Kuwait Authorizes Emergency Use of Pfizer-Biontech Vaccine US Set for Mass COVID Vaccinations As World Virus Deaths Top 1.6 Million
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RABIA ALTHANI 29, 1442 AH MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2020 16 Pages Max 22º Min 10º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 18308 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net US ambassador hails ties Trump bid to overturn election Ukraine seeks World Heritage Salah rescues Liverpool; 3 between Kuwait and US 6 stymied, but scars will remain 13 status for Chernobyl zone 16 Tottenham let lead slip Kuwait authorizes emergency use of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine US set for mass COVID vaccinations as world virus deaths top 1.6 million KUWAIT: The health ministry yesterday author- Day, a turning point of World War II. “I am ized the emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech absolutely 100 percent confident that we are going vaccine against COVID-19, a ministry official to distribute safely, this precious commodity, this announced. A joint committee of the medicine regis- vaccine, needed to defeat the enemy COVID,” he tration and supervision department and the public told reporters. health department for the evaluation and registra- The imminent start of the mass vaccination cam- tion of vaccines approved emergency use of the paign in the world’s hardest-hit country came as vaccine, Dr Abdullah Al-Bader, Assistant Germany announced a partial lockdown from Undersecretary for Pharmaceutical and Food Wednesday with non-essential shops and schools Supervision, said in a statement. to close in a bid to halt an “exponential growth” in He said the committee’s decision followed a thor- coronavirus infections. The restrictions will apply ough review of the safety and quality specifications until Jan 10, with companies also urged to allow of the vaccine. The committee, said Bader, also employees to work from home or offer extended reviewed results of clinical trials. Bader emphasized company holidays, under the new measures agreed the health ministry will closely follow the safety of by Chancellor Angela Merkel with regional leaders the vaccine following its use to ensure the wellbeing of Germany’s 16 states yesterday. Germany last of the public. week recorded new daily death tolls reaching close The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to 600 and as disease control agency RKI reported issued on Friday the first emergency use authoriza- that the infections trend has taken a worrying turn. tion of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The vaccine Italy meanwhile overtook Britain as the European began leaving the company’s Michigan factory yes- nation with the highest coronavirus death toll. “I am terday, ready to be injected into the arms of millions worried about the two weeks of Christmas holidays. of the most vulnerable Americans as the global We are up against a dramatic pandemic which is death toll topped 1.6 million. Doses were shipped ongoing - the battle still has not been won,” Italian out in boxes containing dry ice that are capable of Health Minister Roberto Speranza warned as the staying at -70 degrees Celsius, the frigid tempera- country recorded 64,036 deaths, surpassing Britain’s ture needed to preserve the drug. 64,026. Regional affairs minister Francesco Boccia General Gus Perna, who is overseeing the mas- said that unless people adopted a careful approach, KALAMAZOO, Michigan: Boxes containing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are prepared to be sive logistical operation as part of the government’s “the risk of a third wave is almost certain.” shipped at the Pfizer Global Supply Kalamazoo manufacturing plant yesterday. — AFP Operation Warp Speed, likened the moment to D- Continued on Page 2 will be presented to Morocco’s King vowed to fight on until Moroccan forces US adopts map Mohammed VI, he added. Western Sahara withdraw from all of Western Sahara. is a disputed and divided former Spanish The prime minister of Algeria - colony, mostly under Morocco’s control, Morocco’s neighbor and regional rival, and of Morocco where tensions with the pro-indepen- the key foreign backer of the Polisario dence Polisario Front have simmered Front - on Saturday criticized “foreign with W Sahara since the 1970s. maneuvers” that he said aimed to “desta- Morocco on Thursday became the bilize Algeria”. “There is now a desire by RABAT: The United States adopted fourth Arab state this year, after the United the Zionist entity to come closer to our Saturday a “new official” map of Morocco Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan, to borders,” Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad that includes the disputed territory of announce it had agreed to normalize rela- said, in reference to Israel. Western Sahara, the ambassador to Rabat tions with Israel. US President Donald In an interview with Israel’s Yediot said. “This map is a tangible representa- Trump in turn fulfilled a decades-old goal Ahronot newspaper published yesterday, tion of President Trump’s bold proclama- of Morocco by backing its contested