KABUL // The Afghan president urged tribal elders yesterday to support a security deal with the United States, but said he would defer the signing of the agreement to the winner of next year’s presidential elections.
Hamid Karzai’s statement came after days of negotiations between Afghan and US negotiators eager to finalise the text before the Loya Jirga, a consultative council of elders and other dignitaries who hold the power to derail the pact.
In a last-minute bid to bolster support, President Barack Obama sent a letter promising that the US will continue to respect “Afghan sovereignty” and promised that the US military will not conduct raids on Afghan homes except under “extraordinary circumstances,” involving urgent risks to US nationals. The statement referred to night raids, which have been a particularly sensitive issue to the Afghans.
Mr Obama also said “we look forward to concluding this agreement promptly” in the letter, which was read by Mr Karzai to the 2,500 member council.
Mr Karzai’s suggestion to push the signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement until after the April 5 elections, which he is not aloud to contest, could be a deal breaker since the US wants an agreement as soon as possible to allow for preparations to maintain a military presence after 2014, when the majority of foreign combat forces will have left Afghanistan. The US had wanted a deal signed by the end of October.
“If you accept it and Parliament passes it, the agreement should be signed when the election is conducted, properly and with dignity,” Mr Karzai said in a speech that lasted more than one hour.
It was unclear if the mercurial Mr Karzai would indeed wait for the elections or sign the agreement if approved by the Loya Jirga and the parliament. He could also be waiting for the Jirga to ask him to sign it.
Mr Karzai has in the past made inflammatory remarks only to then change his mind. He signed a strategic partnership with Mr Obama last year despite criticising the United States for its military actions in Afghanistan, including night raids against Afghan homes and air strikes that resulted in civilian casualties.
His reticence to sign could also be attributed to his awareness that previous leaders of his country historically have been punished if seen as selling out to foreign interests.
The Loya Jirga can revise or reject any clause of the draft agreement, but its decisions are not binding. Then the deal still must be approved by the Afghan parliament, which could ask for more changes.
The Loya Jirga will hold a series of closed-door meetings until Sunday, when it makes its suggestions on the security deal to Mr Karzai.
On the US side, only Mr Obama’s administration needs to approve the agreement, but it could reject changes made by Afghan officials. If it does, that leaves open the option for the US to pull all troops out of Afghanistan. The same could happen if the deal is not signed in a timely manner.
Mr Karzai said the deal would pave the way for 10,000 to 15,000 US troops to stay in the country after the Nato combat mission ends at the end of 2014 and give the United States nine bases around the country that it can use.
US officials have not yet disclosed the number of troops they want to keep in Afghanistan after 2014.
Associated Press
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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SOUTH%20KOREA%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EGoalkeepers%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKim%20Seung-gyu%2C%20Jo%20Hyeon-woo%2C%20Song%20Bum-keun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDefenders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EKim%20Young-gwon%2C%20Kim%20Min-jae%2C%20Jung%20Seung-hyun%2C%20Kim%20Ju-sung%2C%20Kim%20Ji-soo%2C%20Seol%20Young-woo%2C%20Kim%20Tae-hwan%2C%20Lee%20Ki-je%2C%20Kim%20Jin-su%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMidfielders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPark%20Yong-woo%2C%20Hwang%20In-beom%2C%20Hong%20Hyun-seok%2C%20Lee%20Soon-min%2C%20Lee%20Jae-sung%2C%20Lee%20Kang-in%2C%20Son%20Heung-min%20(captain)%2C%20Jeong%20Woo-yeong%2C%20Moon%20Seon-min%2C%20Park%20Jin-seob%2C%20Yang%20Hyun-jun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStrikers%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EHwang%20Hee-chan%2C%20Cho%20Gue-sung%2C%20Oh%20Hyeon-gyu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Zayed Sustainability Prize
MATCH INFO
What: 2006 World Cup quarter-final
When: July 1
Where: Gelsenkirchen Stadium, Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Result:
England 0 Portugal 0
(Portugal win 3-1 on penalties)
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
