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

SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2021 / JUMADA AL AWWAL 26, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17583 16 PAGES 150 FILS

basketball

marketsPage 15 Page 9

Bahrain FM lauds Sheikh Nawaf’s mediation

Amir receives more congratulations

Indonesia jet carrying 62passengers goes missing

SOME REPUBLICANS BEGIN TO FLEE FROM TRUMPBiden says Trump unfit for the jobWILMINGTON, Del, Jan 9, (AP): President-elect Joe Biden says that President Donald Trump isn’t “fit for the job,” but he repeatedly refused to endorse growing Democratic calls to impeach him a second time.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a letter to members of her chamber that lawmakers could move as early as next week to impeach Trump for inciting a violent mob that overran the U.S. Capitol if the president didn’t “immediately” resign. Pelosi and Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer also have called on Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to force Trump from office - a process for stripping

the president of his post and installing the vice president to take over. Addressing reporters in his home state of Delaware after an event Friday introducing some of his Cabinet choices, Biden noted

that a key reason he ran for president was because he’d “thought for a long, long time that President Trump wasn’t fit for the job.” “I’ve been saying for now, well, over a year, he’s not fit to serve,” Biden said. “He’s one of the most incompetent presidents

in the history of the United States of America.”But he refused to back efforts to remove Trump from the White House and insisted that impeachment was up to Congress.

Instead, Biden said he was focused on the start of his own administration on Jan. 20, and he said his top three priorities are beating back the coronavirus, distributing vaccines fairly and equitably, and reviving the struggling economy.

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9, (KUNA): His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on Friday received a congratulatory message from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on signing the Al-Ula statement and the final communique of the 41st Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The summit was hosted by Saudi Ara-bia’s Al-Ula City last Tuesday.

In the letter, Guterres said that the achievement to which His Highness the Amir contributed boosts Kuwait’s key mediation role in the region.

He recalled the great role and efforts made by the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah that aimed to achieve the Gulf reconciliation.

The UN chief said that he looks for-ward to continuing the close partnership with Kuwait to enhance international peace and security, wishing His Highness the Amir everlasting well-being.

In reply, His Highness the Amir sent a letter to Guterres, thanking him for his good sentiments.

His Highness the Amir vioced his great delight at making this historic accom-plishment that will bolster the joint Arab-Gulf cooperation in order to meet the desired aspirations and hopes, and boost stability and security in the region.

His Highness the Amir affirmed Ku-wait’s firm stance to back the UN and its activities, wishing Guterres success in achieving the UN’s goals to maintain international security and peace, and ev-erlasting good health.

Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdulatif Al-Zayani praised on Friday His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s mediation efforts, and coordi-nation amongst Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt to solve the Gulf crisis.

This came during a meeting held by Al-Zayani with editors-in-chief of local newspa-pers on the outcomes of the 41st Summit of the Gulf Cooperation Council that was host-ed by Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ula City last Tues-day, Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Jan 9, (AP): A Sriwijaya Air jet carry-ing 62 people lost contact with air traffic controllers minutes after taking off from Indonesia’s capital on a domestic flight on Saturday, and debris found by fishermen was being examined to see if it was from the missing plane, officials said.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said Flight SJ182 was delayed for an hour before it took off at 2:36 p.m. The Boeing 737-500 disappeared from radar four minutes later, after the pilot contacted air traffic control to as-cend to an altitude of 29,000 feet (8,839 meters), he said.

The airline said in a statement that the plane was on an estimat-ed 90-minute flight from Jakarta to Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan province on Indone-sia’s Borneo island. The plane was carrying 50 passengers and 12 crew members, all Indonesian nationals, including six extra crew for another trip.

Sumadi said a dozen vessels, including four warships, were deployed in a search-and-rescue operation centered between Lan-cang island and Laki island, part of the Thousand Islands chain just north of Jakarta.

Bambang Suryo Aji, the Na-tional Search and Rescue Agen-cy’s deputy head of operations and preparedness, said rescu-ers collected plane debris and clothes that were found by fisher-

men. They handed the items over to the National Transportation Safety Committee for further in-vestigation to determine whether they were from the missing plane.

A commander of one of the search-and-rescue ships who goes by a single name, Eko, said that fishermen found cables and pieces of metal in the water.

“The fishermen told us that they found them shortly after they heard an explosion like the sound of thunder,” Eko was quot-ed by TVOne as saying, adding that aviation fuel was found in the location where the fishermen found the debris.

Aji said no radio beacon sig-nal had been detected from the 26-year-old plane. He said his agency was investigating why the plane’s emergency loca-tor transmitter, or ELT, was not transmitting a signal that could confirm whether it had crashed.

“The satellite system owned by neighboring Australia also did not pick up on the ELT signal from the missing plane,” Aji said.

Solihin, 22, a fisherman from Lancang Island, said he and two other fishermen heard an explo-sion around 30 meter from them.

“We thought it was a bomb or a tsunami since after that we saw the big splash from the water after the explosion. It was rain-ing heavily and the weather was so bad. So it is difficult to see around clearly,” he said.

His comments laid bare the political balance Biden has worked to strike in the months since winning the presidential election. He has continued to sharply crit-icize Trump and nearly every facet of his administration but also worked to keep the public’s attention focused on what the new administration will do rather than indulging recriminations against the last one.

Biden nonetheless conceded that Trump “exceeded my worst notions about him. He’s been an embarrassment” and likened the “damage done to our reputation around the world” to “tin horn dictatorships.” The president-elect also suggested that a key hurdle to remov-ing Trump was that he has less than two weeks remaining in his term.

“If we were six months out, we should be doing everything to get him out of office. Impeaching him again, trying to evoke the 25th Amendment, whatever it took,” Biden said. “But I am focused now on us taking control as president and vice president on the 20th and to get our agenda moving as quickly as we can.”

Trump would be the only president to be impeached twice. The House im-peached him in late 2019, but the Repub-lican-led Senate acquitted him. Removal from office could also prevent Trump from running for president in 2024, or ever holding the presidency again.

Most Democrats, and many Republi-cans, put the blame squarely on Trump af-ter hundreds of rioters broke into the Capi-tol on Wednesday and caused destruction and mass evacuations. The president had urged his supporters to protest as Congress was counting the electoral votes that con-firmed Biden’s win. Five people died, in-cluding a Capitol Police officer.

Biden called what happened a “god-awful debacle” and said it had “the active encouragement of the president of the United States.”

The president-elect’s comments came hours after Trump tweeted that he planned to skip Biden’s inauguration, becoming the first president in more than 150 years - and just the fourth in U.S. history - to do so. Biden said he’d be “honored” to have Pence at the swearing-in, but didn’t feel the same way about Trump.

Politically isolatedTrump’s steadfast grip on Republicans

in Washington is beginning to crumble, leaving him more politically isolated than at any other point in his turbulent admin-istration.

After riling up a crowd that later staged a violent siege of the U.S. Capitol, Trump appears to have lost some of his stron-gest allies, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. Two Cabinet members and at least a half dozen aides have re-signed. A handful of congressional Re-publicans are openly considering whether to join a renewed push for impeachment.

One GOP senator who has split with Trump in the past called on him to resign and questioned whether she would stay in the party.

“I want him out,” Sen. Lisa Murkows-ki of Alaska told The Anchorage Daily News. “He has caused enough damage.”

The insurrection on the heels of a bruising election loss in Georgia accom-plished what other low points in Trump’s presidency did not: force Republicans to fundamentally reassess their relationship with a leader who has long abandoned tradition and decorum. The result could reshape the party, threatening the influ-ence that Trump craves while creating a divide between those in Washington and activists in swaths of the country where the president is especially popular.

“At this point, I won’t defend him any-more,” said Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary for George W. Bush and a GOP strategist who voted for Trump. “I won’t defend him for stirring the pot that incited the mob. He’s on his own.”

When the week began, Trump was without question the most dominant po-litical force in Republican politics and a 2024 kingmaker, if not the GOP’s next presidential nominee himself. On Friday, there was a growing sense that he was for-ever tarnished - and may be forced from office before his term expires in 12 days.

On Thursday morning, there was loud applause and shouts of “We love you!” when Trump phoned into a breakfast meeting of the Republican National Com-mittee in Florida.

“The vast majority of the committee is in full denial,” said Republican Na-tional Committee member Bill Palatucci, of New Jersey, who attended the break-fast. “They’re willing to condemn the violence, but without any reference to the president’s role in any of it.”

The president insists he did nothing wrong. He continues to tell aides, pri-vately at least, that the election was stolen from him. Republican officials in critical battleground states, his recently departed attorney general and a series of judges - including those appointed by Trump - have rejected those claims as meritless.

An aerial view of Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre.

