2 Established 1961 Wednesday, February 17, 2021 Local Amir receives 2021 King Faisal Prize winner Programmer honored for efforts in Arabizing computer programs

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah meets His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al- His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets Chairman of Sakhar Computer Programing Company Sabah. — Amiri Diwan and KUNA photos Mohammad Al-Sharekh.

KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah also Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received at Bayan received His Highness Sheikh Nasser Al- Palace yesterday His Highness Sheikh Nasser Mohammad at Bayan Palace yesterday. Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. His Meanwhile, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Highness the Amir also received the Chairman Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a of Sakhar Computer Programing Company cable of condolences yesterday to Custodian of Mohammad Abdulrahman Al-Sharekh on win- the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin ning 2021 King Faisal Prize granted by King Abdulaziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia over pass- Faisal Foundation for his efforts in Arabizing ing of Princess Lamya bint Hathlool bin computer programs and enriching the Islamic Abdulaziz Al-Saud. His Highness the Amir arena and Arab culture. prayed to Allah the Almighty to bestow bless- His Highness the Amir wished him more suc- ings upon the deceased and to grant solace to cess to continue his remarkable bid and hoist the royal family. His Highness the Crown Prince the country’s flag in regional and international Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah forums. President of Amiri diwan Sheikh and His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Mubarak Faisal Saud Al-Sabah attended the Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah sent simi- His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah meets His Highness meeting. His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh lar cables. — KUNA Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

Damage caused to SMEs painful: PM KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime the damage of small and medium busi- Minister of Commerce and Industry Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al- nesses, and we suffer from the damage and Minister of State for Economic Hamad Al-Sabah said the damage to our children’s educational achieve- Affairs Faisal Al-Medlej had affirmed caused to the owners of Small and ments, and we suffer when athletes do earlier that SME owners are one of the Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) was not practice their activities, but the main and important cornerstones of “painful,” and the same goes for the biggest pain is when we see the situa- commercial sustainability and develop- educational attainment of students and tion continues to rise,” he stressed. ment in Kuwait. According to His the failure of athletes to practice their “With cooperation, solidarity, under- Highness the Prime Minister’s directives, activities. “But the greater pain is the standing, acceptance and implementa- the Board of Directors of the National continuing epidemic situation amid the tion, yes, we went through losses, but we Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises rise (of cases),” he said in a speech at passed the stage of ascension, then sta- Development formed a committee to the extraordinary session of the bilized, and now we have a second wave. look into the defaulting projects and fin- National Assembly, held yesterday to If we do not cooperate, stand together anciers, said the minister. He stated that discuss governmental procedures and and understand what is required to do, a committee was formed in mid-January, policies in dealing with the novel the situation will be difficult for every- consisting of NGOs, federations con- coronavirus (COVID-19) and the one, the whole world has been affected cerned with these projects, and consult- mutated strains. and we must deal with reality,” he con- ants from the Ministry of Commerce, to “Today we completed a year and we tinued. “The readings that the officials help solve any existing problems the KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al- welcome a new one, and now, after 45 had prepared are based on careful fol- SMEs owners are facing. The minister Sabah attends an extraordinary session of the National Assembly to discuss proce- days of the new year, we have begun to low-ups and analysis that reached con- also said that the Financial Security Law dures to deal with COVID-19 yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat enter into an alarming situation, as the clusions that the executive and legisla- was one of the very important draft laws number of deaths in the past 15 days has tive authorities must take into account. that were discussed in the previous leg- resolution closing some commercial mechanisms for disbursement of the reached 50 cases,” said the Premier. We all appreciate their hard work and islative term of the National Assembly, businesses and decided to financially funds for the eligible businessmen. The “Occupancy of intensive care beds and dedication.” His Highness expressed his but was not approved. Therefore, the support this segment of the labor force, decision is effective as of March and hospital admissions has increased large- thanks to the members of the National committee presented a more compre- according to the law of establishing the valid for three months. Another decision ly, as we are heading towards reaching Assembly for submitting the request to hensive view towards the beneficiaries National Fund for Small and Medium stipulates assigning the competent five intensive care units at Mubarak hold this extraordinary session, which of this law. Enterprise Development. Additionally, authorities to delay payment of the Hospital,” he noted. “We must pause and shows the interest of the National The Cabinet on Monday had exam- the Cabinet decided to assign the State services fees to the entrepreneurs examine this matter and adhere to what Assembly in following up the govern- ined a petition presented by entrepre- National Fund for Small and Medium whose businesses have been shut for needs to be done. Yes, we suffer from ment’s actions towards the pandemic. neurs of SMEs, in the aftermath of the Enterprise Development to work out three months. — KUNA

