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

MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2021 / JUMADA AL AWWAL 27, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17584 16 PAGES 150 FILS

football

soccer

Page 16

Pages 15 & 16

Travel eases afterborders reopening

Amir offers condolences

Indonesian divers find Boeing wreckage

Back to normalcy

Biden Cabinet picks point to outreach

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10, (Agen-cies): The Kuwait Embassy in the United Kingdom called on citi-zens wishing to travel to Britain not to travel at the present time, except for most urgent matters, due to a large increase in corona-virus infection rates, as well as the comprehensive closure measures currently applied in the Kingdom.

In a press release, the embassy called on citizens who will travel to the United Kingdom as a mat-ter of urgency “to undergo a (PCR) examination test and to obtain a certificate proving that they are not infected with the virus, provided that it was issued 72 hours before the date of departure to Britain.

According to new procedures, the new measures by British au-thorities will kick off at the be-ginning of next week, as well as filling out a form to determine the whereabouts of the traveler dur-ing his stay in Britain.

The embassy also urged Ku-waiti citizens who are currently in Britain for treatment or other binding matters to exercise ex-treme caution and not go out un-less it is important, and to adhere to the guidelines of the British health authorities in order to pre-serve their safety and contact the embassy in case they need any help or inquiry on the emergency phone number 02075903400.

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Health declared on Sunday log-ging 414 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours raising the caseload to 154,314.

The ministry spokesperson Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad reported a single new death, putting the death toll at 943.

He said in a statement to KUNA number of cases at inten-sive care units reached 46, with the the count of confirmed cases and continued to receive medical care standing at 4,364.

JAKARTA, Jan 10, (Agencies): Indonesian rescuers pulled out body parts, pieces of clothing and scraps of metal from the Java Sea early Sunday morning, a day after a Boeing 737-500 with 62 people on board crashed shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, officials said.

Officials were hopeful they were honing in on the wreckage of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 after sonar equip-ment detected a signal from the aircraft.

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi told report-ers that authorities have launched massive search efforts after identifying “the possible location of the crash site.”

“These pieces were found by the SAR team between Lancang Island and Laki Island,” National Search and Rescue Agency Bagus Puruhito in a statement.

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Sunday expressed condolences to Indo-nesian President Joko Widodo over the victims of the ill-fated Indonesian airplane which plunged into the Java Sea, killing all passengers.

His Highness the Amir prayed to Allah the Almighty to bestow blessing upon the deceased, and solace to their families.

His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah also extended condolences to President Widodo on the victims of the ill-fated plane.

Meanwhile, the Kuwaiti embassy in Jakarta on Sunday called on citizens to consider delaying travel to Indonesia at this time because the airport is closed to foreign arrivals.

The embassy indicated in a statement that the Indone-sian authorities announced additional strict measures start-ing from Monday, January 11, as a result of the increasing cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) during the past weeks in all Indonesian cities including its capital, Jakarta.

The embassy called on citizens already in Indonesia who needs assistance to contact the following numbers: +62 815 1515 1511, +62 812 81813758 and +62 815 1325 2597.

Indonesian military chief Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjah-janto said teams on the Rigel navy ship equipped with a remote-operated vehicle had detected a signal from the air-craft, which fit the coordinates from the last contact made by the pilots before the plane went missing.

“We have immediately deployed our divers from navy’s elite unit to determine the finding to evacuate the victims,” Tjahjanto said.

More than 12 hours since the Boeing plane operated by the Indonesian airline lost contact, little is known about what caused the crash.

Fishermen in the area around Thousand Islands, a chain of islands north of Jakarta’s coast, reported hearing an ex-plosion around 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

“We heard something explode, we thought it was a bomb or a tsunami since after that we saw the big splash from the water,” fisherman Solihin, who goes by one name, told The Associated Press by phone.

“It was raining heavily and the weather was so bad. So it is difficult to see around clearly. But we can see the splash and a big wave after the sounds. We were very shocked and directly saw the plane debris and the fuel around our boat.”

Sumadi said Flight SJ182 was delayed for an hour be-fore it took off at 2:36 p.m. It disappeared from radar four minutes later, after the pilot contacted air traffic control to ascend to an altitude of 29,000 feet (8,839 meters), he said.

There were 62 people on board, including seven chil-dren and three babies.

“We are aware of media reports from Jakarta regard-ing Sriwijaya Air flight SJ-182,” Boeing said in a state-ment. “Our thoughts are with the crew, passengers, and their families. We are in contact with our airline customer and stand ready to support them during this difficult time.”

Authorities established two crisis centers, one at air-port and one at port. Families gathered to wait for news of loved ones.

On social media, people began circulating the flight manifesto with photos and videos of those who were listed as passengers. One video shows a woman with her chil-dren waving goodbye while walking through the airport.

Sriwijaya Air President Director Jefferson Irwin Jau-wena said the plane, which is 26 years old and previously used by airlines in the United States, was airworthy.

WASHINGTON, Jan 10, (AP): Joe Biden promised that his presidency would mean a return to normalcy. His Cabinet picks help dem-onstrate how he plans to de-liver.

The president-elect announced his final nominees this past week, com-pleting a diverse team of two dozen people. He noted Friday that this will be the “first Cabinet ever” to reach gender parity and include a major-ity of people of color, notable given earlier concerns that he was leaning largely on white men.

Some nominees have decades of expe-rience in their respective agencies. Many held prominent roles in the Obama ad-ministration. Many have already begun meeting with interest groups and advo-cacy organizations, and his transition team has had what’s been described as an “open-door policy” toward advocacy groups for months.

It’s a sharp contrast to President Don-ald Trump’s Cabinet, which was domi-nated largely by white men with little experience in Washington. Biden’s aides say that was one of the goals he set in filling out his Cabinet: to signal that his presidency means a return to competent, stable leadership government.

RageThat’s especially important, Demo-

crats say, as the pandemic and economic turmoil rage and the country navigates through the aftermath of last week’s vio-lent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

“Joe Biden is taking office under the most challenging circumstances in a century,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a former Obama White House senior adviser. “There is no time for on the job train-ing. He needs people who can hit the ground running because what happens in the first six months of his presidency will likely determine the trajectory of all four years.”

Biden’s Cabinet is unlikely to be in place when he assumes the presidency on Jan. 20. The Senate, which must confirm the nominees, hasn’t scheduled hearings for many of the picks. One exception is Lloyd Austin, Biden’s nominee for de-fense secretary, who is expected to appear before the Senate Armed Services Com-mittee on Jan. 19.

Some nominees faced early questions about their confirmation prospects, par-ticularly Neera Tanden, Biden’s pick to lead the Office of Management and Bud-get. Tanden has angered Republicans with her outspoken criticism of them on Twitter.

But the confirmation process for many of the nominees may be smoother after Democrats picked up two Senate seats in Georgia last week, leaving the chamber evenly divided. Vice President-elect Ka-mala Harris will be the tie-breaking vote, giving Democrats the edge.

Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said that the president-elect is “working in good faith with both parties in Congress toward swift confirmation because with so much at stake, with our national secu-rity on the line and lives and jobs being lost every day, our nation cannot afford to waste any time.”

But many nominees may face unprec-edented levels of scrutiny as they work to dig their departments out of both the erosion in public trust in government and an erosion of morale from within. Many department budgets and staff were gutted during the Trump administration.

That hollowing out is part of why it’s so important for Biden to choose sea-soned veterans for his Cabinet, according to Eric Schultz, a former senior White House adviser.

Faces“One of the problems that Biden faces

that Obama did not in 2009 is how the Trump administration has treated fed-eral agencies and departments,” he said. “Rebuilding - just, operationally - these agencies, to get that back up and run-ning, is going to take a lot of work. So it wouldn’t make sense to put in a bunch of newbies.”

They’ll also have to navigate demands from progressives looking for major changes from leaders at agencies ranging from the the Department of Homeland Security to the Environmental Protec-tion Agency and the Justice Department. Many of them will be on the front lines of addressing a pandemic that’s killed more than 371,000 people in the United States, while taking action on the issues of race and inequality and climate change that have prompted national movements for change in recent years.

To get ahead of those problems, Biden’s transition team has spent months meeting with trade, advocacy and interest groups across Washington and beyond, looking to reestablish relationships that had atrophied during the Trump admin-istration. Now that his team has been named, his nominees have begun their own meetings with key groups as they prepare to take office.

Some meetings are aimed at assuag-ing concerns among critics, such as when Tom Vilsack, Biden’s pick for agriculture secretary, met with Black farm advocates. Vilsack has faced questions about what critics say was his failure to address dis-crimination against Black farmers within the agency while he was Obama’s agri-culture chief.