Celebrate the National Day with Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural CentreThe Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre is getting excited for this upcom-ing National Day Celebration. 2021 will be very special and the first celebration of HH the Amir, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre has prepared a rich and manifold programme on this occasion, also

commemorating the 60th Anniversary of the State of Kuwait and the 30th Jubilee of its Liberation. All residents are invited to join us at Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural Centre.

We also want you and your kids to partici-pate! Ask your kids to send us a drawing or poem for the 60th Anniversary. They might have heard stories about the history of the

State of Kuwait, learned about it at school or they have seen photographs from the past.

What does it mean to them to be a resident in a country that is celebrating its 60th Birth-day? What are their dreams for the future? All kids are invited to send us their “gifts” until the 15th of February 2021.

The Sheikh Abdullah Al Salem Cultural

Centre will also organize an exhibition with all those “gifts” and all kids participating will become little artists with their works present-ed during the National Day Celebration.

Participation is simple: use the paper for-mat A4, draw a picture or write a poem, write your name and age on it, scan it and send it to academy@ascckw.com.

Relatives of passengers arrive at a crisis center set up following a report that a Sriwijaya Air passenger jet has lost contact with air traffic controllers shortly after take off, at Soekarno-Hatta Inter-national Airport in Tangerang, Indonesia, on Jan 9. The Boeing 737-500 took off from Jakarta with 56 passengers and six crew members onboard, and lost contact with the control tower a few mo-

ments later. (AP)

President-elect doesn’t endorse impeachment

Day by Day

I ASKED an Iraqi about the con-dition of people in Baghdad, he said, ‘Things are messy.’

When I inquired what he meant by ‘messy’ he said no one knows who hits whom, because the eyes do not see, the ears do not hear, and no one feels the other, and no one knows from where the slap will come.

This is the situation in Bagh-dad, as the Iraqi put it, and per-haps the same situation exists in another country.

... Yet tomorrow is another day.

Zahed Matar

Opinion

Govt, parliament ... jumpingfrom frying pan into the fi re

By Ahmed Al-JarallahEditor-in-Chief, the Arab Times

THE parliament and the government are two opposite sides that will never come together or compromise on any matter as long as both sides continue in the same mode of approach. Even if they decide to compromise, it will be a temporary sedative concession.

The current parliamentary formation is unprecedented in terms of its political and social components, thanks to the government’s heedlessness of advice, misreading of reality and lack of solu-tions that would meet a large portion of people’s aspirations and demands; let alone its tendency to appease a small group of the influentials.

We are now well aware that the path that the two authorities - execu-tive and legislative - are treading on is full of mines, and both sides are wary of conceding to the other.

This stance has narrowed the gov-ernment’s options, given that it has lost its populist confidence to the ex-tent that it has to defend itself with actual measures that are meant to res-cue the country.

There are several reports confirm-ing that about 67 percent of compa-nies and small and medium enterpris-es, and some large ones, are heading to bankruptcy. It is true that the bank-ruptcy law, which was recently ap-proved, may protect some of them, but that is not enough, because the fi-nancial crisis continues. Testimony to that is the losses incurred by Kuwait Stock Market, which is supposed to be heading towards profit as seen in the regional and global markets.

All of this is due to the stimulus plan that did not meet the needs of the people, and was not implemented because the set conditions were unre-alistic. Also, the executive authority has taken almost impossible mea-sures, as it closed the borders, pre-vented the entry of people, and did not work to compensate the affected.

On the other hand, other countries of the region took more serious and realistic measures, as it supported its economy and its people on all levels. In the UAE, for example, the government wiped off about seven billion dirhams from citizens’ loans, provided financial incentives of about a hundred billion dirhams, and imposed on banks to delay the pay-ment of the remaining loans for six more months, as well as reduced the interest rates. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia allocated 226 billion riyals to support individuals, enterprises, in-vestors and the private sector. This

is how the rest of the GCC countries dealt with the crisis.

As for Kuwait, the remedy of this pandemic was timid. Indeed, the tens of millions of dinars that were spent on the plan to confront COVID-19 were subjected to a lot of waste and lack of control. People continued to wait for promises that ultimately led to this terrifying scene of financial downfall and drop in the credit rating as a result of the government’s lack of seriousness, or its disregard for popular claims. All these facts add up to a failure in the administration.

There is an Arab adage — “A good, decent and well behaved man qualifies to marry my daughter, but I wouldn’t rely on him to manage public affairs”.

This applies to His Highness the Prime Minister, who has a clean hand and a good reputation, but that is not enough. He has to manage the files based on the facts, and deal with the concerns of the people. He should not be on one side of a valley and the people on the other with the parliament in between with all its representatives who seek to achieve personal objectives, even at the expense of the state and the people.

Currently, there is much talk about the lesser evil solution for the ex-ecutive authority, which is to either resign and reassign His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled and then delay the formation of the Cabinet for a month or two, or postpone the convening of the parliament for a month, or to dissolve it and repeat the elections, which is according to the current prevailing approach.

Nonetheless, none of the afore-mentioned solutions will solve the problem; rather all will lead to fur-ther complications in the relationship between the legislative and executive authorities because of overlooking the source of the problem, which is popular discontent with the actions of the concerned authority.

In addition to that, the govern-ment has brought hostility upon itself through the press and social media platforms. Also, His Highness the Prime Minister has not fulfilled the pledge he made to meet with the ed-itors-in-chief and the officials of the media every month in order for them to convey to him the concerns and de-mands of the people.

Email: ahmed@aljarallah.com

Follow me on:

ahmedaljarallah@gmail.com

Continued on Page 3

TELLS A STORY

ARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2021 2

tem to fight off diseases. “You stuck to your guns,”

the German chancellor said. “You believed in your technol-ogy.”

The bet paid off not just for Mainz-based BioNTech, but also for the company’s early backers who saw the potential for drugs that are tailor-made for specific diseases.

“We decided to make a huge investment, put the blinds down, close the doors and have the company work,” Matthias Kromayer, general partner at Munich-based MIG AG, told The Associated Press.

MIG expects to get a return of 50 to 100 times the 13.5 mil-lion euros ($16.6 million) it originally spent on buying a 6% stake in BioNTech more than a decade ago, he said. (AP)

Musicians rehearse at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Bar-celona, Spain, on June 22, 2020. When the doors opened for the performance of Pucci-ni’s ‘Crisantemi’ by the UceLi Quartet, the 2,292 seats of the auditorium were occupied by plants and the performance was broadcast live online. Inset: A Spanish couple kiss through a plastic fi lm screen to avoid contracting the new coronavirus at a nursing home

in Barcelona. (AP)

The doctor who led devel-opment of the first CO-VID-19 vaccine authorized in the United States, Britain and elsewhere said her company’s decision to shift from cancer research to battling the corona-virus happened over breakfast as the possibility of a pandemic was starting to seem likely.

German company BioNTech was little-known outside the pharmaceutical industry before it teamed up with U.S. giant Pfizer for ‘Project Lightspeed’ that beat major rivals in the race to put the first thoroughly vetted vaccine on the market.

“I can remember the precise day, Jan. 24, when we made the decision at the breakfast table,” Ozlem Tureci, the chief medi-cal officer of BioNTech said Thursday.

In a video call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other officials, Tureci re-counted how her husband and business partner, Ugur Sahin, predicted that the outbreak of a mysterious respiratory illness in the Chinese city of Wuhan had all the ingredients for a global pandemic.

“He alerted all of us and made us, that is the entire com-pany, the supervisory board, the company’s owners, pivot from cancer therapy to this pro-gram and divert our resources to developing a vaccine,” she said.

Tureci and Sahin also cred-ited the new approach used for the vaccine, which is based on mRNA technology they had been working on for decades, and the close collaboration with Pfizer.

“We knew we didn’t have the ca-pacity to conduct very quick clinical studies with

more than 40,000 vol-unteers,” said Sahin. “And that’s why we entered into a partner-ship with a company that’s been doing this for decades and is lead-ing in the field, Pfizer.”

U.K. regulators gave BioN-Tech’s vaccine emer-gency authorization on Dec. 2, based on sub-missions that included data showing an effi-cacy rate of 95%. The U.S. FDA followed suit on Dec. 11, while the European regula-tor EMA plans to meet next week to decide on an approval request that Germany’s health

minister has said could see vacci-nations start Dec. 27.

Tureci said data from some 140,000 people who have so far

received the first doses of the vaccine in Britain showed it was tolerated as well as during the trials.

