Arab Times 21 Dec 2020

Prévia do material em texto

THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT
Established in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com
MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020 / JUMADA AL AWWAL 6, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17567 16 PAGES 150 FILS
football
soccer
Pages 14 & 15
Page 15
A SORROWFUL FAREWELL
— Page 16 —
This undated photo made available on the twitter account of the Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, shows Kuwait’s Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al Sabah, the eldest son of Kuwait’s late Amir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah. Sheikh Nasser 
died at the age of 72 in Kuwait, on Dec 20, the country’s state-run news agency reported. Sheikh Nasser held various government posts over the years including minister of defense and deputy prime minister. (AP)
Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad dies
Nation mourns passing
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20, (Agencies): Sheikh 
Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, 
who passed away aged 72 earlier on Sunday, 
will be remembered for his generous contribu-
tions to the nation over a broad range of spec-
trums.
The eldest son of the late Amir His Highness Sheikh Sa-
bah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, he was born on April 27, 
1948, to later occupy several positions, most recently First 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense from 2017 
to 2019.
Other posts include Special Adviser to His Highness the 
Crown Prince and Prime Minister in 1999 and Minister of 
Amiri Diwan Affairs in 2006 in addition to being the found-
er of the Kuwait Association for the Protection of Public 
Funds.
In the fields of trade and investment, he founded the Al Fut-
tooh Holding Co and the Kuwait Projects Holding.
His admiration for history and culture was also a prominent 
feature, as he established Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, a Kuwaiti 
foundation dedicated to the collection and preservation of an-
cient artifacts and manuscripts comprised by the Al-Sabah An-
tiques Group.
Sheikh Nasser is also an honorary member of the Board of 
Trustees of the New York-based Metropolitan Museum.
The Amiri Diwan, meanwhile, mourned Sheikh Nasser Sa-
bah.
Sheikh Nasser will be laid to rest tomorrow morning. 
Kuwait’s government on Sunday expressed deep sadness 
over the passing away of former deputy prime minister and de-
fense minister Sheikh Nasser Sabah.
The Cabinet also recalled the great contributions of Sheikh 
Nasser to serving the dear homeland in a variety of domains.
The government prayed to God Almighty to bestow His mer-
cy and blessings on the demised Sheikh.
Sheikh Nasser, who held various government posts over the 
years had been considered one of the top contenders for crown 
prince following the death in September of his father.
Continued on Page 7
Newswatch
KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait con-
fi rmed 204 new coronavirus in-
fections on Sunday to raise the 
total to147,979, while three new 
deaths were recorded to reach 
921, the health ministry said.
The number of people hospi-
talized with the virus currently 
stands at 3,132, with 60 of them 
in intensive care units, according 
to ministry Spokesman Dr. Ab-
dullah Al-Sanad, who revealed 
that some 4,242 swab tests were 
conducted over the last day out of 
a total of 1,218,389. (KUNA)
❑ ❑ ❑
KUWAIT CITY: The Public Au-
thority for Manpower (PAM) will 
stop renewing work permits from 
Jan 1 to Jan 11, 2021 (both days 
inclusive) as the authority puts in 
place the new automatic system, 
reports Al-Qabas daily quoting 
reliable sources from PAM.
The same sources said the 
companies are required to renew 
work permits in advance – work 
permits which will expire be-
tween Jan 1 and Jan 12, 2021, 
saying PAM will completely stop 
work to install the new automated 
system which will come into ef-
fect from Jan 12, 2021. 
❑ ❑ ❑
CAIRO: Kuwait’s civil avia-
tion authority added the United 
Kingdom to its high-risk list of 
countries on Sunday, meaning all 
fl ights from it are banned, the au-
thority wrote on Twitter.
In August, Kuwait banned 
commercial fl ights to 31 countries 
which it deemed a high risk due to 
the spread of the coronavirus.
Opinion
Nasser Al-Sabah ... souls call one another
By Ahmed Al-Jarallah
Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times
THE knight who dedicated himself for the sake of Ku-
wait is gone. Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad has passed 
away, less than three months after the departure of his fa-
ther – the Global Humanitarian Leader – as if their spirits 
were yearning for each other.
 We knew the man for being bold in criticism and ad-
vice – an enlightened and well-informed intellectual ir-
respective of the significance of any given issue, either 
from a position of responsibility or otherwise.
 He carried the banner of reform without hesitation, 
because he was well aware that Kuwait can never return 
to its glory of being the “Pearl of the Gulf” without a 
diligent administration. He hence took the bumpy road 
to reform, unafraid of being criticized for calling a spade 
a spade.
 At the beginning of his tenure in the Ministry of Amiri 
Diwan Affairs, he worked on developing a plan to mod-
ernize and restructure the country with the help of former 
British Prime Minister Tony Blair. This plan was based 
on clear scientific foundations for the revival of the coun-
try.
 He devoted all his time to the implementation of giant 
projects such as “Madinat al-Hareer” (Silk City) and the 
Northern Economic Zone, for developing and investing 
in islands in pursuit of “New Kuwait 2035” Vision, and 
for transforming this country into a global financial and 
commercial hub.
 He bore the effort, despite the pain and fatigue of trav-
eling to various countries to market the giant projects, 
which could have brought the country many economic 
and social benefits. Unfortunately, as is the case with 
dozens of projects, legislation and thousands of consul-
tations, there were those who opposed and hampered 
his pursuit just because they were not part of it or rather 
could not get a piece of it, rendering all such projects to 
be lost in oblivion.
The late Sheikh Nasser worked hard on all these 
ideas and projects, but unfortunately instead of them 
being implemented in Kuwait, other countries took 
them and implemented them quickly, while we still 
wait on the sidewalk of time because we live in a 
state of neglect where any step towards progress gets 
rejected.
While receiving the honorary shield at the White House 
on behalf of his father - the Amir of love and glory of Ku-
wait with distinction, the late Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, 
- the late Sheikh Nasser stood in defiance of disease be-
cause that shield was in honor of Kuwait.
It is inevitable that the divine predestination has to 
pass, and we believe in fate. We will continue to remem-
ber Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad for his bold stances, 
for being a true patriot. 
“To Allah we belong, and to Him is our return.”
Email: ahmed@aljarallah.com
Follow me on:
ahmedaljarallah@gmail.com
2ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
editor’s choice
Lives lost
Doctor chose to stay, work in war-ravaged Syria 
A woman wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of coronavirus walks past a mural of a mask-wearing Mona Lisa, in the Medina of Asilah, northern Morocco, Saturday, 
Sept 19, 2020. The town is known for its well-preserved ramparts which were built by the Portuguese in the 15th century and is nowadays a hub for street art and cultural 
events. (AP)
This is part of an ongoing series of stories remembering people 
who have died of the coronavirus around the world.
❑ ❑ ❑
Dr Adnan Jasem had every reason to leave war-torn Syria after surviv-ing a bomb blast that broke his legs four years ago and receiving job 
offers from abroad. 
Still, Jasem stayed, committed to treating the people in his 
homeland. It was no surprise that he would be on the front lines 
when the first coronavirus cases appeared in northwest Syria 
this summer. 
By Sept. 6, Jasem started feeling ill. Four days later, the 
58-year-old was dead.
“It’s just so tragic,” said Jasem’s cousin, Dr Ziad Alissa, who 
lives in Paris.Alissa called doctors to get Jasem on a ventilator, but it was 
too late and he died the next day. 
“He cared for so many people and saved so many lives, but 
we couldn’t save him,” said Alissa, director of the French chap-
ter of the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, or UOSSM, 
a group founded by Syrian doctors in 2012 to provide free medical care, 
equipment and other aid to hospitals and clinics inside Syria.
Jasem is the reason Alissa, who is five years younger, became a doc-
tor.
The two grew up in a farming region. Jasem’s father was the first to 
break from the family’s long history of wheat and cotton farming and go 
to college. He came back home to teach.
His father instilled in Jasem the sense of duty to serve your commu-
nity. Jasem, too, returned after finishing medical school in Damascus, 
specializing in anesthesia.
He and his wife, a gynecologist, had four children and worked as local 
doctors in eastern Syria’s Deir el-Zour region, near the border with Iraq. 
Syria’s civil war erupted after an Arab Spring-inspired uprising, 
which began with peaceful protests in 2011 and escalated into an armed 
rebellion following a government crackdown. 
Their lives were constantly under threat: As doctors, they 
were seen with suspicion every time a new group — from 
government forces to Islamic State fighters — took control 
of an area. 
In the past year alone, 85 medical facilities in northern Syria 
have been attacked, according to UOSSM.
Medical equipment was regularly moved to hospital base-
ments to protect it from bombings. With the sound of planes 
conducting airstrikes overhead, briefly hiding in a safe place 
was a routine part of Jasem’s workday. Sometimes he treated 
fellow doctors who were injured in the blasts. 
Jasem and his family were uprooted several times because 
of the violence, including when a bomb blast destroyed his home four 
years ago as he huddled with his wife and children in the basement. Both 
his legs were broken and he underwent surgeries to walk again.
Jasem received job offers from doctors who had left the country, invit-
ing him to join them in Turkey and raise his family there. 
His cousin said Jasem’s response was always the same: “If there are 
no doctors here, who was going to help the people?”
Syria’s health care system was already struggling when the first coro-
navirus cases appeared. Jasem had been working since 2017 in the in-
tensive care unit at the hospital in al-Bab, a Turkish-controlled zone in 
northwestern Syria. Turkey supports opposition fighters battling Syrian 
President Bashar Assad. 
Jasem did his best to teach his co-workers and patients how to protect 
themselves against the virus, his cousin said, but there was a shortage of 
masks, gloves, gowns, disinfectant, even soap. 
When Jasem came home sick, he told his family not to worry, that he 
would rest and recover while quarantining. He figured he had survived 
so much already. 
But within days, he struggled to breathe and ended up in the same in-
tensive care unit where he had treated numerous patients. He spent only 
one night there before he died.
“During this war, thousands of doctors have left because they couldn’t 
live there, couldn’t tolerate the life there,” Alissa said. “He did it despite 
everything — despite the danger, the fear, the attacks, the bombings. He 
knew the people needed him. That is what made him an extraordinary 
human being. Those doctors are very few.”
Jasem dreamed of someday opening a hospital in Syria that would 
offer free medical services to everyone. His family hopes to make that 
dream a reality in his honor. 
Jasem’s wife, Dr. Ruba Alsayed, plans to keep working as a doctor in 
Syria, raising their 14-year-old son on her own. Their 18-year-old son 
wants to be a doctor as well. He is considering studying medicine in 
Europe but plans to return to his homeland to continue his father’s work. 
Jasem inspired so many, said Alissa, who returns regularly to Syria to 
volunteer as a doctor. 
“He loved his country, loved his home,” Alissa said. “Above all, he 
loved to help his people.” (AP)
Trump … More to come for sure
Suits, pardons in an ‘Art of the Deal’ exit
By Abdulaziz Al-Anjeri
Founder & CEO Reconnaissance Research 
In his best-selling book, Disloyal: A Memoir: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump, Michael Co-
hen forecasts that President Trump would do everything in his power to 
avoid federal criminal prosecution if he loses the 2020 US presidential 
election to Democratic opponent Joe Biden.
Released in September 2020, Mr Cohen believed Mr. Trump would re-
sign from office sometime during the 11 weeks between losing the election 
and Mr. Biden’s inauguration, hand over the Presidency to his Vice Presi-
dent, Mike Pence, and obligate a President Pence to pardon Mr. Trump. 
“My theory is that if he loses, there’s still the time between the elec-
tion and the time that the next president will take office. And during that 
time my suspicion is that he will resign as president, he will allow Mike 
Pence to take over, and he will then go ahead and have Mike Pence par-
don him,” Mr Cohen said in an television interview earlier this year with 
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow.
“It’s a very Nixon type of event,” said Mr Cohen, who is serving out 
the rest of his three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to lying to 
Congress about his pursuit of a Trump real estate deal in Moscow during 
the 2016 campaign cycle. 
As expected, the White House and President Trump himself have 
dismissed Mr Cohen’s comments about the president as the words of 
a “desperate” man who lost all credibility after he was convicted and 
sentenced for lying to the United States Congress in 2017.
As American history reminds us all, the pardon of Richard Nixon was 
issued by US President Gerald Ford on September 8, 1974. By it, Ford 
granted to Richard Nixon, his predecessor, a full and unconditional par-
don for any crimes that he might have committed against the United 
States as president. In particular, the pardon covered Nixon’s actions 
during the Watergate scandal. 
American opinion writer and columnist Brent Budowsky views this in 
a very similar fashion, “A presidential pardon by Pence would not offer 
protection from cases originating in states, but those cases will be far 
more manageable if they are not sunk into a morass of federal cases that 
only a federal pardon can protect him from.” Without a federal pardon, 
Budowsky continues, Trump will almost certainly spend his coming 
years stuck in federal cases that not only threaten his freedom, but also 
his ability to secure lucrative multibillion-dollar business deals capital-
izing off of his presidency and media savvy. Moreover, this could even 
dim his chances to run for the White House again in 2024. This could 
even affect the chances of his son Donald Jr. or daughter, Ivanka to run 
if they are caught up in this as well. 
If there is one thing that is real and constant nowadays: it’s the fact that 
President Trump does not like to lose or admit defeat. 
Even now, a month after the recent Presidential election, President 
Trump has yet to clearly concede his election defeat despite the fact his 
own US Attorney General Bill Bar acknowledged that if there was any 
election fraud it would not have affected the final outcome of a victory 
for President-elect Joe Biden. Rather than accepting defeat, the President 
continues to flood American courts with civil lawsuits and theories about 
how his re-election was stolen away from him by claims of fraud and 
conspiracies by Democratic operatives, opponents, the media and both 
Republican and Democratic state officials.
Others have even surmised and speculated that President Trump 
would himself pardon members of his family, himself, and others who 
may be caught up in any federal inquiry. 
In doing this. Donald Trump and his hallmark “Art of the Deal” would 
save himself and those remainingloyalists that matter to him. 
Finally, and it is important to remember, that the Manhattan, New 
York District Attorney’s office has launched its own separate investiga-
tions into President Trump and the Trump organization. Will Mr Trump 
take his case to Twitter and mobilize a campaign of denial in the state 
that made him or will this break him? As a private citizen, will Twitter 
censure Mr. Trump’s tweets? The best is yet to come. Never a dull mo-
ment in Trump world! It is going to be an interesting five weeks until the 
inauguration of President-elect Biden. 
Will Trump resign the day before a Biden Presidency to dominate the 
news of the day and take away the headlines from a President Biden? 
Who really knows.
Again, more to come for sure….
Dr Jasem
LOCAL
ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
3
Soon: authorities
1 way ticket to Cairo
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: Discussions between the 
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) 
authorities and their Egyptian counterparts regarding 
the resumption of flights from Kuwait to Cairo – only 
one destination – are still ongoing, reports Al-Qabas 
daily quoting sources.
Sources said the aviation authorities in both countries 
are deliberating on the optimal mechanism for both par-
ties, affirming the deep understanding of exceptional 
circumstances brought by the corona pandemic and the 
desire to resume flights in a normal manner while taking 
all the necessary precautionary measures and controls. 
This will be done soon based on the confirmation of 
Egyptian civil aviation officials to the daily.
Similar to what happened with the plan for the return 
of domestic workers, sources revealed that EgyptAir 
confirmed that the high operating costs may lead to 
losses in the event of launching flights from Kuwait to 
Egypt as the airplanes will be empty once they leave 
Cairo Airport and head to Kuwait in order to transport 
passengers from Kuwait to Cairo. The airline pointed 
out this mechanism does not achieve the desired eco-
nomic return and it will also cause a remarkable 
increase in ticket prices, given the limited number of 
travelers per day and the presence of a large Egyptian 
community in Kuwait that would like to return home for 
good or spend their vacation, sources added.
Other Voices
‘Democracy that suits their moods’
“When you hear the demands of the deputies, regarding 
not restricting freedoms and applying the constitution, 
you support them and back them up and you feel that we 
are an open people, but when you see their behavior, 
you find it contradicting their demands,” columnist 
Nasser Al-Husseini wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“All MPs are calling for the abolition of every law 
that contradicts freedoms, and they themselves oppose 
the freedoms of those who disagree with their opinion 
and are demanding his execution politically. Yes, they 
call for democracy, but they want democracy that suits 
their moods and whims, if some-
one disagrees with them, that per-
son is corrupt and the biggest 
traitor in the Middle East.
“Those who demand freedom 
of opinion and democracy but 
want to say ‘appoint ministers 
who have no prior opinion’ or 
have an opinion that matches our 
desires. Brother, O respected 
deputy, isn’t you the one who is 
calling for not restricting free-
doms and adhering to the consti-
tution? How can you demand that 
no one be appointed minister who does not toe your 
line?
“The other issue: Article 101 of the constitution is 
clear, and states: ‘Every Minister shall be responsible to 
the National Assembly for the affairs of his ministry ’ 
and not for his opinions. As a deputy, the measure 
between you and the minister is performance.
“The deputies’ contradiction does not stop there. 
Rather, they demand that the government abstain from 
voting when it comes to electing the Assembly Speaker, 
and at the same time accuse the government of tram-
pling with the constitution”.
“The constitution gave the government the right to 
vote in everything, except for no-confidence and non-
cooperation and they are demanding to confiscate the 
government’s right to vote, as stipulated in the constitu-
tion. So who is trampling the constitution?
“Likewise, the MPs themselves accuse the government 
of standing behind the fake accounts that insult MPs and 
demand the government to take action while they are call-
ing for an end to imprisonment of the tweeters.
“If someone insults me and questions my honor, is 
this considered an opinion or impoliteness? So how they 
ask for the imprisonment to be annulled for these few 
tweeters?
“To be fair, the government also plays the ‘contradic-
tory’ game, as it eliminates names of some of the candi-
dates who were earlier convicted by courts while some 
of those who are nominated to take up ministerial posts 
are also former ‘convicts’.
“The government demands to apply the law and the 
deputies seek democracy according to their mood.”
Also:
“The government should take many steps to control 
financial waste, simplify government procedures, and 
achieve future projects and aspirations for the development 
of the country, which will help the government apparatus 
in raising the level of performance and productivity, and 
solve many of the current and persistent problems,” colum-
nist Abdullah Al-Abduljader wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“The government should facilitate procedures of 
completing transactions, controlling the budget, employ-
ing Kuwaitis, solve overlapping and duplication of 
specializations. It must start amending and building a 
modern and sophisticated organizational structure that 
is in line with the developments in the world, and this 
became clear after the Covid-19 pandemic disclosed 
many problems and obstacles in the government appara-
tus. The method of reform and administrative develop-
ment can be achieved as follows:
“Begin to review and diagnose the organizational 
structure of government agencies, as there are many 
Kuwaitis who are competent and should be liberty to take 
decision concerning their work, nevertheless the organi-
zational structure has not been updated and developed.
“Many government agencies must amend and update 
their administrative structure without referring to the Civil 
Service Commission which is responsible for reviewing, 
evaluating and approving organizational structures and this 
has caused some government agencies to inflate the 
employment process which helped affect the budget, pro-
cedures, transactions and overlapping specializations.
“Many government institutions have been established 
by separating one sector from the institution causing the 
budget inflation and complicating procedures and trans-
actions, which I believe remain within the organiza-
tional structure of the competent authority.
“The organizational structure of any government 
agency, and after its approval, must be followed by a 
functional structure that defines the job titles at each 
level, starting from sector to department and include job 
titles that follow and suit their competence and work.
“After the approval of the job structure, job descrip-
tions must begin, and include the tasks and requirements 
for occupying the job in terms of qualifications, experi-
ences and skills, and there must be a sequence of these 
jobs so that they start with the appointment of recent 
graduates and get experience and add this experience to 
the skills required for each job level.
“When the government entity completes its organiza-
tional and job structure and job description, it must set 
up training and qualification programs for the incum-
bents so that they have the necessary skills to perform 
their tasks as required by the job description.
“If the measures that I mentioned above are com-
pleted, we will have appropriate organizational struc-
tures that keep pace with developments and have con-
trols, oversight, modifications and the establishment of 
a new government agency and protect the budget.
 “On this occasion, I suggest that thegovernment cre-
ate a Ministry for Planning and Human Resources to 
oversee the Supreme Council for Planning, the Public 
Manpower Authority, and the Civil Service Commission 
which have a relationship with development plans and 
state projects and includes providing job opportunities 
for Kuwaitis as well as solving the problem of education 
outputs and restructuring the government apparatus and 
employment of Kuwaitis in the government and the 
private sector, and training and qualifying them.”
❑ ❑ ❑
“If MP Bader Al-Humaidi had won the Speakership, 
how would the results be different as far as the “demo-
cratic life” of this country is concerned? What could 
have changed in terms of reform, ie repairing the 
Kuwaiti boat that has holes on the inside?”, columnist 
Hassan Al-Essa wrote for Aljarida daily.
“Did we imagine that a new approach will be pre-
sented by the reformist or non-reformist (corrupt) MPs 
regarding the inevitability of the ongoing economic 
disaster, amnesty issues for opinion-holders, abolition 
of the oppression laws that were passed in the last few 
years, which had led to many young people being 
thrown into prisons just because they expressed their 
views, and letting the file of Bedoun residents and chil-
dren of Kuwaiti women to flow?!
“What if MP Al-Humaidi won the parliament speak-
ership instead of MP Marzouq Al-Ghanim, the current 
Speaker? Do you really think that the approach of the 
ruling authority, which holds the strings of state admin-
istration from A to Z, would change? Would a creative 
and progressive thought replace the culture of ‘save it’?
“Ask yourselves, and answer honestly ... do not 
blame political money or corruption ... pause here a lit-
tle. What were you envisioning about the government? 
How will it vote (the government is the government ... 
it was and still is the only authority) in the speakership 
elections and in everything? Did you achieve what you 
wished or dreamed for in terms of changing its approach? 
In both cases, you were living a great illusion.
“Another issue about corruption is related to the 
group of MPs who met in the office of MP Bader 
Al-Dahoum. We saw pictures of some of them filming 
their election process for the Speakership. It was an evil 
and funny scene at the same time.
