sabah (left) and Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari sign an agreement during the sixth session of a joint wishing it everlasting security, stability and welfare. Kuwaiti-Iraqi ministerial committee yesterday. — KUNA Continued on Page 13 Kerry slams Israeli settlements Netanyahu hits back at ‘skewed’ speech WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State His remarks added to strain in the US- John Kerry warned yesterday that Israel’s Israeli relationship - characterized by per- Russia, Turkey building of settlements was endangering sonal acrimony between President Barack Middle East peace, expressing unusually Obama and Netanyahu - after the United frank frustration with the long-time States cleared the way for a UN resolution ‘agree’ on Syria American ally. Israeli Prime Minister last week that demanded an end to Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu shot back at Kerry settlement building. “Despite our best ceasefire plan and accused him of showing bias against efforts over the years, the two-state solu- the Jewish state. In a 70-minute speech tion is now in serious jeopardy,” Kerry said ISTANBUL: Turkish state media yesterday said just weeks before the Obama administra- at the State Department. “We cannot, in Turkey and Russia had agreed a nationwide truce tion hands over to President-elect Donald good conscience, do nothing, and say plan for Syria but none of the key players in the con- Trump, Kerry said Israel “will never have nothing, when we see the hope of peace flict offered an immediate confirmation. The state- true peace” with the Arab world if it does slipping away.” run Anadolu news agency said the plan aims to not reach an accord based on Israelis and expand a ceasefire in the city of Aleppo - brokered Palestinians living in their own states. Continued on Page 13 by Turkey and Russia earlier this month to allow the evacuation of civilians - to the whole country. If suc- KUWAIT: Lawmakers are seen during a session of the National Assembly yester- cessful, the plan would form the basis of upcoming day. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat political negotiations between the Damascus regime and the opposition, overseen by Russia and MPs urge initiative Turkey in the Kazakh capital Astana, it added. But in a speech in Ankara after the report was published, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made for reconciliation no reference to the plan, while Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said he could not answer on an By B Izzak Assembly seat last month. issue “about which I don’t have enough informa- His call was echoed by a number of tion”. Meanwhile, a Syrian rebel source, who asked KUWAIT: MPs called yesterday for a other MPs as the Assembly began to not to be named, told AFP in Beirut that details still national reconciliation initiative to debate the Amiri speech given during had to be submitted to opposition fighters and resolve the country’s political crisis, the Assembly’s inaugural session on Dec said there was no agreement as yet. “The armed which should include releasing political 11. Deqbasi said the country is living revolutionary factions have not received any offi- prisoners, returning citizenships that through very serious regional conditions, cial proposal for a ceasefire in Syria,” Labib Nahhas, were revoked and ending a clampdown terrorist networks were busted and the head of foreign relations for the powerful Ahrar Al- on political dissent. The call was made by country was the target of a deadly terror- Sham rebel group added on his official Twitter senior opposition MP Ali Al-Deqbasi, ist attack. He called for caution and for account. “News talking about their approval of a who was among the former lawmakers national unity to be able to deal with the ceasefire is incorrect.” WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State John Kerry lays out his vision for peace who ended a four-year boycott of the dangers. Continued on Page 13 between Israel and the Palestinians yesterday at the Dean Acheson Auditorium at parliamentary polls and won a National Continued on Page 13 the Department of State. — AFP US, Japan moving past legacy of war PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii: The leaders of mark of contrition by a leader for whom hottest, even when the tug of tribalism is war-time enemies America and Japan Japan’s wartime past is often a sensitive at its most primal, we must resist the made a poignant joint pilgrimage to domestic issue. “We must never repeat urge to turn inward,” Obama said against Pearl Harbor Tuesday, issuing symbolic the horrors of war,” he said. “What has the backdrop of the USS Arizona. “We declarations about the power of recon- bonded us together is the power of rec- must resist the urge to demonize those ciliation and warning against the drum- onciliation, made possible through the who are different.” beat of conflict. Seventy-five years after spirit of tolerance.” The meeting comes as Obama pre- Japanese pilots brought war to idyllic Obama - who last May made a pares to leave office and with Abe lead- Hawaii and dragged the United States solemn pilgrimage to Hiroshima, the tar- ing Japan into uncharted waters after into World War II, Japanese Prime get of a US nuclear bomb that effectively remarks by incoming US president Minister Shinzo Abe offered his “sincere ended the war - issued remarks that rang Donald Trump clouded US-Japanese and everlasting condolences”. with history and America’s current relations. Trump, who takes office on Jan Abe and US President Barack Obama hypercharged politics. “I welcome you 20, appeared during his campaign to paid homage to the more than 2,400 here in the spirit of friendship,” he told suggest Japan break a taboo and devel- Americans killed on Dec 7, 1941, deliver- Abe. “I hope that, together, we send a op its own nuclear weapons. He caused ing a wreath of peace lilies and standing message to the world that there is more consternation again last week when he in silence before a shrine to those lost on to be won in peace than in war, that rec- threatened to revive the global nuclear HONOLULU: US President Barack Obama (left) and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe place wreaths the USS Arizona - roughly half of all onciliation carries more rewards than ret- arms race.