Merkel, a physicist by train-ing, praised Tureci and Sahin for persisting with their re-search into the use of mRNA to prime the human immune sys-

Breakfast pivot

A ‘toast’ to science

Dr Fauci

Loss and lockdowns. The world endured a tumultuous 2020 when COVID-19 put normalcy in standstill. Through the fi rst few months of last year, the steady rise in cases came largely from China and other coun-tries in East Asia, along with most of Europe, the Middle East and North America. According to a statement by the World Health Organization in October 2020, COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic loss of human life world-wide and presents an unprecedented challenge to public health, food systems and the world of work. The economic and social disruption caused by the pandemic is devastating: tens of millions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty, while the number of undernourished people, currently estimated at nearly 690 mil-lion, could increase by up to 132 million by the end of the year. (AP)

LOCALARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2021

3

Fear dissipates as big numberof people turn up for ‘vaccine’

‘Students abroad can register on MoH site’

By Marwa Al-BahrawiAl-Seyassah Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: A member of the technical committee for the ‘Corona’ vac-cine, Professor Khaled Al-Saeed said he expected the number of people registering on the electronic link to receive the (Cov-id-19) vaccine will reach about 250,000 during the next ‘few hours’.

In a press statement, Al-Saeed explained the fear for vaccination is normal at fi rst, because “we always

fear everything new, but this fear quickly dissipated after the initiative of His Highness the Prime Minis-ter, the Minister of Health, members of the legislative and executive authorities, members of the technical committee and medical personnel to receive the vac-cine.”

Al-Saeed praised the global efforts to fi nd the vaccine in what he called a short period of time, and pointed out decod-ing the genetic code of viruses usually takes years, but that it took only about 40 days to decode ‘Corona’ using modern sci-entifi c means and the discovery of contemporary technologies.

With regard to questions about the discovery of a vaccine for “Corona” in less than a year and the failure to discover vac-

cines for some other viruses for long years, such as HIV and AIDS, Al-Saeed said that AIDS is in the immune cells and that makes it diffi cult to discover a vaccine because it constantly attacks the immune system. It is diffi cult to fi nd a suitable vaccine for this dis-ease, but other viruses, such as the seasonal fl u, for example, a vaccine was discovered in just three months.

Professor Al-Saeed point-ed out that the currently available vaccines ‘Pfi zer and Moderna’ and ‘AstraZeneca’ work in different ways.

He stated that about 14 mil-lion people around the world have received the Pfi zer vac-cine, and no side effects have been recorded so far, warning of non-specialists’ statements about vaccines.

On how to communicate with students in Britain for vaccination, Al-Saeed said that the population of Brit-ain is 66 million and they have a large proportion of the elderly and health sector workers which are in mil-lions, and for UK to reach the young British citizens and international students will take a long time.

“In this case we cannot help them with anything but it is possible to register on the online platform of the Minis-try of Health and receive the vaccine upon their arrival in the country.”

He pointed out Corona Vaccine Technical Commit-tee does not coordinate with embassies and communica-tion centers to set up a spe-cifi c mechanism to vaccinate students studying abroad.

Can’t blame govt for ‘bedoun’ plight“WHENEVER we hear about an untimely ‘death’ among the so-called bedoun due to any reason, or what are called human tragedies the people through the media blame the Kuwaiti government for its failure to deal with the problem radically and claim they suffer from the state injustice,” columnist retired Major General Mohammad Essa Al-Ali wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“I tell these people who speak through the media that any society has good and bad people and crimes may oc-cur between citizens and residents alike for many rea-sons. They also criticize the Central System for Remedy-ing the Status of Illegal Residents and accuse its head Saleh Al-Fadallah and his staff of injustice. Here, I must show that Al-Fadallah and those working with him in the apparatus are known for their honesty, with fear of God and love of the home-land above any consideration.

“We see the statements of a number of Kuwaitis - men and women and members of the Group of Eighty, headed by Adel Al-Zawawi, who represent the Kuwaiti elite who preserve the security and protect the gains of the Constitution. This was also re-ported in the electronic newspaper Al-Deera and in vari-ous media outlets.

“Therefore, these statements through the media are far from reality and do not touch the truth. The truth is that the Kuwaiti government and people extended a helping hand to the bedoun with all the basic services provided to them on a par with the citizen in everything but nationality.

“The Central System has counted all Bedoun individ-uals in the community and verifi ed all information and documents related to them, and accordingly provided them with signifi cant services such as the security card, distributing basic foodstuffs for them, allowing them to obtain a driving license, and work, providing them with fi nancial and in-kind support from the Zakat House and charity societies, direct support from people and support for education and medical treatment.

“Before the brutal invasion of Kuwait, there was no problem in Kuwait – there was nothing called bedoun problem -- but this problem appeared after the liberation when the state placed controls on work and movement and asked these bedoun to present their identifi cation documents. Most of us know that some of them respond-ed and readjusted their condition and others refused. Some of them presented forged papers which were later discovered.

“Despite this, the state and citizens’ support for all bedoun did not stop, bearing in mind that the state’s se-curity services did not open their security fi les to con-front them as some of them were involved in cooperating with the enemy during the brutal invasion. Despite that, there are those who accuse Kuwait and the government of injustice.

“The humanitarian side gave this category the care and priority of the state and the people. All that remains is for the rest of these bedoun to respond to correct their condi-tions and live in a homeland that provided them with a decent and safe livelihood.

“Brothers, members of the National Assembly should take the initiative to solve this issue and enact neces-sary laws to solve the bedoun issue provided they are presented to the National Assembly to proceed towards completing the requirements of a complete solution.

“In conclusion, we hope that all efforts will be com-bined to improve everyone’s situation for the better.”

Also:“I promise and I am ready to fulfi ll all that you de-

mand in the Negative Phenomena Committee according to your priorities and what you fi nd at the top of your agenda, and I will affi x my signature on what I say,” col-umnist Iqbal Al-Ahmad wrote for Al-Qabas daily.

“I will declare solidarity with your calls to stop and prevent innocent and shameless parties. I pledge to de-mand that the book fairs be sifted and emptied of every-thing except books of magic, cooking, innocent poetry, and interpretation of dreams, and bury all books that in-clude science, art, literature and culture.

“I will also demand that everything you refuse be for-bidden and that whatever you allow is allowed, on condi-tion we complete the nation’s projects and priorities such as development projects, completion of the stages of the Silk Road, developing islands, establishing a tram and railway network linking the north with the south and the east with the west, supporting the economy and restoring the funds of future generations to the days of glory.

“Just a moment please, I forgot something important in my promises, which is that I call for women to remain in their homes and there is no need for their work or par-ticipation in development, stay put in their homes and not mix with men starting with the university and with all public facilities.

“All of the above is conditional on reviving the state budget, reducing the balance of payments, expanding public income sources, fi nding alternatives to oil on which we can live on and guaranteeing the salaries of state employees and institutions.

“It is my promise and many others like me that as soon as all the requirements of development for our beloved nation are fulfi lled by you, you will fi nd us fulfi lling your aspirations and your narrow priorities, you narrow vision and your programs, and we are waiting for the green light from you.

“I hope you will would read Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid’s statement in which he said that the sisterly UAE is today the fi rst in the world to attract foreign invest-ment, the fi rst in attracting talent, the fi rst in government partnership with the private sector, and the fi rst in the overall stability index of the economy, in addition to accomplishing the largest process of legislative reform included more than 50 new laws to keep pace with the future. Do you want more than enough?

“The last paragraph is addressed to the great people in

the National Assembly who disturb us with their screams and convulsions during every session since the beginning of the new session which has extinguished all our hopes.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“The year 2020 is undoubtedly a year that mankind will never forget. It surprised the inhabitants of the planet with harsh lessons, and turned the scales of many convictions by teaching us the real valuable matters that we must know and what the governments need to pay attention to, as well as who the real heroes in the socie-ties area, what powers the superpowers must possess to carry out their wars, and who the exploiters are in mis-fortunes and disasters,” columnist Basma Saud wrote for Al-Shahid daily.

“This year taught the Western countries the lesson that freedom of expression does not include freedom to in-sult sanctities and symbols of religions. The year taught corrupt politicians the lesson that real success is attained with the support and love of the people and their repre-sentatives, and the need to stand with them instead of false marketing and corruption of the vote.

“It is the year we learned that food security and health security are the most important priorities of the nation, and that the state should be supporting local agricultural, livestock and fi sh wealth among its top annual priorities and investing all national competencies in implementing these educational and professional activities.

“The nation should also invest national human cadres for supporting local industries such as food, medicine, clothing, building materials, and personal care products, etc. instead of depending mainly on imports, and to con-tinue investing its national medical staff who embodied the role of real heroes in 2020.

“It is the year in which we praised the blessing of wa-ter and electricity despite the horror of the circumstances that surrounded us. It is the year out of which the govern-ment must come with basic lessons so as not to repeat its mistakes in striking the country’s economy projects because of its decisions, which ended with merchants pleading for state funds!