“Nevertheless, these pictorial precautions did not 
prevent some MPs from staging a coup according to 
what was agreed upon in MP Al-Dahoum diwaniya. If 
they were corrupt, then how were corrupt people elected 
from popular groups that did not care about the reality 
of corruption or the issue of the future?
“Shake off your hands from this political administra-
tion, which is your cause, your awareness of freedom, 
the homeland, and the future of your generations in the 
end, and search for the light of hope in yourselves and 
your abilities to reverse this reality. Make sure that 
politics and the economy ended long ago in the swamp 
of corrupt and entrenched political impotence ... pay 
attention to what’s coming next.”
❑ ❑ ❑
“The 2020 National Assembly started with a political 
battle. This was a strategic mistake for which the price 
would be paid later both logically and rationally”, Za’ar 
Al-Rasheedi wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“The MPs were supposed to start coordinating the 
pledges of a comprehensive reform program, which 
should be their political battle and there is nothing 
wrong with that. What I mean is that the beginning of 
the comprehensive reform program should be an agree-
ment by the majority to open investigations on the wast-
age and appropriation of public funds, and laying down 
foundations and pillars for legislation to solve the hous-
ing problem. There is a need to establish a stable base 
among the MPs to confront government decisions for 
economic reform that will eliminate attacking what 
remains in the citizens’ pocket.
“The MPs have begun launching a political battle, even 
if it is due, but neglecting what is otherwise means that 
we are facing a political battlefield. As I mentioned, this 
will ultimately lead to a heavy political price that is not 
borne by the MPs alone, but by us citizens along with 
them, as we will return to square one in the new elections.
“With them igniting the fuse of their political battle, 
they could have announced a second clause that includes 
a comprehensive political reform document in which 
their political battle is not a part of it and not the origin 
or the pillar in it as they did.
“We did not elect them to enter into one-dimensional 
political battles. They may have the right, but this does not 
justify them to forget everything and obtain everything, as 
well as neglect their electoral programs and the promises 
therein, and push us straight into a side political battle.”
❑ ❑ ❑
“In the speech delivered by His Highness, may God 
protect and care for him, at the opening session of the 
National Assembly, he instructed his sons to be repre-
sentatives of the nation, branding them with intellect, 
intelligence and rationality, but unfortunately some of 
them still carry peace crosswise and go towards the 
opposite side of the road,” columnist Abdulaziz 
Al-Tamimi wrote for Al-Shahid daily.
“What happened to some of them in front of the speak-
ership podium is a matter that is denounced by reason and 
logic. It has nothing to do with the law, Constitution and 
the internal regulations of the Assembly, which must 
work as a team in the interest of the country and its people 
without any delay or side discussions.
“The disgraceful behavior of some harms Kuwait and its 
democracy, just as the meetings that took place in the fifth, 
third and other areas of Kuwait are not in conformity with 
the law or the Constitution, especially the order of incite-
ment and support against a representative in favor of 
another through falsity, corrupt pretext and illogical rumor.”
— Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli
The Assistant Undersecretary for Engineering Affairs and Projects at the Ministry of Health, Eng. Ibrahim 
Al-Naham talks to officials at the Mishref field hospital.
‘Field Hospital’ ready for vaccination
The Assistant Undersecretary for 
Engineering Affairs and Projects at 
the Ministry of Health, Eng. Ibrahim 
Al-Naham, inspected the Kuwait 
Field Hospital at the Exhibition 
Fairgrounds in Mishref, to determine 
the readiness of the halls which are 
designated for vaccination against 
the coronavirus Covid-19 and to 
supervise the civil and electrical 
works and emergency power gen-
erator, reports Al-Seyassah daily.
PAM deducts salaries of SMEs
owners with expired licenses
‘Almost 3,000 affected by decision’
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: The salaries of 
Kuwaiti small enterprise owners, regis-
tered under Chapter 5, have evaporated 
because of the lack of coordination between 
the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) 
and the Ministry of Commerce and 
Industry as well as the fear of PAM about 
prior monitoring by the State Audit 
Bureau, reports Al-Qabas daily.
The estimated number of citizens affected by the 
deduction process has reached 3,000. They are reg-
istered under Chapter 5, and constitute 20 percent 
MoE to form 14 teams to audit lists
of staffers deserving job promotion
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: Ministry of 
Education intends to form 14 work 
teams, each containing about 140 mem-
bers, to audit the job promotion lists in 
the ministry’s headquarters and educa-
tional zones based on the dates set by 
the Civil Service Commission (CSC) in 
January each year, reports Al-Rai daily.
According to educational sources, the 
14 teams will work on drafting the lists 
of employees in the ministry and pre-
paring job promotion cards for all tech-
nical and administrative jobs in accor-
dance with the integrated systems data, 
as well as applying the conditions con-
tained in the decisions of CSC, issuing 
the necessary decisions for those who 
deserve a promotion, and introducing 
new job titles and financial benefits for 
these groupsafter adopting their deci-
sions.
The sources revealed that the number 
of employees whose data will be audited 
is 111,167 in the ministry’s main office 
and educational zones. Among them 
23,581 employees are from Ahmadi edu-
cational zone, 16,334 from Jahra, 21,144 
from Farwaniya, 14,253 from Capital, 
13,305 from Hawally, and 13,776 from 
Mubarak Al-Kabeer, in addition to 8,774 
male and female employees in the minis-
try’s headquarters.
Meanwhile, according to sources in 
the oil sector, the contract of the 
Ministry of Defense with the Kuwait 
Aviation Fueling Company (KAFCO) 
for transporting and selling fuel for air 
force and coalition forces has been 
extended for a period of six months, 
reports Al-Anba daily.
They revealed that the contract has 
been extended at a value of KD 2.3 mil-
lion for a period of six months, effective 
Dec 9, 2020.
Al-Husseini
of the total license hold-
ers. The deduction 
amounts range between 
KD 15 million and KD 
18 million, given that 
the discount period 
ranges between three 
and six months for citi-
zens’ dues for labor 
support, the average of 
which is estimated at 
KD 1,000.
According to informed 
sources, the discount period 
for those registered under 
Chapter 5 and include 
monthly labor support sala-
ries, exceeded six months. 
The enterprise owners were 
surprised by the decision to 
stop the financial support 
upon renewing their licens-
es. 
This is due to a gap record-
ed on them from March to 
December, or for a period of 
three months, depending on 
the date of the license expiry. 
Accordingly, the amounts 
were deducted or indebted to 
them retroactively.
The sources said they 
were surprised by the 
implementation of the dis-
count on “chapter 5” and 
retroactively, given the 
expiry of the commercial 
license, despite the issu-
ance of the Ministerial 
Decree No. 107/2020 on 
the extension of commer-
cial licenses for compa-
nies and individual institu-
tions, is on January 1, 
2020, provided the exten-
sion is until December 23, 
in line with the health 
measures calling for 
reduction in the number of 
visits to government 
departments.
They said, “Some of the 
business owners registered 
with PAM, reaching about 
15,000 citizens in number 
whose project licenses 
expired in March or April, 
which is the period of gov-
ernment closure due to the 
COVID-19 crisis.
Photo by Bassam Abu Shanab
Drainage water flows from residential houses to the main road as the gutters are 
blocked. The situation in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh deteriorates by the day and the place 
becomes uninhabitable for people.
LOCAL
ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
4
Brother arrested for stabbing
sister to death in ‘family row’
Iraqi held for robbing expatriates
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: 
An unidentifi ed Kuwaiti 
youth has been arrested by 
the Riqqa police for alleg-
edly stabbing to death his 
sister.
According to security sources, 
the suspect stabbed his sister sev-
eral times because of unidentifi ed 
family differences between them, 
says Al-Seyassah.
The daily added, the victim was 
rushed to the intensive care unit (ICU) 
of the Adan Hospital in critical condi-
tion but doctors failed to save her life.
The brother has been referred to the 
Public Prosecution Offi ce and charged 
with premeditated murder.
❑ ❑ ❑
Iraqi thief nabbed: The Hawalli po-
lice have arrested an Iraqi who special-
ized in robbing expatriates (passersby) 
in the Al-Salmiya area, and found in 
his possession narcotic substances and 
stolen vehicle keys.
He has been referred to the area police 
station. The arrest came when the sus-
pect and a taxi driver were seen assault-
ing each other in Salmiya apparently fol-
lowing a dispute over the taxi fare.
A police patrol on duty in the area 
arrested both men and later discovered 
the fi ght was over taxi fare that the 
Iraqi refused to pay.
Police then checked the name of the 
Iraqi on police computer and discov-
ered he was wanted by law in a drug 
case. Police also seized from the man a 
quantity of hashish.
❑ ❑ ❑
‘Boutiqat’ report soon: The Experts 
Committee, which was formed to scru-
tinize the documents and records of 
Boutiqat Application Company, will 
soon submit its report to the Public 
Prosecution, reports Al-Qabas daily 
quoting a reliable source.
According to the source, the com-
pany’s stance on money laundering 
suspicions appears to be justifi ed based 
on the documents and records that the 
committee has analyzed so far. The 
committee scrutinized documents, in-
ternational shipping records, company 
records, suppliers and customers for 
more than 100 days; and it has yet to 
submit its report to the prosecution.
It is worth mentioning that the bank 
accounts of Boutiqat have been frozen 
for more than four months and pay-
ments for suppliers remain unsettled as 
the decision to unfreeze these accounts 
is closely linked to the upcoming report 
of the committee.
❑ ❑ ❑
CAPT launches tender: The Central 
Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) 
has launched a tender for the moderni-
zation and development of steam boil-
ers, control systems for thermal units 
and auxiliary systems at West Doha 
Power and Water Distillation Plant, 
reports Al-Rai daily quoting reliable 
sources from the Ministry of Electric-
ity and Water.
Sources disclosed the estimated cost 
of this tender, in which global and local 
alliances are expected to participate, is 
KD 132 million. Sources confi rmed 
that the ministry has obtained approval 
from the Fatwa and Legislation De-
partment, taking into consideration the 
integrity of contractual procedures for 
this tender and several others that the 
ministry intends to offer.
A camp set up in the desert illegally is razed to the ground.
Other Voices
Al-Mubarakiya School ... and the three pioneers
By Ahmad alsarraf
I received two types of reproaches to my articles on 
Wednesday and Thursday, on the issue related to 
the background of founding the Mubarakiya School, 
and how I neglected the role of ‘Yusuf bin Isa Al-
Qanaei’ in founding the school.
I refuse the improper reproach because I am con-
vinced I have committed no sin but I gladly accept 
the other smooth reproach. I write this article which 
is neither an original record of history, nor a refer-
ence, but rather remains almost a general talk.
❑ ❑ ❑
It was reported by sources that the idea of establish-ing the Al-Mubarakiya School was without prior co-
ordination and three personalities were behind it, Yusef 
bin Isa Al-Qanaei, Sheikh Nasser 
Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah and Yassin 
Al-Tabtabaei, and the latter was the 
fi rst to raise the idea during a ser-
mon he gave in March 1910; Yusuf 
bin Isa was infl uenced by it, so he 
wrote an article in which he talked 
about the importance of science and 
the need for schools, so a commit-
tee was formed headed by Sheikh 
Nasser Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to 
take care of implementing the idea 
and collecting donations to build 
the school.
The committee collected approximately thirty thou-
sand rupees, which is equivalent to 2,300 dinars. The 
school needed 80,000 rupees to start building. The 
project would have nearly failed had it not been for the 
proposal to seek assistance from brothers Qassem and 
Abdul Rahman Al Ibrahim, who were in India, who 
made two donations -- the fi rst was 30,000 rupees and 
the second 20,000 rupees.
The families of Khaled Al-Khudair and Al-Khalid 
also donated two homes to build the school on their ru-
ins. Sheikh Yusuf bin Issa bought two more homes for 
4,000 rupees, so that the school could be built on an area 
of the four houses, in the heart of the capital. A council 
was formed to pay attention to spending and the mem-
bers were Hamad Al-Khaled, Shamlan bin Ali and Ah-
mad Mohammad Al-Humaidhi.
The education was free, but a one-time enrollment fee 
of two rupees was charged for ‘well-off’ students, a ru-
pee for middle-class, free for poor children - a rupee that 
time was equal to 75 fi ls.
Sheikh Al-Qadi appointedYusuf bin Isa Al-Qanaei as 
the school manager and the employees’ salaries ranged 
from 20 to 100 rupees, and the manager was paid the 
highest.
The conditions of the school subsequently deterio-
rated with the quasi-commercial blockade imposed by 
Najd on Kuwait in 1923, the global recession and its 
climax that struck America in 1929, and the collapse of 
natural pearl prices, all of which led to the scarcity of 
the school’s resources and its closure before the govern-
ment, two months later, and through the Council of Edu-
cation took care of it and the school funds were trans-
ferred to the council along with its properties - shops and 
a fi shing vessel.
Sheikh Yusuf was not an ordinary person by all the 
standards of his era and it is suffi cient that he was over-
looked as infi del by some of the Sheikhs of Najd because 
of his progressive views, even though he was a religious 
man and a Sharia judge.
His vital role in establishing and administering the 
Al-Mubarakiya School is unforgettable, as it was the 
one which transferred education from primitive to 
modernity and progress. He was also the first head-
master of the Ahmadiyya School (1921), and the first 
to request the ruler of Kuwait at the time to estab-
lish the Kuwait Municipality, and he was elected as a 
member in (1932).
He was also appointed as a member of the Endow-
ment Council (1949). He was among the first to call 
for expansion of reading and printing books, and to 
teach modern sciences, and among the first to call, 
with a few of the enlightened ones, to provide educa-
tion for women. 
Among the beautiful things that attracted my atten-
tion early in the biography of Sheikh Yusuf bin Isa, and 
from my banking experience, he was generous, pious 
and chaste. Although he was a contemporary fi gure and 
worked with three of the most senior rulers of Kuwait, 
starting with Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah and Sheikh 
Abdullah Al-Salem, passing through Sheikh Ahmad 
Al-Jaber, and with his close relation with them it was 
not known about him that he ever asked any of them for 
something for himself.
❑ ❑ ❑
e-mail: a.alsarraf@alqabas.com.kw
alsarraf
MEW’s e-payment app updated, consumers can pay
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: Ministry 
of Electricity and Water (MEW) 
has completed the updates it made 
recently on the ministry’s electronic 
payment application, and has made 
it available for everyone to access 
the application from all electronic 
devices and pay from them, reports 
Al-Anba daily.
The Assistant Undersecretary for 
Planning, Training and Customer 
Service Affairs Ahmed Al-Rashidi 
affi rmed the keenness of the min-
istry to reach all consumers by up-
dating its various programs, espe-
cially those related to the payment 
of electricity and water consump-
tion fees, in order to make it easier 
for customers to pay their debts to 
the ministry without accumulation 
or delay.
In a press statement issued last 
week, he explained that the minis-
try made an update on the “payment 
application”. The application was 
available on “Android” devices, and 
consumers who own these devices 
could pay from it. The update on the 
“IOS” device took about 48 hours 
and is available in the app store from 
Thursday. Therefore, the application 
is now available for all electronic de-
vices and any consumer can access it 
and pay what is due.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Elec-
tricity and Water obtained approval 
of the Central Agency for Public 
Tenders to award two tenders at a 
total cost of KD 7 million. The fi rst 
tender is for operation and main-
tenance works of the water opera-
tion and maintenance sector and the 
technical services sector with focus 
on developing and modernizing the 
work mechanism and environment 
within the two sectors based on the 
schedule set for such signifi cant pro-
jects of the ministry.
The second tender is for the main-
tenance of street lights in Jahra 
Governorate to be carried out by 
the Street Lighting Department in 
the Electrical Distribution Networks 
Sector, with the aim of replacing and 
renewing the street lighting network 
of electrical poles and accessories, 
especially those that have expired.
1,267 illegal campsites razed
The Kuwait Municipality spokes-
man Muhammad Al-Mutairi said the 
Municipality monitoring teams have 
removed 1,267 violating camps 
and Kirby rooms, and issued 1,389 
warnings, reports Al-Qabas daily.
Al-Mutairi said in a press state-
ment the decision to cancel camp-
ing for the current season is still in 
effect, in compliance with the rec-
ommendations issued by the health 
authorities.
He added, the Municipality 
spares no efforts to implement the 
instructions of the government au-
thorities when it comes to removing 
violating camps in order to avoid 
gatherings and the spread of the 
coronavirus.
He called on the camp own-
ers to remove all camps and en-
croachments in the best interest 
of the citizens and residents espe-
cially as the fi eld teams will con-
tinue their work to implement the 
decisions issued in this regard.
LOCAL
ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
5
KUNA photo
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at 
Bayan Palace, Sunday, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad 
Al-Sabah. 
‘700 stranded public schools
teachers are still getting paid’
MoE to link all its institutions with integrated general plan of action
By Abdulrahman Al-
Shammari 
Al-Seyassah Staff
KUWAIT CITY, 
Dec 20: The Min-
ister of Education 
and Minister of 
Higher Education 
Dr Ali Al-Mudhaf 
has issued instruc-
tions to link all edu-
cational institutions 
with an integrated 
general plan of ac-
tion aimed at de-
veloping education 
from early stages in 
to higher education 
to enhance the pro-
cess of cooperation 
and integration be-
tween these institu-
tions to serve stu-
dents and provide 
all requirements 
and educational op-
portunities in vari-
ous specializations 
needed by Kuwait.
The sources indi-
cated this came when 
the minister presided 
over the first meet-
ing of the Ministry’s 
Undersecretaries and 
Assistant Undersec-
retaries and called on 
the senior officials of 
the Ministry of Educa-
tion to cooperate and 
exert concerted efforts 
between various sec-
tors in the interest of 
developing education 
and students, who are 
the basic pillars of na-
tion building.
He expressed his hope 
that the COVID-19 pan-
demic will eventually 
subside and life will re-
turn to normal, especial-
ly with the decline in the 
number of infections, 
and called on everyone 
to work under one um-
brella to achieve desired 
goals.
The sources said the 
meeting dealt with several 
topics that were initiated 
by the Undersecretary of 
the Ministry Faisal Maq-
sid.
During the meeting it 
was disclosed that about 
700 teachers of govern-
ment schools who are 
stranded abroad due to 
their inability to return 
to Kuwait due to the 
circumstances of the 
corona pandemic are 
still getting their sala-
ries paid for the past 10 
months in spite of the 
decision by the Civil 
Service Commission to 
stop paying their sala-
ries and consider them 
as ‘terminated’ from 
work due to compelling 
circumstances.
Meanwhile, the 
sources stated Al-
Maqsid reviewed the 
ministry’s plan and the 
preparations that have 
been made for return 
to school in accordance 
with traditional educa-
tion if the health author-
ities permit.
Photo by Rizk Taufiq
Minister Dr Al-Fares posing for a photo with employees after the meeting.
Supervise sites, follow up work of dev projects: Al-Fares
Public Works minister calls on employees to 
spare no efforts to accelerate pace of work
By Muhammad Ghanem
Al-Seyassah Staff
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: The Min-
ister of Public Works and Minister 
of State for Municipal Affairs Dr 
Rana Al-Fares has told the employ-
ees of the ministry to accelerate 
the pace of work and complete the 
development projects to the fullest, 
protect public money.
She also called on the employees 
to supervise the sitesand follow up 
work of the development projects 
that the ministry is implementing 
on the New Kuwait Road. 
This came during the last 
monthly periodic meeting of the 
ministry at the Government Cen-
ter for Inspection, Quality Con-
trol and Research. Taking part in 
the meeting were senior minis-
try officials. The purpose of the 
meeting was to evaluate the rates 
of project completion, evaluating 
performance, correcting errors 
and treating any defects to speed 
up the pace of completion. 
For his part, the Undersecretary 
of the Ministry of Public Works 
Engineer Ismail Al-Failakawi, said 
the ministry has recently adopted a 
new approach based on “effective 
planning”, which will be the main 
engine of the ministry, indicating 
that what is meant is that there are 
clear objectives for the ministry, 
and the role for planning is in line 
with those goals, and these goals 
are achieved by measuring the in-
dex of the performance.
Al-Failakawi said in a press 
statement the ministry is keen to 
have clear goals in each of its sec-
tors and every department during 
the next fiscal, will strive to achieve 
those goals, in pursuit of the state’s 
strategy.
He indicated the periodic meet-
ing discussed the status of its 
projects, the rates of completion 
of those projects in relation to the 
schedules set for their comple-
tion, and to know the reasons 
for delay and challenges posed 
for these projects and overcome 
them, and urged all departments 
to work in a team spirit so that 
obstacles can be identified.
In turn, the Director of Construc-
tion Laboratories Department, Dr. 
Khadija Al-Mutairi said the min-
ister is keen to attend the meeting 
to emphasize concern for public 
money, implement the Ministry’s 
projects with very high accuracy, 
implement all provisions men-
tioned in the contracts, and making 
the nation’s interest a priority when 
it comes to implementing and plan-
ning the various stages of the min-
istry’s projects.
Director of the Stations Op-
eration Department in the Sanitary 
Engineering Sector, Eng. Ali Abu 
Al-Banat said the meeting reflected 
many positive and negative indi-
cators for many of the ministry’s 
projects, and this is positive for us 
as departments concerned with the 
works to follow up and complete 
projects without any problems or 
obstacles or hinder their implemen-
tation.
Dr Hassan Jawhar
First Constituency
DR HASSAN JAWHAR was born 
in 1960. He obtained his Doctor 
of Philosophy Degree in Politi-
cal Science, International 
Relations and Compara-
tive Politics from Florida 
University, USA in 1989. 
He is a lecturer at Kuwait 
University and columnist 
in a number of Kuwaiti 
newspapers. 
Jawhar is the first Shiite 
candidate who won in most 
of the elections he contest-
ed. He contested the elec-
tions for the first time in 
1996 during which he took 
the first place in his constituency 
with 1,388 votes. 
In the 1999 elections, he also 
occupied the first place with 1,572 
votes. In the 2003 elections, he 
landed on the second spot with 
1,696 votes. 
In the 2006 elections, Jawhar 
occupied the first place with 5,228 
votes; fourth place with 7,756 votes 
in 2008; and ninth place with 6,827 
in 2009.
He lost in the 2016 elections 
during which he occupied the 
16th place in his constituency with 
5,138 votes.
