JAMADA ALAWWAL 8, 1442 AH WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2020 16 Pages Max 23º Min 08º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 18316 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Scientists scramble to Climate change ravages Baghdad watch repairman Rizwan-inspired Pakistan 5 assess mutated virus 8 Kashmir’s saffron crop 13 is a timeless treasure 16 stop N Zealand T20 sweep COVID vaccines arrive today, shots begin at the weekend BioNTech says can make mutation-beating vaccine in six weeks KUWAIT: Health Minister Sheikh Dr Basel Al- Sabah yesterday said the first shipment of COVID- Opposition MPs 19 vaccines will arrive at dawn today, and the vacci- nation process will begin at the weekend. According take control of to a press statement by the health ministry, vaccina- tions will be held in four stages according to priority - first for healthcare workers, those above 65 years most committees of age, frontliners and then the rest of the society. Sheikh Basel said 73,700 people have registered By B Izzak online to receive the vaccine, adding that inocula- tions will continue until everyone is vaccinated. KUWAIT: Lawmakers who are members of an Member of the vaccine committee at the health alliance of opposition MPs yesterday took control ministry Khalid Al-Saeed had earlier said the first of most of National Assembly panels, including the batch of coronavirus vaccines includes around key committees of legal and legislative and the 150,000 doses enough for 75,000 individuals, as interior and defense. But pro-government MPs each person will get two shots. About the vaccina- wrested control of the important financial and eco- tion process, he said messages will be sent to those nomic affairs committee and health and labor panel. who have registered, including the time they will Most of the committees were however elected receive the vaccine at the Mishref fairgrounds. unanimously, as the government appears to have Kuwait yesterday reported 298 COVID-19 cases decided not to intervene in the election of the over a 24-hour period, taking the total number of panels, which study and approve bills and discuss infections to 148,507, while one death was record- key issues. The alliance of opposition MPs last ed, raising the death toll to 923. Active cases week lost the speaker’s election battle after amounted to 3,228, with 53 in intensive care units. Marzouq Al-Ghanem was elected for a third term Health authorities conducted 5,641 swab tests in 24 with strong backing from the government and hours to take the total to 1,228,818. Earlier, the after a dozen members of the alliance changed KUWAIT: Lawmakers attend a special parliamentary session at the National Assembly health ministry confirmed 214 fresh recovery cases, their minds and voted for Ghanem. yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat taking total recoveries to 144,356. Continued on Page 2 Continued on Page 2 global south. The two planets were, News in brief Jupiter, Saturn in fact, more than 730 m km apart. But because of their alignment in US nuke sub crosses Hormuz cheek-to-cheek relation to Earth, they appeared to be closer to each other than at any WASHINGTON: A US nuclear submarine time in almost 400 years. crossed the Strait of Hormuz Monday in a new in celestial jig Optimal “conjunction” took place show of force directed at Iran. The USS Georgia at 1822 GMT. The best viewing con- PARIS: The solar system’s two can carry 154 Tomahawk cruise missiles and 66 ditions on Monday were in clear biggest planets, Jupiter and Saturn, special forces soldiers, according to a statement skies and close to the Equator, while came within planetary kissing range from the US Navy. The statement is illustrated people in Western Europe and along in Monday’s evening sky, an intimacy with photos showing the USS Georgia at the a vast swathe of Africa had to train that will not occur again until 2080. surface, escorted by the cruisers USS Port Royal their sight to the southwest. In This “great conjunction”, as it is and USS Philippine Sea. — AFP Kuwait, astrophotographers trav- known to astronomers, occurred for- elled into the desert west of Kuwait tuitously on the winter solstice for City to capture the once-in-a-life- KUWAIT: A picture taken on Monday in the Salmi desert shows the those in the Northern Hemisphere time event. great conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat French citizenship for frontliners and the beginning of summer in the Continued on Page 2 PARIS: Hundreds of foreigners in France whose jobs expose them to high COVID-19 risks will Delaware. His wife Jill received the be naturalized quickly for their commitment dur- Biden receives shot earlier, the presidential transition ing the health crisis, the