“In general, we hope that the government has learned the negative aspects of the psychological panic that it planted in citizens and residents because of its fl oundering curfew decisions. There are countries that have remained in place with their activities and economies without any signifi cant losses because they were satisfi ed with follow-ing the advice of ‘prevention is better than cure’.

“It is the year when I saw human beings denying the authority of the Almighty and believing in the author-ity of mankind, despite many lessons and signs. It is the year in which we used patience and prayer more than we did in the past for facilitating our unresolved affairs due to force majeure circumstances. It is the year when the believers’ voice was raised to say God is great.

“I hope that the year 2021 will achieve karma for everyone. We hope those who sow good will reap good fruits, God willing, and those who sow evil to fall back on it, God willing. It is important to remember that the diffi culties of surprises and pains that fate confronted you in 2020 is a gift given to you to become strong to face 2021 and beyond.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“The Gulf summit held in the Saudi province of Al-Ula, which the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques called as the Summit of Sabah Al-Ahmad and Qaboos bin Said in appreciation of the role of the two great late leaders in establishing and developing the Gulf Coopera-tion Council (GCC), succeeded in resolving the diffi cult crisis that has affl icted the GCC countries for more than three years,” columnist Mishari Al-Matraqa wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“This crisis led to the closure of borders, cutting of ties and severe damage to the citizens of Gulf states bound by brotherhood and cordiality. This blessed summit turned the page of such a painful past and returned the water to its course and smiles on the faces of families separated by the borders that were closed between brothers within a period of anger and estrangement.

“The Al-Ula summit sent a message to the whole world that no matter how deep the disagreement in the one Gulf house, it could be resolved only through wis-dom and love, thereby, crossing to the safe shore. Re-lations between the Gulf states are strong and deeply rooted. What unites their people and leaders is stronger than what divides them.

“They will forever remain in unity, solidarity and cooperation. They will confront everyone who tries to separate them or instigate discord and sedition, for they are in the heart of one man in good and bad times.

“Although the Al-Ula summit has resolved most of the differences between the parties to the Gulf crisis, we must be more realistic as some points still need discus-sion and agreement, and the quartet countries have de-mands and reservations.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“Some believe that once they get the fi rst dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, they will be safe from catching and spreading the coronavirus, so they intend to let go of the masks, forget social distancing, and neglect hand wash-ing and sterilization,” columnist Dr Naji Saoud Al-Zaid wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“The truth is that the fi rst immune-stimulating dose needs a two-week period and the second dose needs a week to become effective.

“My advice from the heart is for everyone, especially those who have been vaccinated, to exercise caution. Bear in mind that despite the feeling of safety after vac-cination, precautions must be tightened to protect oneself and others.

“Vaccination is undoubtedly a blessing. So far, there is no reason to hesitate or avoid taking it, because any other option is dangerous to oneself and others. Masks, distancing and cleanliness must be practiced along with vaccination.”

— Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli

Mohammad Essa

Other Voices

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) received 71 reports on corruption and other anomalies in November, while the number of reports it received in the past two years reached 774, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The daily obtained a copy of Nazaha’s report which affirmed that the formal and substantive conditions for some of these reports were met so they have been reg-istered in its records - a total of 159 reports, including 15 new cases.

According to the report of the authority, complaints were filed against eight directors of departments, four assistant undersecretaries in a ministry, directors of public institutions, and two assistant directors of certain entities.

In November, 13 individuals and three government agencies submitted reports on corruption, financial and administrative irregularities. Nazaha referred one case to the Public Prosecution, filed 21 cases and 88 others are still under study.

The Investigation Detection Sector received reports on suspicion of corruption - five each in the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Ministry of Public Works, three in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, seven in Kuwait Municipality and 15 in the Ministry of Health.

Top offi cials named

71 graft reports in Nov

Amending status: Managing Director of Human Resources at Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) Ahmed Al-Hamad is-sued a circular regarding amending the status of workers who obtained a higher qualifi cation while in service, reports Al-Anba daily.

In the circular addressed to the President of the Union of Petroleum Work-ers and the Petro-chemical Indus-try Muhammad Hamad Al-Hajri, Al-Hamad said there are meas-ures to amend the status of those who obtain a uni-versity degree while in service.

He explained that the graduation rate of those with a uni-versity degree before June 11, 2017 will be determined by passing the English lan-guage by 60 percent and higher, and pass-ing personal interview by about 50 percent and higher.

As for those holding a university quali-

fi cation after June 11, 2017, they will have a required graduation rate not less than the specifi ed percentage according to the terms of employment of recent graduates in the institution, pass the English language by about 70 percent or higher, and pass the personal interview by about 60 percent or higher.

❑ ❑ ❑

Total Kuwaitization: The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has communicated with various government agencies regard-ing the 100 percent Kuwaitization of com-puter departments in all sectors, in compli-ance with the directive of the Council of Ministers on the implementation of the replacement policy before the next fi scal year which starts in April, reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources.

Sources confi rmed the CSC has deter-mined the number of non-Kuwaiti em-ployees who will be replaced in the cur-rent fi scal year. Sources said the CSC also stressed the need to terminate a number of expatriate administrative and technical em-ployees based on a study about the applica-tion of the replacement policy in various government agencies.

News in Brief

Al-Hamad

Khalil Al-SalehLiberal/Shiite

Second Constituency

KHALIL AL-SALEH was born in 1958. He holds a diploma in Civil Aviation. He worked as aviation instructor and headed the Amiri Fleet.

He is a member of Kuwait Pilots and Aviation Engineers Society, as well as the Association of Kuwait Airways Corporation Employees.

He contested the 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2009 elec-tions but he lost. He won in the February 2012 elec-tions with 4,402 votes and again in the December 2012 elections with 1,485 landing on the eighth spot in the Second Constituency.

In the 2013 elections, he obtained 1,505 votes and ranked 10th in his constituency. In the 2016 elec-tions, he won 2,914 votes that put him in third place in his constitu-ency.

In the 2020 elections, he obtained 3,117 votes and retained the third spot in his constituency.

StatementHe once commented on the

enforcement of the Demographics Law, asserting that “it is the most important law ratified by the 2016 Parliament and the most effective in decades.”

He pointed this law is a reflec-tion of the State security and the citizens will reap the fruits of its implementation, such as more job opportunities and reduction of traf-fic jams.

Voting Record

■ Disqualifying candidates con-victed of offensive crimes in 2016 – approved

■ DNA Law in 2015 – approved ■ Cybercrimes Law in 2015 – re-

jected ■ Partnership Enterprises Law in

2014 – approved ■ Cancelation of the grilling

motion against Minister of Interior Jaber Al-Mubarak in 2014 – approved

■ Amendment of Consti-tutional Court Law in 2014 – approved

■ Discussing the tape recording issue in a secret session in 2014 – approved

■ No confidence motion against Minister of Finance Muhammad Al-Abdullah in 2013 – rejected

■ Forming a fact-finding committee to investigate

the bank deposits of MPs in 2013 – abstained

■ Referring the grilling motion against Minister of Interior Ahmed Al-Homoud to the Legal and Leg-islative Affairs Committee in 2013 – approved

■ First deliberation on the pro-posal to write off the interest of citizens’ loans in 2013 – abstained

■ Law on combating money laundering and financing terrorism in 2013 – approved

■ Postponing the grilling of Minis-ter of Oil Hani Husain in 2013 – re-jected

■ Postponing the grilling of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shamali in 2013 – rejected

■ Postponing the grilling of State Minister for Municipality and Hous-ing Affairs Salem Al-Ozaina in 2013 – rejected

■ Postponing the grilling of Dep-uty Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Ahmed Al-Homoud in 2013 – rejected

■ One man one vote in 2013 – approved

mp profile getting to know you

Al-Saleh

After the only meeting that took place of this kind, the MPs have been juggling the populist discontent, which is a very risky phenomenon if the government does not remedy it.

Perhaps it is useful to look into the relationship among the press, social media platforms, and the governance in the Arabian Gulf states, as the govern-ments have been able to market them-selves with great flexibility and meet the demands of the people, while in Kuwait, it is like talking to a wall.

The democracy that the Kuwaitis are proud of in terms of freedom of expres-sion shouldn’t be countered with censor-ship or prosecution over some Twitter post as long as it does not violate the constitutional values.

Therefore, there must be a solution to the crisis, and it is not in the presented options.

If the constitution is suspended and the parliament is dissolved, the next move should be to amend the constitution, which has become of urgent need as it is not a divine text.

The United States has amended its constitution about 30 times, France 25 times, and so has other countries that are more democratic than Kuwait ... it was

intended for the sake of developing the state and the society.

As for the livelihood and economic crisis and remedying the loan crisis, the government can guarantee the principal debt and reschedule it. The interest rates of the local banks and other financial institutions can be reduced, in addition to investing in the Future Generation Fund which other countries, except Kuwait, invest and get positive returns from such investments.