In the recently concluded 2020 
elections, he took the first place 
once again with 5,849 votes.
He was not among the MPs who 
walked out of a session in 2009 in 
objection to the oath taking of fe-
male ministers and MPs without 
the Hijab.
He belonged to the Popular Ac-
tion Bloc in the 2003 and 2007 par-
liaments.
Statements
When asked about the reason 
behind his decision to contest the 
2012 elections, he said: “I want to 
say I am here. I prefer to be ex-
posed to political murder rather 
than political death.” 
Addressing the Shiites, he as-
serted: “If you adopt the sectar-
ian approach, do not blame the 
other party (Sunni) for doing the 
same.”
Voting Record
■ Request of the government to 
withdraw the grilling motion filed 
by MPs Ahmed Al-Saadoun and 
Abdulrahman Al-Anjari against 
HH the Prime Minister Sheikh 
Nasser Al-Muhammad in 2011 – 
rejected
■ No cooperation motion 
against the government in June 
2011 – abstained
■ No cooperation mo-
tion against the govern-
ment in January 2011 – re-
jected 
■ No confidence mo-
tion against Minister of Fi-
nance Ahmed Al-Abdullah 
in 2010 – approved 
■ Writing off citizens’ 
loans in 2010 – approved 
■ No confidence motion 
against the government in 
2009 – rejected 
■ Request of the gov-
ernment to hold a secret 
session to discuss the grilling mo-
tion against HH the Prime Minister 
in 2009 – rejected 
■ No confidence motion against 
Minister of Interior Sheikh Jaber 
Al-Khalid in 2009 – abstained 
■ No confidence motion against 
Minister of Education and Higher 
Education Noriya Al-Sabeeh in 
2008 – approved 
■ No confidence motion against 
Minister of Oil Sheikh Ali Jarrah 
Al-Sabah – approved 
■ Calcified coal in 2007 – ap-
proved 
■ Writing off citizens’ loans in 
2006 – rejected 
■ Referring the bill on chang-
ing the number of constituencies 
to 10 to the Constitutional Court in 
2003 – absent 
■ Reducing the number of con-
stituencies to five in 2006 – approved 
■ Women’s political rights in 
2005 – approved 
■ Referring the law on women’s 
political rights to the Constitutional 
Court in 2005 – approved 
■ Reducing the number of con-
stituencies in 2004 – approved
■ Granting citizenship to 
Bedouns in 2000 – approved 
■ No confidence motion against 
Minister of Education and Higher 
Education Noriya Al-Sabeeh in 
2000 – approved 
mp profile getting to know you
Dr Hassan Jawhar
Cities of Troy, Carthage, Babylon being covered
KFAS releases a first-of-its-kind 
scientific encyclopedia in Arabic
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: The Kuwait Foun-
dation for the Advancement of Sciences 
(KFAS) has released a scientifi c encyclo-
pedia, which is the fi rst of its kind in Arabic 
language, under the series of its distinguished 
scientifi c publications titled “The Lost Cities 
of Ancient History” aimed to highlight the 
greatest global cities that were destroyed and 
abandoned by their people for various reasons, 
reports Al-Anba daily.
In a press release, KFAS explained that 
the encyclopedia issued by KFAS’ Scientifi c 
Advancement Publishing Company coincides 
with the Virtual Kuwait Book Fair, and aims 
to demonstrate the importance of these histori-
cal cities, their cultural features, the reasons for 
their loss, and how to discover them.
The new version contains information 
about the concept behind lost cities, which are 
characterized by mystery, adventure and ro-
mance. It also has stories of treasure hunts, and 
the uncertainty surrounding the disappearance 
of civilizations, which were once prosperous 
but disappeared from the map of history due 
to many reasons. It has stories of these cities, 
their buildings and temples, the conditions that 
led to their destruction or the migration of their 
people, the natural disasters and the wars that 
they witnessed, and amazing stories to discov-
er, either by chance or through an investigation 
in archeology.
The encyclopedia covers the cities of Troy, 
Carthage and Babylon, which is hidden under 
the sands of oblivion in Iraq and is considered 
the largest and most wonderful city in the 
world, in addition to the Italian city of Pom-
peii, which was buried by volcanoes, and the 
historic Petra city in Jordan.
The encyclopedia also deals with the leg-
endary Angkor city in Cambodia, the his-
torical Machu Picchu, some of the ruins of 
which were discovered in Peru, and Ciudad 
Perdida – the lost city in Sierra Nevada de 
Santa Marta in Colombia.
The encyclopedia has distinctive pictures of 
those cities, their monuments, drawings, the 
pattern of the population and their artefacts, 
written records, detailed maps of important 
places, beliefs and myths inherited from them, 
and theirhistorical and cultural importance.
LOCAL
ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
6
‘Need to set aside personal disputes’
Speaker confi rms inviting MPs,
govt for ordinary session Tues
By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh
Arab Times Staff
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: National Assem-
bly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim confi rmed 
sending invitations to MPs and members of 
the government to the ordinary session at 
9:00 am on Tuesday in accordance with Ar-
ticle 72 of the Assembly Decree. 
Al-Ghanim disclosed this session is al-
located for electing the chairpersons and 
members of permanent and temporary 
parliamentary committees, in addition to 
the oath taking of newly appointed Deputy 
Prime Minister and Minister of Defense 
Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali. 
He stressed the need to set aside personal 
disputes in the inter-
est of the nation and 
citizens. He is hop-
ing for completion of 
the election of mem-
bers and chairper-
sons of parliamenta-
ry committees in the 
upcoming session to 
kick-start the legisla-
tion machine.
He also affi rmed 
that all precaution-
ary measures taken 
in previous sessions will be adopted in the 
upcoming session. He is looking forward to 
full cooperation between the government 
and Assembly in this session. 
In another development, MP Badr Al-
Dahoum invited the citizens to the next 
session in order to reclaim their seats which 
were taken by scheming Assembly offi -
cials. He disclosed an investigation will be 
conducted to identify those responsible for 
the entry of several citizens – supporters of 
the speaker – to the legislative building dur-
ing the opening session. 
He will see if HH the Prime Minister 
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled will express sat-
isfaction, similar to what he did after the 
opening session, despite the violations, bad 
words and unfair distribution of invitation 
cards among citizens. 
He asked the citizens, who will attend 
Tuesday’s session, to inform him through 
Twitter in case there are attempts to prevent 
them from entering the legislative building, 
stressing the need for everyone to come be-
cause the seats are for the people of Kuwait. 
In addition, MP Thamer Al-Suwait won-
dered what could be the reasons behind the 
satisfaction of HH Prime Minister over the 
last session. He asked if it was because of 
the chaos, insulting of MPs or forgery of the 
nation’s will. He went on to say that HH the 
Prime Minister is involved in such issue, 
because the latter supported forgery – refer-
ring to the election of Speaker. He added 
the people are disappointed and they call 
that day ‘Black Tuesday’.
He said he obtained information that the 
Secretariat General at the Assembly intends 
to follow the previous procedure – prevent 
citizens from entering the legislative build-
ing. He said a list is being prepared to reveal 
the names of Assembly offi cials, whom he 
called “a gang” that played a shameful role 
as they prevented many citizens from enter-
ing the legislative building but allowed the 
supporters of a certain party.
In another development, MP Ahmed 
Mutei Al-Azmi intends to submit a bill on 
adding new areas – Masayel, Abu Al-Has-
saniya, Abu Fatera, Sabah Al-Ahmad City 
and South Sabah Al-Ahmad – to the elec-
toral roll of the Fifth Constituency. 
He will also propose the cancellation of 
the law criminalizing the consultative meet-
ings of tribes before the parliamentary elec-
tion. He pointed out the current law violates 
the concept of consultation (Shura) which 
is stated in the Holy Quran. He argued po-
litical parties and blocs are allowed to hold 
such meetings; so why forbid the tribes 
from doing so especially since these meet-
ings do not threaten the State, society or na-
tional security? 
He also appealed to His Highness the 
Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber 
Al-Sabah to grant general amnesty to those 
convicted of storming the Assembly build-
ing, pointing out that they are known for 
their loyalty to the political leadership and 
are keen on combating corruption. 
Moreover, MP Abdulkareem Al-Kandari 
is the fi rst among the incumbent MPs to 
submit his fi nancial disclosure to Kuwait 
Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha).
By Abdel Nasser Al-Aslami
Al-Seyassah Staff
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: The Direc-
tor of the Center for Promoting Mod-
eration, Dr Abdullah Al-Shareka, said 
the money ‘earned’ from the sale of 
votes during the elections is forbidden 
malicious money and a curse and the 
person who sells his conscience (vote) 
deserved divine punishment in this 
world and the hereafter and called on 
everyone to get rid of such habits. He 
also said who holds on to this money to 
spend it on charity.
Dr Al-Shareka on his Twitter ac-
count said, God Almighty calls on such 
people to repent this act and to turn 
away from such practices.
He pointed out using this forbidden 
money in charity causes is not consid-
ered charity, but if it is given to any 
charity organization, the Zakat House, 
or some needy poor as a way of dispos-
ing of the forbidden money, but not as 
charity.
On the other hand, the tweeters in-
teracted with the tweet and some con-
sidered it appropriate and others who 
preferred to return it to the owner, and 
those who asked whether the sin is on 
the one who took the money only or on 
the one who gave the money and pro-
moted it.
Money earned from sale 
of vote ‘haram’: Shareka
Al-Ghanim
Kuwait ranks second in average
‘population growth’ rate in GCC
‘Males in Kuwait make up 61.5 pc of total population’
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: Kuwait is ranked second 
with the average annual population growth rate in the 
Gulf Cooperation Council countries between 2015 and 
2019, with a growth rate of 3 percent, preceded by Qa-
tar with 3.5 percent, with Oman coming in third place 
with a growth rate of 2.7 percent, followed by Saudi 
Arabia in fourth with 2.4 percent, the UAE fi fth with 
2.2 percent, and fi nally Bahrain, recording a growth 
rate of 2 percent, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting htt-
ps://kuwaitlocal.com.
The statistics is issued by the Statistical Center of the Cooperation 
Council for the Gulf Arab States affi liated to the General Secretariat 
of the GCC States. The statistics stated that the population pyramid 
in the GCC has a narrow 
base, as it forms the popu-
lation group less than 15 
years old which is always 
unproductive, a rate of 
21.9 percent.
The center stated that 
Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi 
Arabia are among the Gulf 
countries that witnessed an 
increase in the number of 
males compared to women 
between 2015 and 2019, in 
light of its decline in the 
rest of the GCC countries, 
explaining this is due to the 
lack of stability in the qual-
itative composition of the 
population, as the percent-
age increases and decreases 
from year to year, affected 
by factors and several vari-
ables, the most important 
of which is the nature of 
new arrivals or departures 
from the country, and relat-
ed to the nature of the proj-
ects implemented by the 
state.
Males in Kuwait make 
up 61.5 percent of the 
total population, which is 
a high percentage and 
places Kuwait in fourth 
place among the GCC 
countries, as according to 
the report, it relies heavily 
on bringing the so-called 
bachelors (without fami-
lies) due to the nature of 
the business that is often 
concentrated in infrastruc-
ture projects.
The center indicated that 
the population pyramid has 
expanded significantly for 
age groups between 15 and 
64 years, reaching 75.4%, 
while the numbers of males 
in these groups are not at a 
level of similarity with the 
numbers of females for rea-
sons related to the compo-
sition of the expatriate 
workforce and the develop-
ment projects.
Expatriate workers 
occupy the largest percent-
age of the age group 
between 25 and 54 years, 
at a rate of 56.3 percent, 
while the age group of 65 
years or higher is decreas-
ing due to the small num-
ber of individuals in gen-
eral, and the small number 
of expatriates in particular, 
and constitute 2.8 percent, 
and the majority of themare citizens from other 
GCC countries.
MoE preps list of stranded teachers
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: The Ministry of 
Education has intensifi ed its efforts to fi nd a 
way for expatriate teachers stranded abroad 
to return to the country, including those 
whose residency permits expired while 
outside the country, reports Al-Anba daily 
quoting sources.
Sources affi rmed the ministry has pre-
pared a list of these teachers, their fi elds of 
specialization and educational districts.
Sources said the ministry will coordinate 
with its interior counterpart to allow the re-
turn of expatriate teachers stranded abroad. 
Sources disclosed the ministry has laid down 
a plan for the return of these teachers, includ-
ing the date of return and agreed procedures. 
Sources clarifi ed that not all expatriate teach-
ers stranded abroad will be allowed to return, 
only those with specializations which the 
ministry needs. Sources added about 330 
expatriate teachers will be allowed to return 
and they are specialized in fi ve subjects – 
Mathematics, Chemistry, English, Music and 
Physical Education (female).
Al-Medlej stresses achievement amid growth plans
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20, (KUNA): Na-
tional development plans should follow 
a meticulous process to ensure unim-
peded progress leading to tangible re-
sults, Kuwait’s new commerce minister 
said on Saturday, highlighting that “goal 
achievement” is his primary focus.
“We only have one goal in mind and 
that’s to accomplish,” Faisal Al-Medlej 
told the press, adding that development 
plans should proceed in a timely and ef-
fective manner.
The minister revealed that a broad 
“nationalization plan” has taken effect to 
bring development goals to fruition, say-
ing that any development plan should be 
carefully assessed and reviewed to trans-
late such strategies into success.
Any endeavor undertaken across state 
bodies should bear the nation’s “best in-
terest” in mind, added the minister.
LOCAL
ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
7
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Holy Family Cathedral, Kuwait City
Thursday: 24th December 2020
Day Time Language Cath. Holy Court Padre Good Virgin
 Family Yard Pio Shepherd Mary
 5:30 pm Malayalam Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 (Latin)
 6:30 pm Spanish No No No No No Yes
 7:00 pm Tagalog Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 7.30 pm Sinhala No No No No Yes No
 8:30 pm Solemn Mass Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 9.00 pm Coptic No No No No No Yes
 10:30 pm Konkani No Yes Yes Yes No No
 10.30 pm Arabic (Latin) Yes No No No No No
 12 Midnight Maronite Yes No No No No No
 12 Midnight Syro Malabar No Yes Yes No No Yes
Friday: 25th December 2020
Day Time Language Cath. Holy Court Padre Good Virgin
 Family Yard Pio Shepherd Mary
 3.00 am Syro Malankara Yes Yes No Yes No Yes
 6:00 am English Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
 7:45 am Syro Malabar Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 9:00 am Sinhala No No No No No Yes
 9:15 am Konkani Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 10:45 am Maronite No Yes No No No No
 11:00 am Arabic (Latin) Yes No No No No No
 12:30 pm Coptic Yes Yes No No No No
 3:00 pm Tagalog Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 4:30 pm Malayalam Yes No Yes Yes No No
 (Latin)
 4:30 pm Tamil No Yes No No No No
 4:15 pm Sinhala No No No No No Yes
 6:00 pm English Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 6:00 pm Bengali No No No No No Yes
 7:15 pm Maronite Yes Yes No Yes No No
Thursday: 31st December 2020
Day Time Language Cath. Holy Court Padre Good Virgin
 Family Yard Pio Shepherd Mary
 5:30 pm Malayalam Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 (Latin)
 6:30 pm Malankara No No No No No Yes
 7:00 pm Tagalog Yes Yes Yes No No No
 8:30 pm Solemn English Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
 Mass
 10:30 pm Konkani Yes No Yes No No Yes
 10:30 pm New No No No No Yes No
 Catechumenal
 10:00 pm Coptic No Yes No No No No
 11:45 pm Syro Malabar Yes No Yes No No Yes
 10:00 pm Maronite Salmiya Basement 
Friday: 1st January 2021
 Time Language Cath. Holy Court Padre Good Virgin
 Family Yard Pio Shepherd Mary
 3.00 am Syro Malankara Yes Yes No Yes No Yes
 6:00 am English Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
 7:45 am Syro Malabar Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 9:00 am Sinhala No No No No No Yes
 9:15 am Konkani Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 10:45 am Maronite No Yes No No No No
 11:00 am Arabic (Latin) Yes No No No No No
 12:30 pm Coptic Yes Yes No No No No
 3:00 pm Tagalog Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 4:30 pm Malayalam Yes No Yes Yes No No
 (Latin)
 4:30 pm Tamil No Yes No No No No
 4:15 pm Sinhala No No No No No Yes
 5.00 pm Bengali No No No No Yes No
 6:00 pm English Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
 6.30 pm Spanish No No No No No Yes
 7:30 pm Maronite Yes Yes No Yes No No
Catholic Church of Our Lady of Arabia, Ahmadi, Kuwait
Christmas Vigil
Dec 24, 2020 (Thursday)
5:00 pm Syro Malabar (Catechism Block) 5:30 pm English
6:45 pm Tagalog 8:00 pm Konkani
8:30 pm Syro Malabar (Catechism Block) 9:15 pm English
10:30 pm Malayalam
Christmas Day
Dec 25, 2020 (Friday)
6:00 am English 7:15 am English
8:30 am English 9:45 am Syro Malabar
12:00 pm English 3:00 pm Malayalam
4:30 pm English 5:45 pm Tagalog
7:00 pm Tamil
Feast of the Holy Family
Dec 26, 2020 (Saturday)
6:00 pm English 7:15 pm Syro Malabar
Dec 27, 2020 (Sunday)
6:00 am English 4:30 pm Syro Malabar
6:00 pm English
New Year Vigil
Dec 31, 2020 (Thursday)
5:30 pm Syro Malabar (Catechism Block) 5:30 pm English
6:45 pm Tagalog 8:00 pm Konkani
8:30 pm Syro Malabar (Catechism Block) 9:15 pm English
10:30 pm Malayalam
Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God
Jan 1, 2020 (Friday)
6:00 am English 7:15 am English
8:30 am English 9:45 am Malayalam
10:00 am Konkani (Catechism Block) 11:00 am Syro Malabar
2:00 pm Syro Malankara 4:30 pm English
5:45 pm Tagalog 7:00 pm Tamil
Epiphany of the Lord 
Jan 2, 2021 (Saturday)
6:00 pm English 7:15 pm Syro Malabar
Jan 3, 2021 (Sunday)
6:00 am English 4:30 pm Syro Malabar
6:00 pm English
St Therese Parish, Salmiya
Christmas and New Year Masses for 2020-2021
Filipino Community: ‘Simbang Gabi’
Dec 15 to 23 @ 9.30 pm & Dec 16 to 24 @ 4:00 am
Thursday, Dec 24, 2020
4:00 am Simbang Gabi
Christmas Vigil
5:00 pm Mass in Tamil 7:00 pm Mass in Konkani
9:00 pm Mass in English 11:30 pm Mass in Malayalam (Latin)
Friday, Dec 25, 2020 
8:00 am Mass in English 1:00 pm Mass in Tagalog
6:30 pm Mass in English 8:00 pm Mass in Malayalam (Syro Malabar)
9:30 pm Mass in Tagalog
Thursday, Dec 31, 2020
New Year’s Eve
5:00 pm Mass in Konkani 7:00 pm Mass in Tamil
9:00 pm Mass in English 11:30 pm Mass in Malayalam (Syro Malabar)
New Year & Solemnity of Blessed Virgin Mary
Friday, Jan 1, 2021
8:00 am Mass in English 1:00 pm Mass in Tagalog
6:30 pm Mass in English 8:00 pm Mass in Malayalam (Latin)
9:30 pm Mass in Tagalog
Parish of St Daniel Comboni, Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh, Kuwait
Phone: 24340539 & 24339485
Mary of Mother of God & New Year
Dec 24, 2020 Thursday - Christmas Vigil Mass
3:00 pm Malyalam - Latin Rite St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
3:00 pm Syro Malabar Rite St. Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
3:30 pm Syro Malankara Rite Our Lady Of Arabia Hall - B1
4:30 pm Malyalam - Latin Rite St Mother Teresa Hall - B-3 
4:45 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
5:30 pm English Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
6:00 pm Malyalam - Latin Rite St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
6:15 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
7:30 pm Konkani Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
7:30 pm Tamil St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
8:00 pm English St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
Dec 25, 2020 Friday - Christmas Day Mass
5:45 am Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
6:00 am English Our Lady Of Arabia Hall - B1
7:30 am Konkani St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
7:45 am Malyalam - Latin Rite Our Lady Of Arabia Hall - B1
8:00 am Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
9:30 am English Our Lady Of Arabia Hall - B1
9:30 am Tamil St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
10:00 am Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
11:30 am Malyalam - Latin Rite Our Lady Of Arabia Hall - B1
11:30 am Syro Malabar Rite St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
12:00 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
3:00pm Malyalam - Latin Rite Our Lady Of Arabia Hall - B1
3:00 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Mother Teresa Hall B3
3:30 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
4:45 pm Malyalam - Latin Rite Our Lady Of Arabia Hall - B1
5:30 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
7:15 pm English St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
7:30 pm Syro Malankara Rite Our Lady Of Arabia Hall-B1 -B1
Thursday, Dec 31, 2020 - Vigil Mass
3:00 pm Malayalam - Latin Rite St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
3:00 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
3:30 pm Syro Malankara Rite Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
4:30 pm Tamil St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
4:45 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
5:30 pm English Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
6:00 pm Malayalam - Latin Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B3
6:15 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
7:30 pm Konkani Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
7:30 pm Malayalam - Latin Rite St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
8:00 pm English St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
Friday, Jan 1, 2020 – Daily Mass
5:45 am Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni - B2
6:00 am English Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
7:30 am Konkani St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
7:45 am Malayalam - Latin Rite Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
8:00 am Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
9:30 am English Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
9:30 am Tamil St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
10:00 am Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
11:30 am Malayalam - Latin Rite Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
11:30 am Syro Malayalam Rite St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
12:00 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni - B2
3:00 pm Malayalam - Latin Rite Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
3:00 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
3:30 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
4:45 pm Malayalam - Latin Rite Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
5:30 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
7:15 pm English St Mother Teresa Hall - B3
7:30 pm Syro Malankara Rite Our Lady of Arabia Hall - B1
7:30 pm Syro Malabar Rite St Daniel Comboni Hall - B2
Christmas & New Year’s Mass schedules (Online registrations at www.avona.org)
HE Sibi George thanks Kuwait for efforts and support in strengthening bilateral ties
India’s ambassador to Kuwait honors winners, addresses Indian community
By Paul Francis X. Fernandes
Arab Times Staff
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: The Indian 
Ambassador to Kuwait HE Sibi 
George on Friday addressed the Indian 
community at the Indian Embassy 
auditorium to honor children and oth-
ers who won various prizes during the 
competitions that the Embassy had 
organized during the last few months.
