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ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JANUARY 1-2, 2021 2 TELLS A STORY Beirut blast led a litany of crises s countries across the Middle East grappled with the coronavirus Bank, Palestinians demonstrated against Israeli land seizures. Apandemic, many also had to contend with long-running conflicts, In Afghanistan, militants stormed a maternity hospital in May, killing economic crises and mass protests in another chaotic year for the volatile at least 24 people, including mothers, nurses and two babies. The horrific region. attack highlighted the lingering unrest despite a peace agreement reached The most devastating single event in the region was neither war-relat- in February between the US and the Taleban, which condemned the hos- ed, nor a claimed terrorist attack, but an explosion in Beirut’s port caused pital attack and denied any involvement. (AP) by the detonation of a stockpile of explosive chemicals that had been improperly stored there for years. The Aug. 4 explosion killed more than 200 people, injured thousands and destroyed entire neighborhoods of the capital. Associated Press pho- tographer Hassan Ammar captured the catastrophic aftermath in an in- stantly iconic photo of a man carrying his 11-year-old niece through the smoking ruins. He and other AP photographers covered the year of upheaval. It began with fears of war after the US killed Iran’s top general and was domi- nated by a pandemic that had no interest in the region’s bitter divisions and stubborn conflicts. Israelis and Arabs, Sunnis and Shiites, wealthy Gulf monarchies and war-ravaged countries alike saw widespread lockdowns, overwhelmed ICUs and the hasty construction of field hospitals as the pandemic eas- ily slipped across heavily-guarded frontiers. The pandemic brought new horrors to Syria and Yemen, which are still mired in civil war. Holy sites sacred to Muslims, Christians and Jews emptied out, in scenes of desolation last seen in the Middle Ages. Pilgrimages — in- cluding the annual hajj to Makkah and Madinah — were cancelled or drastically scaled down. Jerusalem’s Old City was empty over Easter, and Christmas celebrations were mostly cancelled in the biblical town of Bethlehem. The region’s worst outbreak was in Iran, which was already reeling from months of escalation with the United States following President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal and his imposi- tion of crippling sanctions. In January, a US drone strike killed Gen. Qas- sim Soleimani, the architect of Iran’s regional military activities, near Baghdad’s international airport. AP photos captured the national outpouring of grief, as hundreds of thousands of Iranians flooded the streets during mass funeral services. Iran retaliated with a missile attack on US bases in Iraq. In Israel, protesters held the largest anti-government demonstrations in years, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resign over his trial on corruption charges and his government’s handling of the pan- demic. In one photo, a protester can be seen kneeling in the street with an Israeli flag, drenched by a police water cannon. Protests also continued in Iraq and Lebanon, which was already fac- Above: The assassination of Qassim Soleimani on Jan 4, 2020 and ing an economic meltdown even before the explosion. In both countries, below of Iran nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on Nov 27, 2020. the demonstrators took aim at an entrenched political elite blamed for (AP) years of corruption and economic mismanagement. In the occupied West Right: Syrian government helicopter is shot down in Idlib on Feb 11, 2020. Left: The body of a boy killed in a government airstrike in Main picture and insets: Massive explosion at the port in Beirut, Lebanon on Aug 4, 2020. (AP) Idlib on Feb 11, 2020. (AP) ARAB TIMES, FRIDAY-SATURDAY, JANUARY 1-2, 2021 LOCAL 3 Use of social media during Other Voices ‘corona’ sees big rise in ’20 ‘Women lacked prowess to win seat’ “AFTER the results of the 2020 National Assembly elec- without ceasing. MoE to retire ‘34-years in service’ top officials tions several questions emerged, about the reasons for “Science may have won partially, which is a good the failure of women candidates to get elected to the par- and positive sign, given to ignorance and the conspiracy liament despite the passage of more than 12 years that theory, and the indicators of science’s victory emerged KUWAIT CITY, Dec 31: plications inside Kuwait, she stressed equivalent to 35 percent. women got their right to contest elections,” columnist in the production of one or two vaccines or three or ten, President of the Global Elec- that the number of social media users in Finally, Snapchat came in fourth Owaid Al-Salili wrote for Al-Shahed daily. but the tragedies of the world are more complicated than Kuwait is