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MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 / JUMADA AL AWWAL 20, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17578 16 PAGES 150 FILS BAGHDAD RALLY MARKS IRAN GENERAL’S SLAYING Enrichment up ‘as soon as possible’ Fordo initiates US work on bunker buster bombs

DUBAI, Jan 3, (Agencies): Iran said Saturday it plans to enrich uranium up to 20% dad a year ago, an anniversary coming Sunday that has American officials now worried about possible retaliation by Iran. Iran’s decision to begin enriching to 20% a decade ago nearly brought an Israeli strike targeting its nuclear facilities, at its underground Fordo nuclear facility “as soon as possible,” pushing its program a tensions that only abated with the 2015 atomic deal. A resumption of 20% enrichment could see that brinksmanship return. technical step away from weapons-grade levels as it increases pressure on the West over Even Ali Akbar Salehi, the US-educated head of the civilian Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, offered a military anal- ogy to describe his agency’s readiness to take the next step. the tattered atomic deal. “We are like soldiers and our fingers are on the triggers,” Salehi told Iranian state television. “The commander should com- The move comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US in the waning days of the administration mand and we shoot. We are ready for this and will produce (20% enriched uranium) as soon as possible.” of President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal in 2018. The White House had no immediate comment and referred to a statement issued in December by Secretary of State Mike That set in motion an escalating series of incidents capped by a U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Bagh- Pompeo after Iran’s parliament passed a bill on increasing uranium enrichment. Pompeo condemned the law as “nothing more than the regime’s latest ploy to use its nuclear program to try to intimidate the international community.” Opinion A spokesman for President- elect Joe Biden’s transition team declined to comment. Iran’s decision comes after its parliament passed a bill, later ap- O GCC leaders, return from Al-Ula with glory proved by a constitutional watch- dog, aimed at hiking enrichment to pressure Europe into providing sanctions relief. It also serves as By Ahmed Al-Jarallah searching for the winner or the loser, but pressure ahead of the inaugura- Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times about where we are headed. tion of President-elect Biden, Unity is the key to face major chal- who has said he is willing to re- TOMORROW, the 41st Gulf Coopera- lenges facing the region. It is important to enter the nuclear deal. tion Council (GCC) Summit will be held realize that the upcoming challenges do The International Atomic in the Saudi city of Al-Ula. This summit not accept division or complacency and Energy Agency acknowledged is considered to be a renewal summit in that the global changes will undoubtedly Iran had informed its inspectors the course of the GCC member states, af- affect the entire globe. If the GCC states of the decision by a letter after ter three and a half years of unproductive- do not work to confront them with a uni- news leaked overnight Friday. ness due to the crisis that cast a shadow fied position, they will be among the big- “Iran has informed the agency over all the activities of this organization. gest losers. that in order to comply with a At some point it almost led its members In this regard, it is possible to ben- legal act recently passed by the towards taking the most difficult options. efit from the experience of the European country’s parliament, the Atomic However, since the beginning of Union despite the many languages and Energy Organization of Iran in- this crisis, Kuwait has been spearhead- varied customs, traditions and even laws. tends to produce low-enriched ing a positive role, which will today be However, it has been able to face crises, uranium ... up to 20 percent at the crowned with the promised reconciliation and its governments are superior to inter- Fordo Fuel Enrichment Plant,” at this meeting, which means turning a nal contradictions. Despite BREXIT, its the IAEA said in a statement. structure is still formidable. new page of relations. Planned Throughout the crisis, there were me- It is true that the Gulf Cooperation dia altercations between the two sides Council is not like the European Union, The IAEA added Iran did not which reached an unprecedented level. except that it has more unitary compo- say when it planned to boost Ideally, each party could have adopted nents than it, either in terms of unity of enrichment, though the agency the principle of “Let the one who has language, geography, or the customs, “has inspectors present in Iran never sinned throw the first stone”. traditions and family relations among its on a 24/7 basis and they have This assembly was created for the