BRINGING HARMONY TO ALL THE COMMUNITIES
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Volume 12 Issue 307 Jumada-al-Awal 14, 1433 AH / April 6 2012 - $1
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Flood-ravaged Fiji braces for cyclone
FEDERAL BUDGET 2012 : JOB CUTS, CHANGES TO IMMIGRATION AND OAS, AND PENNY ELIMINATED
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty presented the 2012 budget on March 29 that will lead to $5.2 billion in savings. Among costsaving measures - 19,200 public service jobs will be cut over next three years, penny will be discontinued, age for Old Age Security will be raised to 67, and backlog of immigration will be eliminated by returning older applications.
ICC rejects bid for Gaza war crimes tribunal
The International Criminal Court has halted a Palestinian Authority bid to clear the way for the permanent war crimes tribunal to investigate an Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip that began in December 2008. “The office [of the prosecutor] has assessed that it is for the relevant bodies at the UN or the Assembly of State Parties to make a legal determination whether Palestine qualifies as a state for the purpose of acceding to the Rome Statute [the court’s founding treaty],” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement on Tuesday. The Palestinian Authority in January 2009 accepted the Haguebased court’s jurisdiction, asking prosecutor Luis MorenoOcampo to launch a war crimes investigation against Israel following the Gaza war. It wanted Moreno-Ocampo to look into “acts committed on the territory of Palestine” going as far back as July 2002. Moreno-Ocampo’s office then opened
a preliminary probe to see if there were grounds to proceed with an investigation. Tuesday’s statement, however, said the court’s reach was not based on a principle of universal jurisdiction and it could open investigations only if asked to do so by either the UN Security Council or by a recognised state. Palestine does not have full UN membership, though it has asked for it. Human rights groups on Tuesday strongly criticised the prosecutor’s statement, while Israel hailed the move. “Today’s decision appears to close the door for now on access to the ICC for victims of international crimes committed in the Palestinian Territories, at least until the General Assembly recognises Palestinian statehood,” Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said. Marek Marczynski, head of Amnesty International’s International Justice campaign, added: “This dangerous decision opens the ICC to accusations of political bias and is inconsistent with the independence of the ICC.” “It also breaches the Rome Statute, which clearly states that such matters should be considered by the institution’s judges.” The military offensive left between 1,166 to 1,440 Palestinians dead, depending on the source. “Israel welcomes the decision on the lack of ICC jurisdiction,” the Israeli foreign ministry said in a statement. “Israel made it clear in the first place that the ICC has no jurisdiction in this matter. While Israel welcomes the decision on the lack of ICC jurisdiction, it has reservations regarding some of the legal pronouncements and assumptions in the prosecutor’s statement,” it added, without elaborating. Source: Al-Jazeera
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Authorities in Fiji have warned of a cyclone bearing down on the country that is already struggling with devastating floods. Cyclone Daphne is expected to compound the damage in the South Pacific nation, authorities warned on Monday. Flash floods have claimed at least three lives and forced 8,000 people to seek refuge in evacuation centres while the country’s tourist industry has been brought to a standstill. A state of emergency is also currently in force. The Fiji Meteorological Service warned of an approaching cyclone and said more flooding on the main island of Viti Levu, where both Suva and Nadi are located, was expected. It forecast “damaging gale-force winds” with gusts up to 110km (68 miles) per hour and “severe flooding of major rivers, streams and low-lying areas including sea flooding of low-lying coastal areas”. A government spokesman said the situation was worse than January floods in which 11 people died, with twice as much rainwater falling in half as much time. Sharon Smith Johns, the permanent secretary of information, said Fiji has “had a bashing”, with water and power supplies cut in most areas, many roads closed and food supplies dwindling. Thousands of tourists staying in Fiji’s popular resorts were forced to contend with limited services as they waited for flood waters to recede enough to get to the airport, where they faced chaotic scenes. “The information we’ve been given has been terrible. They say flights are on but you turn up and they’ve been cancelled,” said Dorothy May Pechalaiya, whose flight back to London was delayed from Sunday until at least Tuesday. “I had to sleep on a bench (at the airport) last night and I’m going to have to do it again tonight, and I’m disabled,” she added, pointing to her walking stick. “I’m really angry about the way we’ve been treated.” Although Fiji has not called for international assistance, Australia and New Zealand said they were ready to help. The regional powers have had a fractured relationship with Fiji since Voreque Bainimarama, a naval officer, seized control in a 2006 military coup. John Key, the New Zealand prime minister, said they would work with non-government agencies rather than Bainimarama’s regime. “Typically what we’ve done in the past is give the resources to a non-government organisation on the ground we trust, say the Red Cross, rather than give it to the government to administer,” he told Radio Live. Bob Carr, the Australian foreign minister, said his government was ready to provide up to $1.04m (Aus$1m) to support disaster relief efforts while Qantas, the national carrier, promised to put on extra services to help tourists leave. Source: Al-Jazeera
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