An Indonesian Navy diver shows debris recovered from the water during a search operation for a Sriwijaya Air passenger jet that crashed into the sea near Jakarta, Indonesia, Sunday, Jan 10. Indonesian divers on Sunday located parts of the wreckage of the Boeing 737-500 at a depth of 23 meters (75 feet) in

the Java Sea, a day after the aircraft with dozens of people on board crashed shortly after takeoff from Jakarta. (AP)

DUBAI, Jan 10, (Agencies): The United Arab Emirates announced on Friday that it would reopen its borders and airspace to Qatar after boy-cotting the tiny energy-rich country alongside its Gulf al-lies since 2017.

The decision to restart com-merce and travel kicked off on Saturday, Foreign Minis-try official Khalid Abdullah Belhou was quoted as saying by the UAE’s state-run WAM news agency.

The move comes after Saudi Arabia declared a breakthrough in settling the yearslong rift with Qatar dur-ing the annual Gulf summit this week, saying the king-dom would restore diplomatic ties and that its allies would follow suit.

Saudi Arabia announced the reopening of its airspace and borders with Qatar earlier this week.

National carrier Qatar Air-ways said it had started to reroute some flights through Saudi airspace, with the first flight cruising over Saudi skies from Doha to Johannes-burg, South Africa on Thurs-day night.

The president of the Unit-ed Nations’ civil aviation arm, Salvatore Sciacchita-no, welcomed the easing of Gulf airspace restrictions on Thursday, saying the resolu-tion would “help assure the important socio-economic benefits of international air connectivity can be better optimized.”

The UAE indicated on Friday that its restoration of full diplomatic relations with Qatar would take lon-ger.

Belhou said the federation of seven sheikhdoms is con-tinuing talks to “end all oth-er outstanding issues.” Op-position to Qatar’s support for Islamist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood runs deeper in the UAE than in Saudi Arabia, which is pri-marily concerned with Qa-tar’s close ties with regional foe Iran.

Bahrain and Egypt, which had joined the UAE and Sau-

di Arabia in isolating Doha, have yet to publicly elaborate on their pledges to ease the boycott signed this week in the ancient Saudi desert site of al-Ula.

The four Arab states sev-ered commercial and dip-lomatic ties with Qatar in 2017, accusing the country of cozying up to Iran and fi-nancing extremist groups in the region, charges that Doha denies.

This week’s breakthrough followed a final push by the outgoing Trump administra-tion, which has been seeking to end the dispute that has troubled America’s foreign policy and defense strategy in the region and hampered U.S. attempts to further iso-late Iran.

The boycott only pushed Qatar closer to Iran, for in-stance by forcing Qatar Airways to change routes through Iranian skies. Ana-lysts estimate the move has given the Islamic Republic hundreds of millions of dol-lars in overflight fees.

The reopening of Saudi and Emirati airspace to Qatar is critical as the country pre-pares to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is expected to draw over 1 million foreign soccer fans.

Saudi Arabia on Friday said its nationals will be allowed to travel overseas in both direc-tions as of March 31, lifting a ban on international flights the kingdom had imposed to ward off new strains of the coronavirus.

All land, air and sea entry points will be reopened on the same date, according to an interior ministry source, add-ing that the measure will be implemented in strict compli-ance with established health protocols.

Saudi Arabia will remain committed to the safety and wellbeing of its nationals, the source highlighted, citing an ongoing mass inoculation campaign against COVID-19 with priority groups at the front of the line, before roll-ing out the shots to the wider population.

414 new cases

Stay away ‘from UK’

In this photo released by Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Saudi Arabia’s King Salman receives the first dose of the Pfizer CO-VID-19 vaccine in Neom, Saudi

Arabia, on Jan 8. (AP)

Newswatch

KUWAIT CITY: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah congratulated, in a cable Sunday, Sultan Haitham bin Tareq of Oman on the anniversary of his ascension to the throne.

His Highness the Amir com-mended the “fraternal and his-toric” relations between Kuwait and Oman, and the development achievements in the Sultunate.

His Highness the Amir wished Sultan Haitham good health, and for Oman and its people further progress and prosperity under his leadership.

His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ah-mad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Ham-ad Al-Sabah sent similar cables. (KUNA)

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KUWAIT CITY: Minister of In-formation, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Chairperson of the National Council for Culture Arts and Letters Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi mourned with deep distress demise of the renowned Kuwaiti researcher, writer and historian Khaled Al-Ansari who passed away earlier on Sunday.

Minister Al-Mutairi, in a press statement, recalled the deceased as a pioneer who contributed to enriching the Kuwaiti and Gulf countries’ libraries with many re-searches and literary works.

The deceased had written sev-eral books about history of the Kuwaiti island Failaka and its natives. (KUNA)

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KUWAIT CITY: The government and National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim have been blackmailing the MPs on the is-sue of general amnesty since the 2016 Assembly, says MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri.

In a press statement, Al-Mu-waizri pointed out that the wrong attitude of the government is manifested in a number of steps it has taken such as disrupting the structure of ministers, expressing satisfaction over the inaugural session of the current Assembly, and bias in dealing with the elec-tion of Speaker.

He said the government, repre-sented by Deputy Prime Minister and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh, commu-nicated with several MPs in the early days of the 2020 Assembly; promising to submit the General Amnesty Bill within a week. He added the late Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad passed away in the second week and the gov-ernment took advantage of this situation to postpone the submis-sion of the bill. “Strangely, the government reconciled with Iraq which invaded Kuwait, and re-stored good relations with coun-tries that supported the invasion; yet it refuses to reconcile with the citizens of Kuwait,” he asserted.

He emphasized the need to ratify the bill according to articles 65, 66 and 75 of the Constitution as the general amnesty issue af-fects other matters.

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KUWAIT CITY: The Ministry of Education declared on Sunday that there would be no paper or online exams for the fi rst semes-ter of the current scholastic year (2020-2021).

The acting undersecretary, Faisal Al-Maqseed, said in a statement after a meeting that grouped him with the ministry offi cials, that studies would be continued online at all levels and in all schools.

He has indicated that there are several proposals regarding the method of assessing students’ levels. (KUNA)

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KUWAIT CITY: Results of a study carried out by the Min-istry of Education showed that the number of illiterate Kuwaitis in academic year 2018/2019 reached 22,352 – 1,893 males and 20,459 females, reports An-nahar daily.

The daily obtained a copy of the study which revealed the number of illiterates among the total population of Kuwait dur-ing academic year 2018/2019 reached 131,501 – 73,070 males and 58,431 females. In this year, the illiteracy rate among citizens is 0.28 percent and 2.70 percent among female citizens.

According to the study, the to-tal population reached 4,661,638 individuals – 2,940,243 men and 1,721,395 women. The Kuwaiti population reached 1,443,113 – 686,475 males and 756,638 females; while the non-Kuwaiti population reached 3,218,525 – 2,253,768 males and 964,757 females.

The illiteracy rate in the coun-try decreased by 0.16 percent for the total population and 0.25 per-cent for the Kuwaiti population, while the rates in academic year 2017/2018 were 2.82 percent for the total population and 1.55 per-cent for Kuwaitis.

2ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2021

editor’s choice

New opportunities for sun-kissed coastal cities like Dakhla

US consulate a turning point for disputed Western Sahara

A woman draped in traditional Sahraoui wear known as ‘Malhafa’ walks, in Dakhla city, Western Sahara, Dec 21, 2020. (AP)

DAKHLA, Western Sahara, Jan 10, (AP): Trawlers pack the bustling Western Saharan port of Dakhla, where fi sh scales glisten from workers’ arms as they roll up their nets and buyers shout bids in a sprawling auc-tion warehouse. Nearby, turquoise waters lap wide, nearly empty Atlan-tic beaches and diners sip tea in sidewalk cafes.

Plans by the United States to open a consulate in Western Sahara mark a turning point for the disputed and closely policed territory in North Africa. The US move recognizes Morocco’s authority over the land — in exchange for Morocco normalizing relations with Israel. Top American and Moroccan offi cials are in the region this weekend to lay the ground-work for the project.

While this shift in US foreign policy frustrates indigenous Sahrawis who have sought Western Sahara’s independence for decades, others see new opportunities for trade and tourism that will provide a welcome boost for the region and sun-kissed coastal cities like Dakhla.

A portrait of Moroccan King Mohammed VI, waving from behind his sunglasses, hangs from the crenellated archway that greets people arriving in Dakhla. The king’s face is juxtaposed on a map that includes Western Sahara as an integral part of Morocco.

Morocco annexed the former Spanish colony in 1975, which un-leashed a 16-year war and then 30 years of diplomatic and military stale-mate between Morocco and the Polisario Front, an organization seeking Western Sahara’s independence that is based in and backed by Algeria. The long-running territorial dispute has limited Western Sahara’s links with the outside world.