The Indian envoy began his address 
by thanking His Highness the Amir 
Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber 
Al-Sabah, and HH the Crown Prince 
Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber 
Al-Sabah, the government and the 
friendly people of Kuwait for hosting 
the large Indian community. 
He also thanked Kuwait for the 
efforts and support in strengthening 
the bilateral relations between our two 
friendly countries.
The Indian envoy said, the Indian 
Prime Minister has sent hearty con-
gratulations to HH Sheikh Sabah 
Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, on 
his re-appointment as the Prime 
Indian ambassador addressing the 
Indian community.
Minister of the State of Kuwait.
He added, it has been a little over 
four months since he arrived in Kuwait, 
with a mandate from the Indian 
President to represent him and over 1.3 
billion Indians in this important country 
and “to enhance our relationship”. 
He added, he has been in constant 
touch “with our community in Kuwait 
and also to regularly communicate 
with the community on developments 
in our bilateral relations with Kuwait 
and also on the efforts being under-
taken by the Embassy in streamlining 
and improving the Consular services 
and Community Welfare measures. 
He said due to COVID-19 the 
embassy had to suffice with virtual 
meetings during August 15, “our inde-
pendence day last year and I do not 
know whether we will be able to meet 
in large numbers on January 26, our 
Republic Day next year.”
He added, “I have been meeting the 
community in small groups since my 
arrival. On an average, I have been 
meeting at least two groups each day 
in the last four months and some of 
you through our Open House program. 
I have also been receiving a large 
number of emails and letters from var-
ious groups and community sharing 
their concerns on various issues and 
also coming up with ideas and sugges-
tions in promoting our relations with 
Kuwait and also in improving the con-
sular service and community welfare 
measures. I look forward to continue 
my engagement with each of the asso-
ciations and groups and community 
members, of course, by following the 
COVID-19 pandemic related guide-
lines. As I am not able to meet our 
community in large numbers due to 
Covid situation, I thought it important 
to address all groups and associations 
virtually today, to brief you on what 
we have been doing and what we pro-
pose to do.” 
He went on to say, “The Gulf is a very 
important region for us. It is part of our 
extended neighborhood. With Kuwait 
we have historic relationship which can 
be traced back to several centuries. 
Geographic proximity, historical trade 
links, cultural affinities, people to people 
connect and growing cooperation in key 
areas of mutual interest, including ener-
gy security, trade and investment, infra-
structure development projects, petro-
chemicals and education continue to 
strengthen and broaden our longstanding 
partnership. 
“There are crucial areas, apart from 
trade and investment, such as security, 
fight against terrorism, defence, science 
and technology where we are in regular 
engagement with this important coun-
try. Some of the areas of mutual interest 
include information and communica-
tion technology, biotechnology, small 
and medium enterprises entrepreneur-
ship, alternative energy sources and the 
list is long and expanding. Of course in 
each of these areas, India needs to do 
more to realize the huge potential that 
exits. I believe that our vibrant com-
munity can play a significant role in 
building this partnership,” he said. 
When each of our community mem-
bers currently employed in Kuwait, do 
their assigned job with dedication, sin-
cerity and honesty, they earn respect 
for themselves and for our country.
 I am happy that each of the Kuwaiti 
leaders and citizens that I met during 
the last few months, spoke so high of 
the hardworking, peace loving and law 
abiding qualities of our community. 
Such comments make us so proud of 
our community, the Indian envoy said.
“One of the first decisions that I 
took on my arrival in Kuwait in August 
is to engage with all Indian associa-
tions and groups in Kuwait. I reviewed 
an earlier decision to de-register some 
of our associations and groups in the 
past and reinstated all associations as 
our partners. I am happy that today all 
associations and groups in Kuwait are 
our partners in building our partner-
ship with Kuwait. Almost all associa-
tions have now updated their contact 
details, those who have not updated, 
please do so,” Ambassador Sibi said.
As you are aware, the Embassy has 
in recent weeks set up three outreach 
platforms ICN, IPN, IBN. ICN (Indian 
Cultural Network) as a platform to 
highlight our cultural diversity and art 
forms and to recognize and promote 
the artistic skills within our Diaspora.
The IPN (Indian Professionals 
Network) is a platform to learn from the 
expertise and experiences of our distin-
guished professionals here and imbibe 
the best practices; IBN (Indian Business 
Network) as platform to showcase 
India’s economic and scientific trans-
formation and to highlight the billion 
opportunities that India offers for busi-
ness partnership. Similarly, in order to 
promote Indian culture and our rich lit-
erary heritage, we have launched a 
Thematic Library project. 
KUNA photos
Kuwait’s Al-Najat Charity delivering aid to Syrian refugees in Jordan.
Kuwait’s Al-NajatCharity distributes aid
Kuwait’s Al-Najat Charity launched 
a campaign to aid 375 Syrian refu-
gee families in Jordan, as part of its 
2021 humanitarian campaigns.
The aid include blankets, tents, 
food and other necessary materi-
als, said head of the campaigns 
department at the Charity Omar 
Al-Shaqra in a statement on 
Sunday. (KUNA)
PAM requested for update on housing 
allowance for expats on govt contracts
Authority to process bonus, allowance requests
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: The National Center for 
Occupational Safety, affiliated to the Public Authority for 
Manpower (PAM), has asked for an update on the request 
for information about housing allowances for expatriate 
workers on government contracts registered with the 
authority, reports Al-Qabas daily.
The center requested the companies to update this information in a 
new form, under the condition that they pledge to provide correct infor-
mation, mention the total number of workers according to the type and 
profession, and mention the salary separately from the allowance 
granted to them.
It called on the companies to pro-
vide a copy of the governmental and 
private contracts for the companies 
that require updating on the salary 
transfer certificate of the last month 
when the salary was transferred, and 
other conditions.
In other news, the Public 
Authority for Manpower (PAM) on 
Sunday will start processing trans-
actions and requests for graduates 
bonus, unemployment insurance 
and job search allowance through its 
website: www.mgrp.org.kw, reports 
Al-Jarida daily.
The authority explained that the 
concerned individuals must request 
for the username and password 
through the website, and submit the 
required documents and data after 
receiving the password to complete 
the transaction. The applicants will 
then receive an email confirming 
approval of the request or comple-
tion of the transaction, the authority 
added.
Photos during IWG’s first-ever ‘Santa Drive-through’
IWG-Kuwait holds ‘Santa Drive-through’
To celebrate the spirit of the sea-
son and the coming new year, the 
International Women’s Group- 
Kuwait, held a first-ever ‘Santa 
Drive-through’ for its members on 
Saturday December 12, 2020. The 
ladies of the IWG Board were pres-
ent to greet members, as they 
drove through a specially decorat-
ed area with various stalls to collect 
their ‘festive fayre’ of chocolates, 
poinsettias, and annual gifts pre-
sented by Santa. 
The atmosphere was filled with 
music, laughter and greetings, all 
conducted in a safe and socially 
distanced manner, giving mem-
bers an opportunity to share in 
person the spirit of love and friend-
ship we have all missed in the 
pandemic.
Market Movements 18-12-2020
Business Change Closing ptsINDIA - Sensex +70.35 46,960.69 Change Closing ptsAUSTRALIA - All Ordinaries -75.97 6,924.08JAPAN - Nikkei -43.28 26,763.39GERMANY - DAX -36.74 13,630.51FRANCE - CAC 40 -21.62 5,527.84EUROPE - Euro Stoxx 50 -15.13 3,545.74S. KOREA - KRX 100 -11.91 5,957.04
PHILIPPINES - PSEi -25.22 7,272.80
US blacklists top Chinese chipmaker, alleging military ties
The Trump administration blacklisted 
China’s top chipmaker Friday, limiting the 
Semiconductor Manufacturing Internation-
al Corp.’s access to advanced U.S. tech-
nology because of its alleged ties to the 
Chinese military.
“We will not allow advanced U.S. tech-
nology to help build the military of an in-
creasingly belligerent adversary,’’ Com-
merce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a 
statement explaining the decision to put 
SMIC on the U.S. government’s so-called 
Entity List.
SMIC has previously said it has no ties to 
the Chinese government.
Commerce is putting more than 60 other 
fi rms on the list for such things as allegedly 
supporting the Chinese military, assisting 
the Chinese government’s crackdown on 
dissent, being involved in the theft of trade 
secrets and helping Beijing’s aggressive 
efforts to claim territory in the South China 
Sea.
But SMIC is the most high-profi le target.
The move means that U.S. companies 
will need to get a license to sell sophis-
ticated technology to SMIC. Technol-
ogy that helps with the production of the 
most-advanced chips - those 10 nanom-
eters or smaller - face the “presumption 
of denial,’’ Commerce said. Other items 
will be assessed on a case-by-case ba-
sis.
The decision comes barely a month be-
fore President-elect Joe Biden takes offi ce. 
A senior Commerce Department offi cial, 
briefi ng reporters on condition of anonymi-
ty, said the move had not been coordinated 
with the Biden transition team. (AP)
In this fi le photo, 
Commerce Secre-
tary Wilbur Ross 
testifi es before a 
House Appropria-
tions subcommit-
tee on Capitol Hill, 
in Washington. 
(AP)
Suits allege search giant exercises illegal monopoly over online search market
States making bold new legal claims in 2 Google lawsuits
WASHINGTON, Dec 20, (AP): 
As a wave of antitrust actions 
surges against Google and Fa-
cebook, states in two lawsuits 
are stretching beyond the cases 
made by federal competition en-
forcers to level bold new claims. 
The states are taking new legal 
approaches as they join the wid-
ening siege against the two once 
seemingly untouchable behe-
moths. 
The latest case came Thurs-
day as dozens of states fi led an 
antitrust lawsuit against Google, 
alleging that the search giant ex-
ercises an illegal monopoly over 
the online search market, hurting 
consumers and advertisers. 
It was the third antitrust salvo 
to slam Google in the past two 
months. The U.S. Justice Depart-
ment and attorneys general from 
across the country are weighing 
in with different visions of how 
they believe the company is abus-
ing its immense power in ways 
that harm other businesses, inno-
vation and even consumers who 
fi nd its services indispensable.
And last week, the Federal 
Trade Commission and 48 states 
and districts sued Facebook. 
They accuse the social media gi-
ant of abusing its power in social 
networking to squash smaller 
competitors - and seeking rem-
edies that could include a forced 
spinoff of its prized Instagram 
and WhatsApp messaging ser-
vices. 
“There’s not been a cluster of 
cases of this signifi cance since the 
1970s,” said William Kovacic, a 
law professor at George Wash-
ington University and a former 
chairman of the Federal Trade 
Commission, pointing to the re-
cent spate of antitrust actions by 
the states, the Justice Department 
and the FTC. “This is a big deal.” 
The DOJ brought an antitrust suit 
against AT&T in 1974 that led to 
its breakup.
Lawsuits
The new lawsuit announced 
by Colorado Attorney General 
Phil Weiser echoes the allega-
tions leveled earlier by the Jus-
tice Department against Google’s 
conduct in the search market. 
But it goes beyond them and 
adds important new wrinkles: It 
also seeks to stop Google from 
becoming dominant in the latest 
generation of technology, such as 
voice-assistant devices and inter-
net-connected cars. 
And, it claims, the company 
discriminates against special-
ized search providers that offer 
travel, home repair and enter-
tainment services, and denies 
access to its search-advertising 
management tool to competitors 
like Bing.
The lawsuit was fi led in fed-
eral court in Washington by the 
attorneys general of 35 states as 
well as the District of Columbia 
and the territories of Guam and 
Puerto Rico.
“Consumers are denied the 
benefi ts of competition, including 
the possibility of higher quality 
services and better privacy pro-
tections. Advertisers are harmed 
through lower quality and higher 
prices that are, in turn, passed 
along to consumers,” Weiser said 
in announcing the action.
Google’s director of economic 
policy, Adam Cohen, said in a 
blog post that big companies 
should be scrutinized and Google 
is prepared to answer questions 
about how it works.
“But this lawsuit seeks to re-
design search in ways that would 
deprive Americans of helpful in-
formation and hurt businesses’ability to connect directly with 
customers,” he wrote. “We look 
forward to making that case in 
court, while remaining focused 
on delivering a high-quality 
search experience for our users.” 
Consumer advocates wel-
comed the suit.
Claims
The attorneys general have 
worked with the Justice Depart-
ment as they developed their case 
and are asking that their case be 
combined with the Justice De-
partment’s lawsuit, allowing their 
more forward-looking claims to 
move ahead, Iowa Attorney Gen-
eral Tom Miller said.
On Wednesday, 10 states led 
by Republican attorneys general 
accused Google in a separate 
suit of abusing its power in on-
line advertising to crush compe-
tition. They said the company’s 
anti-competitive conduct even in-
cluded a deal with rival Facebook 
to manipulate ad sales - a totally 
new accusation. 
“That’s an explosive allegation 
if they can prove it,” said George 
Washington’s Kovacic. 
The suit alleges that Google 
signed a pact with Facebook in 
2015 that gave Google access 
to millions of WhatsApp users’ 
encrypted messages, photos and 
videos.
The suit, led by Texas, tar-
gets the heart of Google’s busi-
ness - the digital ads that gen-
erate nearly all of its revenue, 
as well as all the money that its 
corporate parent, Alphabet Inc., 
depends upon to help finance a 
range of far-flung technology 
projects. 
In addition to Colorado, the 
states bringing the lawsuit Thurs-
day were Alaska, Arizona, Con-
necticut, Delaware, Hawaii, 
Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, 
Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, 
Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, 
New Hampshire, New Jersey, 
New Mexico, New York, North 
Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, 
Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylva-
nia, Rhode Island, South Dakota, 
Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Vir-
ginia, Washington, West Virginia 
and Wyoming.
Bank of England ‘holds’ fi re as 
it awaits Brexit developments
UK extends salary support program to contain unemployment
LONDON, Dec 20, (AP): 
The Bank of England 
opted against injecting 
another dose of stimulus 
into the British economy 
as it waits to hear wheth-
er a post-Brexit trade 
deal between the U.K. 
and the European Union 
is agreed in time for the 
new year.
In a statement released Thurs-
day, it said the nine rate-setters 
on the Monetary Policy Com-
mittee voted unanimously to 
keep the bank’s main interest 
rate at the record low of 0.1% 
as well as maintaining the mon-
etary stimulus already in place.
It said the main news since it 
boosted its bond-buying program 
by a further 150 billion pounds 
($200 billion) in November has 
been the successful trialling of cor-
onavirus vaccines and the rollout 
in the U.K. of the one developed 
by America’s Pfi zer and German 
biotechnology fi rm BioNTech. 
“This is likely to reduce the 
downside risks to the economic 
outlook from COVID,” the com-
mittee said. 
However, the committee warned 
that recent global activity has been 
affected by the resurgence of the 
virus and the associated re-imposi-
tion of restrictions. U.K. growth is 
set to be weaker than anticipated in 
November.
The British economy is expected 
to end this year around 12% small-
er than it started as a result of the 
pandemic and the restrictions on 
business activity and public life. 
That would be its deepest reces-
sion in three centuries.
Outlook
The committee said the outlook 
remains “unusually uncertain” and 
“depends on the evolution of the 
pandemic and measures taken to 
protect public health, as well as the 
nature of, and transition to, the new 
trading arrangements between the 
European Union and the United 
Kingdom.” 
The bank’s forecasts are based 
on the assumption of a smooth ad-
justment to a new tariff-free trad-
ing relationship between the EU 
and the U.K. However, concerns 
remain that they won’t strike a 
deal and discussions are ongoing. 
Were a deal not to emerge, tariffs 
and quotas would be imposed on 
many goods traded between the 
two sides, a development that most 
economists think would hurt the 
British economy relatively more.
Bank of England Governor An-
drew Bailey recently warned that 
failing to reach a new trade deal 
would have a greater long-term 
impact on the British economy 
than the long-term impact of the 
coronavirus pandemic, which in 
the short term has led to the coun-
try’s sharpest recession in more 
than three centuries.
Without specifying, the bank 
also said that it stands ready to do 
more if infl ation remains way be-
low target. Currently, the U.K.’s 
annual infl ation rate stands at just 
0.3%, way below the bank’s target 
of 2%.
Meanwhile, the British govern-
ment extended its salary support 
program by another month through 
to the end of April as it tries to keep 
a lid on unemployment as corona-
virus restrictions slam businesses.
The government confi rmed it 
would carry on paying 80% of the 
salaries of those workers retained 
by fi rms rather than fi red. It also 
extended its government-guar-
In this fi le photo, a United Airlines Boeing 737 Max airplane takes off in the rain at Renton Municipal Airport in 
Renton, Washington. Boeing improperly infl uenced a test designed to see how quickly pilots could respond to mal-
functions on the Boeing 737 Max, and Federal Aviation Administration offi cials may have obstructed a review of 
two deadly crashes involving the plane, Senate investigators say. In a report released Friday, Dec 18, the Senate 
Commerce Committee also said the FAA continues to retaliate against whistleblowers. (AP)
Over Boeing jet and safety
Senate investigators fault FAA
WASHINGTON, Dec 20, (AP): 
Boeing improperly infl uenced a 
test designed to see how quickly 
pilots could respond to malfunc-
tions on the Boeing 737 Max, and 
Federal Aviation Administration 
offi cials may have obstructed a 
review of two deadly crashes in-
volving the plane, Senate investi-
gators say.
In a report released Friday, the 
Senate Commerce Committee also 
said the FAA continues to retaliate 
against whistleblowers. The FAA’s 
parent agency, the Transportation 
Department, has also hindered in-
vestigators by failing to turn over 
documents, it said.
The report follows a similarly 
scathing review of the FAA by a 
House panel earlier this year. Both 
grew out of concern about the 
agency’s approval of the Boeing 
Max.
In a statement, the FAA said the 
report “contains a number of un-
substantiated allegations” and de-
fended its review of the Max, call-
ing it thorough and deliberate.
“We are confi dent that the safety 
issues that played a role in the tragic 
accidents involving Lion Air Flight 
610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 
302 have been addressed through 
the design changes required and in-
dependently approved by the FAA 
and its partners,” the agency said.
Boeing didn’t comment on spe-
cifi c allegations.
“We take seriously the Commit-
tee’s fi ndings and will continue to 
review the report in full,” the Chi-
cago-based company said.
All Max planes were grounded 
worldwide after crashes in Indone-
sia and Ethiopia killed 346 people. 
Following a lengthy review of Boe-
ing changes, the FAA last month 
approved the plane to fl y again if 
airlines update a key fl ight-control 
system and make other changes.
The Senate report, however, 
criticized a key part of the FAA re-
view. It said that Boeing “inappro-
priately infl uenced” FAA testing of 
pilot-reaction time to a nose-down 
pitch of the plane.
According to a whistleblower 
who was an FAA safety inspector, 
Boeing representatives watched 
and gave advice to help test pilots 
in a fl ight simulator respond to the 
problem in a few seconds. The re-
action of three fl ight crews was still 
slower than Boeing had assumed, 
according to the report. Each time 
the plane would have been thrown 
into a nose-down pitch, although 
recovery would have been possi-
ble, the investigators said.
In the two Max crashes, a fail-
ure of the key fl ight system, called 
MCAS, pushed the nose down re-
peatedly, sending the planes into 
fatal dives.The FAA countered that it was 
an FAA pilot who discovered a 
separate computer issue in the 
plane, a fl aw that took Boeing ad-
ditional months to fi x.
Investigators also said an FAA 
division manager was fi rst invited, 
then excluded from a review of the 
Max crashes even though his posi-
tion normally would call for him to 
participate in the review. The offi -
cial said he believes he was exclud-
ed to shield FAA from criticism.
The committee chairman, Roger 
Wicker, R-Miss., called the investi-
gators’ fi ndings troubling.
“The report details a number of 
signifi cant examples of lapses in 
aviation safety oversight and failed 
leadership in the FAA,” Wicker 
said in a statement. “It is clear that 
the agency requires consistent over-
sight to ensure their work to protect 
the fl ying public is executed fully 
and correctly.” Wicker and the pan-
el’s top Democrat, Maria Cantwell 
of Washington, have introduced 
legislation to make changes in 
FAA’s process for certifying new 
planes. The House passed a simi-
lar but more far-reaching bill of-
fered by Transportation Committee 
Chairman Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.
anteed COVID-19 business loan 
schemes for two months until the 
end of March. 
“We know the premium busi-
nesses place on certainty, so it is 
right that we enable them to plan 
ahead regardless of the path the 
virus takes, which is why we’re 
providing certainty and clarity by 
extending this support,” said Treas-
ury chief Rishi Sunak.
The U.K., like others, has re-
imposed onerous coronavirus re-
strictions following the resurgence 
of the virus. The government has 
expressed hope that by April the 
rollout of coronavirus vaccines will 
have changed the dynamics of the 
pandemic to allow some sort of 
normality to return to everyday life.
Because most of the U.K. is cur-
rently facing stringent restrictions 
that involve the closure of certain 
sectors, notably pubs and restau-
rants, millions of people are not 
able to work. Many other business-
es, such as in arts and entertain-
ment, have not opened since the 
pandemic took root in March. 
The government launched in 
March the Job Retention Scheme 
and it has certainly helped - the 
U.K. recorded far smaller increases 
in unemployment than many other 
countries, such as the United States. 
Though the unemployment rate has 
risen to nearly 5% and is forecast to 
rise further, there were fears in the 
spring it would be double that. 
The Treasury says the scheme 
has protected nearly 10 million jobs 
across the U.K. with more than one 
million businesses accessing loans 
to help them through the crisis. It’s 
not been cheap - more than 45 bil-
lion pounds ($60 billion).
The Bank of England has also 
been providing unprecedented 
support to the British economy 
over the past few months. How-
ever, on Thursday it held fi re, 
keeping its main interest rate at the 
record low of 0.1% while main-
taining the monetary stimulus al-
ready in place. 
It said the outlook remains “un-
usually uncertain” and “depends 
on the evolution of the pandemic 
and measures taken to protect 
public health, as well as the na-
ture of, and transition to, the new 
trading arrangements between the 
European Union and the United 
Kingdom.”