Our government can invest by pump-ing 100 billion or 200 billion dollars from the future generation fund into sec-tors that would generate profits in the country, which will benefit all con-cerned aspects of the society, let alone the state.

Regarding the housing issue, Kuwait has several examples to follow, including the Saudi plan, or the situation in Morocco, the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Bahrain. There the state provides land and guarantees the loans at a very low interest rate, and there are banks that are always interested in lend-ing for this purpose.

There is no doubt that any disregard for these issues and resorting to the usual sedative short-term solutions will accel-erate the financial collapse, as well as exacerbate the political crisis. Then the government and the parliament will end up being like someone who jumps from the frying pan into the fire.

Govt, parliamentContinued from Page 1

Bid to verifystudents IDKUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: Director of the Information Technology and Computer Center at the Public Author-ity for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) Ali Hussain suggested that the best way to verify a student’s identity on the online educa-tion platform is to open the camera during online lec-tures and tests, reports Al-Jarida daily.

Speaking to the daily, Hussain pointed out this method is aimed at prevent-ing other people from en-tering the online platform without the knowledge of professors or teachers. He said this phenomenon harms the online education system, which is currently imple-mented throughout the world due to the corona pandemic.

He wondered what could be the problem in using the camera during lectures and tests, considering this meth-od is about 80 percent effec-tive in preventing the above-mentioned phenomenon.

He enumerated other so-lutions such as re-verifica-tion and confirming that the student is the owner of the account if he enters the on-line platform from another device, considering the stu-dent usually contacts the teacher to answer the verifi-cation questions to activate the platform.

LOCALARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2021

4

14 local consulting fi rms submit fi nancial offers, two rejected

MPW receives bids for design of new KDIPA building in SharqKUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: Ministry of Public Works received bids from consultancy fi rms to present designs for the new Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) building in Sharq area, reports Al-Anba daily quoting in-formed sources.

They revealed that 14 local con-sulting fi rms submitted fi nancial offers at the end of last week, and

two offers were rejected for fall-ing short of the required specifi ca-tions.

The sources explained that the new KDIPA building will have special and environmental-friend-ly specifi cations to include all fu-ture employees of the authority, an offi ce for the minister in charge of the authority, meeting rooms for the board of directors, the director

general of the authority, the de-partment heads for the sectors of investment, fi nancial and adminis-trative operations, and the general management sector, in addition to many sectors’ departments. The new building will also contain a car parking section with a capacity of 700 cars.

According to KDIPA’s request, the Ministry of Public Works must

have the design made by the win-ning offi ce to be accurate and valid for a period of fi ve years, starting from the date of issuance of the certifi cate of receipt for the design work and until the preliminary handover of the executed contract works.

The Ministry of Public Works must set the period for implement-ing the engineering designs for the

building at a total of 540 days - di-vided into four phases.

The fi rst phase is for data col-lection, which is set at 45 days, the second phase is for general planning and design alternatives, which is set for 90 days, the third phase is related to developing the design, and is set for 120 days, and the fourth and fi nal phase, which will take 285 days, is set for the

execution plans and documenta-tion.

In addition, the consultant, in order to complete the consulting services in all its phases, shall pro-vide a technical and professional apparatus of the specialized and qualifi ed professional technical work force necessary to complete the study and design work for the project.

2,500 Kuwaiti students in Egyptianvarsities preparing to return home

Council of Ministers decides to postpone exams

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: About 2,500 Kuwaiti students in various uni-versities in Egypt are preparing to return home in the next few days as the Egyptian Council of Min-isters decided to postpone the ex-ams until the end of the mid-year va-cation, reports Al-Qabas daily.

In a statement to the daily, Chairperson of the National Union of Kuwaiti Students (NUKS)-Egypt branch Ahmad Al-Shammari disclosed that most Ku-waiti students are plan-ning to return to Kuwait as the exams were post-poned.

He said the direct flight crisis continues to increase the suffering of Kuwaiti students as it drains their time and budget. “Although the issue has been repeatedly brought to the attention of the concerned authorities in Kuwait, there has been no solution so far and the exemptions to the direct flight ban do not apply to Kuwaiti students despite the availability of trans-portation between the two countries. I do not know why they decided to sus-pend the direct flights,” he added.

He affi rmed no Kuwaiti student in Egypt is infected with coronavirus, indicat-ing the union is closely fol-lowing all the procedures and developments related to the epidemiological sit-uation in Egypt.

StayOn the other hand, a

number of Kuwaiti stu-dents expressed their de-sire to stay in Egypt during the mid-year vacation.

Musaed Al-Enezi, a stu-dent at Alexandria Univer-sity, pointed out the winter season and calm atmos-phere in Egypt motivated him to spend the mid-year vacation there, especially since the exams were post-poned. He said everything is available and he can en-joy this vacation in spite the spread of corona as there are many interesting activities in the city that he can engage in without the risk of infection.

Shaimaa, a student at Zagazig University, re-vealed that the diffi culty of traveling back to Ku-wait, particularly the need to undergo more tests, has prompted her to stay in Egypt during this vacation.

She told the daily that most of her classmates de-cided to return to Kuwait, but she and several others will remain in Egypt to fully prepare for the sec-ond semester.

She pointed out the epi-demiological situation is the same throughout the world. “The decision to stay or not depends on the goal. I decided to stay so I can study more and enjoy the beautiful atmosphere in Egypt,” she concluded.

Photo by Rizk Taufi qSide of the liturgy, and (inset) Father Paulos Anba Bishoy delivering his speech.

St Mark’s Cathedral celebrates ChristmasBy Shawqi Mahmoud

Al-Seyassah StaffSomething was unusual as the St Mark’s Cathedral in Kuwait cel-ebrated the Christmas. There were no crowds of people and the attend-ance for the Christmas Eve mass was restricted to church priests only, in compliance with the lo-cal authorities’ decision to prevent gatherings to limit the spread of ‘co-rona’ pandemic.

The patron of the cathedral, Fa-ther Paulos Anba Bishoy picked up this event to emphasize in his speech on the occasion of the ‘Feast of Hope’ the need for hope in this year and to live in the hope of a ‘better tomorrow’, so that the faithful do not get tired spiritually, physically or intellectually, add-ing with the beginning of ‘Corona’ “we spoke a lot about hope after we were surprised, day and night, that the world stood and prostrat-

ed and prayed to Almighty God, ‘Glory be to You alone, You are the hope for all of us, and now we thank You that the vaccine is found.”

Father Bishoy wished prosperity for Kuwait, its leaders, its govern-ment and its kind people, good-ness and peace, extending special thanks to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah.

File photo of Pope Francis with Archbishop Nugent (Vatican Media).

Archbishop Eugene Nugent appointedapostolic nuncio to Kuwait and QatarKUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop Eugene Nugent apostolic nuncio to Kuwait and Qatar, reports Union of Catholic Asian News (UCANews).

Eugene Nugent is an Irish prel-ate of the Catholic Church who was appointed the Apostolic Nuncio to Kuwait and Qatar this month. He has worked in the diplomatic ser-vice of the Holy See since 1992 and spent ten of those years in Hong Kong.

Archbishop Nugent also spoke about looking forward to his new post on the other side of the globe in

Kuwait and Qatar.Speaking about his role as the Ap-

ostolic Nuncio there, he admitted to knowing very little about the Middle East, but said he is looking forward to learning and serving there.

He added that his appointment is a “sign of the Holy Father’s confi dence in me, but also the importance that he has placed on dialogue with the world of Islam.”

Archbishop Nugent expressed his hopes that his previous assignments will help him carry out his new mis-sion as papal nuncio to Kuwait and Qatar.

Units available in Amiri, Adan hospitals

MoH allocates KD 1.7 million forsupplying ECMO machine fi ltersKUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: According to reliable sources from the Ministry of Health, the ministry has allocated KD 1.7 million for the supply of spe-cial fi lters used for the Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) ma-chines available in the intensive care units of Amiri and Adan hospitals to ensure optimal handling of patients who suffer from acute respiratory failure, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The sources explained that the al-location of the fund is in line with the ministry’s keenness to import the best types of medicines, equipment and medical supplies and to supply them in its health facilities, especially with the spread of the COVID-19 vi-rus and the repercussions of the pan-demic.

The ECMO technique consists of installing an external artifi cial lung machine and connecting it to the pa-tient so that blood is drawn through this machine, provided that oxygen is sent in and carbon dioxide is removed afterwards.

This machine replaces the func-tion of the lung, and also provides additional opportunities for the pa-tient’s lung to recover, in greater proportions. There are positive re-sults obtained from its use in terms of healthcare, as it clearly contrib-utes to reducing the mortality rates among patients with respiratory failure.