meeting had resigned and the prime minister has joint probe into the incident. Compliance or taken long to form a new Cabinet. UN slams Iraq The new violence has revived fears of a During the debate, lawmakers criticized the possible conflict on Iraqi soil between Tehran government for taking the partial closure decision and Washington, two rivals who have long tried lockdown: Virus.... and called for compensating small and medium rocket attack... to draw Iraq into their respective spheres of businesses. MP Hesham Al-Saleh wondered what influence. Iran yesterday condemned the attack Continued from Page 1 measures authorities have taken against expats Continued from Page 1 and strongly denied rumors it was involved in who had allegedly produced fake PCR test certifi- the incident. The health minister warned there are new cates. The minister said it is not possible to prove rockets - the same caliber used in recent The rockets left small craters in the paved strains of the pandemic and their health and eco- that a certain PCR test is fake, and insisted all attacks in Baghdad - was fired Monday evening streets of Arbil and in plaster walls of buildings. nomic impacts will be immense if they enter the arrivals are tested at the airport. from around eight kilometers west of Arbil. The attack “put our lives at risk,” said resident country. “The pandemic is spreading rapidly... all MP Saadoun Hammad criticized the slow pace They appeared to be aimed at a military com- Nariman Mohammad, 51. “I don’t see any mean- arrivals at the airport are tested for the disease,” of the vaccination program, saying the United Arab plex inside the Arbil airport that hosts foreign ing to any of this. We’re also people, and we the minister said. Emirates has vaccinated five million people already, troops deployed as part of a US-led coalition that want to live.” Arbil airport, after being closed An official from the health ministry, Mohammad pointing out the UAE is not different from Kuwait. has helped Iraq fight jihadists since 2014. But to flights throughout the morning, resumed its Al-Saeedan, said the situation now from a clinical At the end of the debate, the Assembly passed a they struck all over the city’s northwest, including normal schedule at noon, a government point of view is similar to the period before impos- number of recommendations calling on the gov- in residential districts where they wounded five spokesman told AFP. ing the first lockdown last year. “We must be ready ernment to speed up legislation to compensate civilians, the Arbil health directorate told AFP. Western military and diplomatic facilities have for any decision,” he warned. businesses. The recommendations called on the Coalition spokesman Wayne Marotto said three been targeted by dozens of rockets and roadside The Assembly session was called by a group of government to review the latest measures imposed rockets hit Arbil airport and killed one civilian bombs since late 2019, but most attacks have MPs to debate new measures imposed by the gov- around two weeks ago. It also called on authorities contractor, who he said was neither an Iraqi nor been on Baghdad, not Arbil. Following the deaths ernment and compensation for small and medium to apply tough measures against the entry of US national. Another nine people were wounded, of US service members in two incidents in 2019 businesses affected by partial closures. Around 24 expats into the country and delaying all forms of including eight civilian contractors and one US and 2020, former US president Donald Trump opposition MPs boycotted the session on the loan repayment for a year. It also called for speed- soldier, he said. ordered several bombing raids on Kataeb grounds that the government represented in the ing up the vaccination drive. A shadowy group calling itself Awliyaa al-Dam Hezbollah. Iraqi and even US officials have told (Guardians of Blood) claimed the attack and in a AFP in recent weeks that it was not clear whether their intent to relocate their headquarters to follow-up statement yesterday vowed to keep Joe Biden’s administration would pursue the same Saudi pushes firms Riyadh at last month’s Davos-style Future targeting US forces in Iraq. Over the past year, “tripwire” response. Investment Initiative forum in the capital, SPA said. around a dozen previously unheard-of formations Since Iraq declared victory over the Islamic Monday’s announcement “will not affect any have claimed responsibility for rocket attacks on State group in late 2017, the coalition presence to move Mideast... investor’s ability to enter the Saudi market or to Western diplomatic and security installations. has been reduced to fewer than 3,500 troops, of continue their business with the private sector”, US and Iraqi officials have told AFP they whom 2,500 are American. Most are concentrat- Continued from Page 1 SPA said. But the decision will pile pressure on pri- believe such factions to be “smokescreen” entities ed at the military complex at Arbil airport, a vate sector companies heavily dependent on lucra- for more prominent pro-Iran groups including coalition official told AFP, adding that the Many multinationals doing business in the con- tive Saudi government contracts. Kataeb Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq. Those phased drawdown had left “gaps” in the security servative kingdom prefer to have their regional “Pressing multinationals to establish headquar- factions are members of the Hashed al-Shaabi, a structure. headquarters in the neighboring UAE and other ters in Saudi Arabia centers upon the belief that powerful state-sponsored armed network whose Arbil has been targeted very rarely, although glitzy Gulf capitals that offer a relatively more lib- foreign companies benefitting from the Saudi mar- pro-Iran members often act independently of the Iranian forces fired missiles at the same airport in eral lifestyle and permit alcohol. Under a previous ket should bolster their physical presence in the government. January last year, a few days after Washington government initiative known as “Program HQ”, country,” Robert Mogielnicki, a resident scholar at The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) assassinated prominent Iranian general Qasem Saudi Arabia - which has sought to shake-off its the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told accused groups “under the guise of the Hashed Soleimani at Baghdad airport. Both Iran and austere image by allowing cinemas, concerts and AFP. “This is ultimately a reevaluation of the sus- al-Shaabi” of being behind the attack - a bold hardline Iraqi armed groups have repeatedly sporting extravaganzas - offered multinational tainability of Saudi Arabia’s economic development claim given the Hashed’s status as being part of pledged to take revenge for Soleimani’s killing. companies tax breaks and incentives to relocate model and not an intentional commercial challenge Iraq’s state security network. The Kurdish The same groups have recently vowed to boost their Middle East headquarters to the kingdom. to the UAE. If done successfully though, it is likely region’s premier Masrour Barzani pledged with their military activity in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, Twenty-four international companies declared to have a commercial impact on the UAE.” — AFP his counterpart in Baghdad, Kadhemi, to launch a ostensibly against a Turkish incursion. — AFP