Khatat Yanja, head of Dakhla’s regional council, looks forward to the US arrival opening up his city to new markets and persuading more tourists to enjoy its beaches, local wares and breathtaking sunsets. He expressed hope for US investment in tourism, renewable energy, farm-ing and especially fi shing.

“We appreciate such a gesture,” Yanja said of the future consulate. “It will open a new chapter altogether when it comes to investment in this

region, via employing people and creating more resources. It will also open more doors for international trade.”

The main fi shing port is the lifeline of the local economy, employing 70% of Dakhla’s work force. Thousands of boats bring in 500,000 tons of fi sh per year, for exports worth 2.2 billion dirhams ($249 million) an-nually, according to port director Bintaleb Elhassan.

Beneath fl ocks of honking seagulls, fi shermen haul sardines and mackerel to warehouses where the catch is auctioned off from neatly lined trays. In nearby processing plants, rows of women, including mi-grants from around Africa, clean and sort the fi sh.

Morocco tightly polices the region. On a recent visit to Dakhla, au-thorities closely monitored an Associated Press reporter in the way both visitors and residents often are.

US Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker visited Dakhla and Western Sahara’s biggest city, Laayoune, on Saturday. He and Moroc-can Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita are expected to unveil a temporary diplomatic outpost on Sunday.

While the consulate isn’t expected to open for another six to 12 months, Schenker’s trip is a way for the US to cement its commitment to Western Sahara before President Donald Trump leaves offi ce.

Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, helped broker a normalization deal between Morocco and Israel announced last month, part of a series of historic accords that won Arab countries major favors from Washing-ton in exchange.

Trump said the goal of the Western Sahara consulate would be “to promote economic and trade opportunities in the region,” which is about the size of Colorado and is believed to have considerable offshore oil deposits and mineral resources.

The Polisario Front’s representative at the United Nations, Sidi Omar, appealed Saturday for the incoming administration of US President-elect Joe Biden to reverse Trump’s decision.

“The US cannot both support the UN’s role in resolving Western Sa-

hara confl ict and endorse Moroccan sovereignty,” Omar tweeted.Western Sahara’s economy is run by Morocco, which has built most

of the territory’s infrastructure and encouraged Moroccans to settle there. But the United Nations and most world governments don’t recog-nize Moroccan sovereignty over the land, limiting Morocco’s ability to export its resources and complicating trade deals.

For many people in Dakhla, at least those who are allowed to speak to visiting journalists, local concerns appear to outweigh geopolitical ones. Residents commute to work, sell clementines, shop for jewelry, enjoy local specialties in sidewalk cafes and frolic with their dogs on tranquil beaches.

The US recognition of Western Sahara as Morocco’s drew criticism from the UN and America’s allies. African observers have said it could destabilize the broader region, already struggling against Islamist insur-gencies and migrant traffi cking.

The action has particularly angered Sahrawis, who want a referendum on the territory’s future, and neighboring Algeria, which hosts Sahrawi refu-gees and backs the Polisario. Schenker also visited Algeria in recent days.

The US will be joining a small but growing number of countries with consulates in the territory, the most recent representing Gambia.

“Gambia feels a sense of gratitude for Morocco’s support, including Morocco building the new Foreign Ministry building in Gambia. Also, Morocco continues to grant educational grants for Gambian students,” Consul General Ousmane Badjie told The AP in his offi ce, where a por-trait of the Moroccan king also hangs.

Sahrawi activists held protests in several Spanish and French cities over the US move, but Washington didn’t directly address their concerns when the State Department formally notifi ed Congress on Dec. 24 of its plans to open a consulate.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said only that the United States “will continue to support political negotiations to resolve the issues between Morocco and the Polisario within the framework of Morocco’s auton-omy plan.”

Optimistic outlook for a prosperous 2021 By Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan

Chairman of the Board of the Frontline Heroes Office

Last year has been long and challenging for the vast majority of us and we have seen so many heroes, across different sectors work tire-lessly to curb the effects of the pandemic.

Looking ahead, 2021 marks the build-up to the UAE’s Golden Ju-bilee, a moment that marks collective optimism for our shared future with tremendous optimism for our shared future whilst maintaining the knowledge that life will never again be quite the same, and nor do we want it to.

In the midst of chaos, the pandemic brought with it clarity and a wealth of experience, and what a lost opportunity it would be if we as a nation reverted back to life as we lived it pre-pandemic, and we were to overlook our most invaluable guardians who have put their personal health at risk to protect the lives of citizens and residents of the UAE

Throughout 2021 and thereafter, the Frontline Heroes Of-fice will continue to go beyond listening to the concerns of frontline professionals by creating opportunities for us all to celebrate our national heroes to ensure that they will never be unsung again.. We invite all government entities, businesses, and social support groups to unite with us to develop new pro-grammes that support and provide for our frontline heroes.

The Office will continue its mandate of finding nation-wide solutions to ensure a prosperous and stable future for our front-line heroes. Through various upcoming initiatives, we aim to address essential needs for our heroes and their children across multiple areas such as higher education, mental and psychological well-being, housing and healthcare.

When the Frontline Heroes Office was established in July by Presiden-tial Decree under the Chairmanship of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme

Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, two central imperatives were evident.

The first is that as a nation we must recognise, celebrate and support our frontline heroes and their families. We need to understand the unique circumstances and challenges they face when asked day-in and day-out to put their personal safety at risk for the greater societal good. And we need to unite to help alleviate the stresses they endure, to best enable them to deliver the service and protection we ask of them.

The second imperative is that we need to continuously invest in, de-velop, train and maintain a world-class emergency and disaster manage-ment network that is always ready to respond and protect us from all types of potential emergency situations.

While forming the Frontline Heroes Office, we started by listening and learning. We wanted to hear directly from our frontline professionals about the challenges and stresses they faced and what we could do to help alleviate them.

We built the principle of partnerships into the ethos of the Office because we saw a great opportunity to harness the strength and expertise of an incredibly wide range of resources across our government, business community and social servic-es sector to deliver immediate support for our frontline heroes, while investing in a sustainable emergency preparedness and response network.

Most recently we launched the new Jaheziya emergency response preparedness and training programme. This best-in-class training initiative was developed in partnership with the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Volunteer Programme and a group of prominent US and UK disaster management insti-

tutions. It will provide internationally accredited critical care and life-saving certification that will contribute to the UAE’s ability to maintain a sustainable network of highly trained frontline professionals to protect our nation and its people in the face of any future emergency.

Several partnerships have directly addressed the concerns put forward

by frontline heroes, for example:With Emirates Foundation and the Ministry of Community Develop-

ment, we rolled out an innovative new mental health support initiative, addressing one of the highest priorities our frontline heroes told us they need.

With the Ministry of Education, we launched Hayyakum to provide scholarships to more than 2,000 children of frontline heroes that extend throughout their education in the UAE.

With Daman, we launched an AED 20 million programme to upgrade health insurance plans for the 10,000 lowest earning frontline heroes and their families as well as to provide 2,500 frontline professionals with mental health insurance coverage.

And through partnerships with a wide range of groups including the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Etisalat, Du, the tourism boards of Abu Dha-bi, Ras Al Khaimah and Umm Al-Quwain, and the National Behavioural Rewards Programme – Fazaa, we introduced a diverse series of initia-tives. These programmes help address the physical health and wellbeing of our frontline heroes, better enabling them to stay connected to their families in the UAE and abroad in addition to providing a series of ben-efits and rewards in recognition of their dedication and commitment in service to the UAE.

It is through the most difficult of times that we truly learn what we are made of as a society. We have witnessed incredible acts of kindness, and unity as friends, neighbours and total strangers have stepped up to support and help each other.

Nowhere have we seen such resilience, commitment and courage as we have from our more than 90,000 frontline professionals and volun-teers who worked so hard and risked so much to protect the health and wellbeing of us all.

It is because of these true national heroes that we are so well prepared to enter 2021 and our Golden Jubilee with great optimism for our future. We are poised to realise the ambitious vision the leaders of the UAE have set forth for the next 50 years of this great nation.

Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon Al

Nahyan

LOCALARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2021

3

Ban on ‘35’, UK has led to biglosses, bemoan travel offi ces

‘Some recovery in domestics return’

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: The Cabinet’s decision to resume commercial fl ights at Kuwait International Airport starting from January 2, 2021, as well as the launch of the “Bil-Salama” e-portal for the return of domestic workers, constituted some re-

covery in the travel and tourism offi ces in the country, reports Al-Anba daily.

A number of travel and tourism agencies explained that some offi ces witnessed a boom in sales, as their share of ticket sales rose by about ten percent of the total reservations on board fl ights to and from Kuwait. It was previously fi ve percent prior to the activation

of the platform “Bil-Sala-ma”.