The bank’s forecasts are based 
on the assumption of a smooth ad-
justment to a new tariff-free trad-
ing relationship between the EU 
and the U.K. Were a deal not to 
emerge, tariffs and quotas would 
be imposed on many goods traded 
between the two sides, a develop-
ment that most economists think 
would hurt the British economy 
relatively more.
BP, Hilcorp say deal involving
Alaska assets, interests done
JUNEAU, Alaska, Dec 20, (AP): 
BP said it has completed its sale 
of assets and ownership interests 
in Alaska to Hilcorp, in a $5.6 
billion deal first announced in 
2019.
BP announced Friday comple-
tion of its sale of pipeline inter-
ests, including its stake in the 
trans-Alaska pipeline, to Harvest 
Alaska, an affiliate of Hilcorp, 
following conditional approval 
of that part of the deal by the 
Regulatory Commission of 
Alaska earlier this week. 
Documents requested by the 
commission, due Dec. 28, did not 
yet show up as filed. The com-
mission’s order also can be 
appealed.
In July, Hilcorp and BP 
announced they had closed the 
portion of the deal that included 
transfer of leases in the Prudhoe 
Bay oil field and Point Thomson 
gas field.
BP and Hilcorp spokespeople 
Friday said the sale, announced 
in August 2019, is now closed. 
Jason Rebrook, CEO of 
Harvest Midstream, in a state-
ment called the acquisition of 
BP’s roughly 49% interest in the 
trans-Alaska pipeline system a 
“critical milestone” for his com-
pany. The 800-mile pipeline sys-
tem “is an icon of American 
ingenuity” with a track record of 
“safe and responsible opera-
tions” and a legacy the company 
plans to build on, he said. The 
Alaska Public Interest Research 
Group has raised concerns with 
the deal.
BUSINESS
ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
9
Kuwait bourse edges lower
NBK slips 7 fils, NAPESCO gains
In this file photo, a FedEx delivery truck is loaded by an employee on the street in downtown 
Cincinnati. FedEx is off to a fast start during the holiday-shipping season. The company said 
that its quarterly profit more than doubled to $1.23 billion. (AP)
green whereas Sultan Centre trimmed 2 fils. 
Kuwait and Gulf Links Transport Co added 
0.6 fils while Burgan Well Drilling Co 
closed 3 fils in green. 
In the banking sector, Gulf Bank and 
Burgan Bank were flat at 211 fils and 214 fils 
respectrively whereas Kuwiat International 
Bank trimmed 1 fil. Boubyan Bank and 
Warba Bank took in 1 fils each while Ahli 
United Bank eased 1 fil to 241 fils.
The was largely upbeat during the previous 
week. The main index closed higher in three 
of the five sessions, gaining 83 points week-
on-week. It has scaled 174 points from start 
of the month but is down 650 points year-to-
date.
By John Mathews
Arab Times Staff
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: Kuwait 
stocks kicked off the week with a 
slight pullback after notching 
moderate gains in the previous 
week. The All Shares Index gave 
up early gains to close 9.94 points 
down at 5,632.44 pts weighed 
mostly by blue chips even as the 
broader sentiment remained 
mixed.
The Premier Market dropped 17.35 points 
to 6,158.97 pts while Main Market was up 
5.43 pts at 4,594.89 points. The BK 50 Main 
index climbed 13.43 points 4,677.99 pts. 
The volume turnover meanwhile dipped 
below the 200 million mark. Over 197 mil-
lion shares changed hands – a 35 pct plunge 
from Thursday.
The sectors closed mostly in red. Oil and 
Gas outshone the rest with 2 pct gain where-
as Insurance shed 1.14 percent, the biggest 
loser of the day. Volume wise, Financial 
Services topped the volume with 58.6 million 
shares while Banking sector dominated in 
value with KD 14.14 million. 
In the individual shares, sector bellwether 
National Bank of Kuwait slipped 7 fils to 854 
fils after trading 5.8 million shares partly 
erasing Thursday’s robust gains while 
Kuwait Finance House stood pat at 684 fils 
with a volume of 4.5 million shares. Mabanee 
Co took in 1 fil and Humansoft Holding was 
down 13 fils at KD 3.635.
Dropped
Zain dropped 6 fils to 621 fils after pushing 
over 4 million shares while Ooredoo stood 
pat at 626 fils. stc dialed down 2 fils whereas 
logistics major Agility clawed 4 fils higher 
on back of over 1million shares. NAPESCO 
jumped 23 fils to KD 1.160. and Boursa held 
ground at KD 1.128 .
KIPCO was unchanged at 154 fils whereas 
KAMCO eased 0.5 fil to 74 fils. Kuwait 
Investment Co dialed up 2 fils and KMEFIC 
eroded 6 fils. Noor Financial Investment Co 
took in 1 fil while Kuwait Insurance Co shed 
15 fils. Ahleia Insurance Co gave up 12 fils 
before ending at 463 fils. 
The market opened weak and dipped brief-
ly in early trade. The main index plumbed the 
day’s lowest level of 5624 pts and rebound-
ed back to positive turf to peak at 5,644points. It drifted sideways and slipped back 
into red half way into the session as sentiment 
turned sour. It traded choppy in the second 
half before closing with small losses.
Top gainer of the day, Mubarrad sprinted 
14.62 pct to 74.5 fils and Energy Holding 
climbed 11.65 percent to stand next. Marakez 
skidded 5.33 percent, the steepest decliner of 
the day and Kuwait Real Estate Co topped 
the volume with 18 million shares. 
Despite day’s downtick, the market spread 
was even. 58 stocks advanced and same 
number of shares closed lower. Of the 133 
counters active on Sunday, 17 closed flat. 
8239 deals worth KD 30.86 million were 
transacted during the session.
Shares
National Industries Group inched 1 fils 
higher to 184 fils on back of over 1 million 
shares while Mezzan Holding clipped 2 fils. 
Boubyan Petrochemical Co gained 10 fils 
whereas Al Qurain Petrochemical Co clipped 
2 fils. Integrated Holding added 3 fils on back 
of 1.3 million shares while Aznoula paused 
at 278 fils after pushing over 2 million 
shares. 
Jazeera Airways ticked 1 fil up to 733 fils 
and ALAFCO gave up 3 fils after moving 4.4 
million shares. Combined Group Contracting 
Co took in 1 fil to close at 201 fils whereas 
Oula Fuel and Soor trimmed 1 fil each. 
YIACO rose 4 fils to 638 fils and Al Rai 
Media Group dialed up 1.1 fils. EK Holding 
shed 12 fils. 
Kuwait Cement Co was flat at 239 fils and 
Kuwait Portland Cement dialed down 2 fils. 
Automated Systems Co and Kuwait National 
Cinema Co were unchanged at 71 fils and 
789 fils respectively whereas Educational 
Holding Co took in 1 fil. KCPC added 3 fils 
and KPPC paused at 40.5 fils. Safat Energy 
inched 0.8 fil higher.
Kuwait Foundry Co fell 3 fils to 270 fils 
whereas Gulf Cable scaled 6 fils. ACICO 
Industries added 1.6 fils on back of 1.3 mil-
lion shares while NICBM clipped 2 fils. 
Educational Holding Group inched 1 fil into 
Demand for deliveries pushes
FedEx 2Q profit to $1.2 billion
NEW YORK, Dec 20, (AP): FedEx Corp. 
more than doubled its profit in the latest 
quarter, as holiday packages were being 
stuffed into delivery trucks alongside every-
day goods that people buy online to avoid 
visiting stores during the pandemic.
The delivery giant said Thursday it earned 
$1.23 billion in its fiscal second quarter, 
compared with $560 million a year earlier. 
Revenue rose 19%. 
FedEx declined to forecast future earn-
ings, but Chief Financial Officer Michael 
Lenz said the company expects earnings to 
grow over the next six months because of 
heightened demand for shipping services.
The results beat Wall Street expectations, 
but FedEx shares, which have nearly dou-
bled this year, fell more than 3% in after-
hours trading.
Peak
The quarter ended Nov. 30, meaning that 
the figures reported Thursday captured only 
the beginning of the peak U.S. delivery 
period that runs from Thanksgiving through 
Christmas. 
FedEx and rival United Parcel Service 
have been running at Christmas-like levels 
for several months already, as the pandemic 
causes people to do more of their routine 
shopping online.
Now the delivery giants are adding holi-
day shipments and deliveries of COVID-19 
vaccines, and it is straining their networks. 
UPS temporarily halted deliveries for sev-
eral large retailers around Cyber Monday, 
the first business day of the week after 
Thanksgiving. Still, FedEx, UPS and the 
U.S. Postal Service held up reasonably well 
early during the holiday season, posting on-
time delivery rates of better than 90% 
through the first week of December, accord-
ing to data firm ShipMatrix.
Henry Maier, the head of FedEx Ground, 
said his division has delivered up to 30% of 
packages a day early and parcels have spent 
less time in transit - 2.4 days on average - 
than last year, despite delays in opening new 
facilities and the challenge of training thou-
sands of package handlers.
“It takes time for these people to be taught 
their job,” he said on a call with analysts. 
“We’ve got a sizeable portion of the handler 
workforce that isn’t as productive as they 
could be.”
Maier said many sorting facilities weren’t 
designed for social distancing, which led to 
higher costs and lower efficiency. The com-
pany was forced to rent many vehicles for 
longer periods because automaker shut-
downs meant a shortage of new vehicles, he 
added.
To ease pressure on its system, FedEx 
tried to convince Christmas shoppers to start 
before Thanksgiving weekend. 
“We really were hoping to change shop-
ping behavior and we really didn’t see that, 
to be completely honest,” said Brie Carere, 
the company’s chief marketing officer.
In recent years, shoppers have come to 
count on free shipping - at least from major 
retailers - and fast deliveries. By limiting 
shipments that they pick up - by day and 
even location - FedEx and UPS hope to keep 
their networks from bogging down, but it 
could lead to longer delivery schedules and 
upset consumers.
Cowen analyst Helane Becker said FedEx 
will become more selective with delivery 
orders to maintain their operation. 
“The surge in volume is positive for pric-
ing and should result in a record year as long 
as the network can sustain a relatively con-
sistent operation throughout peak,” Becker 
told clients in a note last week.
UBS analyst Thomas Wadewitz said 
before Thursday’s report that higher labor 
costs “are a potential headwind” for FedEx. 
But, he said, the combination of strong vol-
ume growth and higher prices will help 
boost profit margins through the rest of the 
company’s fiscal year, which ends May 31.
Income
Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx said 
Thursday that adjusted to eliminate one-time 
gains and losses, income equaled $4.83 per 
share. That easily beat the average forecast 
of $3.90 per share among nine analysts sur-
veyed by Zacks Investment Research.
Revenue climbed to $20.56 billion, up from 
$17.32 billion a year earlier and topping the 
analysts’ prediction of $19.33 billion. The 
increase was most notable in the company’s 
ground-delivery business that handles parcels, 
which booked a 38% gain in revenue, helped 
by recent surcharges. Revenue from the air-
express segment grew 14% and operating 
income more than tripled.
FedEx had to spend more on labor - an 
increase of $1.2 billion, or 19%, on pay and 
benefits - and purchasing transportation to 
increase capacity, which rose more than 
$600 million from a year earlier. 
FedEx shares have risen more than 90% 
since the start of the year, compared with a 
15% gain in the Standard & Poor’s 500 
index.
Alaska gov moots cash payouts, infra plan
JUNEAU, Alaska, Dec 20, (AP): Gov Mike 
Dunleavy proposed an “extraordinary 
response” to revive Alaska’s pandemic-stunt-
ed economy Friday, including about $5,000 in 
direct payments to residents from the state’s 
oil-wealth fund and an infrastructure plan he 
said is intended to create jobs.
“Alaskans are suffering now. Businesses 
are suffering now. This is the time for us to 
act. This is the time for us to act quickly,” he 
said in rolling out his budget plan for next 
year.
The state’s economy has been battered by 
the COVID-19 pandemic, with tourism and 
hospitality industries among those hit hard. 
North Slope oil prices have been below $50 a 
barrel for much of the year.
Dunleavy’s proposal calls for taking $6.3 
billion from the earnings of the nest-egg 
Alaska Permanent Fund this year and next, 
with roughly half that amount going to checks 
for residents and half toward government 
expenses.
The administration said residents who 
received permanent fund dividends this year 
would be eligible for checks of about $1,900 
under the plan, payments Dunleavy said he 
would like to see fast-tracked. He also pro-
posed dividends in line with a decades-old 
formula that hasn’t been followed in recent 
years, expected to be around $3,000, for later 
in 2021.
His plan would exceed a statutory with-
drawal limit of about $3.1 billion for the fiscalyear starting July 1, and Dunleavy said the 
amount he proposes taking from earnings 
should be viewed as an anomaly. Since 2018, 
lawmakers have sought to limit how much 
can be withdrawn from earnings for dividends 
and government expenses amid ongoing bud-
get deficits, and there have been heated, 
unsettled debates about the future of the divi-
dend program as part of that.
Dunleavy’s office said the governor, who 
has long supported a dividend in line with the 
formula last used in 2015, would propose a 
new formula going forward that calls for at 
least half of any withdrawals to go to divi-
dends. He would seek an advisory vote on the 
plan, should it advance, from the public, his 
office said, and pursue a constitutional amend-
ment dealing with the dividend.
Lawmakers Friday said they were digging 
into details of Dunleavy’s budget plan, includ-
ing proposed cuts. Neither the House nor the 
Senate has organized ahead of the next legis-
lative session, which begins in January.
The current House Speaker, independent 
Bryce Edgmon from Dillingham, cited con-
cerns about the proposed level of draws from 
permanent fund earnings and what he said 
was the lack of a plan “for how we will make 
ends meet beyond next year.”
He described as promising a proposed 
infrastructure project bond package, which 
Dunleavy said would help employ Alaskans.
Sen Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage 
Democrat, said he would like to see if the 
incoming Biden administration pushes an 
infrastructure plan at the federal level that 
would help Alaska.
Wielechowski also said he would like to 
see changes to Alaska’s oil-tax structure. A 
citizen-led initiative to change oil taxes failed 
last month.
Dunleavy said revenue discussions “need to 
take place within the Legislature itself,” and 
his office said he would again pursue a consti-
tutional amendment requiring a vote of the 
people to institute new taxes.
The governor said his budget plan adheres 
to an agreement reached with University of 
Alaska system leaders in 2019 that called for 
$70 million in operating cuts over three years.
The system’s interim president, Pat Pitney, 
said requests for capital funding for things 
like deferred maintenance and COVID-19 
relief weren’t included in Dunleavy’s pro-
posal. She called such funding essential.
BUSINESS
ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
10
another dog company heads to Wall St: Bark to go public
Bark, which ships pet toys and treats 
every month, is heading to Wall Street, 
taking advantage of the pandemic-relat-
ed boom in online pet spending. 
Founded in 2012, Bark ships dog 
treats, chews and squeaky toys, through 
its service called BarkBox. It also has 
other brands, including Bark Eats, which 
creates personalized meal plans for 
pups. 
It’s a good time to sell kibble online. 
More people are avoiding stores and 
shopping for their pets online during the 
pandemic. Pet supplies are one of the 
fastest growing categories online, with 
sales up 64% in the first eight months of 
this year, according to retail consulting 
firm 1010data. 
Pet store chain Petco, which has re-
vamped its website, also plans to go 
public. And shares of online pet store 
Chewy, which went public last year, 
have more than tripled so far this year. 
Bark is heading to the stock mar-
ket through a $1.6 billion deal in which 
Northern Star Acquisition Corp buys the 
company and takes it public. Northern 
Star is a special purpose acquisition 
company, or SPAC, which is created just 
for this reason: to buy another company 
and take it public. Helicopter taxi service 
Blade is going public that way, too. 
Bark will trade on the New York Stock 
Exchange under the new ticker symbol 
“BARK.” 
The company expects to raise $454 
million which it plans to use to expand 
in more countries outside the US and to 
create more products. (AP)
In this file photo provided 
by the New York Stock 
Exchange, a board above 
a trading post on the floor, 
shows the symbol for North-
ern Star Acquisition Corp. 
(AP)
Inclusion on Dec 21 expected to trigger spike in volatility
Wall St braces for trading surge as Tesla enters S&P 500
LOS ANGELES, Dec 20, (AP): 
Adding a company to the bench-
mark S&P 500 stock index is typi-
cally a mundane exercise - except 
when it comes to a company like 
Tesla. 
The market value of the electric 
car maker, led by Elon Musk, has 
soared to around $600 billion, mak-
ing it the largest company ever to 
be added to the S&P 500. It’s in-
clusion on Dec. 21 is expected to 
trigger a torrent of trading by in-
stitutional investors and a spike in 
volatility.
Index funds designed to mirror 
the holdings of the S&P 500, which 
is at the heart of many 401(k) ac-
counts, are expected to snap up 
more than $80 billion worth of Tes-
la’s shares before the start of trad-
ing Monday as funds move to rebal-
ance their holdings for the quarter.
That’s projected to push the 
amount spent on trading to rebal-
ance portfolios in the fourth quar-
ter to a record high, said Howard 
Silverblatt, senior index analyst at 
S&P Dow Jones Indices.
“Historically, the $21 billion 
trading for fourth-quarter rebalanc-
ing is minor league, but when you 
add in heavy-hitter Tesla, $82 bil-
lion, you end up doubling the his-
torical high, surpassing the $100 
billion mark,” he said.
Because the S&P 500 is weight-
ed by market capitalization, Tesla 
will be one of the 10 most valuable 
companies in the index, along with 
Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Face-
book and Google parent Alphabet. 
That increases the likelihood that 
a few big stocks will heavily in-
fl uence the index’s performance, 
something that’s been happening in 
recent years. 
Tesla’s sky high valuation means 
a move in its stock price will have 
more of an impact on the S&P 500 
than most companies. The median 
weighting of the index is 0.08%, 
while Tesla’s weighting is pro-
jected to be around 1.5% to 1.6%. 
By comparison, General Motors’ is 
0.17%, Ford’s is 0.12%. Apple has 
the largest weighting at 6.5%.
“So, the weighting itself is not 
as large as the Big Tech fi rms that 
tend to move the market,” said Pau-
line Bell, equity research analyst 
at CFRA Research. “On the other 
hand, it’s not a small fi sh. It’s still a 
large chunk of the S&P 500 index.”
Tesla became eligible to be in-
cluded in the S&P 500 after posting 
its fourth consecutive profi t in the 
second quarter of this year, though 
S&P Dow Jones Indices didn’t an-
nounce Tesla would join the index 
until last month.
The company’s shares have 
soared 650% this year as investors 
cheered the fact that the automaker 
is fi nally making money on a con-
sistent basis after years of losses 
and continues to hit milestones for 
deliveries of its vehicles. 
“If you look at today versus a 
couple of years ago, it’s a com-
pany that has demonstrated stay-
ing power and some competitive 
advantages,” said Tom Martin, se-
nior portfolio manager with Globalt 
Investments. “What it’s worth is a 
different question.”
The stunning run-up in Tesla 
shares has sometimes been attrib-
uted less to its ability to deliver 
profi ts than to enthusiasm by in-
vestors, particularly newcomers 
day-trading on platforms like Rob-
inhood, where Tesla is among the 
100 most-held stocks by its users. 
That’s led to periods of volatile 
trading for the stock, which started 
2020 at $88.60 per share and hit an 
all-time high of $649.88 just last 
week. 
Some investors, however, are 
worried that adding Tesla to the 
S&P 500 will prompt mutual funds 
that use the index as a benchmark 
to load up on the shares, potentially 
exposing their portfolios to unwant-
ed volatility. 
JPMorgan analysts fl agged such 
concerns from long-term inves-
tors in a research note last week in 
which they advised against weigh-
ing Tesla shares in their portfolios 
in equal proportion to the S&P 500, 
saying Tesla shares are “in our view 
and by virtually every conventional 
metric not only overvalued, but dra-
matically so.”Despite such warnings, Tesla 
will soon be a fi xture in S&P 500 
index funds operated by big fund 
managers. About 17% of the S&P 
500’s value is held by such funds.
Those funds are expected to un-
load billions in other stocks this 
week in order to raise the funds 
they need to buy enough Tesla 
shares. Managers of funds whose 
performance is benchmarked to the 
S&P 500, meaning their goal is to 
do as good or better than the index, 
will also have to determine whether 
to pick up Tesla shares.
“Now that it’s part of the S&P 
500, it will push more institutional 
investors to join the crowd,” Bell 
said.
In this file photo, Tesla and SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk 
speaks at the SATELLITE Conference and Exhibition in Washington. Wall 
Street is gearing up for an avalanche of trading and volatility ahead of Tes-
la’s entry into the S&P 500 index. (AP)
BoJ extends aid measure
for firms hit by pandemic
Bank keeps view on economy unchanged
TOKYO, Dec 20, (KUNA): 
Japan’s central bank said 
Friday it will extend its pro-
gram to support companies 
hit by the coronavirus pan-
demic by six months to the 
end of September 2021, amid 
resurgence of virus cases.
In a statement , the Bank of Japan 
(BoJ) said that its Governor Har-
uhiko Kuroda and his eight members 
board decided to maintain its current 
monetary easing measures, after two 
days of policy discussion. 
The BOJ will keep short-term in-
terest rates at minus 0.1 percent and 
guiding long-term rates around zero 
percent, according to the statement. 
Meanwhile, the BoJ will continue to 
buy Japanese government bonds from 
fi nancial institutions and exchange-
traded funds.
“The central bank will closely moni-
tor the impact of COVID-19 and will 
not hesitate to take additional easing 
measures if necessary,” it said. 
The policymakers also decided to 
conduct an assessment for further ef-
fective and sustainable monetary eas-
ing in March in order to achieve its 2 
percent infl ation target.
Meanwhile, the BoJ kept its view 
on the world’s third-largest economy 
unchanged from the October assess-
ment, saying, “Japan’s economy has 
picked up, although it has remained in 
a severe situation due to the impact of 
COVID-19 at home and abroad.” 
“Japan’s economy, with the impact of 
COVID-19 waning gradually, is likely to 
follow an improving trend, supported by 
accommodative fi nancial conditions and 
the government’s economic measures,” 
the central bank added.
