ARCHIVE SIMPLE PLEASURES: May 2008

Friday, May 30, 2008

Countries to Adopt Cluster Bomb Ban

30/05/2008

Countries from across the globe were to adopt a landmark convention banning cluster bombs in a formal ceremony on Friday, in a move supporters hope will stigmatize the lethal weapons as much as landmines. Diplomats from 111 countries were to adopt the treaty in a closing ceremony at Croke Park in the Irish capital after 12 days of robust negotiations at the Gaelic games stadium.

A Cluster Bomb Explsion

The convention, agreed Wednesday, outlaws the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions. It also provides for victim welfare and clearing contaminated areas. Politicians and campaigners insisted it was a hugely significant pact despite the absence of key powers like the United States, China and Russia. Diplomats will adopt the treaty before Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin closes the conference.

Norway has spearheaded the treaty initiative and the convention is due to be signed in Oslo on December 2-3. States then have to ratify the pact. The United States, China, Russia, India, Pakistan and Israel did not participate in the convention talks, leading some commentators to question its worth. However, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere insisted the treaty would stigmatize the use of cluster bombs among those countries keeping their stockpiles.

Cluster munitions are among the weapons posing the gravest dangers to civilians, especially in heavily bombed countries. Dropped from planes or fired from artillery, they explode in mid-air, randomly scattering bomblets, with many civilians having been killed or maimed by their indiscriminate, wide area effect. They also pose a lasting threat as many bomblets fail to explode on impact.

The treaty is due to be signed in Oslo on December 2-3. The cluster munitions treaty requires the destruction of stockpiled munitions within eight years -- though it leaves the door open for future, more precise generations of cluster bombs that pose less harm to civilians. The treaty was welcomed by the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), an umbrella group of non-governmental organizations, which hopes it will stigmatize cluster munitions.

Courtesy almanartv

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Malaysia to develop oilfield in Iran

Fri, 23 May 2008 12:56:09

Malaysia signs a $300-million agreement with Iran for developing an oilfield in the Persian Gulf, a senior Iranian oil official says.

The memorandum of understanding, signed between the Iranian Offshore Oil Company (IOOC) and its Malaysian partner in Kuala Lumpur, is worth $300 million at initial phase and is expected to grow to $1.5 billion later, Mohammad-Ali Ghayem, an IOOC director, said.

The joint project to develop an Iranian oilfield is part of a Tehran-Kuala Lumpur bid to expand cooperation in oil and natural gas sectors, Ghayem, director of the IOOC Engineering, Procurements, Construction and Project Execution, was quoted by IRNA as saying.

Ghayem did not name the oilfield. However, the field is located in southern Bushehr province in the Persian Gulf.

The contract will be finalized next month and its implementation phase will begin next year, he added.

Implementation of the project adds to the country's energy capabilities and creating 500 permanent jobs and 2,000 temporary jobs, the official concluded.

coutesy presstv