Offi cials from the travel agencies affi rmed that, despite the resumption of commercial fl ights at Ku-wait International Airport, travel and tourism offi ces are still suffering from heavy losses, which have led to the closure and bank-ruptcy of some of them since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

They said the authorities’ decision to prevent receiv-ing citizens of 35 countries greatly exacerbated these losses, especially after Brit-ain was added to the list of banned countries.

At the same time, the travel agencies outside Kuwait and in the banned countries now acquire about 90 percent of the to-tal reservations for fl ights coming to the country, which makes them have control of the prices and gives them an advantage over the offi ces located in Kuwait. The offi ces in Ku-wait have a limited number of seats on each fl ight, and they are mostly in the busi-ness class, and a few in the economy class.

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Telephone networks: The State Audit Bureau has sent a letter to the Ministry of Communicatins concern-ing a bid to complete the installation of telephone networks in new residen-tial areas and rehabilitate the existing telephone net-works, reports Al-Qabas daily.

According to the letter, the ministry did not abide by the circular issued re-garding the regulations that must be followed by the bodies covered under the State Audit Bureau when submitting to prior control and adhering to the guide for preparing bid papers and draft contracts, engage-ments and agreements sub-ject to prior control, in ad-dition to not responding to some inquiries.

The State Audit Bureau stressed the need for its ap-provals for the documents pertaining to the ministry’s opinion of all the technical details, assumptions and obligations mentioned in the report of the company entrusted with the imple-mentation of the project, as well as the consultant’s report on the tender and the consultant’s opinion on contracts of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as well as the up-dates received by the com-pany regarding the tender.

It called for providing it with the details about the spare parts in the ministry’s warehouses, that pertain to the contract in question, along with a report indicat-ing that installation of not all fi ber optic cables have been completed, adding that the company’s pro-posal dated April 24, 2019 regarding the completion of the contract work in ques-tion does not include the completion of the fi ber op-tic cables.

‘Govt, Assembly ties hit dead end’“THE relationship between the government and the Na-tional Assembly has reached the point of no return be-cause the government has not understood the mood of the street for radical change,” columnist Naji Al-Mulla wrote for Al-Jarida daily.

“The Kuwaiti street has come to a conviction that the government has not made any move or taken steps or even paid attention to all the problems which have re-sulted from the Covid-19 pandemic – the decline in oil prices, the erosion of the general reserves and the pos-sibility of defi cit in the budget, especially the chapter of salaries and wages, in addition to the subsidy item, not to mention the education, health and housing crisis, the high rate of unemployment and disguised unemployment that has reached 60% and the lack of addressing the defect in the demographic composition.

“Amid all these crises and dilemmas, we fi nd the gov-ernment playing the musical chair to the movement of the evil compass that tends to perpetuate corruption and the corrupt, backwardness, and retreat and not listening to the voice of wisdom and sincerity.

“It was necessary for a govern-ment to take into account a work program that implies all the solu-tions and programs to overhaul the situation and not depend on anything except that benefi ts the public, so it is not restricted to the benefi t of the companies and mer-chants running after the acquisi-tion or the real estate owners and visa traders who hinder the modi-fi cation of demographics and stand against the introduction of interna-tional companies to implement residential projects and paralyze rational privatization.

“The government was supposed to open the doors wide for civil society organizations and those with ideas and projects to put the society on the path of diversifi cation of the sources of income and injecting the private sec-tor with Kuwaiti workforce, and direct money towards development of education to ensure job opportunities for Kuwaitis.

“Only the ministries of interior, justice and fi nance shall be under the responsibility of the government after privatiz-ing all production sectors and monitoring the performance of the private sector in accordance with the plans and poli-cies of society so that there are professional supervisory bodies that monitor education, health, transportation and other services in accordance with international standards to promote government’s work program and general plans but to the contrary the government is engaged in deepening the gap between reality and these aspirations.

“We do not see any move from the government side even to solve minor problems such as the issue of the fl y-ing gravel. The government did not move an inch even though it is an issue in which there is no confl ict of inter-ests but is an insult to injury.

“Therefore, obsession devours the awareness and the will of the government and sends it into a coma of idle-ness in the face of development and reform. This obses-sion is controlling the decision in Parliament, so the mo-mentum of its movement in the fi eld of the Speakership of the National Assembly and its committees was exag-gerated to limit the opposition.

“This government had to curtail the opposition and the Assembly healthily through reform which exceeds the abil-ity of the MPs and exceeds the expectations of the Kuwaiti people, thus mobilizing the energies of society, and short-ening the path of reform and development in all areas.”

Also:“We have followed up, with regret, the developments

in our local arena, which we had hoped would not hap-pen and for everyone to calm down and to see political stability prevailing over the homeland,” columnist Azza Al-Ghamdi wrote for Al-Anba daily.

“However, unfortunately the winds have not blown the way we wanted them to blow, and the clash has begun be-tween the two authorities, and regretfully for something that does not concern the citizen, his life, his livelihood, or his well-being, nor is it an educational or religious issue, for example, for not amending the Penal Code to apply legal penalties to limit the crimes that have recently increased.

“Unfortunately, the clash and the threat to grill His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled on the issue of the election of the National Assembly Speak-er, although the Constitution does not give powers to the Speaker of the National Assembly concerning the people or affect the citizen’s pocket and the affairs of his life, or to direct the foreign and internal policy of the state.

“The tasks of the Speaker of the National Assembly are specifi ed in a manner that does not exceed the limits of the National Assembly, meaning that the people are not concerned with who is the Speaker because it is a matter that concerns the members in the fi rst place as he organizes and directs the sessions, manages the National Assembly and the workers therein, and thus his limits are within the National Assembly.

“Therefore, submitting an interrogation against His Highness the Prime Minister was simply because the government did not vote for the former deputy and Min-ister Badr Al-Hamidi. Despite the fact that the vote was in favor of the Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim took place inside the halls of the National Assembly, so he won by the votes of the representatives, and these are internal elections among the members, and no harm will befall the citizen.

“Regarding everything that is rumored that the gov-ernment interfered or did not intervene, we say that there were elections within the corridors of the National As-sembly, the result of which was the victory of Marzouq Al-Ghanim, and accordingly, faith in democracy makes us accept the new Speaker and congratulate him and we wish him success for what is in the best interest of the country and as I mentioned, the Speaker’s person does not affect directly the citizen because those who make the executive decisions that concern the citizen are our sheikhs, may God protect them, who have inherited the

principle of preserving and protecting the interest of the homeland and the citizen.

“So we wished that our political life would not witness all these confl icts, disrupt political action and alienate so-ciety from the MPs. Some got very tired and lost confi -dence which reached disbelief in the National Assembly and its importance, due to the disagreements, aggravation and quarrels that harm the interests of citizens which are disrupted whenever the government resigns.

“But if some believe that such interrogations will bring good omen to Kuwait, let them tell us how our pockets will benefi t by this behavior of fi ling interpellations, in-citement, sowing hatred among people and dividing soci-ety between supporters and opponents.

“Kuwait brings us together and its interest is above any other consideration, and we do not accept to be criticized by others that our members do not master political crafts-manship. Certainly some may make fun of us when they hear that Kuwait’s problems have been aggravated by the global health crisis and the economic slump highlighted by some of us during the elections for Parliament.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“There is a common Arab saying - There is no one who harbors grudges more than a camel. It is believed that a camel never forgets the one who offended him. His hatred remains within him until he avenges himself later on. Of course, grudges, hatred, and refusal to forgive and forget are not good qualities either in animals or humans”, col-umnist Sami Abdullatif Al-Nesf wrote for Al-Nahar daily.

“In the ancient Arab history, Arabs fought wars that lasted for years and decades, until the warriors forgot the reason behind the wars in which they continue to fi ght. Thousands of victims died in harsh environments, with high death rates due to diseases, epidemics and famines. The remaining human beings continued to hold grudges and fi ght.

“In our modern era, the Americans, the Japanese, and even the Koreans and the Vietnamese forgave and forgot all that occurred between them especially the wars that claimed the lives of millions; likewise the Europeans, in-cluding the English, French, Italians and Germans, recon-ciled and made up.

“Our Arab region is the exact opposite, as matters of hatred are not forgotten within a single society but the hatred extends to neighboring countries, and then to in-fl uential countries in the world. Their grudges and hatred remain for decades and even centuries without anyone asking the reason behind those grudges and hatred.

“Is it permissible for us to hate the Americans more than the people of Japan, or the English more than the Germans?! Is there any reason, rationale and logic to hate the people of a state for what we believe that their ances-tors have sinned against our ancestors? The perception in itself may be completely inaccurate, including the ha-tred towards the Americans, Europeans and the rest of the people of the earth?