Cars wait to be exported at Yokohama port, near Tokyo. Japan’s exports 
fell more than 4% from a year earlier in November, despite an uptick in 
trade with China, according to customs data. Exports of vehicles, semicon-
ductors and other manufactured items showed the biggest declines. (AP)
SCIENCE
ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
11
Alarm over new variant
Another US record;
shot shipments cut
NEW YORK, Dec 20, (AP): First, Theresa Pirozzi’s 85-year-
old dad got sick and was rushed to the hospital in an ambu-
lance. Days later, her mom was so weak she could barely 
walk. Now, instead of getting ready for Christmas, Pirozzi is 
anxiously awaiting updates from the hospital where both of 
her parents are in intensive care with the coronavirus.
“I’m not putting up decorations in here. It’s just not 
right, right now,” Pirozzi said from her parents’ home in 
Oak Park, California. “I’m physically ill from worry.” 
The couple is emblematic of the crisis deepening at 
an alarming rate in California, where hospitals are be-
ing stretched to their limits as the virus explodes across 
the state. Nearly 17,000 people were hospitalized with 
confi rmed or suspected COVID-19 
infections as of Friday and a state 
model that uses current data to fore-
cast future trends shows the number 
could reach an unfathomable 75,000 
by mid-January.
With California’s more than 48,000 
new cases leading the way, the Unit-
ed States as a whole added a record 
249,709 new cases of COVID-19 in 
one day, according to Johns Hop-
kins University. An additional 2,814 
people died nationwide, pushing the 
death toll to more than 313,000. 
Texas, Florida, New York and Tennessee all recorded 
more than 10,400 new cases each. Over the past two weeks, 
the seven-day rolling average for new cases in the US jumped 
to 219,324 daily from 183,787, an increase of almost 20%. 
Cases were on the rise before Thanksgiving, and holiday 
gatherings sent them even higher. Health offi cials now fear 
the increase will only be compounded through Christmas and 
New Year’s. In many places, health offi cials say, people tired 
of wearing face masks and staying away from others are sim-
ply disregarding suggested precautions.
Approved
While federal regulators have approved two vaccines 
to combat the illness and doses already have been given 
to thousands of people, mainly health care workers, wide-
spread vaccinations for the general public aren’t expected 
before spring.
Several states have said the federal government told them 
that next week’s shipment of the Pfi zer-BioNTech vaccine 
will be smaller than originally projected. The Army general 
in charge of getting COVID-19 vaccines out across the US 
apologized Saturday for “miscommunication” with states 
over the number of doses to be delivered in the early stages 
of distribution.
“I failed. I’m adjusting. I am fi xing and we will move 
forward from there,” Gen. Gustave Perna told reporters in 
a telephone briefi ng.
Perna’s remarks came a day after a second vaccine was 
added in the fi ght against COVID-19, which has killed more 
than 312,000 people in the US. Governors in more than a 
dozen states have said the federal government has told them 
that next week’s shipment of the Pfi zer-BioNTech vaccine 
will be less than originally projected.
Perna acknowledged the criticism and accepted blame.
“I want to take personal responsibility for the miscommu-
nication,” he said. “I know that’s not done much these days. 
”But I am responsible. ... This is a Herculean effort and we 
are not perfect.”
The general said he made mistakes by citing numbers of 
doses that he believed would be ready.
In California, hospitals across the state are buckling under 
a surge of patients and morgue space is running low. Hospi-
tals are running out of intensive care unit beds and patients 
are being cared for at several overfl ow locations. In some 
places, the sick are being triaged in tents and ambulances are 
backing up outside emergency rooms because there is no-
where to put patients. 
When Pirozzi’s father, Jerry, arrived at the Los Robles Re-
gional Medical Center in Thousands Oaks, it was so packed 
with patients that he had to spend two days in the emergency 
room before an intensive care bed opened up, Pirozzi said. 
She kept calling the hospital, but ER nurses told her they had 
no rooms, she said.
“I’m sure that was very diffi cult for him, being confused, 
not being able to breathe, being alone,” Pirozzi said. “They’re 
doing the best they can, but they are just completely stressed 
and overworked.”
Her mother, Shirley, was taken to the same hospital four 
days later and was moved into a separate room, she said. 
Pirozzi said her family hasn’t told Jerry that his wife of more 
than 57 years is also hospitalized; she fears that would only 
make him worse. 
“I want him to be a little stronger so it doesn’t roll him 
backwards,” she said. “Because I know all he cares about is 
his bride.”
Pirozzi said both of her parents have been having panic 
attacks. Since family members can’t visit, she has been de-
livering written notes in a plastic bag that she asks nurses to 
read to them. 
She pleaded with the public to take the virus seriously. 
“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, having them 
both go down within fi ve or seven days of each other,” she 
said. “Do whatever you can to protect yourself because you 
don’t want to have this happen to you.”
Also:
LONDON: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson held emer-
gency talks with his Cabineton Saturday as the govern-
ment’s scientifi c advisors said a new variant of the corona-
virus was accelerating the spread of infections.
England’s chief medical offi cer, Chris Whitty, said that 
based on preliminary modeling data and rapidly rising in-
cidence rates in the south of England, a government vi-
rus advisory group thinks the new strain can spread more 
quickly.
There is no current evidence to suggest the new strain 
is more deadly or that it affects vaccines and treatments, 
he added.
“We have alerted the World Health Organization and are 
continuing to analyze the available data to improve our un-
derstanding,” Whitty said in a statement.
Britain’s health secretary fi rst referred to the new virus var-
iant this week, saying it is believed linked to the rapid surge 
of COVID-19 cases in southern and southeastern England. 
Whitty said the country’s public health agency identifi ed it 
through genomic surveillance.
London now has the highest case rates in England. Most of 
southern England entered the highest level of coronavirus re-
strictions in the country’s three-tiered alert system, on Satur-
day. Under Tier 3 rules, people cannot socialize indoors, and 
restaurants and pubs only can offer takeaway service. Shops 
remain open, however.
The government planned to ease restrictions on socializing 
from Dec 23 to Dec 27 to allow people to travel and celebrate 
Christmas with family and friends, but the expected relaxa-
tion of rules has raised increasing concerns given that infec-
tions are already climbing in many places.
Johnson held an unscheduled meeting on Friday evening 
to discuss the latest evidence about the mutant strain with 
offi cials. He has refused to rule out the prospect of a third 
national lockdown for England.
Wales and Northern Ireland, which have their own de-
volved governments and independent rules for controlling 
the virus, have already announced fresh lockdowns once 
Christmas is over.
Coronavirus
In this undated photo provided by Theresa Pirozzi shows her parents, Jerry and Shirley Pirozzi, an 85-year-old couple from Southern California who have been 
together for 57 years, in Oak Park, Calif. They are both in the same hospital with COVID-19 and had to wait for a couple days to get a bed. Across California, nearly 
17,000 people were hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 infections, more than double the previous peak reached in July 2020. (AP)
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off 
from Kennedy Space Center in Flor-
ida, Dec 19. The rocket is carrying a 
payload for the National Reconnais-
sance Office. (AP)
Discovery
‘Human error caused spill’: The Jap-
anese operator of a bulk carrier that struck 
a coral reef and caused an extensive oil 
spill off the coast of Mauritius said Fri-
day that the accident occurred after the 
ship shifted its course two miles (3.2 
kilometers) closer to shore than planned 
so its crewmembers could get cellphone 
signals.
Mitsui O.S.K. Lines said its investiga-
tion showed the accident was caused by 
human error, including inadequate nau-
tical charts, navigation systems and risk 
awareness, and a lack of supervision and 
safety monitoring.
The company said the tanker’s nauti-
cal chart provided little information about 
depth and other necessary information. 
Crew members on duty also failed to con-
duct safety checks visually or by radar, it 
said.
The captain and crewmembers were 
also using their cellphones while on duty, 
the company said.
It said it will invest about 500 million 
yen ($4.8 million) to provide electronic 
nautical charts, training to strengthen 
safety culture and other systems to en-
hance safety.
The environmental disaster began July 
25 when the ship MV Wakashio strayed 
off course and struck a coral reef a mile 
(1.6 kilometers) offshore. After being 
pounded by heavy surf for nearly two 
weeks, the ship’s hull cracked and on Aug 
6 began leaking fuel into a lagoon, pollut-
ing a protected wetlands area and a bird 
and wildlife sanctuary.
The company apologized for the dam-
age and in September offered 1 billion 
yen ($9 million) to fund environmental 
projects and support the local fi shing 
community in Mauritius.
More than 1,000 tons of oil spilled into 
the coastal waters. About 3,000 tons that 
remained on the ship was pumped into 
barges before the Wakashio broke in two 
several days later.
Thousands of civilian volunteers 
worked for days to try to minimize dam-
age from the oil spill, while environmen-
tal workers ferried baby tortoises and rare 
plants to shore and plucked trapped sea-
birds out of the goo.
Mauritius depends heavily on tourism, 
and the spill has been a severe blow on 
top of the effects of the coronavirus pan-
demic, which has limited international 
travel. (AP)
❑ ❑ ❑
Jupiter, Saturn merging in sky: Ju-
piter and Saturn will merge in the night 
sky Monday, appearing closer to one an-
other than they have since Galileo’s time 
in the 17th century.
Astronomers say so-called conjunc-
tions between the two largest planets in 
our solar system aren’t particularly rare. 
Jupiter passes its neighbor Saturn in their 
respective laps around the sun every 20 
years.
But the one coming up is especially 
close: Jupiter and Saturn will be just 
one-tenth of a degree apart from our per-
spective or about one-fi fth the width of 
a full moon. They should be easily vis-
ible around the world a little after sunset, 
weather permitting.
Toss in the winter solstice in the North-
ern Hemisphere, the longest night of the 
year - and the summer solstice in the South-
ern Hemisphere - and this just-in-time-for-
Christmas spectacle promises to be one of 
the greatest of Great Conjunctions.
“What is most rare is a close conjunc-
tion that occurs in our nighttime sky,” said 
Vanderbilt University’s David Wein-
traub, an astronomy professor. “I think 
it’s fair to say that such an event typically 
may occur just once in any one person’s 
lifetime, and I think ‘once in my lifetime’ 
is a pretty good test of whether something 
merits being labeled as rare or special.”
It will be the closest Jupiter-Saturn pair-
ing since July 1623, when the two planets 
appeared a little nearer. This conjunction 
was almost impossible to see, however, 
because of its closeness to the sun.
Considerably closer and in plain view 
was the March 1226 conjunction of the 
two planets - when Genghis Khan was 
conquering Asia. Monday’s conjunction 
will be the closest pairing that is visible 
since way back then.
“I love watching them come closer and 
closer to each other and the fact that I can 
see it with my naked eyes from my back 
porch!” Virginia Tech astronomer Na-
hum Arav said in an email. (AP)
In this Dec 14, file photo, Sandra Lindsay, (left), a nurse at Long Island Jewish 
Medical Center, is inoculated with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine by Dr 
Michelle Chester, in the Queens borough of New York. From speculation that 
the coronavirus was created in a lab to a number of hoax cures, an overwhelm-
ing amount of false information about COVID-19 has followed the virus as it 
circled the globe over the past year. (AP) 
Misinformation around vaccine drives some hesitancy
Debunked COVID myths survive online
CHICAGO, Dec 20, (AP): From 
speculation that the coronavirus was 
created in a lab to hoax cures, an over-
whelming amount of false information 
clung to COVID-19 as it circled the 
globe in 2020.
Public health offi cials, fact checkers 
and doctors tried to quash hundreds of 
rumors in myriad ways. But misinforma-
tion around the pandemic has endured as 
vexingly as the virus itself. And with the 
US, UK and Canada rolling out vaccina-
tions this month, many falsehoods are 
seeing a resurgence online.
A look at fi ve stubborn myths 
around COVID-19 that were shared 
this year and continue to travel:
Myth: Masks Don’t Offer Protec-
tion From The Virus
In fact, they do.
However, mixed messaging early on 
caused some confusion. US offi cials in-
itiallytold Americans they did not need 
to wear or buy masks, at a time when 
there was a shortage of N95 masks for 
health workers. They later reversed 
course, urging the public to wear cloth 
masks and face coverings outside.
The early messaging gave people 
“a little more room to take up these 
narratives” against wearing masks, 
explained Stephanie Edgerly, a com-
munications professor at Northwestern 
University.
Some social media users, for exam-
ple, are still circulating a video from 
March of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US 
government’s top infectious disease 
expert, saying people “should not be 
walking around with masks,” although 
he has since urged people to cover their 
faces in public. Versions of that clip 
have been watched millions of times 
on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
Online claims that masks are not an 
effective form of protection spiked again 
in October after US President Donald 
Trump and two US senators contracted 
COVID-19 during a Rose Garden cer-
emony, according to media intelligence 
fi rm Zignal Labs. Social media users 
claimed that the coverings must not 
be effective because the senators wore 
masks at some points during the event.
But masks do prevent virus parti-
cles from spreading. Last month, the 
US Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention, which continues to advise 
Americans to wear masks, cited re-
search that suggested masks can pro-
tect the wearer as well as other people.
Myth: The Virus Was Man-Made
It was not.
Social media users and fringe web-
sites weaved together a conspiracy 
theory that the virus was leaked - ei-
ther accidentally or intentionally - 
from a lab in Wuhan, China, before the 
World Health Organization declared 
COVID-19 a pandemic in March. The 
falsehood was espoused by elected of-
fi cials, including Trump.
The origins of the virus are far less 
scandalous: It likely originated in na-
ture. Bats are thought to be the origi-
nal or intermediary hosts for several 
viruses that have triggered recent epi-
demics, including COVID-19. US in-
telligence agencies also concluded the 
virus is not man-made.
Yet the conspiracy theory continues 
to travel online, and made a resurgence 
in September when a Chinese virolo-
gist repeated the claim on Fox News.
Myth: Covid-19 Is Similar To The 
Flu
In fact, COVID-19 has proved to be 
far deadlier.
Early similarities between the symp-
toms of COVID-19 and infl uenza led 
many to speculate that there was not 
much difference between the two ill-
nesses. Social media posts and videos 
viewed thousands of times online also 
claim that COVID-19 is no deadlier 
than the fl u. Trump tweeted a faulty 
comparison between the fl u and COV-
ID-19 in March and October, as states 
implemented stay-at-home orders.
COVID-19 has been blamed for 
more than 300,000 American deaths 
this year, and has killed roughly 1.5 
million worldwide. By comparison, 
the CDC estimates there are 12,000 to 
61,000 fl u-related deaths annually.
COVID-19 symptoms can be far 
more serious and persist for months. 
Health experts have also uncovered 
a range of bizarre coronavirus symp-
toms, from brain fog to swollen toes.
Myth: Offi cials Are Exaggerating 
Covid-19’s Toll
They are not.
Social media users began pho-
tographing empty hospital waiting 
rooms earlier this year, claiming few 
people were sick with COVID-19. The 
photos and videos gained traction with 
the #FilmYourHospital hashtag, part 
of a right-wing conspiracy theory that 
public health offi cials and politicians 
were exaggerating COVID-19’s dead-
ly toll. But fewer people are in waiting 
areas because hospitals started taking 
appointments virtually, canceling elec-
tive procedures and prohibiting visi-
tors during the pandemic.
This month, a Nevada doctor’s selfi e 
at an empty makeshift care site set up 
to handle additional coronavirus pa-
tients was shared online as evidence 
that hospitals are not full. However, 
the photo was taken on Nov. 12, before 
the site opened. It has since served at 
least 200 patients.
Myth: The Virus Is A Ploy To 
Force Global Vaccinations
That’s not true.
Anti-vaccine supporters have been 
pushing this conspiracy theory since 
January, when some falsely claimed 
online that the virus had been patent-
ed by pharmaceutical companies as a 
scheme to cash in on the illness. Some 
targeted billionaire and vaccine advo-
cate Bill Gates, claiming he was part 
of a global plan around COVID-19 to 
microchip billions of people through 
mass vaccinations. Gates has not 
threatened to microchip anyone. In-
stead, he suggested creating a database 
of people who have been inoculated 
against the virus.
Skepticism also has grown around 
the speed of vaccine development. A 
video viewed nearly 100,000 times 
on social media, for example, falsely 
claimed pharmaceutical companies 
skipped animal trials for the vaccines. 
In fact, the vaccines were tested on 
mice and macaques.
The UK, Canada and the US Food 
and Drug Administration have au-
thorized Pfi zer’s coronavirus vaccine. 
The FDA will review Moderna’s shot 
Thursday.
Still, only about half of Americans 
say they are willing to get the vaccine, 
according to a survey this month by 
The Associated Press-NORC Center 
for Public Affairs Research.
Ongoing misinformation around the 
vaccine might drive some of that hesi-
tancy.
Coronavirus
Weintraub Arav
Johnson
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This image released by Hershey Felder Presents shows Hershey Felder in character as 19th century Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in Florence, Italy. Felder’s show of Tchaikovsky on 
Sunday benefi ts over 20 national and international theaters, arts organizations and publications. (AP)
Pianist creates human portrait of great composers
Live from Italy, Hershey Felder tells stories, helps others
By Mark Kennedy
Just the other day, pianist and actor Hershey Felder found himself in the apartment in Italy once owned by the 19th century Russian 
composer Tchaikovsky. It must have been a treat for anyone watching 
since Felder at the time was dressed as Tchaikovsky.
He walked in the old master’s rooms, took in the views and stood in 
Tchaikovsky’s terrace. He had even brought a letter that the composer 
had written on that very terrace. Felder was still buzzing.
“It was time travel. I was reading exactly what he wrote on exactly 
that spot 142 years later. ”I’m standing where he stood reading his let-
ter, doing exactly what he did at exactly the space he did it.”
That experience will only deepen Felder’s upcoming one-man show 
of Tchaikovsky, the latest installment in his ambitious effort to lives-
tream his works to benefi t regional theaters and out-of-work perform-
ers. He has given away just under $1.5 million so far.
“I am just heartbroken for the actors and the artists who just need 
to work,” Felder said, his hair spray-painted gray to play a late-in-life 
Tchaikovsky. “It just felt like that’s what had to be done.”
Proceeds from Sunday’s stream will benefi t over 20 national and 
international theaters, arts organizations and publications. Plus, Felder 
has partnered with The Actors Fund to provide it emergency fi nancial 
assistance. Tickets are $55 per household.
Since the global pandemic shut down theaters, Felder has been 
hunkered down in Florence, remounting his shows on great compos-
ers — George Gershwin, Ludwig van Beethoven and Irving Berlin, 
among them — and pivoting them for streams, keeping his crew of 10 
employed. 
Skills
He combines his own classically trained musical skills on piano 
with his empathetic acting approach, blending details of the great com-
poser’s personal life with their professional legacy and his own life to 
create a very human portrait.
“Humanizing them is not making them small. Humanizing them is 
understanding that their genius came out of very human things that we 
all share,” he said.
He’s used the city of Florence as a backdrop, fi lming some scenes 
connected to the artist portrayed — like the visit toTchaikovsky’s old 
home — and knitting them into the livestream. Due to time differences, 
he’s often performing at 2 a.m. He once did a talk-back at 5 a.m.
His portrait of Tchaikovsky blends sections of “The Nutcracker” — 
which Felder drily notes was despised by the public and the press on 
its debut — with details like Tchaikovsky mother’s death of cholera 
when he was 14 and that he gave the fi rst ever concert at Carnegie Hall.
But Tchaikovsky was, by all accounts, gay and forced to remain 
closeted on penalty of being sent to Siberia. Felder’s handle on the 
composer is that so much beautiful music came from a tortured, hiding 
soul.
“The point is not to out him in his story. It’s to explore what it means 
to suffer if the only place you can put your real feelings are into your 
art because you cannot speak them,” Felder said.
“The point of the story is to share that you can be a very great artist, 
a famous person, a great personality, and still be afraid of the one thing 
that anybody would fi nd out about you.”
Felder’s recent transition from stage to screen has been challenging 
but has its own rewards. On the negative side, there’s built-in anxiety 
when he can’t see or sense the audience, just a camera.
“You’re stuck in a situation where you’re performing and you have 
no idea what’s reaching the other end,” he said. “You just don’t know 
if the technology is working.”
On the other hand, Felder can now do all sorts of small gestures and 
expressions — not to mention letting audiences see his fi ngers play — 
that couldn’t be seen from a traditional stage show: “What it does is it 
makes for me a much more direct communication.”
One fan is Robert Kelley, who stepped down last year as artistic 
director from TheatreWorks Silicon Valley after 50 years at the helm, 
which included winning last year’s Tony Award for regional theater. 
He calls Felder “one of a kind.” (AP)
MILAN: Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi 
and Etro are planning to stage 
live runway shows previewing 
menswear collections next month 
during a mostly digital Milan 
Fashion Week.
Ermenegildo Zegna is set to 
open the fi ve days of previews 
scheduled for Jan. 15-19. Many 
top brands already decided to 
show combined menswear and 
womenswear collections during 
the February shows normally 
dedicated to womenswear.
In all, 37 brands will participate 
in January, just fi ve with live 
shows. K-way and Solid Homme 
will make their Milan runway 
debuts, rounding out the live 
participants.
Fashion councils have been 
struggling during the coronavirus 
pandemic to maintain runway 
shows, which are central to the 
fashion system both for creating 
excitement around the collections 
and giving buyers the chance to 
see the latest looks up close.
The men’s previews will be the 
third mixed digital-physical fash-
ion week organized by the Italian 
National Fashion Chamber.
“The entire fashion supply 
chain is suffering the consequenc-
es of the pandemic, not only at an 
Italian level, but also at a global 
level,” Milan’s top offi cial for 
jobs policy, Cristina Tajani, said 
Thursday. “But we are convinced 
that (the fashion) sector is one 
of the fundamental pillars on 
which to construct the country’s 
relaunch.’’ (AP)
❑ ❑ ❑
NEW YORK: Interscope Geffen 
A&M — the home to Billie Eil-
ish, Kendrick Lamar and Lady 
Gaga — has been named the 
No. 1 record label of the year by 
Billboard.
Billboard has announced that 
the label, which is also known as 
IGA, tops its year-end chart for the 
fi rst time since 2013. 