ECMO, also known as extracor-poreal life support (ECLS), is an ex-tracorporeal technique of providing prolonged cardiac and respiratory support to persons whose hearts and lungs are unable to provide adequate amount of gas exchange or perfusion

to sustain life.It was commissioned in 2017 for

adults in the Department of Anesthe-sia and Intensive Care at Adan Hospi-tal, with the aim of dealing with han-dling patients with acute respiratory failure who fail the traditional meth-ods of treatment through regular ven-tilators. It gets connected to patients through central venous catheters in-serted by doctors and specialists.

Last February, the ministry adopt-ed a policy for referring patients to ECMO centers in Amiri and Adan hospitals based on the residential area. Patients from the Ahmadi, Ha-wally and Farwaniyah health zones are transferred to the ECMO center in Adan Hospital, and patients from the Capital, Jahra and Sabah health zones are transferred to the ECMO Center in Amiri Hospital.

The sources affi rmed that the Min-istry of Health seeks to expand the provision of ECMO technology to include pediatric patients and pre-mature babies who suffer from acute respiratory failure, indicating that this type of treatment gives a new life opportunity to many patients experi-encing critical conditions and chest infections in intensive care units in all public hospitals.

They revealed a successful experi-ence of the ECMO Center in Adan last June in treating the fi rst Egyp-tian girl infected with COVID-19, explaining that she had experienced a sharp drop in blood circulation and respiratory function, which neces-sitated placing her on life support machine at the time, and there were medical staff trained to provide this type of medical services.

Ahmad Al-Shammari

LOCALARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2021

5

Municipality

Response delay to Audit queries discussed

Cleaning contracts issue tops agenda of MC panel meeting

By Abdel Nasser Al-AslamiAl-Seyassah Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: The fact-fi nding committee of the Municipal Council discussed in the presence of the Chairman of the Municipal Council, Osama Al-Otaibi, the rep-resentative of the Audit Bureau and the Deputy Director-General for administra-tive and fi nancial affairs, services and heads of Ku-wait Municipal-ity sectors in all governorates, the issue of clean-ing contracts, in addition to the reasons for the delay in responding to queries raised by the Audit Bureau.

Chairman of the Committee, Eng Abdul Salam Al-Randi, opened the meeting with the Audit Bureau’s re-ports on hygiene contracts, saying the aim of the fact-fi nding commit-tee is to develop and improve these contracts.

Al-Randi stated this meeting was preceded by several meetings with some concerned authorities, includ-ing the Public Authority for Agri-cultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) and the Environment Protection Authority (EPA) for more coordination due to the intersection of joint work, followed by meetings with heads of sectors and managers of cleaning contracts in all governorates in addition to fi eld visits to cleaning companies.

He spoke of an upcoming meeting of the Municipal Council members with heads of sectors and the Audit Bureau, and some others may be in-vited to participate in the discussion.

In turn, a member of the Commis-sion of Inquiry Eng Maha Al-Baghli said in a statement the committee met with a team from the Audit Bureau, in the presence of the head of the Mu-nicipal Council, Osama Al-Otaibi, deputy director general of Kuwait Municipality and directors of clean-ing companies from all the governo-rates.

Eng Al-Baghli added the com-mittee members listened to the ob-servations of the Audit Bureau on the current cleanliness contracts and discussed the observations and chal-lenges that negatively affect the ef-fectiveness of these contracts and their implementation, and some solu-tions that could be proposed as rec-ommendations before formulating the next contracts.

❑ ❑ ❑

32 warehouses shut: The Direc-torate-General of Fire Department (DGFD), in Sulaibiya and Wafra farms area administratively closed 32 warehouses for violating the safety and fi re prevention requirements.

The DGFD Public Relations De-partment stated the warehouses were closed during an inspection campaign which was carried out in coopera-tion with the Ministry of Interior, the Kuwait Municipality and the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources, after previously monitoring the violating sites.

The Deputy Chief of the Fire Pre-vention Sector, Major General Khaled Abdullah Fahd, said the closed ware-houses included those storing tires, oils, wood and highly fl ammable materials, and had previously been warned to correct the violations, as there were no safety requirements in the aforementioned sites and seen as dangerous to public safety, fi refi ght-ers’ safety, and environmental safety.

Interior minister pledges to upgradesystems for smooth running of work

Sheikh Thamer visits multiple MoI departments

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: Minister of Inte-rior, Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali, during a visit to all sectors of the nationality, passports and residence af-fairs has stressed on the need to continue working towards a qualitative shift with-in all service sectors at the Ministry of In-terior using the latest technology to develop the work mechanism.

During the visit the min-ister listened to the prob-lems that hinder the work of some departments and checked some negativities and said work must be done to solve them in future.

The minister during the visit was received by assistant under-secretaries and general managers from the relevant sectors. He told the senior officials these are the directives of the higher political leadership to facilitate proce-dures for citizens and residents and said the next period will wit-ness better service.

SolutionsSheikh Thamer Al-Ali called

for finding solutions in line with the law through which it is possible to facilitate the citi-zens and residents and speed up their transactions, and work to speed up the transfer of servic-es from paper to electronic, and the automated linkage between all relevant service sectors, pointing to the need to preserve the national identity and devel-op its centers.

He also stressed on the need to continue facilitating proce-dures and overcoming obstacles facing the people with special needs and the elderly, and called for good treatment of all visitors at the same time stress-ing that his visit to all security sectors come with the aim of listening to observations and all obstacles in order to overcome and improve the performance of the security institution that satisfies everyone.

Minister Al-Ali began his tour by inspecting the General Directorate of Nationality and Travel Documents, where he was received by the Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Nationality and Passports Affairs, Lieutenant General Sheikh Faisal Al-Nawaf and a number of security leaders.

inister Al-Ali praised the ser-vices provided by the Residence Affairs Sector to citizens and residents, and the use of all facil-ities to complete their transac-tions with the necessary accuracy and speed, praising the future plans of the sector, which all aim to make the services provided electronically for the speed of completion.

❑ ❑ ❑

No to gatherings: The Public Security Sector of the Ministry of Interior in coordination with the Kuwait Municipality has dis-mantled camps and dispersed caravans in Al-Subbiya which had encroached on government land and also dispersed a crowd of people who were buying and selling vehicles parts, reports Al-Rai daily.

A security source told the daily the campaign against the illegal activity was carried out after the Operations Room of the Ministry of Interior received a report that some people had con-verged on the place – some to buy and some to sell Jeep spare parts in violation of security and health requirements.

Legal measures have been taken against the organizer of the event. A security source said the Ministry of Interior will not allow anyone to gather in one place in violation of the health and security requirements, espe-cially since some people orga-nize such events on state proper-ty in remote areas.

❑ ❑ ❑

Maids steal cash, jewelry: Police are looking for two run-away maids who are said to have escaped after stealing jewelry for 4,000 dinars and 3,000 dinars in cash, reports Al-Rai daily.

The daily added, according to complaint filed by a Kuwait, his daughter was preparing for her marriage and was buying jewel-ry.

He added, the jewelry was hid-den in his wife’s room but some-how the two maids knew where the money and jewelry was kept and they stole it and escaped.

They have allegedly switched off their phones to prevent police from reaching them. However, a travel ban has been imposed on them.

KFSD photoDestruction caused by the fire.

Workers’ abode devoured by fi reActing on information fi remen from the Al-Shaqaya and the Jahra fi re-fi ghting centers rushed to the accommoda-tion for employees working at the Al-Naeem Scrapyard and put out fi re, reports Al-Rai daily.

After the Directorate-General of Fire

Department (DGFD) report received that a fi re had broken out in housing for workers fi remen rushed to the spot and put out the fi re. No casualties have been reported, but the accommoda-tion was destroyed. An investigation has been opened into the incident.

20,000 citations issued: Statistics issued by the General Traffi c Depart-ment of the Ministry of Interior show the traffi c cita-tions issued in the course of recent weeks were about 20,000, reports Al-Anba daily.

The campaigns which were organ-ized upon instruc-tions of the Un-dersecretary of the Traffi c and Op-erations Sector, Major General Jamal Al-Sayegh, resulted in the arrest of 40 minors and 3 expatriates for driving without licenses.

The daily quoting security sources said over the course of week police have arrested 34 persons wanted per-sons wanted by and referred 69 vio-lators of the traffic laws to the traffic court.

❑ ❑ ❑

Court appointments: An Amiri de-cree has been issued appointing Coun-selor Muhammad bin Naji as head of the Constitutional Court, appointing advi-sors Fouad Al-Zuwaid, Adel Al-Bahwa, Saleh Al-Muraishid, Abdul Rahman Al-Darmi, as original members, and ap-pointing advisors Ibrahim Al-Saif and Walid Al-Mojil as reserve members, provided that the advisers take the oath early next week, says Al-Seyassah.