“In this context, can we in Kuwait act smart, put the National Assembly elections behind us, and pay little at-tention to the problems of development, health, educa-tion, unemployment, housing, demographics, public debt and other vital and progressive issues?”

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“In light of the recurrent budget defi cit year after year, the State intends to reduce expenditures and limit the ex-penses item in the budget,” columnist Dr Mohammad Al-Duwaihees wrote for Al-Shahid daily.

“During the past two years, especially with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, I noticed the almost absolute tendency to reduce training budgets in the government system in the hopes of reducing the budget defi cit! “We believe that this approach refl ects administrative, organi-zational and developmental ignorance. Training cannot be viewed as an expense. Rather, it is an investment in human resources. “The need for this investment increases in light of the constant changes, such as new methods and systems.

“These developments and changes have imposed mod-ern administrative methods and new jobs that require hu-man resources trained in the latest technological means and methods.

“As a number of jobs will disappear and the demand for some of them will decrease after recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for some jobs will also increase, especially in the fi elds of technology, artifi cial in-telligence, creativity, strategic planning and remote work.

“I do not know the genius advisor who advised deci-sion-makers in government agencies to reduce the train-ing budgets in the government system. We believe this consultant lacks experience and know-how in the fi eld of administrative and human resource development.”

❑ ❑ ❑

“If we think carefully about the advantages that charac-terize the fi rst countries in the world, we will immediately fi nd education, industry and scientifi c research. This is in addition to respecting time and mastery at work - all of which are essential factors in manpower,” columnist Ab-dulrahman Al-Awad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.

“Education in any country that aspires for rapid de-velopmental leaps is the basis upon which the nation is built. It paves way for all capabilities, creates conditions for growth, and sets off to broader and wider horizons. Through education, good industry is launched, which in our modern era creates economically strong, qualifi ed and well-trained civilizations.

“Also, scientifi c research, as the most important prod-uct of quality education, contributes effectively and quickly to the development of countries. It generates passive income, which sometimes exceeds the income of petroleum countries.

“Recently, Kuwait began striving to catch up with oth-ers in terms of scientifi c research by encouraging and sup-porting such endeavor, because it is a major tributary of development. However, this effort is still inadequate and does not rise to the ambition and aspiration. We hope that appropriate budgets are allocated for scientifi c research as it is the means of knowledge and development.”

— Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli

Naji Al-Mulla

Transactions made easy

E-portal launched for social allowanceKUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: Acting Under-secretary of the Ministry of Education Faisal Al-Maqsid issued a general bulle-tin regarding the launch of the electronic service portal for social allowance by the Administrative Affairs and Admin-istrative Development Sector, with the cooperation of the Information Systems Department, reports Al-Rai daily.

This service allows all ministry em-ployees to update and add social allow-ances of all kinds, which contributes to the completion of transactions without the trouble of reviewing, as well as re-duces the documentation cycle.

The bulletin stated that the electronic portal provides the following services:

For male employees, it is possible to add a child, add marital allowance, re-add a daughter, stop the marital al-lowance, stop the work allowance (son

or daughter) and stop the daughter’s al-lowance for marriage.

As for female employees, it is pos-sible to obtain children’s allowance in the event of the husband’s death, medi-cal disability, or in relation to prisons or abroad, or not working or if a man with children has a salary less than KD 150.

It is also possible to stop the social allowance on behalf of the children, due to the attainment of the legal age of 24 years, or in the case of a son’s work, a daughter’s marriage, a daugh-ter’s work, or a father’s work.

The bulletin called on all employees concerned with the disbursement of the social allowance to enter the portal via the link - https://eservices.moe.edu.kw/hr, and to benefi t from the services provided, in preparation for dispensing with the presentation of it on paper.

Other Voices

KUNA photoHis Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim at Seif Palace on Sunday. He also hosted Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali AL-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh, Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah and Interior Minister

Sheikh Thamer Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah. (KUNA)

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: General Manager of National Aviation Services (NAS) Mansour Al-Khuzaim said the Indian Airlines has been working with Kuwait Airways and Jazeera Airways to facilitate the return of domestic workers through ‘Besalama’ platform since Thursday, reports Al-Anba daily.

He confirmed there is no corona infection among the travelers who have so far arrived in the country through ‘Besalama’ platform, stressing the platform is a nation-al project which aims to help Kuwaitis in the return of their workers who are stuck abroad.

Speaking to the daily, Al-Khuzaim revealed the Sri Lankan Airlines and Directorate General of Civil Avia-tion (DGCA) in Kuwait have obtained preliminary ap-proval for the airlines to operate again in order to trans-port Sri Lankan domestic workers back to the country. He expects the airlines, along with three others, to op-erate soon; thereby, increasing the number of airlines operating through ‘Besalama’ platform to four.

He said more than 200 travel and tourism offices and their branches are part of ‘Besalama’ platform, clari-fying that travel and tourism offices abroad are not al-lowed to join the platform. He affirmed prices on the platform are inclusive of booking tickets, three PCR tests, three checkups, daily meals, security, medical and laundry services.

‘Domestics return’

‘No corona in travelers’

Hamad Jassem Al-MatarSunni/ National Action Movement

Second Constituency

HAMAD JASSEM AL-MATAR was born in 1970. He obtained a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Industrial Chemistry from Kuwait University.

He is a lecturer at Kuwait University, as well as director of the Training and Consultation Office at the College of Sciences and staff at the College of Higher Studies in the same university.

He worked as consultant for environmental affairs at the Municipal Council. He served as regional general manager of the Arab Association for Chemical and Petrochemical Industries, and chairman of the National Project for Environmental Awareness.

He chaired the Arab Chemists Association in 2005 and Kuwait Chemists Society from 2004 to 2006. He is a member of the American Chemical Society.

He lost in the 2003 elections, during which he ranked eighth in his constituency with 277 votes. He also lost in the 2009 elections, ranking 11th in his constituency

with 4,583 votes. He won in the February 2012

elections when he obtained 5,624 votes and occupied the sixth place

in his constituency. He was part of the

parliamentary majority in 2013 and Islamic Bloc in 2012.

Again, he lost in the 2016 elections landing on the 11th spot in his constituency with 1,710 votes.

In the 2020 elections, he won 2,903 votes and took the fourth place in

the Second Constituency.

StatementAl-Matar boycotted the elec-

tions in 2016 in objection to the one-man-one-vote system. At the time, he urged the citizens to boy-cott the elections; indicating they should not “pollute their Kuwaiti passports with stamps showing their participation in the 2016 elections.”

As a member of the 2020 Assembly, Al-Matar is keen on submitting vital bills and support-ing bills on expanding freedom and protecting public funds.

Voting Record

■ Death penalty for those con-victed of offending God in 2012 – approved

mp profile getting to know you

Al-Matar

LOCALARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2021

4

Plasma therapy cures 50 pct of corona-hit people: Dr Al-Sharida

Death rate cut by 27% for moderately infected

KUNA photoHH the Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber.

Flyer of the event.

KUNA photoHH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled during his audiences.

By Marwa Al-BahrawiAl-Seyassah Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: The head of the plasma treat-ment committee, Dr Sundus Al-Sharida, said the blood plasma therapy contributes to early recovery from ‘coronavirus’ infection by more than 50 percent and reduces the death rate by 27 percent for moder-ately infected peo-ple, and 30 percent for high-risk people as the vital signs of the body improve.

Al-Sharida told Al-Seyassah daily the first research experiment was conducted on 368 random samples of mod-erate and severe cases, of which 135 underwent plasma treatment.

She added the mortal-ity rate for moderate cases that were not sub-jected to treatment was 29.7% and for severe cases it was 57.1%, while the death rate for moderate cases that underwent plasma treat-ment was 11.4% and for high-risk cases 30%, which means a decrease in mortality rate with plasma therapy which is 27 percent for moderate cases and 17.3 for severe cases.

ResearchAfter the announce-

ment of the publication of Kuwait’s first research experiment for plasma treatment in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases a few days ago, Al-Sharida stated the random sample for the second research experi-ment was 640, and it was divided into six categories, equally between moderate and severe cases, and each of them included three categories, the first was not subject to plasma treatment, the second subjected for treatment with a normal dose, and the third for treatment with a double dose of plasma.

Regarding the first research experiment, Al-Sharida noted the results of the experi-ment on several levels -- treatment with blood plasma contributed to early recovery, reduced mortality, and improved vital signs of the body.

She indicated that the results showed early recovery for moderate and severe cases as well, as the maximum num-ber of discharges from the hospital for severe cases which was within 8 days, a decrease of more than 50 percent from the previous one, because the patient’s stay in the hospital ranged between 15 to 50 days.

She explained that one of the positives of plasma therapy is the improvement of the vital signs of the body, as laboratory analyzes showed improvement in some signs within three days to a week of treat-ment, and an improve-ment in oxygen levels after the first to third day of treatment.