Combining the legacies of three 
of the most infl uential record 
labels in modern music history, 
Interscope Geffen A&M embarked 
on a new tradition of musical 
achievement with its unifi cation 
on Jan 1, 1999. Interscope Geffen 
A&M is a major force in global 
music, developing chart-topping 
artists across a wide range of 
musical genres including rock, rap, 
pop and alternative.
The label, a division of Uni-
versal Music Group, is also home 
to DaBaby, Selena Gomez, Em-
inem, Summer Walker, Maroon 
5, BLACKPINK and late rapper 
Juice WLRD.
Multi-platinum, chart-topping 
hit songs released by IGA this year 
include DaBaby’s “Rockstar,” Eil-
ish’s “Everything I Wanted,” Ma-
roon 5’s “Memories” and Gaga’s 
“Rain on Me.” The label also had 
major success with albums includ-
ing DaBaby’s “Blame It on Baby,” 
Juice WRLD’s “Legends Never 
Die,” Gomez’s “Rare,” Gaga’s 
“Chromatica,” Walker’s “Over It” 
and Machine Gun Kelly’s “Tickets 
to My Downfall.”
Outside of being the year’s 
No. 1 overall label — a title that 
went to UMG’s Republic Records 
last year — IGA also rules as 
Billboard’s top Hot 100 label with 
118 songs hitting the chart in the 
tracking period of Nov 23, 2019 
through Nov 14, 2020. IGA is also 
the top Billboard 200 label with 68 
albums released during the track-
ing period, 25 of which hit the Top 
10. This year marks the fi rst time 
a label group has swept the three 
Billboard lists since 2007.
Last year’s top Hot 100 label 
was Republic Records, home to 
Ariana Grande, the Weeknd 
and Taylor Swift. Warner Music 
Group’s Atlantic Records was 
2019’s top Billboard 200 label. 
Acts signed to Atlantic include 
Bruno Mars, Lizzo, Cardi B and 
Ed Sheeran. (Agencies)
Film
Variety
White’s docu will enrage and enlighten
A shocking true story in ‘Assassins’
By Lindsey Bahr
The assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s estranged half-brother Kim Jong Nam 
at Kuala Lumpur’s airport in February of 2017, I’m 
embarrassed to say, was a blip on my radar. There 
was a vague recollection of two young women who 
were caught on CCTV smearing the deadly VX 
nerve agent on his face and running away. Kim Jong 
Nam died within the hour. 
It seemed right out of a spy movie and apparently 
one I wrongly assumed I already knew the end to. 
And although the event and aftermath were widely, 
exhaustively covered, I don’t think I’m the only one 
who lost the thread early. 
This not knowing is part of what makes Ryan 
White’s extraordinary documentary “Assassins,” 
about the trial of the two young women, so compul-
sively compelling. I imagine even those who kept up 
with this strange saga will fi nd their own jaws on the 
fl oor more than a few times as well. 
The fi lm plays out chronologically, fi rst letting us 
discover the women through the CCTV footage ap-
pearing to ambush Kim Jong Nam, rub something 
on his face and then run away to the bathroom to 
presumably wash their hands of the poison. One is 
wearing a long sleeve shirt with the letters LOL. A 
local journalist marvels at how suspect it looks as 
both hold their hands away from themselves on their 
way to a sink. 
The actions of 29-year-old Doan Thi Huong of 
Vietnam and 25-year-old Siti Aisyah of Indonesia 
killed Kim Jong Nam. But the central question of the 
fi lm, and the trial, is whether these women were in 
fact trained killers, unwitting pawns, or somewhere 
in between. The stakes could not be higher: If found 
guilty in Malaysia they would be killed. 
The seed of doubt about the women starts to 
evaporate early when you begin to learn about their 
lives and understand why they say they thought 
they were merely participating in a hidden camera 
prank show. It is a revealing and heart-wrenching 
portrait of what life is like for young women in Vi-
etnam and Indonesia where exploitation is rampant 
and options are few. Huong wanted to be an actress. 
Aisyah wanted to send money home to her impov-
erished family. When they’re approached, separate-
ly, about participating in a YouTube prank show 
for a regular paycheck, you understand why they 
don’t seem to ask many questions of their mysteri-
ous bosses.
White, who was also behind the Netfl ix series 
“The Keepers,” about the unsolved murder of a nun, 
and “Ask Dr. Ruth,” gets extraordinary access to the 
defense lawyers in the case who help walk us through 
the appeals process and the trial. A Washington Post 
journalist is also on hand to help explainthe dynam-
ics of the North Korean dynasty. And much time is 
devoted to poring over the CCTV footage from all 
angles. You might fi nd yourself instinctively saying 
“enhance, enhance” to no one in particular.
Through no fault of the fi lmmakers, the North Ko-
rean element remains, largely, a mystery. The four 
identifi ed parties quickly left Malaysia and were not 
even specifi cally named in the trial. The suggestion 
is that the two women were being used as scapegoats. 
Rights
The tricky geopolitical elements here have made 
the fi lm’s distribution a bit of a headache. Since it 
premiered at Sundance last year, domestic rights 
have bounced from company to company in the ef-
fort to get it to audiences. White has said that some 
have been nervous to take on the fi lm because of the 
Sony hack.
It’s all the more reason to seek out “Assassins,” 
which through Greenwich Entertainment is currently 
in select theaters, including virtual cinemas, and will 
be available for rental on demand in January. It will 
shock, enrage and enlighten. 
“Assassins,” a Greenwich Entertainment release, 
has not been rated by the Motion Picture Association 
of America. Running time: 104 minutes. Three and a 
half stars out of four. 
Also:
PARIS: Thousands of people working in the French 
theater and cinema industries demonstrated in Paris 
last Tuesday against the prolonged closure of enter-
tainment facilities amid the coronavirus pandemic.
France last Tuesday lifted a partial lockdown im-
posed on Oct. 30, but will still maintain strict meas-
ures at least until Jan. 7, including a curfew from 8 
p.m. to 6 a.m., as numbers of infections remain high.
Theatres, cinemas and other performance halls, 
together with bars and restaurants, will remain shut 
over the holidays.
Workers in the cultural sector gathered at Place de 
La Bastille, in front of the modern opera house that 
has been closed for weeks.
Among them, Veronique Bellin, deputy director 
of the new theatre of Montreuil in the eastern sub-
urbs of Paris, said health measures had been in place 
before the lockdown to protect spectators.
“Today we see that the government accepts that 
churches reopen, and these are the exact same condi-
tions, but people can’t go to the theater or cinema. 
We don’t understand,” she said.
The government announced last week a 35-mil-
lion euro ($42 million) additional support package 
for the cultural sector. Yet protesters expressed fears 
that many jobs won’t survive the crisis.
Stage set designer Thibault Sinay said: “We hear 
about big money being announced but, for theatre 
productions and creations, we don’t see any money 
coming. It’s really hard for us.”
It is the second time French theatres and cinemas 
have been closed down to slow the spread of Cov-
id-19. They were shut from March to June, during 
the fi rst lockdown. (AP)
Lady Gaga Eminem
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NEWS/FEATURES
ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
13
Media
An emotional ‘au revoir’ from France’s most famous presenter
NBC’s Holt adds empathetic commentaries to news anchor role
NEW YORK, Dec 20, (AP): During 
this brutal news year, Lester Holt has 
concluded that telling stories isn’t 
enough.
The “NBC Nightly News” anchor 
frequently ends his broadcasts now 
with commentaries, an unusual depar-
ture for network evening newscasts 
that have more than a half century’s 
track record of playing it straight.
Holt’s essays, many of them pleas 
for unity in troubled times, can seem 
mild to viewers used to the rhetorical 
warfare of cable news. He says he’s 
fi lling a need for voices of empathy 
in public life.
 “The days of dispassionate jour-
nalism are long gone,” he said. “We 
have to acknowledge our audience 
and validate what we’re all seeing.”
On the day of the fi rst US COV-
ID-19 vaccinations this week, Holt 
paid tribute to those who had died of 
the disease, saying that if he were to 
begin reading names of the 300,000-
plus victims nonstop, it would take 
him 10 days.
On other occasions, he’s said an-
ger and obstinance in the wake of 
COVID-19 is not serving the coun-
try well. Saying “I told you so” af-
ter President Donald Trump tested 
positive “only serves to take us back 
down the political rabbit hole that 
has cost us time and far too many 
lives,” he said in October.
Holt has repeatedly called for peace 
between political foes. After the elec-
tion was called for President-elect Joe 
Biden, he said “both sides deserve a 
collective primal scream over what 
we’ve been through. But tomorrow, 
maybe we can leave it on the fi eld.”
In the midst of the virus and racial 
unrest this spring, Holt recalled how 
the United States pulled through the 
tempestuous political year of 1968.
“The sun eventually rose again, as 
it always does,” he said.
Holt traces his commentaries back 
to the August 2019 shooting that killed 
23 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, 
when he began “Nightly News” by 
saying, “What on Earth is going on?”
“That was the moment that I real-
ized that maybe there was a lane that 
I could occupy from time to time to 
kind of mirror and refl ect what peo-
ple are feeling,” he said.
Comfort
He doesn’t want the audience to 
feel that those who deliver the news 
are above it all, or numb to every-
thing going on.
There’s also a sense of increased 
comfort in his job. Holt, 61, has been 
nightly news anchor since 2015. 
The NBC broadcast usually reaches 
8 million viewers a night, consist-
ently second in the ratings to ABC’s 
“World News Tonight,” although a 
2018 Hollywood Reporter/Morn-
ing Consult poll found Holt beating 
Muir as the nation’s most trusted TV 
news personality.
Given that he’s trying to reach the 
broadest possible audience, Holt’s 
commentaries are purposely non-
controversial.
“In the current climate, there 
seems to be no place to position one-
self that will avoid alienating some-
one or another,” said news consult-
ant Andrew Tyndall. “Holt at least 
brings consistency to his newscast 
on those days when he does end with 
a commentary. He opens with grisly 
news about a lethal pandemic and 
does not try to contradict that.”
Don’t expect anything like the 
most famous case of an evening 
news anchor expressing an opinion, 
when CBS’ Walter Cronkite in 1968 
called for a negotiated end to the Vi-
etnam War.
“When I started doing them I 
wondered, ‘have I crossed a line? 
Is the audience going to reject it?’” 
Holt said. “I haven’t felt that. I try to 
honor my role and not overstep my 
bounds as a journalist.”
Norah O’Donnell of the “CBS Even-
ing News” seemed to echo Holt this 
week with a commentary calling on 
Americans not to let their guard down 
with the arrival of a coronavirus vaccine.
“We are all in this together,” 
O’Donnell said.
If anything, Holt is careful to the 
point of sometimes stating the obvi-
ous. On the day before the election, 
he told viewers that “democracy is 
messy, but we’ve got to let it work 
- if not for ourselves, then for our 
children, who you know are watch-
ing us.”
“I try to avoid the obvious third 
rails,” Holt told The Associated 
Press. “Nothing will drown out a 
message more quickly than if people 
try to pick it apart for some kind of 
internal motivations and that’s not 
what I want to do.”
“Is there a little ‘Kumbaya’ in 
there?” Holt said. “Maybe there is. But 
I think sometimes we even need that.”
Also:
LE PECQ, France: Au revoir, Jean-
Pierre. And merci.
After nigh on 33 years of telling 
the stories of deepest France, mak-
ing small-screen stars of its ordinary 
folk, the country’s most famous and 
likely most adored news presenter 
became the story himself Friday as 
he anchored his 1 p.m. bulletin for 
the last time on channel TF1.
Jean-Pierre Pernaut came 
equipped with a handkerchief sent 
by one of his many fans - and em-
broidered JPP - for what proved to 
be an emotional farewell with the 
country that got to know itself better 
thanks to his unquenchable appetite 
forunearthing and showcasing its 
many delights.
As French as calf’s head, one of 
his favorite dishes, Pernaut became 
a monument of the country’s visual 
landscape via his lunchtime broad-
casts that often raced through bad 
news to focus lovingly on the sights, 
sounds, tastes, smells, traditions and 
culture of France, for which he was a 
fervent ambassador. He championed 
the unsung, guided by the philoso-
phy that his duties as a news anchor 
included giving voice to people out-
side Paris, showcasing their regions, 
talents and concerns.
On Friday, the last of the count-
less hundreds of thousands of words 
he said to his audience on TF1 since 
his fi rst lunchtime broadcast on Feb. 
22, 1988, were: “I love you and I will 
never forget you.”
True to form, his last news bulle-
tin - like so many others - featured 
earthy, homely subjects. Friday’s 
offerings included a segment on 
French consumers who are buying 
smaller birds than normal to roast at 
Christmas, because the pandemic is 
keeping down numbers at feasts.
“Stuffed pigeons, if I can say so, 
are really taking off,” said a butcher 
quoted in the report.
And that was Pernaut’s daily bul-
letin in a nutshell: light, informa-
tive, cheeky, well produced and, 
frequently, an appetite-stimulating 
reminder that it was time for the 
“pause dejeuner” - the sacrosanct 
French lunch. Segments on France’s 
rich abundance of culinary delights 
were a staple of his broadcasts.
One measure of Pernaut’s stature 
in France was that his last bulletin 
competed for news space with Presi-
dent Emmanuel Macron’s positive 
test for COVID-19.
The newspaper Le Parisien on Fri-
day put an interview with Pernaut on 
pages 2 and 3, relegating Macron’s 
diagnosis to pages 4 and 5.
The 70-year-old Pernaut told the 
newspaper that he and his wife, Nath-
alie, decided during France’s fi rst vi-
rus lockdown in the spring that this 
would be his last year presenting what 
has been “my baby for 33 years.” 
His replacement is Marie-Sophie 
Lacarrau, who has big shoes to fi ll.
“She is sparkling and we share the 
same thinking about defending our 
regions,” Pernaut told Le Parisien. 
“We already know that she has more 
hair than me!”
NBC’s Lester Holt appears on the set in New York on Aug 7, 2018. The ‘NBC Nightly News’ anchor occasionally 
ends his broadcasts now with commentaries, an unusual departure for network evening newscasts that have a 
lengthy track record of playing it straight. (AP)
SPORTS
ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020
14
Buffalo Bills running back Devin Singletary runs with the ball as Denver Broncos defensive end Shelby Harris de-
fends during the second half of an NFL football game, Dec 19, in Denver. (AP)
New Zealand take unassailable lead in series
NZ beat Pakistan by 9 wickets
HAMILTON, New Zealand, Dec 20, 
(AP): Opener Tim Seifert carried his 
bat for 84 in an unbroken 129-run part-
nership with Kane Williamson to steer 
New Zealand to a nine-wicket win 
over Pakistan in the second Twenty20 
international Sunday and an unassail-
able 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Williamson fi nished 57 not out in 
his return to the short format as New 
Zealand overtook Pakistan’s total of 
163-6 with four balls to spare.
Seifert took his runs from only 63 
balls with eight fours and three sixes, 
unleashing a wide variety of shots on 
a fl at wicket against a Pakistan attack 
that struggled to fi nd consistently chal-
lenging lengths.
Williamson was scratchy at fi rst, 
then became unstoppable, reaching 
his 12th T20 international half cen-
tury from 37 balls on the same ground 
where he scored a test-best 251 in his 
last innings.
“It was a good surface, good for 
the bowlers but obviously if you 
could build partnerships you could get 
there,” Williamson said.
Earlier, veteran Mohammad Hafeez 
was left unbeaten on 99, his highest 
score in 98 T20 internationals, as Pa-
kistan again fell short of a challenging 
total.
Hafeez came to the last over 82 not 
out, hit three singles, a six and a four 
and was 93 not out with only one ball 
left in the innings. He did the best he 
could, hitting the fi nal delivery for six 
to fi nish just short of a maiden century. 
New Zealand were reinforced Sun-
day by the return of four members of 
their test squad, including Williamson, 
who missed the fi rst match of the se-
ries. Williamson also missed the sec-
ond test against the West Indies due to 
the birth of his fi rst child.
Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Kyle 
Jamieson also returned, giving New 
Zealand an all-new pace attack. South-
ee made his presence felt, taking 4-21 
from his four overs to weaken the Pa-
kistan innings.
Boult took 0-33 and Jamieson 0-43 
but New Zealand generally bowled 
well after losing the toss.
Pakistan also won the toss and bat-
ted in the fi rst match of the series at 
Eden Park. It was caught out when 
their top-order batsmen went too hard 
early, without waiting to get the pace 
of a pitch on which the ball sometimes 
stopped but also bounced sharply.
The top order failed and Pakistan 
was 5-39 before recovering to 153-9.
Confi dent his batsmen had learned 
that lesson, captain Shadab Khan bat-
ted again on winning the toss. Again 
the Pakistan top order batsmen were 
probably too eager and, in the face of 
Southee’s fi rst spell in which he took 
3-16 from three overs, slumped to 4-56.
Mohammad Rizwan struck two 
fours from the fi rst over from Boult and 
Haider hit the second ball of Southee’s 
fi rst over for six, suggesting early ag-
gression was a sound policy.
But Southee bit back as the ball 
swung a little, claiming the wickets of 
Haider and Abdullah Shafi que in the 
space of two balls in his fi rst over to 
put Pakistan on the back foot at 2-16.
Rizwan made a solid 22 from 20 
balls with four boundaries to restore 
momentum. He played classic cricket 
shots and was looking in good form 
when he drove at a ball from Southee 
that nipped away, edging to wicket-
keeper Tim Seifert.
Shadab fell next, pulling too close to 
his body and skying a catch to Southee 
from the bowling of Jimmy Neesham.
From 4-56 Hafeez revived the in-
nings in a 63-run fi fth wicket partner-
ship with Khushdil Shah (14).
Faheem Ashraf (4) was Pakistan’s 
top scorer in the series opener but came 
and went quickly Sunday.
Hafeez stayed and held together the 
innings, dominating the scoring and 
reaching his 14th T20 half century 
from 37 balls.
New Zealand’s innings was given 
a more solid start by openers Martin 
Guptill and Seifert who scored 35 in 
3.3 overs before Guptill was caught 
from the bowling of Faheem.
Seifert, who made 57 in Auckland, 
took up the attack, hitting three sixes 
within four balls in the seventh over, 
bowled by Wahab Riaz. The fi rst was 
pulled fl at over backward square, the 
second hit down the ground and the 
third hoisted over square into the east-
ern terraces.
Australia’s Joe Burns plays a shot against India on the third day of their 
cricket Test match at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide, Australia on Dec 1. (AP)
Bills win AFC East
crown since 1995
Packers outlast Panthers
DENVER, Dec 20, (AP): 
Donning gray caps that 
declared them AFC East 
champions for the fi rst time 
since 1995, the Buffalo Bills 
acted like this was old hat.
“We’re going to enjoy it on the 
fl ight back home, but we know the 
job ain’t done yet,” defensive end 
Jerry Hughes said after the Bills’ 
48-19 dismantling of the Denver 
Broncos offi cially ended New 
England’s 11-year reign atop the 
division.
“We still have a lot more to accom-
plish,” added Hughes, who contributed 
to the Bills’ biggest blowout of 2020 
with a 21-yard fumble return for a 
touchdown just 17 seconds after Josh 
Allen’s second TD run.
Sporting blue T-shirts that read 
“Won but not done,” the Bills (11-3) 
acted like the Patriots did all those 
years when they dominated the divi-
sion and AFC East titles were mere 
stepping stones.
Buffalo coach Sean McDermott said 
he received a congratulatory email 
from MarvLevy, the last Bills coach 
to win the AFC East.
Allen, who wasn’t even born the 
last time the Bills won the division 
in 1995, ran for two touchdowns and 
threw for two more against the team 
that bypassed him in the 2018 NFL 
draft despite his starring at windy Wy-
oming, just 2½ hours north of Denver.
Asked if the snub by Broncos gen-
eral manager John Elway, who chose 
linebacker Bradley Chubb instead, 
made this milestone moment any more 
meaningful, Allen responded, “I’m 
where I’m supposed to be.”
While the Bills have turned things 
around in Allen’s three seasons, the 
Broncos (5-9) continue to founder. 
This loss secured their fourth con-
secutive losing season, something 
that hadn’t happened in Denver since 
the franchise’s futile early days in the 
1960s and early ‘70s.
They also became the fi rst team ever 
to go fi ve years without making the 
playoffs following a Super Bowl title.
Allen threw for 359 yards, hitting 
Stefon Diggs 11 times for 147 yards 
before he suffered a foot injury in the 
fourth quarter, and Cole Beasley eight 
times for 112 yards.
Allen also tied Jack Kemp’s record 
of 25 career touchdown runs with his 
second TD scamper, a 1-yard keeper 
to the right that was set up by Andre 
Roberts’ 55-yard return of Taylor 
Russilino’s short second-half kickoff.
After Allen’s 1-yard TD run to 
start the second half, cornerback 
Tre’Davious White strip-sacked Drew 
Lock on Denver’s fi rst offensive play. 
Defensive end Jerry Hughes scooped 
up the ball at the 21 and weaved his 
way through several Broncos to make 
it 35-13.
Allen dismantled Denver’s make-
shift secondary that had lost fi ve cor-
nerbacks in two weeks, picking on 
De’Vante Bausby all afternoon while 
completing 28 of 40 passes. Rookie 
cornerback Michael Ojemudia held his 
own but was ejected in the third quar-
ter for slapping Bills rookie receiver 
Gabriel Davis.
Allen threw touchdown passes to 
Dawson Knox and Jake Kumerow, 
who became the 13th Bills player to 
catch a TD pass, tying an NFL record 
held by seven other teams.
Lock hit tight end Noah Fant with 
a 6-yard touchdown toss with 5 sec-
onds left in the fi rst half, but Russolino 
missed the extra point. He also missed 
the 51-yard fi eld goal attempt way to 
the right on Denver’s opening drive.
 In addition to his short second-half 
kickoff to the Buffalo 4 that Roberts 
returned to Broncos territory, Rus-
solino missed a 51-yard fi eld goal and 
two extra points on a windy day that 
didn’t adversely affect Bills kicker Ty-
ler Bass, who made both fi eld goal at-
tempts and all six extra points.