equivalent to about 99 percent place, with a total number of 1.8 mil- “At the local level, it was not strange or surprising laboratories and pharmaceutical companies which will tronic Media Club in Kuwait of the total Internet users in the country, lion active users. that none of the female candidates succeeded in the reap benefi ts from those vaccines. Hind Al-Nahedh said the iso- adding that the year 2020 witnessed a Meanwhile, following the footsteps of parliamentary elections. Rather, the interest came from “Corona may be gone tomorrow or the day after to- lation and lockdown meas- great surge in the use of social media. the Ministry of Education, Ministry of abroad especially from some Gulf and Arab elite as some morrow or after a year, but the wheel of history says that ures implemented in Kuwait Al-Nahedh Higher Education is working on pump- of their comments looked offensive to the Kuwaiti soci- another epidemic will come, and perhaps more harmful, explained that ing new blood into its sectors by refer- ety and this result was used to show the pent-up inferior- but the tragedies that people are living in are more and from March 2020 to Sep- in 2020, Face- ring for retirement those who spent 34 ity complex, although those gloating do not know a way more because they are caused by other human beings, tember 2020 to counter the book became the years in service including senior offi cials to parliamentary elections in their countries. and they are many. spread of COVID-19 pan- most used social such as directors, supervisors and de- “Reaching the parliamentary seat requires several “The Corona virus has revealed what is transient, but networking site partment heads, reports Al-Anba daily. tools and reasons to achieve it which is something that the constant pain is rooted in the living reality which is demic in Kuwait prompted in Kuwait with According to informed sources, the women did not possess during this election, and the most the natural state. citizens and residents to turn a total number ministry’s steps in granting opportuni- important of which is the availability of government sup- “A vaccine will not save us in relieving woes of life of three million ties for promotion and taking up vari- port, and the opening of the doors of ministries and in- regardless of its effectiveness and safety.” to social media such that ❑ ❑ ❑ users, most of ous supervisory positions will give all stitutions to pass legal and illegal these sites have witnessed whom are men. voter transactions as happens with aspiring employees in various sectors many candidates, in addition to “The Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry an increase in the number The number of the opportunities available to qualify Al-Nahedh male Facebook the lack of party and ideological (KCCI), in its recent adequate and fulfi lling statement, had of users during the current for leadership positions and to achieve sounded the alarm about the economic future of Kuwait. users reached about 1.9 million, consti- support from political and eco- year compared to last year, their ambitions and aspirations. nomic currents and the lack of This is not the fi rst time that KCCI and the private sector tuting 65 percent, and women 35 per- representatives warned of the danger of what is happen- bringing the total number cent with 1.1 million users. The number The opportunities for leadership and tribal support. supervisory promotions will remain “None of the 30 female candi- ing in the country. However, every time they are either of social media users in Ku- of expat users of Facebook in Kuwait is ignored or actions completely contrary to what is recom- 1.9 million, including one million Arab broadly in place, according to the prin- dates participating in the parlia- wait to about four million, ciples and plans listed, development mentary elections possessed these mended are taken, and we therefore end up with a single users. source for income and increasing budget defi cits,” col- reports Al-Anba daily. In second place is Instagram, with programs and anticipated needs, which tools, a matter which was clear is what the ministry has been keen and evident that it was impossible umnist Sami Abdullatif Al-Nesf wrote for Aljarida daily. In a special statement, Al- the total number of users reaching 2.2 “It is of utmost importance for the government and the Nahedh revealed that Facebook million, of which the number of male about, by moving forward with the de- for any of them to win in those Owaid Al-Salili cision to refer for retirement those who elections especially since the 2020 parliament to listen to the recommendations that have achieved a breakthrough in 2020 users is 1.3 million, constituting 62 been made. We are in the same boat, and those in the percent, and the number of female us- have spent 30 years in service.

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