Dr Sundus Al-Sharida

HH the PM hosts justice minister, chief judge

Last among Gulf countries

Kuwait ranks 86th out of 100 in World’s Best Cities Report

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received Justice Minister Dr Nawaf Al-Yassin and head of

the Constitutional Court judge Mohammad Jassem bin Naji, at Seif Palace on Sunday.

The minister and the chief

judge were accompanied in the meeting by newly-appointed members of the Constitutional Court. (KUNA)

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: Kuwait was ranked 86th out of 100 countries in the World’s Best Cities Report for 2021, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting bestci-ties.org.

According to the report, Kuwait is last among the Gulf countries; while Dubai ranked sixth in the world and first in the Gulf, Abu Dhabi ranked 15th in the world and second in the Gulf.

The best cities in the world are determined according to six criteria as follows:

1. Place: weather, safety, tourist attractions, public parks and outdoor activities, number of corona cases rel-ative to the population

2. Products: airport travel destina-tions and networks, attractions for residents and tourists, university rank-ing, convention center

3. People: residents born in the city, educational attainment

4. Prosperity: ranking of city com-panies in Fortune 500 (index of the best 500 companies in the world), GDP per capita, equality of income, unemployment rate

5. Programming: culture, nightlife, food quality, shopping

6. Promotion: percentage of visitors, number of visitors checking in places on Facebook, using Google search engine during the visit, visitors’ comments on the travel application ‘TripAdvisor’, Instagram tags for the city, popularity of the city in ‘Google Trends’ among visi-tors within 12 months.

The report stated that Kuwait City shines with amazing contrasts and it is one of the hottest cities on the planet during summer. The water towers are among its prominent features; indicat-ing the glittering towers reflect moder-nity and efficiency for which Kuwait is famous, especially when it comes to social networking sites.

With the presence of the huge Silk City project, Kuwait will soon have a very strong chain of hashtags on social media, including the Great Mubarak Tower in the city plan, which may break records for social media labels, the report added.

London, New York, and Paris are the top three best cities in the world for 2021; followed by Moscow (4), Tokyo (5) and Dubai (6), Singapore (7), Barcelona (8), Los Angeles (9) and Madrid (10).

On the other hand, the 10 worst cit-ies are: Krakow (Poland) at 100th, Raleigh (America) at 99th, Salt Lake (America) at 98th, Mexico City at 97th, Glasgow (UK) at 96th, Sacramento (America) at 95th, Manchester at 94th, Düsseldorf (Germany) at 93rd, Nashville (Tennessee-America) at 92nd, Bucharest (Romania) at 91st and Minsk (Belarus) at 90th.

Audiences of HH the Amir

‘The Guest Show’ presents Dr Hana

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received, at Seif Palace Sunday, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

His Highness the Amir also received National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy Premier and Defense Minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah, and Deputy Premier and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh.

His Highness the Amir received Minister of Justice Dr Nawaf Al-Yassin and President of the Constitutional Court Justice Mohammad Jassem bin Naji.

They were accompanied by Justices Fuad Khaled Al-Zuwayyed, Adel Ali Al-Bahoh and Waleed Ibrahim Al-Mejel who took oath before His Highness the Amir on the occasion of their appoint-ments as members of the Constitutional Court.

The meeting was attended by Amiri Diwan Minister Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah, Amiri Diwan President Sheikh Mubarak Faisal Al-Sabah, Deputy Amiri Diwan Minister Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Sabah, Director of His Highness the Amir’s Office and Amiri Diwan Undersecretary Ahmad Al-Fahad and head of Amiri Diwan Protocols Sheikh Khaled Abdullah Al-Sabah. (KUNA)

This week, ‘The Guest Show’ on Radio Kuwait presents Dr Hana Jafar, a young Kuwaiti doctor. A woman of many parts, Hana is a doctor, fitness coach and an entrepreneur. She is also the Chairperson of Heroes for Hearts, a non-profit organization that trains and empowers local communities in CPR/ AED/ First Aid skills. Hana wants to fur-

ther specialize in psychiatry as she believes mental disorders to be the most common cause of disability in the world. During the pandemic, she carried out research on the effect of Covid on men-tal health in Kuwait. Hear Dr Hana Jafar on 96.3 FM and 963 AM speak about how she manages so many different hats and keeps them all steady.

Eng Al-Atal seeks ways to up coordination

Meet tackles problems of Kuwaiti engineers in the private oil sectorKUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: Kuwait Society of Engineers (KSE) Chairperson Eng Faisal Al-Atal has discussed various ways to strengthen coordination between KSE, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiaries with Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KPC Eng Hashem Hashem, reports Al-Anba daily.

Also present at the meeting were KSE Treasurer Eng Ali Al-Failakawi and CEO of Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) Eng Walid Al-Badr.

Al-Atal confirmed that they tackled the problems of Kuwaiti engineers in the private oil sector who were termi-nated by KPC’s contractors and its subsidiaries during the corona pan-demic. He said Hashem assured him that discussions with Minister of Oil, Electricity and Water Dr Muhammad Al-Faris are underway in a bid to sup-port Kuwaiti engineers, especially those who were terminated.

He added they also talked about the development of a mechanism for accrediting non-Kuwaiti engineers under oil sector contracts, stressing the KSE is keen on continuously developing this mechanism to increase the capacity to receive and complete the transactions of engi-neers who requested the oil sector to adopt their engineering qualifications in the interest of the public and to meet the oil sector’s need for global engineering expertise.

Other topics tackled in the meeting include the ways to expand the oil sector’s participation in scientific training programs conducted by the Training Center of KSE as part of its commitment to open the way for col-leagues in the oil sector to benefit from the programs, workshops, con-ferences and engineering events orga-nized by the society in coordination with a number of international and Arab entities.

Al-Rai photoThe spotted eagle.

Spotted eagle returns after 6 months abroadKUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: The Environment Public Authority said it had placed three ‘tracking devices on 3 large spotted eagles’ in the Jahra Reserve on Jan 14, 2020, and on March 30, 2020 during spring the eagles migrated to Kazakhstan and Russia and northern part of the globe to spend the summer and more than 6 months later returned to Kuwait to spend the winter at the Jahra Nature Reserve, reports Al-Rai daily.

The EPA said the spotted eagle was seen at the Jahra Reserve on October 15, 2020 – apparently returned to the same spot from where it had left. The event was documented from Dec 11, 2020 and Jan 1, 2021 by the authority’s staff in cooperation with the envi-ronmental lens team, after the bird traveled 3,500 kilometers from southern Russia.

The source added, the bird was followed during this period through tracking devices within a national project, under the supervision of the EPA and with support of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences.

LOCALARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2021

5

Citizens & expats hostage of neglectas Khaitan plight turns bad to worse

Heavy vehicles, broken roads, garbage makes life difficult

By Abdel Nasser Al-Aslami

Al-Seyassah Staff and Agencies

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: As the situation in Khaitan continues to go from bad to worse, the citizens and ex-patriates living in the area have become hos-tage of neglect.

The infrastructure in the Khaitan can be sum-marized as worse due to lack of control and main-tenance which does not seem to be the concern of various authorities which have turned a blind eye to the plight of those living in this area.

In the midst of the already dilapidated asphalt, the trucks occupy must of the open ar-eas while the sight of potholes and sewage water overfl ow-ing on the roads is familiar and seems not to bother the government offi cials.

Several Khaitan residents say the decision by the Ku-wait Municipality to close the public squares has in-creased their woes as the commercial area which is full of shipping offi ces have now invaded these open ar-eas where they park their refrigerator trucks, huge freight containers and transit trucks, and some shipping offi ces have transferred their activity to the inner open areas as a result a number of residents living in build-ings adjacent to these open grounds have now nowhere to park their vehicles.

The residents of Block 6 complain about the diffi culty of reaching their homes since the streets are narrow and worn out and to add insult to injury huge trucks cause traffi c chaos and road blocks which sometimes lasts for even more than an hour.

The residents say the concerned authorities must prevent huge trucks from entering these narrow roads which cause inconvenience to them.

They said some of the vehicles are not moved for several months which is very disturbing because no one knows what is happening in the area as sometimes goods are transported from one ve-hicle to another.

They explained, one truck occupies the place of 10 small cars, and not only that, but some offi cials of freight offi ces place obstacles on the open ground to facilitate the movement of their huge ve-hicles.

On the other hand, many residents complain that the streets, from beginning to end, are fi lled with overfl ow-ing sewage and when there is rain mini pools are formed everywhere, the effects of which are still there.

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Syrian robs Palestinian: An unidentifi ed Syrian has been referred to the Public Prosecution for ‘robbing’ a Palestinian, reports Al-Anba daily.