sov- Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser tion two days ago - recognizing ereignty in Western Sahara. Bourita said, “Israel’s relations with Morocco’s sovereignty over Western The Polisario condemned “in the Morocco are special and can’t be com- Sahara,” Ambassador David Fischer said strongest terms the fact that outgoing pared to the relations that Israel has with according to a statement seen by AFP. American President Donald Trump attrib- any other Arab country.” “From our per- He then signed the “new official US utes to Morocco something which does spective, we aren’t talking about normal- RABAT: US Ambassador to Morocco David Fischer stands before a US State government map of the kingdom of not belong” to the country, namely sover- ization because relations were already Morocco” at a ceremony at the US Department-authorized map of Morocco recognizing Western Sahara (bearing a eignty over Western Sahara. The move- normal,” Bourita was quoted as saying by signature by Fischer) as part of the North African kingdom on Saturday. — AFP embassy in the capital Rabat. The map ment dismissed the announcement and the paper. — AFP Arab nations are suddenly achieving long- “President Trump took a contrarian Breaking norms, sought goals after agreeing to normalize ties approach,” Kushner told reporters Thursday with Israel, in a last-minute triumph for the as he announced the latest deal, with Morocco schools unorthodox diplomacy of outgoing President Morocco, saying that the Arab-Israeli con- Kushner scores Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. flict “has been held back for so long by old to teach Jewish Widely mocked for more than three thinking and by stalled process”. wins for Israel years as a boyish lightweight, who was best Veterans of Middle East diplomacy agree known for his famous wife, troubled proper- that Kushner moved nimbly after the United history, culture WASHINGTON: The United Arab ty deals and his father’s stint in prison, Arab Emirates first signaled its willingness to Emirates is getting top-of-the-line fighter Kushner is scoring historic breakthroughs recognize Israel. “He had the authority; he RABAT: Jewish history and culture in Morocco jets. Morocco is winning recognition for lauded by Trump’s base with four Arab was smart enough to develop personalized will soon be part of the school curriculum - a decades-old territorial claims. And Sudan is nations since September joining the so- relations. “first” in the region and in the North African coming off the US terrorism blacklist. The called Abraham Accords with Israel. Continued on Page 2 Jared Kushner country, where Islam is the state religion. The decision “has the impact of a tsunami,” said Serge Berdugo, secretary-general of the but some 1,000 Libyans recently set Council of Jewish Communities of Morocco. It off in a pioneering convoy of 300 all- “is a first in the Arab world,” he told AFP from Road warriors terrain vehicles through the sandy Casablanca. wilderness. For years, although the kingdom had no offi- ride to revive Hopeful that the October truce will cial relationship with Israel, thousands of Jews hold, they sought to rediscover the of Moroccan origin visited the land of their natural beauty of a country that boasts ancestors, to celebrate religious holidays or Libya tourism sweeping desert vistas, hidden oasis make pilgrimages, including from Israel. But AL QARYAH AL GHARBIYAH, towns, ancient Greek and Roman Morocco this week became the fourth Arab Libya: ruins, and a Mediterranean coastline. nation since August to announce a US-brokered A road trip through Libya’s The 4WD enthusiasts - almost all deal to normalize relations with Israel, following desert would long have sounded like a men, sporting sunglasses and outdoor the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. holiday in hell but, two months into a gear - started their journey at Al- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ceasefire, adventurous travellers are exploring the Sahara by four-wheel Qaryah Al-Gharbiyah, a crossroads said liaison offices would be reopened in ASH SHUWAYRIF, Libya: Libyans take part in a 4x4 tourism trip in a desert Continued on Page 2 drive. Foreigners are still staying clear town dubbed the “Gateway to the of the country after a decade of war - Sahara”. — AFP (See Page 13) area some 400 km southwest of Tripoli on Dec 3, 2020. — AFP 2 Established 1961 Monday, December 14, 2020 Local Amir receives Crown Prince, Prime Minister KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received, at Bayan Palace yesterday, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. His Highness the Amir also received His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. Meanwhile, His Highness the Crown Prince received His Highness the Prime Minister at Bayan Palace yesterday. — Amiri Diwan and KUNA photos Kuwait praises WFP’s humanitarian efforts KUWAIT: Kuwait’s Foreign Minister and Acting Information Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al- Mohammad Al-Sabah held talks yesterday with vis- iting Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley on boosting joint coordination between the two and latest COVID-19 developments.