sake components, in addition to the similarity regular access to Fordo.” The of common destiny among its members. in laws and regulations. parliamentary bill also called Therefore, a crisis cannot shake its pillars Nonetheless, the storm that has passed on Iran to expel those inspec- or split the unity of the ranks among the should not leave its effects on this orga- tors, though it appears Tehran people of the same house. nization. The current efforts should be an still hasn’t decided to take that The formation of the GCC was based opportunity to re-straighten the compass step. on the idea of the late Amir of Kuwait and avoid the problems that caused the Salehi said Iran would need Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad during the Am- crisis. In addition, the current vision of to switch out natural uranium in man Summit in November 1980. He had the Qatari government, under the leader- centrifuges at Fordo for material presented the idea to the late Saudi King ship of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, differs already enriched to 4% to begin Fahad bin Abdulaziz, at a time when the from what it was before. the process of going to 20%. solidarity of Arab nations seemed to wob- Tomorrow’s summit is a historic mile- “It should be done under IAEA This Nov 4, 2020 file satellite photo, by Maxar Technologies shows Iran’s Fordo nuclear site. Iran has told supervision,” Salehi added. ble, prompting the Gulf nations to take a stone in the GCC’s march, in the presence international nuclear inspectors it plans to enrich uranium up to 20% at its underground Fordo nuclear facil- stance that will render its members a for- of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad. This is be- ity, a technical step away from weapons-grade levels, as it increases pressure on the West over its tattered Since the deal’s collapse, midable force when facing challenges. cause what is important is the return of atomic deal. (AP) Iran has resumed enrichment at Nonetheless, the GCC members need strength to this organization, and that its Fordo, near the Shiite holy city to turn a new page of relations, and end people do not remain locked in intransi- of Qom, some 90 kilometers (55 the media altercations and bickering, es- gence views that are based on the opinions miles) southwest of Tehran. pecially regarding what some Qatari offi- of those who do not see the full picture. Shielded by the mountains, cials had said, in a bid to reopen a wound. There should be differentiation be- Fordo is ringed by anti-aircraft Undoubtedly, there are those who seek tween private relations of countries and guns and other fortifications. It is to fish in troubled waters, play on the the general GCC interest. That is why about the size of a football field, contradictions of differences in views, we look at the Al-Ula summit and hope large enough to house 3,000 cen- and ferment such differences in order to that it results in progressive decisions and trifuges, but small and hardened achieve their evil objectives of dividing stances. Let it not be a one-day summit enough to lead U.S. officials to the components of the Gulf society. that begins in the morning and ends in suspect it had a military purpose In order to put things into perspective, the evening, because the matter at hand when they exposed the site pub- we realized that everyone is a loser in this deserves the candle to be burnt from both licly in 2009. crisis, despite the side benefits achieved ends in order to maintain the strength and The 2015 deal saw Iran agree by each country. unity of the GCC. to limit its enrichment in ex- change for sanctions relief. The The State of Qatar was able to compen- Email: [email protected] sate for the economic and defense losses, accord also called for Fordo to be as well as the four countries, but at the ex- Follow me on: turned into a research-and-devel- pense of major files and common issues. opment facility. Hence, self-compensation is not an Under Iran’s former hard-line alternative in the unitary collective co- President Mahmoud Ahmadine- operation. This means, we are today not [email protected] jad, Tehran began 20% enrich- ment. Israel, which has its own undeclared nuclear weapons pro- gram, feared Tehran was build- ing a bomb. Newswatch After the discovery of Fordo, the US worked on so-called “bunker buster” bombs designed to strike such facilities. As Israel threatened KUWAIT CITY: National Assembly spread in several countries of a variant at one point to bomb Iranian nucle- Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim has in- of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19), the A man grieves at the site of last year’s US airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport on Saturday, Jan ar sites like Fordo, U.S. officials vited the government and MPs to the or- source noted. 2, 2021, on the anniversary of the killings of Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of the Popular reportedly showed them a video of dinary sessions slated for Tuesday and The Saudi health authorities decided Mobilization Forces and Gen. Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s Quds forces. (AP) a bunker-buster bomb destroying Wednesday. that any non-Saudi national willing to a mock-up of Fordo in America’s Items in the agenda of these sessions travel to the Kingdom from the United Kingdom and the Republic of South Af- southwestern desert. include approving the minutes of the pre- Israel, which under Prime vious session, incoming letters, petitions rica, has to spend at least two weeks in ‘Common destiny’ focus a third country considered safer from the Day by Day Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and complaints, referring the speech of has continued to criticize Iran’s His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf mutated virus. (KUNA) RIYADH, Jan 3, (KUNA): Days and unity.” ❑ ❑ ❑ nuclear program, offered no im- Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to the ahead of summit talks in Saudi He also expressed confidence mediate comment Saturday. concerned committee which will draft the KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait listed 205 new Arabia, Kuwait’s Ambassador in the success of the summit un- WE bid farewell to 2020. We response, and reports of various parlia- coronavirus infections and one virus-relat- in Riyadh said he believes Gulf der the wise leadership of Saudi pray to God Almighty that 2021 General’s slaying mentary committees. ed death on Saturday to raise the total to Cooperation Council leaders will Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdu- will be better unlike the year These reports include that of the For- housands of Iraqis converged 151,074 and 937 respectively, the health discuss challenges with “belief in laziz Al-Saud and Crown Prince gone by which hurt the entire on a landmark central square in eign Affairs Committee as follows: fi rst ministry said. a common destiny.” Prince Mohammad bin Salman world and caused a lot of harm. report on the approval on the Constitution Nonetheless, we have Baghdad on Sunday to commem- The number of people hospitalised with The talks come amid a “fra- bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. orate the anniversary of the kill- of International Communication Associa- the virus currently stands at 3,147, with ternal and positive atmosphere,” learned lot of lessons from 2020 tion for the year 2010, sixth report on the The Gulf Cooperation Coun- – the need for freedom when the ing of a powerful Iranian general 47 of them in intensive care units, accord- said Sheikh Ali Al-Khaled Al- cil is stepping steadily towards agreement between Kuwait and Turkey ing to ministry spokesman Dr. Abdullah quarantine period shackled us and top Iraqi militia leader in a regarding military drills and trainings, Sabah. “This reflects a sense of the fifth decade of cooperation inside our homes; we learned a US drone strike. Al-Sanad, who revealed that some 3,245 responsibility and sincere belief march due to the wisdom of GCC 17th report on military cooperation be- swab tests were conducted over the last lot from the world closed on us Roads leading to Tahrir Square tween Kuwait and Ukraine, and 18th re- day out of a total of 1,262,238. in the importance of strengthen- countries leaders, said the Gulf for more than a year. were closed off and security was port on commercial marine navigation co- The ministry had earlier reported that ing Gulf solidarity, facing com- Cooperation Council Secretary We pray to God to give us tight as the crowds gathered in operation between Kuwait and Morocco. some 213 more people had been cured mon challenges and maintaining General Dr. Nayef Al-Hajraf. courage to put the ‘trouble- response to a powerful Iraqi mi- peace and stability in their coun- some’ year behind us – the ❑ ❑ ❑ from the virus over the past day, raising Also: litia’s call for a rally marking the the total of those to have overcome the tries,” he added. year that unleashed the virus, occasion and demanding the ex- RIYADH: The Saudi Ministry of Inte- disease to 146,990. (KUNA) “The Arab Gulf region faces KUWAIT CITY: His Highness brought death and strife, wars, pulsion of US troops from Iraq. rior on Saturday announced easing the ❑ ❑ ❑ great economic, development and the Amir of Kuwait’s envoy For- corruption, thefts and plundered The killing of Gen Qassim So- recently adopted coronavirus restrictions, political issues and challenges,” eign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmed our happiness. including the suspension of international leimani and Abu Mahdi al-Mu- KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait Airways Corpo- said the ambassador, adding that Nasser Al-Muhammad Al- Everything in that year was handis pushed Tehran and Wash- fl ights to and from airports across the ration (KAC) has been instructed to open disturbing, misery ruled the Kingdom and the sealing of land and sea the leaders “will discuss all these Sabah delivered a