interior ministry said team said. yesterday. Of the nearly 3,000 people who Biden told Americans “there’s responded to apply for fast-track naturalization, COVID vaccine nothing to worry about” when they 74 had already obtained citizenship and 693 get vaccinated and that in the mean- more were in the final stage of the process. live on TV time they should keep wearing Immigration authorities have been ordered to masks and “listen to the experts”. He reduce the residency period needed for citizen- NEWARK: US President-elect Joe and the future first lady were the lat- ship to two years from the usual five. — AFP Biden received a COVID-19 vaccine est high-profile political figures live on television Monday in a cam- publicly joining the first wave of paign to boost Americans’ confidence vaccinations aimed at stopping a Turkey reports gold discovery in the jabs - and in marked contrast to pandemic that has killed almost President Donald Trump’s mixed mes- 318,000 Americans. Vice President- ISTANBUL: Turkey has discovered a major gold NEWARK, Delaware: US President-elect Joe Biden receives a COVID-19 deposit holding an estimated 3.5 million ounces (99 saging. The 78-year-old incoming elect Kamala Harris and her husband president got the Pfizer vaccine at the will be vaccinated next week. vaccination from Tabe Mase, Nurse Practitioner and Head of Employee tons) of the precious metal valued at around $6 bil- Health Services, at the Christiana Care campus on Monday. — AFP lion, the Anadolu state news agency reported yes- Christiana Hospital in Newark, Continued on Page 2 terday. The find in the midwestern town of Sogut was reported by Fahrettin Poyraz, who heads the Agricultural Credit Cooperatives of Turkey and the Netanyahu’s National Security Gubretas fertilizer production firm. — AFP Kushner joins Advisor Meir Ben Shabbat. The US-Israeli delegation was wel- Israel-Morocco comed at the airport by Moroccan Jazeera targeted by spyware officials, ahead of a program that includes a meeting with King NICOSIA: Dozens of journalists at Qatar’s Al- direct flight Mohammed VI at the royal palace, Jazeera broadcaster had their mobile communi- and a visit to the grave of Mohammed cations intercepted by sophisticated electronic RABAT: The first Israel-Morocco V. The trip aimed to showcase the surveillance, a cybersecurity watchdog said. direct commercial flight landed in the Trump administration’s achievements Interceptions of 36 journalists’ phones were North African kingdom yesterday to in Middle East diplomacy, weeks revealed in a report by the Citizen Lab research mark the latest US-brokered diplo- before Trump is replaced at the White center at the University of Toronto on Sunday, matic normalization deal between the House by President-elect Joe Biden. after they monitored journalists’ devices for sus- Jewish state and an Arab country. US Morocco became the third Arab President Donald Trump’s son-in-law state this year, after the United Arab picious activity. Their report said the hack used RABAT: Governor of Rabat Mohamed Yacoubi welcomes US presiden- Pegasus spyware developed by Israel’s NSO and White House advisor Jared Emirates and Bahrain, to normalize ties Kushner was on board along with with Israel under US-brokered deals, tial advisor Jared Kushner and Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Group. — AFP Ben Shabbat upon their arrival yesterday. — AFP Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Continued on Page 2 2 Established 1961 Wednesday, December 23, 2020 Local Amir congratulates MPs on committee membership Defense Minister takes oath during parliament session KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a cable of congratu- lation yesterday to MPs after elections for commit- tee membership, wishing them success in serving their fellow citizens and country. His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent similar cables on the occasion. Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah swore in at the beginning of yesterday’s parliamen- tary session according to article 91 of Kuwait’s Constitution. The aforementioned article stipulates that before assuming duties in the assembly or its committees, a member of the National Assembly shall take oath before the assembly in a public sit- ting. The rest of the members of the National Assembly took oath in the first session of the 16th KUWAIT: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of legislative term last week. On December 14, His Defense Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah takes Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al- oath at the beginning of the parliament session yes- National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al- Jaber Al-Sabah issued a decree forming the new terday.