THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAITEstablished in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com

NO. 15918 44 PAGES 150 FILSemergency number 112THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2015 / MUHARRAM 2, 1437 AH

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Iran Guardian Council passes N-bill into lawMissile base broadcast

DUBAI, Oct 14, (Agencies): Iran’s Guardian Council ratifieda bill on Wednesday approving the nuclear deal reached byTehran and six world powers, state news agency IRNA andother agencies said, allowing the government to implement theagreement.

Parliament on Tuesday approved the bill with a strongmajority, in a victory for President Hassan Rouhani’s govern-ment over conservative opponents of the July 14 deal, knownas the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The Guardian Council, made up of six Muslim clericsappointed by the Supreme Leader and six lawyers elected byparliament, is charged with ensuring draft laws do not contra-dict religious laws or Iran’s constitution.

“The majority of the Guardian Council did not find the bill... to be against religious law and the constitution,” the coun-cil’s spokesman Nejatollah Ebrahimian was quoted as sayingby the Fars news agency.

The exact stance of Supreme Leader Ayatollah AliKhamenei, who has the last word on all matters of state, is notknown.

To date, he has neither approved nor rejected the agreement,

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Newswatch

TORONTO: Canadian authorities have charged twoQuebec men with illegally exporting railway equipmentworth several million dollars to Iran in defiance of sanc-tions against the Tehran government, police said onTuesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in astatement that the two accused were directors of closelyheld Romic Marc Rail Inc, based in a suburb of Montreal.

The men charged are Hugo Dreckmann, 75, andMichael Allen, 67, the RCMP said. On the company’swebsite Dreckmann is listed as managing director andAllen is listed as vice-president.

Dreckmann said the allegations were false and declinedto comment further. Allen declined to comment.

“The alleged offences are serious, since they violateCanada’s international commitments,” the RCMP said.

The United Nations Security Council imposed sanc-tions on Iran over its nuclear program, which Tehran saysis for peaceful purposes only. Canada was among sever-al countries that imposed additional economic sanctions,with exceptions for food, medicine and humanitarian sup-plies. (RTRS)

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PALM SPRINGS, Florida: A small plane crashed intoa mobile home park in Florida and set two homes on fire,killing the pilot and a 21-year-old woman who was insideone of the homes, investigators and a relative saidWednesday.

No one else was aboard the plane and no one else on theground was injured when the plane plunged from the skyabout 5:30 pm Tuesday into a park of a few dozen mobilehomes, National Transportation Safety Board investigatorDan Boggs said at a news conference.

Domingo Galicia said his trailer was engulfed inflames his daughter, Banny Galicia, was inside and pre-sumed dead. He said he heard the plane but never saw it.He said he was blocked by flames when he went to openthe door to the home after the crash.

“Banny! Banny! Come outside!” he said he screamed athis daughter.

Investigators said it was too soon to speculate on whatcaused the plane to go down at the Mar-Mak Colony Club,a park of a few dozen homes where many of the residentsspeak only Spanish. The park is dotted with palm trees

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Other Voices

Of deserving andundeserving laws

By Ali Ahmed Al-BaghliFormer Minister of Oil

THE Russian-Armenian belly dancer SofinarGourian whose stage name is ‘Safinaz’ was sen-tenced to six months imprisonment for humiliatingthe Egyptian flag.

On Monday, the Egyptian Misdemeanors Courtset her free but decided to double the fine andordered her to pay 30,000 Egyptian pounds.

The Public Prosecution in Egypt had charged thedancer with humiliating theEgyptian flag because shewore it during a ceremonyfor artistes which was held inthe town of ‘Ain Sukhna’ onthe western shore of the RedSea’s Gulf of Suez.

The Egyptian Prosecutionfound the artiste guilty basedon a law which was issued byEgypt’s former interim presi-dent Adly Mansour.

The law called for punishing anyone who doesnot respect the flag and it included those who donot stand during the singing of the country’snational anthem (CNN Arabia).

On behalf of the people of Egypt, we thank AdlyMansour for that ‘deserving’ law, and we hopeKuwait will follow suit.

We have seen with our naked eyes and a heavyheart our Members of Parliament who sport longbeards and wear short ‘dishdashas’, remainingperched on their seats toying with their cell phoneswhen the national anthem of our country is beingplayed, while others continue to do whatever theywant without reverence or respect for our symbolof peace, love, security and stability.

These are leaders we are tempted with, who inthe past tried to revive the centuries-old innova-tions and their mischievous rituals with utter disre-gard to humans or stones.

These kinds of shenanigans do not recognizeeither the nations or their borders, and a good exam-ple of this is their product, the Islamic State of Iraqand the Levant (ISIL). We hope, the Russian beastwill stampede it and cast it in the dustbin of history.

One of the foreign readers wrote to me in protest

Al-Baghli

Iran deploys troops to SyriaDeployment under cover of Russian air campaign

BEIRUT, Oct 14, (Agencies): Iran has senthundreds of troops into northern and centralSyria in the first such open deployment in thecountry’s civil war, joining fighters from itsLebanese ally Hezbollah in an offensiveagainst rebels and taking advantage of coverfrom Russia’s air campaign, a regional officialand Syrian activists said Wednesday

Their arrival is almost certain to fuel a civil war in Syriawhich has already claimed the lives of more than 250,000

people and displaced half of the country’s population. Italso highlights the far-reaching goals of Russia’s militaryinvolvement in Syria.

Russia began carrying out airstrikes in Syria on Sept 30,and Syrian troops and allied militiamen began a ground offen-sive against rebels in central Syria a week later. Russia saysits airstrikes are meant to weaken the Islamic State group andother terrorists in Syria, but Western officials and Syrianrebels say most the strikes have focused on areas in centraland northern Syria where extremist group does not have astrong presence.