The daily added, quoting the security sources said the suspect lured the Palestinian to part with 1,500 dinars say-ing he had signed a contract to sell health supplies and sterilizers to the Ministry of Defence and added, he would return the money with 350 dinars profi t.

However, when the Syrian was summoned for interro-gation, he denied the contract story but admitted to borrow-ing the money and that he would return as soon as his fi nancial situation improves.

However, after listening to the conversation recorded by the Palestinian on his mobile phone it became clear that the Syrian had cheated the Palestinian with false prom-ises and a contract that does not exist.

❑ ❑ ❑

Reckless driver held: The security authorities have ar-rested an unidentifi ed Ku-waiti for reckless driving, reports Al-Rai daily.

According to security sources, the Kuwaiti who was seen endangering the lives of other motorists was asked to pull over on the Fahaheel Expressway, but he stepped on the gas pedal in a vain attempt to escape until he was surrounded by police vehicles and forced to surrender but not before colliding and damaging two vehicles in a vain attempt to escape.

Police records show the man was wanted by law to serve a four-year prison term. He has been handed over to the concerned authorities.

Top and above: A view of the situation in Khaitan.

‘Drain the mosquito swamp’By Ahmad alsarraf

A former deputy appeared on tele-vision crying over his misfor-tune and the situation he had ended up in, saying he did not know the cause of the ‘injustice’ done to him. After losing the parliamentary seat, he suddenly found himself without salary, no work, and deprived of political activity – unable to contest elections and be elected.

Some sym-pathized with him and anoth-er colleague of his and it is said that a for-mer Interior Minister and an influential per-sonality inter-vened on their behalf and re-appointed them at the university, and this means increasing the dose of extremism because of their declared sectarian stances that they did not inevitably abandon.

One of them is also known for picking up disputes with the regimes of several countries and the most dangerous of which is his active participation in the region’s wars, financing and buying weapons, fighting and even helping operate cannons of ISIS fighters, and all of this happened in public and docu-mented by various local and interna-tional news agencies.

The wisdom says that eliminating the mosquito problem is not done by dealing with it one by one, but by draining the swamps in which they breed. This is logical and acceptable talk; however, draining swamps requires the following :

First, amending the school curri-cula and cleaning them of all extremist ideas.

Second , suspend any teacher accused of promoting extremist ideas at any stage of the teaching profession. Staying put at home with a paid salary is less dangerous and better than being at work. Those accused by global and regional forces of terrorism cannot return to the teaching profession because they will continue to mar-

ket their extremist ideas among their students and call for violence against those who contradict them, especially those who have earlier admitted to participating in training and recruiting thousands of fighters to Syria.

Third, expediting the filing of extremism and terrorism cases to the courts since it has taken more than two years for the judiciary to issue its first verdict in the case of a known global terrorist, and now it will be years before the final ver-dict is issued by the Court of Cassation.

Fourth, amend the mosque’s ser-mons to be more in line with the street pulse with preachers focusing on morals and people’s concerns and not encouraging extremism and abusing those who provided us with services in terms of security, medi-cine and food.

Fifth, preventing people of extremist ideology from appearing in interviews or enabling them to broadcast their views and ideas, whether on official or private chan-nels, because that has a bad effect on young people, and opening the way for those with enlightened ideas to appear on the channels, and not restricting them, as is the case today.

Sixth, preventing people with extremist ideas and belonging to religious parties from entering state and private schools, meeting stu-dents and giving lectures because of the social risk involved.

We return to the issue of univer-sity professors who have been or will be returned to the teaching pro-fession, and we say that they and others accused of State Security cases do not have the least and indispensable knowledge, no useful experience internationally, and their absence will not lead to any loss to the university.

It is therefore safer for them to remain outside the teaching profes-sion in particular. The return of these people, or one of them, means a government blessing for the return of extremism to the university.

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e-mail: a.alsarraf@alqabas.com.kw

Other Voices

Border back to normal: The Ministry of Interior opened the land border cross-ings between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, in Nuwaiseeb and Salmi, from nine in the morning until three in the after-noon recently, in implementation of the decisions of the Council of Ministers due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior for Port Security Affairs Major General Mansour Al-Awadhi and Director General of Land Ports Security Brigadier Iyad Al-Haddad toured Al-Nu-waiseeb Port to see the mechanisms im-plemented to receive travelers.

A security source clarifi ed that Gulf Arabs wishing to enter Kuwait must prove fi rst-degree relationship with citizens or those working for government, indicating that the Ministry of Interior applies health instructions and cabinet decisions, fearing the repercussions of the development of the new Corona virus strain.

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Kuwaiti’s car hit: A Kuwaiti, driving a 4x4 vehicle in the Saad Al-Abdullah area, allegedly deliberately hit the vehicle of a compatriot because of a dispute between them and escaped.

The incident was witnessed by a pas-serby and was able to document it and post it in the social media.

The driver of the other vehicle was injured and had to be taken to the Jahra Hospital.

Police are looking for the fugitive.❑ ❑ ❑

Residents suffering

‘Problem end soon’KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: The suffer-ing of residents in Sabah Al-Ahmad City due to the stagnant water prob-lem will end soon, as the Ministry of Public Works is preparing to sign a contract to extend pumps and pipe-lines for stagnant water with the winning contractor in the next two weeks, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources.

Sources revealed this will pave way for the implementation of the project, which is expected to be completed within nine months.

Sources said the ministry ob-tained approval from the State Au-dit Bureau (SAB) last week, so it immediately started preparing the contract documents and completing administrative procedures as a prel-ude to contract signing.

Sources added the estimated cost of the project is KD4.8 million, indicating that implementation will kick off by the end February.

Prison term cut: The Court of Ap-peal recently overturned the verdict of the lower court which had sentenced the Fashionista Jamal Najadah to one year imprisonment and reduced the prison term to three months, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The Fashionista was found guilty of publishing an audio recording deemed offensive to the Prosecutors who had summoned Al-Najadah for investigation on the background of her involvement in money laundering.

News in Brief

KFSD photo

The oil tanker involved in the accident.

2 dead in Shuwaikh accidentAn accident in Shuwaikh resulted in the death of 2 persons believed to be work-ers and injury to the oil tanker’s Indian driver, reports Al-Anba daily.

A security source said the Ministry of Interior operations room received a re-

port about fi re in the oil tanker in Shuwai-kh, next to the Al-Tatbi roundabout on Al-Jahra Road when workers were carrying out some welding works on the tanker.

The injured has been rushed to a hospital.

alsarraf

Al-Awadhi

Citizen acquitted of drug consumption, assaultBy Jaber Al-Hamoud

Al-Seyassah Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: The Criminal Court has acquitted a Ku-waiti of possessing and consuming drugs and attacking a security of-fi cer on the coastal road in Mangaf citing lack of evidence.

The Public Prosecutor had charged the suspect with possess-ing shabu for consumption and at-tacking a policeman and resisting arrest.

According to case papers, the po-lice offi cer said during routine pa-trol of the area in Mangaf along the coastal road he suspected the motor-ist and ordered him to pull over. The motorist was driving without a car registration book and while he was about to issue a citation, he saw in the suspect’s hand a strange looking cigarette and a sachet next to him with strange substance.

When he ordered the man to step out of the vehicle, the latter pushed

him and escaped.Attorney Nasser Al-Bashir ar-

gued there was no evidence to prove his client possessed drugs and as a matter of fact the arrest and search procedures were invalid.

He also told the court through-out the interrogations his client had denied consuming or possessing drugs.

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Woman dies in mishap: A Ku-waiti woman, who was in her 30s, died following a collision with an-other vehicle on the Fourth Ring Road, reports Al-Anba daily.

A security source said the victim was taken to the hospital but doc-tors failed to rescue her.

The cause of the accident is not known.

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Man dies in fl ames: An unidenti-fi ed Kuwaiti, who was in his for-ties, died after he lost control of

his vehicle and collided with the cement barrier on the King Fahd Road, reports Al-Seyassah daily .

According to a security source, upon impact the vehicle burst in fl ames killing the man on the spot.

The victim’s remains have been referred to Forensics. The authori-ties are investigating the cause of the fi re.

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Beggars fi ghting: The security authorities have arrested a number of people for fi ghting in front of the Sulaibikhat Cemetery, reports Al-Rai daily.

The daily added, the arrest came after someone called the Opera-tions Room of the Ministry of In-terior.

When police arrived they dis-covered all of them were ‘beggars’.

Without going into details or giv-ing the nationalities of the suspects, the daily said they have been re-ferred to the concerned authorities.

352 died in mishapsdespite ‘lockdowns’

By Munif NayefAl-Seyassah Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: Despite the long clo-sures, partial and total lockdowns, and the relative lack of movement on the roads during the past year due to the outbreak of the “Corona” virus, the General Traffic Department confirmed 352 deaths due to non-compliance with traffic rules and regu-lations.