 Packers 24, Panthers 16
In Green Bay, Wis, Aaron Jones 
rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown 
as the Green Bay Packers reached the 
end zone on their fi rst three series be-
fore hanging on to beat the Carolina 
Panthers 24-16 .
Aaron Rodgers threw for a season-
low 143 yards but produced a touch-
down pass – his 40th of the season 
– and a touchdown run for the Pack-
ers. Rodgers is the fi rst player in NFL 
history to throw at least 40 touchdown 
passes in three separate seasons; he had 
45 during his 2011 MVP campaign and 
40 in 2016.
Green Bay (11-3) won its fourth 
straight and took a half-game lead over 
New Orleans (10-3) in the race for the 
NFC’s best record. The Packers own a 
tiebreaker over the Saints after winning 
37-30 at New Orleans on Sept. 27.
Under the NFL’s new 14-team play-
off format this year, only the No. 1 seed 
in each conference earns a fi rst-round 
bye.
The Packers built a 21-3 halftime 
lead before withstanding a comeback 
attempt from a gritty Carolina team 
playing without injured 2019 All-Pro 
running back Christian McCaffrey and 
left tackle Russell Okung.
Carolina had a chance to force over-
time when it got the ball at its 20-yard 
line with 55 seconds and no timeouts 
remaining. But the Panthers only got to 
the 26 before losing the ball on downs.
The Panthers (4-10) have lost eight 
of their last nine games.
Carolina’s Teddy Bridgewater was 
21 of 35 for 258 yards with a touch-
down run, but he also had a critical 
fumble. D.J. Moore caught six passes 
for 131 yards, and Joey Slye kicked 
three fi eld goals.
Rodgers capped Green Bay’s fi rst 
series with a 1-yard pass to tight end 
Robert Tonyan, who has scored in fi ve 
consecutive games. After Carolina cut 
the lead to 7-3 on Slye’s 36-yard fi eld 
goal, Green Bay reached the end zone 
again as Rodgers ran it in on third-and-
goal from the 6.
Trailing 14-3 in the second quarter, 
Carolina had fi rst-and-goal at the 1 
when Bridgewater tried leaping over 
the line and Green Bay’s Krys Barnes 
knocked the ball loose. Kevin King re-
covered the fumble at the 4 and raced 
48 yards before Moore brought him 
down.
Jones capped the Packers’ ensuing 
drive by high-stepping untouched for 
an 8-yard touchdown around the left 
end.
Carolina scored the fi rst 10 points of 
the second half on Bridgewater’s 13-
yard scramble and Slye’s 22-yard fi eld 
goal. That made it 21-13 with 8:39 left. 
The Panthers settled for the fi eld goal 
after John Miller’s holding penalty nul-
lifi ed a touchdown.
Mason Crosby gave the Packers 
some breathing room with a 51-yard 
fi eld goal with 3:39 left, but the Pan-
thers wouldn’t go away. After Bridge-
water threw a 40-yard completion to 
Moore, the Panthers sent their fi eld-
goal unit on for Slye’s 33-yarder cut 
the lead to 24-16 with 2:04 left. The 
strategy didn’t work then Green Bay 
stopped Carolina on its fi nal posses-
sion.
Carolina Panthers’ Myles Harts-
fi eld breaks up a pass intended 
for Green Bay Packers’ Marquez 
Valdes-Scantling during the sec-
ond half of an NFL football game 
on Dec 19, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP)
NFL Results/Standings
WASHINGTON, Dec 20, (AP): NFL results and standings on Saturday.
Buffalo 48 Denver 19 Green Bay 24 Carolina 16
Note: x denotes clinched playoff spot y denotes clinched division.
American Football Conference
AFC East
 W L T Pct PF PA
yx-Buffalo 11 3 0 .786 407 340
Miami 8 5 0 .615 330 245
New England 6 7 0 .462 277 279
NY Jets 0 13 0 .000 183 393
AFC South
 W L T Pct PF PA
Indianapolis 9 4 0 .692 372 300
Tennessee 9 4 0 .692 390 336
Houston 4 9 0 .308 295 359
Jacksonville 1 12 0 .077 261 383
AFC North
 W L T Pct PF PA
x-Pittsburgh 11 2 0 .846 349 237
Cleveland 9 4 0 .692 348 368
Baltimore 8 5 0 .615 363 273
Cincinnati 2 10 1 .192 244 338
AFC West
 W L T Pct PF PA
yx-Kan. City 12 1 0 .923 403 281
Las Vegas 7 7 0 .500 377 421
Denver 5 9 0 .357 276 395
LA Chargers 5 9 0 .357 327 389
National Football Conference
NFC East
 W L T Pct PF PA
Washington 6 7 0 .462 287 275
NY Giants 5 8 0 .385 238 291
Philadelphia 4 8 1 .346 277 328
Dallas 4 9 0 .308 298 400
NFC South
 W L T Pct PF PA
x-N. Orleans 10 3 0 .769 368 265
Tampa Bay 8 5 0 .615 370 294
Atlanta 4 9 0 .308 328 322
Carolina 4 10 0 .286 323 356
NFC North
 W L T Pct PF PA
yx-G. Bay 11 3 0 .786 434 339
Chicago 6 7 0 .462 282 291
Minnesota 6 7 0 .462 333 355
Detroit 5 8 0 .385 310 389
NFC West
 W L T Pct PF PA
LA Rams 9 4 0 .692 325 246
Seattle 9 4 0 .692 393 324
Arizona 7 6 0 .538 358 303
S. Francisco 5 8 0 .385 300 311
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THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT Published by: Arab Times Publishing House
Editor-in-Chief
AHMED AL JARALLAH
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ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020 15
SportsCeltic celebrate winning the Scottish Cup fi nal with the trophy, after the Scottish Cup Final soccer match between Celtic and Heart of Midlothian at Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland on Dec 20. (AP)
Alabama edges Florida in SEC title game
Clemson dominates Notre DameATLANTA, Dec 20, (AP): 
Najee Harris scored five 
touchdowns and No. 1 Ala-
bama advanced to the Col-
lege Football Playoff with a 
perfect record, holding off 
No. 11 Florida in a 52-46 
shootout for the Southeast-
ern Conference champion-
ship Saturday night.
The Crimson Tide (11-0, No. 
1 CFP) got its toughest test in a 
season of blowouts, but Harris’ re-
cord-setting performance will send 
coach Nick Saban to the playoff in 
search of his seventh national title.
After falling behind 35-17 by half-
time, Florida (8-3, No. 7 CFP) made a 
game of it with a pair of third-quarter 
scores. And the Gators fought to the 
bitter end, adding two more TDS in the 
fourth period before fi nally running 
out of time.
Harris tacked on the last of his 
touchdowns with a 1-yard lunge in 
which he was initially ruled down just 
short of the goal line. After a video 
review, the offi cials saw that Harris’ 
right arm, the ball fi rmly in his grasp, 
came down on the white stripe. 
The game’s MVP hauled in fi ve passes 
for 67 yards including touchdown plays 
of 23, 17 and 7 yards in Alabama’s fi rst-
half blitz. Harris rushed for 178 yards on 
31 bruising carries, which included an 
8-yard scoring run that capped off the 
opening possession of the game.
Harris set an SEC championship 
game record with his fi ve touchdowns, 
breaking the mark of four scored by 
Auburn’s Tre Mason in 2013. The Ala-
bama running back also knocked off a 
couple of school records, setting new 
standards for career rushing TDs (44) 
and overall TDs (54). 
The two quarterbacks, Alabama’s 
Mac Jones and Florida’s Kyle Trask, 
did nothing to hurt their standing as 
two of the leading Heisman Trophy 
contenders. Neither did Smith, the 
Crimson Tide’s other top candidate.
Jones completed 33 of 43 passes for 
418 yards and fi ve touchdowns. Smith, 
as usual, was his favorite receiver with 
a staggering 15 catches for 184 yards 
and two scores. 
Smith also came up with a key fum-
ble recovery after Florida’s Trey Dean 
picked off a pass from Jones, snatch-
ing the ball away from the intended 
receiver, only to cough it up on a bru-
tal, blind-side hit by Alabama receiver 
John Metchie. 
Trask was 26 of 40 for 408 yards and 
three TDs including a 51-yard scoring 
pass early on to Kadarius Toney, who 
fi nished with eight receptions for 153 
yards.
Clemson 34, Notre Dame 10
In Charlotte, NC, Trevor Lawrence 
had 412 yards of offense and three 
touchdowns, Travis Etienne ran for 
124 yards and a score and Clemson 
dominated Notre Dame 34-10 to win 
its sixth straight Atlantic Coast Con-
ference championship.
Lawrence threw long scoring passes 
to Amari Rodgers and E.J Williams in 
the fi rst half to help the Tigers (10-1) 
avenge a 47-40 double-overtime loss 
at Norte Dame - with Lawrence side-
lined because of the coronavirus - to 
lock up a spot in the College Football 
Playoff for the sixth straight season.
Lawrence, the game MVP and pre-
sumptive No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, 
overcame an early interception on a 
tipped ball to complete 25 of 36 pass-
es for 322 yards. He ran 14 times for 
90 yards, with a 34-yard touchdown 
scamper.
The junior quarterback did it all, even 
throwing a block to spring Etienne for 
a 15-yard gain on a third-down run late 
in the second quarter leading to a touch-
down and a 24-3 halftime lead.
Rodgers had eight catches for 121 
yards, and Williams added four for 80 
yards including a dynamic one-handed 
grab where he reached behind his head 
to snag the ball.
Clemson allowed Notre Dame to 
pile up 518 yards in the previous meet-
ing, but limited the Fighting Irish (10-
1) to 263 yards Saturday and sacked 
quarterback Ian Book six times. Book 
spent most of the game under duress, 
regularly fl ushed from the pocket and 
forced to make plays on the run.
Clemson’s secondary put the clamps 
on Notre Dame’s wide receivers, and 
running back Tyren Williams was limit-
ed to 49 yards rushing after fi nishing with 
140 yards on the ground and three TDs 
in the fi rst game. Book was held to 219 
yards passing and no touchdowns.
Ohio State 22, Northwestern 10
In Indianapolis, Trey Sermon ran for 
a school-record 331 yards and two sec-
ond-half touchdowns, helping Ohio State 
rally past Northwestern for its fourth con-
secutive Big Ten championship.
Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley hoists the Big 12 Conference championship trophy after defeating Iowa State 27-21 in an NCAA college football game, Dec 19, in Arlington, Texas. (AP)
Arsenal lose to Everton for seventh game without win
Leicester go 2nd as United hammer Leeds, move to 3rd
LONDON, Dec 20, (AP): Jamie 
Vardy’s penalty and Toby Alderweire-
ld’s own-goal propelled Leicester to a 
2-0 victory over Tottenham and up to 
second in the Premier League, mov-
ing ahead of the north London club on 
Sunday.
Tottenham’s once-blossoming title 
challenge has faltered over the last 
eight days, with only one point col-
lected by Jose Mourinho’s side from 
three games.
But Leicester, the surprise 2016 title 
winners, are now only four points be-
hind current defending champions Liv-
erpool after 14 games.
A fi rst half lacking clear-cut chanc-
es ended with Vardy putting Leicester 
ahead with the fi nal kick from the pen-
alty spot in stoppage time after Tot-
tenham defender Serge Aurier barged 
Wesley Fofana over.
Tottenham had an escape early in 
the second half when James Justin’s 
long ball over the top was artfully 
brought down by James Maddison be-
fore netting - only for VAR to spot a 
tight offside.
But Leicester were gifted a second 
on the hour when Vardy’s header 
across goal was defl ected into his own 
net by Alderweireld, who was under 
no pressure.
It enabled Leicester manager 
Brendan Rodgers - appointed acad-
emy coach at Chelsea in 2004 when 
Mourinho was fi rst-team manager - to 
claim a fi rst victory over his mentor in 
their eighth encounter. 
Two weeks after Tottenham beat Ar-
senal in front of 2,000 fans, the north 
London stadium’s stands were closed 
again - after only being open for two 
games - due to tighter coronavirus restric-
tions being re-imposed in the capital. 
Man United 6, Leeds 2 
Scott McTominay and Bruno Fer-
nandes scored twice each as Man-
chester United demolished old rival 
Leeds 6-2 to move within five points 
of Premier League leaders Liverpool 
.
McTominay scored both of his 
goals within the opening three min-
utes as Leeds failed to track his runs 
from midfi eld. Fernandes soon made 
it three off a loose ball in the penalty 
area, and Victor Lindelof knocked in 
a fourth when Leeds lost track of him 
at a corner.
Daniel James and Fernandes - from 
the penalty spot - scored for United 
in the second half. Liam Cooper and 
Stuart Dallas’ goals for Leeds never 
seemed like the start of a comeback.
United moves up to third, with a 
game in hand on second-place Leices-
ter and Liverpool.
The win ended United fans’ long 
wait for a league game against Leeds 
- the last was in 2004 - and for an em-
phatic win at Old Trafford.
Before kickoff, only Brighton, 
Burnley and Sheffi eld United had 
earned fewer league points at home, 
and United’s only home win was an 
underwhelming 1-0 against West 
Bromwich Albion last month.
Everton 2, Arsenal 1 
Mikel Arteta’s woes deepened when 
Arsenal were beaten by Everton 2-1 to 
go seven games without a win in the 
English Premier League as he marked 
a year in charge of the London club.
 Everton scored from only one shot 
on target as Rob Holding’s own goal 
opener was followed - after Nicolas 
Pepe’s equalizing penalty - by Yerry 
Mina’s header on the stroke of half-
time. 
Arsenal were not helped by the ab-
sence of top scorer Pierre-Emerick 
Aubameyang with a tight calf but the 
visitors conceded possession from the 
off and lacked any intensity or desire 
to break up their opponents’ play.
Newcastle 1, Fulham 1
Callum Wilson’s eighth goal of the 
season handed Newcastle a 1-1 draw 
against 10-man Fulham .
Wilson converted a 64th-minute 
penaltyafter being fouled by Fulham 
defender Joachim Andersen, who was 
sent off following the VAR review.
“What I’ve just seen, the contact 
initially made outside the box, he then 
goes into the box and dives,” Fulham 
manager Scott Parker said.
Leicester’s Timothy Castagne, (left), challenges Tottenham’s Serge Au-
rier for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between 
Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City at the White Hart Lane Stadium in 
London, Dec 20. (AP)
France’s Alexis Pinturault speeds down the course to win the men’s World 
Cup giant slalom in Alta Badia, Italy, Dec 20. (AP)
Alvarez captures titles
SAN ANTONIO, Dec 20, (AP): Cane-
lo Alvarez unanimously outpointed 
previously undefeated Callum Smith 
to win the WBA & Ring super-mid-
dleweight championships and vacant 
WBC super-middleweight title Satur-
day night at the Alamodome.
Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs) domi-
nated his only bout this year, repeat-
edly hitting Smith (27-1, 19 KOs) 
with straight rights and right hooks 
to the head over 12 rounds.
Two judges scored the bout 119-
109 and the third had it 117-111.
At 5-foot-8, Alvarez was the ag-
gressor against the 6-foot-3 Smith. 
Alvarez previously knocked out 
Callum’s older brother, Liam, on Sept. 
17, 2106, at AT&T Stadium in Arling-
ton. Many speculated Callum wanted 
revenge for the ninth-round knockout, 
but Alvarez dominated the younger 
Smith as well. Alvarez and Smith were 
fi ghting for the fi rst time this year due 
to the restrictions brought on by the 
Covid-19 pandemic and the ring rust 
was evident in the fi rst fi ve rounds. It 
took nearly a minute before the fi rst 
punch of the bout was thrown, a lung-
ing right by Alvarez.
Ledecka beats Suter to add 
W.Cup win to Olympic title
VAL D’ISERE, France, Dec 20, (AP): 
Ester Ledecka edged Corinne Suter for 
her fi rst win in a women’s World Cup 
super-G on Sunday, nearly three years 
after winning Olympic gold in the dis-
cipline.
The Czech skier fi nished three hun-
dredths ahead of Suter, the World Cup 
super-G champion from Switzerland 
who won a downhill on the same slope 
Friday.
Defending 
overall champion 
Federica Brig-
none came 0.35 
behind in third, 
a day after sitting 
out the downhill 
following her 
crash in Friday’s 
race.
Brignone’s 
Italian team-
mate, Marta 
Bassino, was fourth, and overall World 
Cup leader Petra Vlhova fi nished sixth.
After celebrating her biggest suc-
cesses in snowboarding, Ledecka 
stunned the world of Alpine skiing by 
scooping the Olympic super-G title in 
Pyeongchang in 2018.
However, Ledecka failed to repli-
cate her achievement on the World 
Cup, getting only two top-10 fi nishes 
in 20 super-G starts, although she had 
three podium results in other disci-
plines, including a downhill victory in 
Lake Louise, Alberta, a year ago.
Many racers were faster than Ledec-
ka in the fi rst section before losing 
about half a second in the middle part 
of the course.
Suter still led by eight hundredths 
at the fi nal split time but she failed to 
match Ledecka’s pace on the bottom 
section.
Ledecka keeps competing on both 
World Cup circuits, and landed her 
fi rst snowboard win of the season a 
week ago at a parallel giant slalom in 
Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
Coming off two third-place fin-
ishes in downhill the past two days, 
Breezy Johnson was more than three 
seconds off the lead in Sunday’s 
super-G and failed to collect any 
World Cup points.
However, her American team-mate 
Keely Cashman scored her career best 
result, fi nishing in 10th while wearing 
bib 35.
Mikaela Shiffrin sat out the speed 
races in the French Alps and opted to 
train her main events, slalom and GS. 
The three-time overall champion was 
expected back in action at technical 
races in Semmering, Austria on Dec 
28-29.
Ledecka
Fastest goal scored
MILAN, Dec 20, (AP): Rafael 
Leão scored the fastest goal in 
Serie A history on Sunday, net-
ting after just six seconds to set 
league leaders AC Milan on the 
way to a 2-1 win at Sassuolo.
Alexis Saelemaekers scored 
Milan’s other goal as the Ros-
soneri remained a point clear of 
second-place Inter Milan, which 
beat promoted Spezia 2-1.
 Milan were missing sev-
eral top players, with a number 
of others joining star forward 
Zlatan Ibrahimović in the treat-
ment room.
The average age of their start-
ing lineup was again under 23 but 
they got off to the perfect start 
when Hakan Çalhanoğlu surged 
forward from kickoff and threaded 
the ball through to Leão, who fi red 
it into the back of the net.
Statistics supplier Opta said 
the Portuguese youngster’s goal 
beat the previous record of eight 
seconds set by Piacenza’s Paolo 
Poggi against Fiorentina in 2001.
Milan later tweeted that 
Leão’s goal was scored after 
precisely 6.2 seconds.
Leão thought he had turned 
provider in the ninth min-
ute when he pulled back for 
Çalhanoğlu to turn in but it was 
ruled out because Saelemaekers 
was offside in the buildup.
Saelemaekers atoned for that 
in the 26th as he tapped in after 
being set up by Theo Hernández 
following a rapid counterattack.
Milan seemed to be heading 
for a comfortable win before 
Domenico Berardi’s free kick 
was defl ected in, a minute from 
time, to set up a nervy fi nale.
 Achraf Hakimi and Romelu 
Lukaku helped Inter to a sixth 
successive league win.
Inter were the in-form team in 
the league, while Spezia hadn’t 
won for more than a month.
However, it took Inter until 
seven minutes into the second 
half to break the deadlock with 
Hakimi fi ring in a smart pass 
from Lautaro Martínez.
Milan maintain 
lead in Serie A
SKIING
SOCCER
SOCCER
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Farewell is the most diffi cult moment in life ... but it is very cruel when we bid farewell to 
Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah 
... this great man was behind the ‘Al-Sabah 
Collection’ archeology that lies in the corridors 
of the Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah Museum. 
He is the pioneer of its growth and progress, 
and he is the one who stood by us, supporting 
and encouraging every program, curriculum, 
excavation, course, exhibition, publication, cel-
ebration, and every achievement of the House. 
He was the one who travelled the world and 
acquired artifacts from a rock in the remote de-
serts or a pearl from the depths of the sea. He 
did not acquire it for the sake of wealth, but for 
the sake of celebrating beauty and knowledge 
in honor of its creators, documenting their his-
torical epochs and following the development of 
art and culture in humanity. Rather, it is an im-
mortalization of human capabilities through time 
and ages. 
Therefore, he did not intend to display it only in 
the halls of museums in Kuwait and around the 
world, but rather created a cultural legacy that 
he nurtured with his wife, Sheikha Hussa Sa-
bah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, director of the Dar 
Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah, in which she poured 
the nectar of her youth. She did not go astray in 
her solutions and left the manifestations of for-
titude and greatness to walk with her husband 
the cultural path of giving to spread the stories 
of these masterpieces and present them to peo-
ple as sciences and books, which they can cir-
culate in museums, institutes and universities.
Sheikh Nasser has left a legacy from which 
to make an icon of art, culture and civilization. 
But he did not leave his national duties when he 
was Minister of the Amiri Diwan, Minister of 
Defense and First Deputy Prime Minister. He 
fulfi lled his duty with all honesty and sincerity.
In his last years, Sheikh Nasser became an 
example to be emulated as a statesman with an 
insightful future vision drawn by his achieve-
ments in developing his country and laying the 
foundation stone for a new Kuwait, encouraging 
youth to achieve. His role in civil society and his 
human relations inside and outside Kuwait was 
turned into a treasure trove of love and rever-
ence for the people of Kuwait.
Now, we offer condolences to his wife Sheikha 
Hussa Al-Sabah and his children Abdullah,Beebi, Sabah, Fattouh, Fahd and his beloved 
grandchildren.
Thank you very much for accepting to share 
their father, from whom we drew enthusiasm and 
who kindled in us the hunger for learning, and 
for his tremendous ability to advance in steps to 
achieve what we want. We learned a lot from 
him, not least of which his sense of humor, which 
stayed with him until his last heartbeat. Good-
bye, you supporter of truth and advocate of re-
form. Goodbye.
A SORROWFUL FAREWELL
A dedication from Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah
ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2020 16
Photo by Rizalde Cayanan, courtesy of DAI
Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah with his wife Sheikha Hussa at Dar Al-Athar Al-Islamiyyah exhibition.
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