The arrival of Iranian troops fighting under the cover of

Russian air power further strengthens the view that Russia’smain goal is to shore up Syrian President Bashar Assad’sembattled government.

“Sending more troops from Hezbollah, and Iran onlyincreases the shelf life of the Syrian regime, which is destinedto end,” Maj Jamil Saleh, the leader of Tajammu Alezzah, aCIA-backed Free Syrian Army faction, told The AssociatedPress. “It will only add more destruction and displacement.”

He said their presence on the ground is not new, but waskept quiet. “Now they are taking cover behind Russia since itis a super power and strengthens their position,” Alezzah said.

Photo by Mohamed Morsi

A photo taken from a tall building shows a general view of downtown Kuwait City with high-rise and other buildings.

Baghdad battles to retake Baiji

Assault to retake Ramadi looms: IraqBAGHDAD, Oct 14, (AFP): Iraqiforces have made significant advancesaround Ramadi and an operation toretake the city captured by the IslamicState jihadist group in May is looming,officers said Wednesday.

A similar advance was also reportedon the Baiji front, with Iraqi forcesretaking parts of the country’s largestrefinery and pushing north.

“Great people, the hour of victoryagainst the DAESH (IS) criminal gangshas come,” said a statement from theJoint Operations Command for Anbarprovince, of which Ramadi is the capital.

“Your heroic forces are advancingsteadily from the northern side... theymanaged to reach Albu Farraj area,” onthe northern edge of the city centre, itsaid.

The head of the Anbar command,Major General Ismail Mahalawi, toldAFP that “Iraqi forces have raised theIraqi flag on Albu Farraj bridge”, overthe Euphrates.

Since the start of October, Iraqiforces have been closing in on Ramadi,gaining ground west and north of thecity in particular.

IS fighters took Ramadi, about 100kms (60 miles) west of Baghdad, inmid-May after a three-day blitz of mas-sive suicide car and truck bomb attacksthat forced a disorderly retreat by pro-government troops.

After the most stinging setback suf-fered by Iraqi forces since they starteda counter-offensive to regain territorylost in mid-2014, officials vowed toswiftly retake Ramadi.

Progress has been sluggish, however,with Iraqi forces and the US-led coali-tion supporting them in Anbar blaminga number of factors, including searingsummer temperatures.

The coalition’s spokesman inBaghdad, Colonel Steve Warren, con-ceded two weeks ago there had been an“operational pause” in efforts to retakeRamadi.

PKK ceasefire call fails to halt clashes

Ten Kurdish militants killedANKARA, Oct 14, (Agencies): Turkish security forceskilled ten Kurdish militants during ground and air oper-ations in southeastern Turkey on Tuesday, the militarysaid, days after the insurgents called a unilateral cease-fire.

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)ordered its forces on Saturday to halt all actions inTurkey, following a bomb blast that killed 97 people ata peace rally in Ankara. The government dismissed thetruce declaration as a ploy ahead of November pollsthat will be contested by a pro-Kurdish party.

Three militants were killed in clashes during anoperation by the military in Hakkari province, close toTurkey’s Iran and Iraq borders, the military said in astatement on Wednesday. Seven more were killed insubsequent air strikes.

Security sources said Turkish F-16 jets launched fur-ther air strikes against Kurdish positions.

The conflict has surged in ferocity since a two yearceasefire collapsed in July, leaving long-term peacenegotiations in tatters. Turkey is due to hold electionson Nov 1 that could further exacerbate tensions oversecurity.

It remains unclear who carried out the Ankara bomb-ing, at a rally attended predominantly by pro-Kurdishgroups.

On Wednesday Turkish Prime Minister AhmetDavutoglu said both the PKK and Islamic State couldhave played a role in the bombing, despite the twogroups being involved in fierce combat against eachother in neighbouring Syria.

The PKK, deemed by the United States and the EUas a terrorist organisation, has been fighting an insur-gency since 1984, demanding greater Turkish autono-my in the southeast of the country. Some 40,000 havebeen killed in fighting.

Turkish police have detained two people who senttweets suggesting there could be a bomb in Ankara aday before twin suicide bombings killed 97 peoplegathering for a peace rally, officials said Wednesday.

The two suspects were detained after Twitter provid-ed information on users of the accounts, a governmentofficial said, adding that the two have ties to theKurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which is fightingTurkey’s security forces.

Expatriates set up their picnic spot during an off-road trip inthe desert of Swaihan, east of the United Arab Emirates, onDec 19, 2014. Scores of expatriates spend their weekend inthe desert away from the hustle and bustle of Dubai. (AFP)

Hajj toll 1,621DUBAI, UAE, Oct 14, (AP):The toll in the deadliest tragedyto ever strike the annual Hajjpilgrimage rose Wednesday toat least 1,621 people killed, anew tally showed, as hundredsstill reportedly remain missing.

The Associated Press count ismore than double Saudi Arabia’sofficial tally of 769 killed and934 injured in the Sept 24 disas-ter in Mina, a few miles from theholy city of Makkah. Saudi offi-cials have not updated their tallysince Sept 26.

‘Activists’ to prisonDUBAI, UAE, Oct 14, (AP): Two Saudiactivists have been sentenced to prison in thekingdom on a range of charges related to theirrights work and calls for political reform, ahuman rights lawyer said Wednesday.

Abdelrahman al-Hamid was sentenced tonine years in prison, banned from travelingabroad after his release for another nine yearsand fined 50,000 Saudi riyals ($13,300). Al-Hamid was a founding member of the SaudiAssociation for Civil and Political Rights,widely known by its Arabic acronym HASEM.

Many of HASEM’s members are already inprison. Including al-Hamid, six of the group’sfounders are in jail serving prison sentences

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e-mail: ali-albaghli@hotmail.com