Informed sources told Al-Seyassah daily the Supreme Judicial Council chose, during one of its sessions, Coun-selor Naji as President of the Consti-tutional Court, to succeed Counselor Yusef Al-Mutawa, whose judicial ser-vice ended due to his reaching the legal age on September 30, pointing out that Bin Naji was chosen according to a se-cret ballot.

In the meantime, the sources revealed that the Constitutional Court intends to determine the sessions and hear the election appeals of the National Assem-bly 2020 and other appeals soon.

❑ ❑ ❑

‘Corona’ delay

Car ‘testing’ startsBy Munaif NayefAl-Seyassah Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: After stop-ping for nine months due to the “Corona” pandemic, the General Traffi c Department will resume technical examination of all vehi-cles, starting next Sunday, Jan 10, 2021.

In this context, a security source told the Al-Seyassah daily that the decision of the former Minister of Interior, which was issued on March 10, 2020 to suspect techni-cal inspection due to the Corona pandemic and fi nes owed due to delay in submitting the vehicle for inspection has ended.

The source indicated that the technical inspection departments will resume their work as usual by receiving all vehicles.

Meanwhile, the General Traffi c Department revealed it had issued 531,615 driving licenses during 2020, saying 311,039 of them were issued electronically, explaining that the licenses include renewal, damaged and reported lost.

The sources stated all depart-ments, service centers and ‘online’ receive all transactions related to driving licenses on a daily basis.

Woman dies in fi re: An apartment fi re in Mangaf caused the death of one woman and injury to another, reports Al-Rai daily.

Acting on information fi remen, police and paramedics rushed to the apartment and put out the fi re, rushed the injured to the area hospital.

According to security sources, both women (Indian) were rushed to the hos-pital but one of them succumbed to the burns.

The other woman is believed to be responding to treatment.

News in Brief

Al-Randi

MoI photoMinister of Interior Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali is taken on a tour of one of the departments.

Bill submitted to prevent parachute appointmentsBy Saeed Mahmoud Saleh

Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: Former MP and electoral analyst Dr Abdulrazeq Al-Shaiji expects the current government to re-sign, then a new government will be formed and it will sub-mit a no-cooperation motion against the National Assembly followed by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ah-mad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s is-suance of a decree to dissolve the Assembly and another elec-tion will be held after the holy month of Ramadan.

Meanwhile, MP Adnan Abdulsamad submitted a bill signed by MPs Khalil Al-Saleh, Mubarak Al-Hajraf, Ahmad Al-Hamad and Hamad

Rouhaldeen to amend Civil Service Law number 15/1979 to regulate procedures for the appointment of senior offi cials and to prevent parachute ap-pointments.

The bill stipulates that the relevant institution or ministry shall advertise a vacant senior position including details about the job and required qualifi ca-tions. Applicants for the sen-ior position must have at least 10 years experience in the re-quired specialization and fi ve years in service in the same institution. The appointed sen-ior offi cial must submit annual reports on his achievements to the concerned minister who will present the same reports to the Council of Ministers.

The bill states that the term of the senior offi cial is non-renewable, such that he will be referred for retirement at the end of his term or terminated without the need for a detailed report on the reasons behind the termination. The concerned minister will simply submit a report on the resignation or termination to the Council of Ministers.

It stipulates that a senior of-fi cial who was appointed prior to the ratifi cation of the bill and if his term was renewed must complete the second term and then referred for retirement. A senior offi cial appointed af-ter the approval of the bill and completed 12 years in offi ce must be referred for retirement.

Al-Sayegh

LOCALARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2021

6

Our vision is focused on revolutionizing our customer experience in the near future: Al Qenai

KIB awarded ‘Best Bank in Terms of Branch Design for the Year 2020’KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: Kuwait Inter-national Bank (KIB) recently added a new award to its track record of pres-tigious accolades, by garnering the “Best Bank in Terms of Branch De-sign for the Year 2020” Award from World Union of Arab Banks (WUAB). KIB was awarded at the Arab Banks Awards & Commendations of Excel-lence 2020, which was organized for the sixth year in a row by the Bank-ing Executive Magazine (the Monthly publication of the World Union of Arab Bankers) to honor the achieve-ments of Arab banks. The event was attended by leading bankers and super-visory fi gures from both regional and international fi nancial institutions.

KIB was selected as an award re-cipient based on several key criteria evaluated by the awards committee, which consists of a group of banking experts and economists, who conduct-ed a comprehensive study of key crite-ria. This included: adopting the latest advanced technology, committing to providing an easy and safe banking ex-perience for customers, as well as im-plementing unique architectural design concepts and engineering planning for its branches.

Commenting on the recognition, Naser Al Qenai, Head of Administration at the Business Services Department at KIB, said: “This award is a testament the innovative and noteworthy design that

KIB has begun to roll out at a number of its new branches, which comes in line with the Bank’s digital transformation strategy which seeks to establish KIB as an innovation-driven, digital-fi rst bank. Today, our vision is focused on revo-lutionizing our customer experience in the near future, by adopting the latest in-novations and technology there is in the banking sector.”

Al Qenai pointed out that KIB re-cently opened its newest branch in 89 Mall in Egaila, which features high-level technical specifi cations and is equipped with tablets, interactive screens and laptops available through-out the branch to meet the needs of customers. He pointed out that these

top-of-the-line technologies have changed the stereotype associated with banking services provided to custom-ers within branches, thereby providing a seamless banking experience tailored to suit to their modern and more so-phisticated lifestyle.

He further noted that KIB has been keen to put forward a completely dif-ferent design vision with concepts aimed at strategically integrating the aesthetic and functional elements to-gether which qualifi ed KIB to win this award. “The architectural design of the branch boasts social interiors that create a seamless banking environ-ment, with its interior design inspired by Kuwaiti architecture and heritage

following Al Liwan, which revives Kuwaiti heritage and culture through a unifi ed architectural idiom. A special touch was added to the waiting area of unique and welcoming design; a full-size tree symbolizing life, growth and prosperity, refl ecting the Bank’s motto “Bank for Life” and its primary goal of achieving sustainable and lifelong development,” he added.

It serves to note that WUAB is headquartered in Beirut, Lebanon, and comprises more than 500 members from across the region. WUAB pub-lishes The Banking Executive Maga-zine, which organized the fi rst Arab Banking Excellence and Achievement Awards in 2015.

PAHW opens door for allowances, as well as concessions for citizens

Services of four expatriate employees terminated

By Abdul Nasser Al-AslamiAl-Seyassah Staff and Agencies

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 9: The Public Authority for Housing Welfare has approved the al-lowances, as well as the conces-sion for citizens to whom the plots were distributed in the South Abdullah Al-Mubarak and Al-Mutla’a projects.

Informed sources in PAHW told Al-Seyassah daily that its legal department has submitted an internal memo to the Minister of State for Housing Affairs,

stating that there are no legal barriers to give concessions to citizens or to start receiving requests for allowances from next week onwards.

The sources added, that the administra-tion stipulated that “the citizen obtain a cer-tifi cate ‘To whom it may concern’ addressed to the Credit Bank and the Kuwait Munici-pality, confi rming payment of the symbolic value of the land.

In other news, the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) has terminated the services of four expatriate employees working in the Computer Department based on the directives issued by the Civil Service Commission and in implementation of the replacement policy recommended by the

Council of Ministers, reports Al-Anba daily.The Financial and Administrative Affairs

Sector at the PAHW has asked all the sec-tors to provide it with the names of expatriate employees they wish to dispense with their services during the current fi scal year to pre-pare their termination before the start of next fi scal year which begins in April 2021.

It is noteworthy that the former Minister of State for Housing Affairs, Dr. Rana Al-Fares, had issued directives to terminate the services of all expatriate employees in three phases, approximately 4 percent of it will be carried out during the tenure of the current Minister Dr. Abdullah Marafi e.

Last week the head of the labor union of the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) Abdul Rahman Al-Ghanim re-

vealed that the union is against the PAHW’s implementation of fi ngerprint attendance system, and the resumption of work at 100-percent capacity, which is against the fourth phase of the Cabinet’s plan for the return to normalcy, reports Aljarida daily.

In a press statement, Al-Ghanim said the union is working on submitting an offi cial request by next week to the State Minister for Housing Affairs and the State Minister for Services Affairs Dr. Abdullah Marafi e to express the union’s refusal.

He insisted that necessary actions should be taken regarding this matter, as is the case with the rest of the state ministries to protect the employees as part of the precautionary measures towards the COVID-19 pandemic, which has not yet ended.

