KT 2-4-2015 Layout 1

SUBSCRIPTION THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015 JAMADA ALTHANI 13, 1436 AH www.kuwaittimes.net First Kuwaiti High-stakes Next-generation ICC president dinar entered Iran talks in GMOs: Pink quits over circulation on nail-biting pineapples and World Cup April 1,3 1961 extension8 purple29 tomatoes trophy16 snub Ghanem vows unity as Min 21º Max 28º MPs meet over Yemen High Tide 11:20 & 23:15 Low Tide Shiite activist arrested for critical tweets 05:05 & 17:30 40 PAGES NO: 16478 150 FILS Palestine joins By B Izzak KUWAIT: National Assembly speaker Marzouq Al- Ghanem said yesterday lawmakers will not allow anyone International to sow seeds of discord and divisions within Kuwait and completely reject any attempt to cast any doubts on any Criminal Court component of the Kuwaiti society. Ghanem’s statements came after he chaired a meeting of a large number of MPs THE HAGUE: Palestine formally joined the and several ministers to discuss the regional situation in International Criminal Court yesterday, a move the light of the Gulf military operations in Yemen in which Palestinians hope could open the door to the possible Kuwait’s air force is taking part. prosecution of Israelis for alleged war crimes. The The ministers of foreign affairs, interior, defense and oil, accession was marked at a closed-door ceremony at in addition to the state minister for cabinet affairs, attend- ICC headquarters in The Hague, exactly 90 days after ed the meeting along with 33 MPs. None of the MPs Palestine joined the court’s founding Rome Statute. spoke after the meeting and only Ghanem issued a state- The Palestinians called on Israel to also join the global ment. The meeting came after almost all the seven Shiite court, which was set up in 2002 to try crimes against MPs in the Assembly expressed their rejection of Kuwait’s humanity, war crimes and genocide. air force’s participation in the Yemen strikes, saying that Exasperated after decades of failed negotiations the move breaches the constitution which totally bans with Israel and no prospect of achieving statehood offensive wars, and any military participation must have anytime soon, Palestinians have been waging a cam- the prior approval of the Assembly. paign for recognition at international bodies includ- Ghanem said that the Kuwaiti society remains an ing the ICC. “Palestine seeks justice, not vengeance,” example of national unity at times of crises and disasters. foreign minister Riad Malki said after received a sym- bolic copy of the Rome Statute at the ceremony. The speaker said that despite different viewpoints, all MPs “Israel should join us in becoming a member of the agreed to remain united and back the political leadership International Criminal Court,” Malki said. of HH the Amir. He said more meetings will be held in the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “should future in the Assembly to hear briefings from the govern- not be afraid... if Israel has any complaints (against us) ment about the latest developments in Yemen. they should join and present their case to the ICC.” ICC KUWAIT: HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al- Ghanem said that MPs heard during the meeting illus- chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in January launched Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah attend a national operetta “Al-Bait Al-O’d” (The Old House) at Bayan Palace yester- trations from ministers about the latest regional develop- Continued on Page 13 day. The operetta involved Kuwaiti students performing dances and songs representing the history of ments. Kuwaiti governorates, national unity and loyalty. — KUNA (See Page 2) Continued on Page 13 KUWAIT: A sandstorm blows over Kuwait yesterday, as the Meteorological Department issued a warn- ing saying that wind speed could reach over 70 km per hour. Visibility will lower to less than 1,000 m due to the northwesterly winds, Director Mohammad Karam said. In a press statement, the Interior Ministry’s Security Media Department called on all people to take required measures for the safety of their families, instructing them to abide by speed limits. It advised people to fasten seatbelts while driving in low-visibility conditions. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat US-Iran thaw spurred Saudi action on Yemen DUBAI: Wary of a rapprochement between Washington and archrival Iran, Saudi Arabia has taken matters into its own hands by leading an air war against Shiite rebels in Yemen, experts say. The Houthi UAE planes rebels, who Tehran denies arming, were close to seizing most of Yemen when Saudi Arabia sent warplanes into avoid midair its southern neighbor, with which it shares a 1,800 km border. “America’s indifference to Saudi concerns and - the other side of that coin, America’s increasing interest collision in co-opting Iran,” are among the motives behind Riyadh’s action, said Professor Anoush Ehteshami, Iran DUBAI: Jetliners from the United Arab Emirates’ two and Gulf expert at Britain’s Durham University. main airlines avoided a possible midair collision The air campaign began last week as marathon talks after they got too close to each other over the between Iran and world powers aimed at ensuring Indian Ocean earlier this week. The incident hap- Tehran never develops a nuclear bomb entered a cru- pened Sunday as passenger planes from Dubai- cial phase. “As the nuclear negotiations proceed, the based Emirates and Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Saudis become much more nervous about America Airways were traveling in opposite directions taking its eye off the Arab world by focusing on Iran,” between the Gulf federation and the island nation of said Ehteshami. The campaign followed urgent calls for Seychelles. Both carriers have recently rerouted help by Yemen’s embattled President Abedrabbo flights to the archipelago nation to avoid Yemeni air- Mansour Hadi, as the Houthis and allied troops loyal to space due to fighting there. ousted president Ali Abdullah Saleh closed in on his Emirates, the Middle East’s biggest carrier, said its refuge in the main southern city of Aden. Hadi, who flight 706 was returning to Dubai when what it has since fled to Saudi Arabia, denounced the rebels as called “an air traffic control incident” happened in Iran’s “puppets”, while Riyadh accused Tehran of med- airspace monitored by air traffic controllers in dling in the internal affairs of the Gulf and Yemen. On Mumbai, India. It said it informed authorities of the Tuesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal incident and later filed an air safety report that will said that Yemen’s security was “part and parcel” of the be forwarded to investigators in the Indian city. security of his kingdom and the rest of the Arab world. Continued on Page 13 Continued on Page 13 THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015 LOCAL KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah waves to children who greet him as he enters the venue to attend the operetta. — Amiri Diwan photos Amir patronizes Al-Bait Al-O’d national operetta KUWAIT: The national operetta, ‘Al-Bait Al-O’d’ (the old house), kicked off at Bayan Palace yesterday under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah. The operetta involved Kuwaiti students performing dances and songs which rep- resent the history of Kuwaiti governorates, national unity and loyalty. The ceremony was attended by HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim, former speaker Jassim Al-Kharafi, HH Sheikh Nasser Al- Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al- Sabah, HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al- Hamad Al-Sabah and First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah accepts a memen- Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al- The operetta’s organizers present a memento to His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber to presented by the operetta’s organizers. Hamad Al-Sabah. — KUNA Al-Sabah. (Front row, from left) Former speaker Jassem Al-Kharafi, HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the Amir Sheikh His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is pictured with Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim, Sheikh Jaber Al-Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and HH students on the sidelines of the event. Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah cheer on the performance. Ahmadi Governorate students perform on stage. His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah (center), cabinet ministers and sen- ior officials are seen among the crowd. Official meets chief delegates to Kuwait III KUWAIT: Undersecretary of the Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry Khaled Suleiman Al-Jarallah met late Tuesday separately with chief delegates of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, China, Iran and Romania to the Third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria. During his meeting with US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Powers, Jarallah dis- cussed bilateral relations and the recent regional and international developments. He held similar discussions with UK Minister of State for International Development Affairs Desmond Swayne, and French Minister of State for Development and Francophony Annick Girardin. Jarallah also held similar talks with Canadian Assistant Deputy Minister Diane Jacovella, China’s Special Envoy to the Middle East Ambassador Gong Xiaosheng, Iranian Assistant Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs and Hussein Amir Abdullahyan and Romanian State Secretary for Global Affairs Carmen KUWAIT: Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Khaled Al-Jarallah meets the US Ambassador to the UN and representative to the Liliana Burlacu.

Load more