The Directorate General of Public Relations and Security Media Department of the Interior Ministry stated most traffic accidents occur as a result of speeding, stubbornness, and speaking and texting while driving and crossing the red traffic light.

Those who escape death often suffer from severe life injuries and in most cases complete paralysis.

In other news, Minister of Interior Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali has issued instruction to open the door for registration again for those wishing to join the Saad Al-Abdullah Academy for Security Sciences ‘batch of 47’ for high school graduates for the 2017-2018 academic years starting from Sunday, Jan 10 until Saturday, Jan 16, 2021, via the Academy website.

The ministry said in a statement the application for admission should be submitted with all the required documents and sent to the Registration and Admission Department after electronic registration.

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Bedoun acquitted: The Criminal Court headed by Counselor Nayef Al-Dahoum has acquitted a bedoun of charges of climbing the fence of the Ministry of Interior garage in Mina Abdullah at night where the impounded cars are stored and stealing some stuff, reports Al-Anba daily.

The court acquitted the defendant due to lack of evidences.

LOCALARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2021

6

Kuwait played role as ‘key mediator’ in GCC reconciliation, says Legendre

French ambassador stresses importance of health care

By Ahmad Al-Hamily

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10, (KUNA): Kuwait played a critical role as a key region-al mediator in bringing reconciliation amongst GCC states, said Anne-Claire Legendre, French Ambassador to the State of Kuwait, on Sunday.

In statement KUNA, during a press conference at her residence, Ambassador Legendre stated, “We welcome very warmly this (GCC reconciliation) result ... We hope it will bring further positive results on regional stability. Kuwait has been playing really a critical role in these negotiations and we would not be where we are today without Kuwait’s mediation role.”

Asked whether Kuwait could play a bigger role in other impor-tant regional issues, Ambassador Legendre said that State of Kuwait, through its efforts within the GCC reconciliation, had proved itself as a “key regional mediator... uphold-ing a long tradition of Kuwait being able to speak to all the powers in the region and finding ways towards dialogue and reconcilia-tion.”

She added that Foreign Minister of Kuwait Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah also played a critical role, showcas-ing his country’s strong diplomatic efforts, a matter which French was appreciative of because the region was in need of states to mediate and come to peaceful and diplomatic solutions.

Leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) pressed, during Al-Ula’s Gulf Summit on January 5, for enhancing pan-GCC coopera-tion to reach full integration and

Burgan Bank names daily winners of Yawmi account drawKUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: Burgan Bank announced today the names of the daily draw winners of its Yawmi account draw, each taking home a cash prize of KD 5,000.

The lucky winners are: 1. Tawfeeq Taher Almousa2. Sarah Mohammad Alwazzan

and Aliah Mohammad Alwazzan3. Dalal Othman Merghani

Wodeissa4. Khaled Hayayan Obaid

AlrasheediIn addition to the daily draw,

Burgan Bank also offers a Quarterly Draw with more chances to win higher rewards, offering the chance to one lucky customer to win KD 125,000 every three months. The Yawmi Account offers Daily and

account will entitle customers to one chance of winning. If the account balance is KD 500 and above, the account holder will be qualified for both the quarterly and daily draws.

Burgan Bank encourages every-one to open a Yawmi account and/or increase their deposit to maximize their chances of becoming a winner. The higher the level of the deposit, the higher the likelihood to win.

For more information on opening a Yawmi account, the new quarterly draw or on any of the bank’s products and services, customers are urged to visit their nearest Burgan Bank branch, or simply call the bank’s Call Center at 1804080. Customers can also log on to Burgan Bank’s www.burgan.com for further information.

Quarterly Draws, wherein the Quarterly Draw requires customers to maintain a minimum amount of

KD 500 in their account for two months prior to the draw date. Additionally, every KD 10 in the

French Ambassador to Kuwait Anne-Claire Legendre

unity among its six member states.GCC leaders also hailed Kuwait’s

relentless efforts over the past years to reslove the Gulf crisis and restore unity of the Gulf states.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Legendre spoke about the French-Kuwaiti relations, saying that the ties were deeply grounded in histo-ry and good partnership within the political domain and beyond.

In 2021, both countries are eager to pursue ways to further bolster relations, affirmed the Ambassador who indicated that this year was very important due to commemora-tion of the 60th anniversary of French-Kuwaiti relationship.

She also revealed that France was eager to partake in Kuwait’s national celebrations specifically, the 30th anniversary of Kuwait’s liberation from the Iraqi invasion.

Ambassador Legendre pointed out that the French Minister for the Armed Forces Florence Parly was scheduled to visit Kuwait on January 17th to commemorate France’s contributions to the libera-tion of the country from Iraqi

aggressors.“As you know, 14,000 French

soldiers were involved in the liber-ation (of Kuwait) 30 years ago and 10 were killed, so this is something that will be as well as commemo-rated by combatants back in France,” she added.

Ambassador Legendre indicated that she expected more high-level visits to Kuwait this year and noted that strategic dialogue was upgrad-ed last November from the admin-istrative to ministerial level, which shows “how much we want to deepen our dialogue and political relations.”

She went on to say that both countries were seeking more coop-eration within the health sector in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic as well as seeking partnership in a variety of fields including defense, where France is very eager on protecting its inter-ests in addition to the interests and security of its allies such as the State of Kuwait.

On health security, Ambassador Legendre stressed the importance of health care especially during the time of COVID-19, saying, “We think there is room for to be involved in training more of the health professionals here in Kuwait.”

She added that France and Kuwait had signed an agreement to train medical doctors and was implemented in 2012, but affirmed that her country was eager to bol-ster ties going “further and beyond”.

“There are leading institutions in France that are in discussions at the moment with the Ministry of Health here in Kuwait to develop the train-ing capacity both in terms of medi-cal doctors such oncology but also nursing and management of hospi-tals,” she stated.

Returning to the issue of defense,

the French Ambassador affirmed that her country was keen on pro-viding assistance, whether in train-ing or equipment, to the Kuwaiti Defense Ministry, citing numerous deals and training courses as an example of France eagerness to boots Kuwait’s security and defense.

On cultural, educational and business cooperation, the Ambassador affirmed that both countries had displayed interest in finding more ways and means to take ties forwarded.

The French embassy is working closely with the Ministry of Education to enhance the teaching of the French language in the State of Kuwait, helping teachers and stu-dents to excel in the language both in teaching and learning capacities, Ambassador Legendre said.

Cultural cooperation will highly benefit from the upcoming celebra-tion of the 60th anniversary of ties between Kuwait and France, she affirmed, hoping that this year includes various cultural functions to commemorate this historical event.

Ambassador Legendre believed that Kuwait and France enjoyed strong business and economic rela-tions with room to reinforce ties on both sides.

In 2019, bilateral trade amount to around 800 million euros (USD 977.9 million), said the Ambassador who expressed eagerness to con-tinue to boost the numbers this year with French companies wanting to contribute more to business diversi-fication of Kuwait especially with-in the mainframe of 2035 vision.

Ambassador Legendre also affirmed that France was eager to welcome more investments from the Kuwaiti side, finding more strategies to bring further direct foreign investments.

Dr Hilal Al-Sayer (center), KRCS Chairman of the Board of Directors

‘Donation to save many lives’

KRCS donates 2 ambulances to Palestinian Red Crescent

By Arwa Al-WugayanKUWAIT CITY, Jan 10, (KUNA): Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) donated Sunday two fully equipped ambulances for the Palestinian Red Crescent.

In a statement to KUNA, KRCS Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Hilal Al-Sayer, said that the dona-tion comes within the spirit of continu-ous cooperation between both sides in

various humanitarian fields.This donation will save many lives

and cover part of the hospitals’ need for ambulances to transport patients through the Palestinian Red Crescent, he said.

He also stressed KRCS’s continues to support humanitarian, health and educational projects, which undoubt-edly have a positive impact on needy families of the brotherly Palestinian people.

New website for tenders

KOC activates e-service, to reject bids if sent in ‘sealed envelopes’KUWAIT CITY, Jan 10: The Kuwait Oil Company has activated the e-service and has opened a new website dedicated to contracts and tenders, indicating all bids will now be received online and not through the old method of accept-ing bids in sealed envelopes, reports Al-Anba daily.

The daily has learned from senior oil sources that the service allows all stages submitting bids to be conducted electronically through the website, starting from the process of viewing the tenders, through to submitting and evalu-ated bids and ending with award-ing the contracts, in addition to registering companies electroni-cally.

The sources indicated the com-pany has begun holding prelimi-nary meetings in respect of ten-ders, practices and auctions elec-tronically through a digital plat-form which has been dedicated fo