Naser Al Qenai

H.E. Ngo Toan Thang, Ambassador-Designate of Viet-nam in Kuwait

Vietnam & Kuwait mark45 years of historic ties

‘Let’s move forward together’

By H.E. Ngo Toan Thang,Ambassador-Designate of Vietnam in Kuwait

Not long after the unifi cation of the North and South of Viet Nam, on January 10, 1976, Vietnam and Kuwait estab-lished diplomatic relations, creating an important milestone in the history of Viet Nam’s foreign relations in the world. As the fi rst country in the Gulf to establish diplomatic relations with Viet Nam, Kuwait has made a great contribution to the relationship between Viet Nam and the Gulf countries in par-ticular and with other countries in the Middle East in general.

Throughout the historical relationship between the two countries, Viet Nam and Kuwait has witnessed many memo-rable milestones. Immediately after the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, in February 1976, special envoy of the Vietnamese Government, H.E. Nguyen Co Thach, then Deputy Foreign Minister, paid an offi cial visit to Kuwait, and he was well received with hos-pitality and respect. In June 1993, Viet Nam’s Trade Repre-sentative Offi ce in Kuwait was established, which is the fi rst commercial representative offi ce of Viet Nam in the Gulf region. Ten years later, the cooperation between the two countries was strengthened, Viet Nam offi cially opened the embassy in Kuwait (2003). And it should be noted that many exchange visits of leaders at all levels between the two states has been made so far testifi ed the friendship relationship be-tween Viet Nam and Kuwait.

Since then, the efforts of leaders and people of the two countries have been demonstrated in many activities that have contributed to boost the relationship between Viet Nam and Kuwait. The outstanding progress in the Viet Nam - Ku-wait relations is the achievement in trading and economic sector, refl ected by the obvious fi gure of $ 3.6 billion in two-way trade turnover achieved in 2019. Moreover, a number of mechanisms of cooperation and agreements in other fi elds such as sports, culture, arts, ... have been signed.

To achieve such great achievements, many factors are needed and one of them is the trust - a natural but sustain-able substance that helps promote the development of Viet Nam - Kuwait relations and overcomes every challenges fac-ing the two countries.

Since the offi cial visit to Kuwait by the Former President of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, H.E. Le Duc Anh in May 1995, the two sides have benefi ted from each other’s strengths to create effective, sustainable and effective coop-eration that brings along many mutual interests. Economic cooperation - a prominent highlight in Viet Nam - Kuwait relations over the years has been continuously strengthened. Viet Nam - a southeast asian country with an extremely abundant young labor workforce has contributed to the pro-duction of many valuable products for export to Kuwait and the Gulf region such as ceramic, electronic and agricultural products. Meanwhile, Kuwait has taken advantage of its strengths in the crude oil fi eld to contribute to the construc-tion of Nghi Son oil refi nery with a total investment of 9 billion USD in Vietnam (tripartite project including Kuwait, Japan and Viet Nam). In recent years, although the world economy is slowing down, the investment commitments and trade exchanges between the two sides are still being made and increased, thus keep the momentum of develop-ment of both Viet Nam and Kuwait. This is thanks to the fl exibility and long-term commitment of investment funds from Kuwait, including the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) and the Kuwait Investment Author-ity, to support Vietnam undertakes a number of important infrastructure projects as well as disaster recovery.

Economic and trade cooperation also brings opportunities for cultural exchanges and mutual understandings between the two countries in other fi elds. In February 2016, on the 40th anniver-sary of relations between the two countries, Kuwait offi cially recognized Viet Nam’s market economy, contributing to en-hancing political trust between the two sides. In the fi eld of edu-cation and training, Viet Nam has launched Arabic language courses to provide qualifi ed staff in many fi elds, in accordance with the requirements of not only Kuwait but also many coun-tries in the Middle East. Viet Nam appreciates the annual Ara-bic scholarships granted by the Kuwaiti Government.

With achievements of the past 45 years, we can proudly affi rm that the two countries Vietnam and Kuwait have de-veloped together and moved forward with the belief of a good future so as to continually promote the friendly rela-tionship between the two countries, thus helping the Viet-namese and Kuwaiti people to understand each other better and the long-standing traditional and friendly cooperation between the two countries to be further enhanced.

In the coming year 2021, there will be many activities and events taking place to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two coun-tries. These activities are expected to help Viet Nam and Kuwait tourism sector recover after a long period of serious impacts caused by the Covid-19 epidemic. Then, new oppor-tunities for cooperation in other fi elds will blossom again, ensuring the stable development of a good relationship be-tween Viet Nam and Kuwait in particular and between Viet Nam and the Gulf countries in general.

The 45-year long journey of the relationship between Viet Nam and Kuwait originated from the belief of a future of peace, friendship, cooperation and development. That belief will also be a solid base for Viet Nam and Kuwait to move forward, help-ing to build the bridge of friendship and solidarity between the Gulf countries and the Southeast Asian countries in the interest of peace, stability and prosperity around the world.

INTERNATIONALARAB TIMES, SUNDAY, JANUARY 10, 2021

7

North Korea

Kim cites US hostility

N. Korea ‘threatens’to build more nukesSOUTH KOREA, Jan 9, (AP): North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened to expand his nuclear arsenal and develop more sophisticated atomic weapons sys-tems, saying the fate of relations with the United States depends on whether it abandons its hostile policy, state media reported Saturday.

Kim’s comments made Friday during a key meeting of the ruling party were seen as an effort to apply pres-sure on the incoming government of President-elect Joe Biden, who will take office later this month.

The Korean Central News Agency said Saturday that Kim says “key to establishing new relations between (North Korea) and the United States is whether the United States with-draws its hostile policy” from North Korea.

Kim says he won’t use his nukes unless “hostile forces” intend to use their nuclear weap-ons against North Korea first. But he says North Korea must further strengthen its military and nuclear capability as the danger of a US invasion of North Korea increas-

es. Kim ordered officials to develop missiles with multi-

ple warheads, underwater-launched nuclear missiles, spy satellites and nuclear-powered submarines.

Kim’s comments came as the ruling party’s congress convened this week for the first time in five years.

“Nothing would be more foolish and dangerous than not strengthening our might tirelessly and having an easy-going attitude at a time when we clearly see the enemy’s state-of-the-art weapons are being increased more than ever,” Kim said. “The reality is that we can achieve peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula when we constantly build up our national defense and suppress US military threats.”

DisputesKim’s high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President

Donald Trump has remained stalled for nearly two years because of disputes over US-led sanctions on the North.

When Kim abruptly entered talks with the US, he expressed his intent to negotiate not advancing nuclear arsenals in return for economic and political benefits. But as long as the diplomatic impasse prolongs, he’s openly pledged to expand the nuclear program that he calls a “powerful treasured sword” that can cope with U.S. hostility.

Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stressed the need to drastically improve his nation’s ties with the outside world as he addressed a major political conference for the third day.

State media said Kim also reviewed relations with rival South Korea but didn’t explain what steps he said he wanted to take. Observers have expected Kim to use the first congress of the ruling Workers’ Party in five years to send conciliatory gestures toward Seoul and Washington as he faces deepening economic troubles at home.

In his speech on the third day of the meeting Thursday, Kim “declared the general orientation and the policy stand of our party for comprehensively expanding and developing the external relations,” the Korean Central News Agency said Friday.

Kim also examined relations with South Korea “as required by the prevailing situation and the changed times,” KCNA said.

The congress is the party’s top decision-making body that reviews past projects, lays out new priorities and reshuffles top officials. It was convened as Kim struggles to overcome what he calls “multiple crises” caused by an economy battered by pandemic-related border closings, a series of natural disasters and US-led economic sanctions.

In his opening-day speech, Kim admitted his previous economic plans had failed and vowed to adopt a new five-year development plan. On the second day of the meeting, he said he would bolster his country’s military capability.

Kim, who inherited power upon his father Kim Jong Il’s death in late 2011, turned 37 on Friday. His birthday hasn’t yet been designated a national holiday like his father’s and grandfather’s. KCNA said the congress would continue, suggesting it was having a fourth-day session on Kim’s birthday.

StrikeAfter a provocative run of weapons tests in 2016-17

to acquire the ability to strike the US mainland with nuclear weapons, Kim abruptly launched high-stakes nuclear diplomacy with President Donald Trump, which awarded him long-desired legitimacy on the world stage. He also met Chinese, Russian, South Korean and other world leaders. But as his diplomacy with Trump stalled and the coronavirus forced him to close his coun-try’s borders, Kim has been focusing domestically to mitigate the economic shocks from the pandemic.

During Thursday’s session, Kim also called for “thor-oughly eliminating non-socialist elements” in North Korean society and proposed ways to promote the “might of the social system of our state,” KCNA said. Kim criticized working people’s organizations including the youth league for allegedly failing to fulfill their duties and said the league must prioritize “i