handwritten ington perilously close to all-out ticket reservations for Kuwaitis, their fi rst letter to Saudi Arabia’s King roost. We pray to God to take ports. degree relatives and domestic workers issues and challenges with one vi- away all the viruses from us. conflict and sparked outrage in The air, land and sea ports will reopen under their sponsorship to return from the sion stemming from their belief in Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. Let it leave with its viruses Iraq, leading parliament to pass a as from 11:00 am. (local time) tomorrow, banned countries, reports Al-Anba daily a common destiny and their keen- The message illustrated the forever. We pray to God Al- non-binding resolution days later Sunday, with specifi c safety measures be- quoting reliable sources. ness to preserve the interests of the close-knit bilateral brotherly ties mighty to spare us because the calling for the expulsion of all ing in place, a senior offi cial of the minis- Sources said all the Kuwaitis, who are region’s countries and its people.” between both countries and their virus was ‘disturbing’ in every foreign troops from Iraq. try said in a press release late tonight. in the banned countries, were advised to The ambassador recalled the people and means to support and sense of the word. Sunday’s rally was being The tightened restrictions, stipulated in follow up the developments on the above- loss of the late Amir of Kuwait, strengthen these relations across ... Yet tomorrow is another held amid heightened tensions two statements over the last two weeks, mentioned directive and to return to Ku- His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al- all spectrums, along with recent day. between Iran and the US in the were part of precautions against the wait on the specifi ed dates. Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, who developments on the regional Zahed Matar final days of President Donald “long strived for Gulf solidarity and international fronts. Trump’s administration. ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 LOCAL 2 ‘Difficult to conduct paper-based exams for 1st semester students’ Minister stresses on importance of qualified educators

By Abdulrahman Al-Shammari ‘It looks like vehicles are crossing a minefield’ Al-Seyassah Staff and Agencies KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: Dur- Residents of Khaitan area complain of ing a meeting between educa- KUNA photo tional sector leaders and the Information Minister Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi during his visit to the house Minister of Education and of artist Al-Mufarrej. MPW’s negligence to repair the roads Higher Education Dr Ali Al- KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: Whoever Mudhaf recently, an agree- ‘Singer Al-Mufarrej documented folklore’ is led by his bad luck to visit Khai- ment was reached regarding tan area to follow up something Kuwait’s Information Minister Ab- the years.” will assert that this area does not the difficulty of conducting dulrahman Al-Mutairi said Sun- Al-Mutairi made the remarks paper-based exams for the day iconic singer Abdulaziz Al- while visiting Al-Mufarrej, board belong to Kuwait, even though this Mufarrej, also known as Shadi chairman of Kuwait artists society, country is classifi ed among the first semester students of all Al-Khaleej, contributed to docu- at his home to inquire about his richest in the world. educational levels including mentation of folkloric songs and health condition. This is due to the level of deteri- high school, in addition to “genuine Kuwait tradition.” Kuwaitis, he said, remembered oration of the main and inner roads Al-Mutairi, also Minister of Al-Mufarrej as a lead singer in na- the inability to conduct ex- State for Youth and head of tional operettas and indeed “set- in this area, despite the high degree aminations through the on- the National Council of Culture, ting an example in giving.” of activity due to the presence of Art and Letters (NCCAL), said The minister urged young art- commercial complexes and invest- line system due to technical, Al-Mufarrej “is highly regarded ists to follow the lead of those ment buildings, as well as service professional and educational within the artistic movement in iconic artists like Al-Mufarrej. buildings for providing services to reasons, reports Al-Qabas Kuwait, Gulf and Arab regions Al-Mufarrej thanked Al-Mutairi citizens and residents, reports Al- because of his distinguished for his visit which showed his sup- daily quoting informed works he presented throughout port to artists. (KUNA) Rai daily. During a tour by the daily, sev- sources. eral citizens and residents did not They explained that the ministry exaggerate when they described is planning not to hold exams next Photo by Sameer Shiqer the state of the area’s streets as Vehicles move slow due to the potholes in one of the streets. month for all students in different ac- “bad”. ademic levels, and instead depend on They said, “When we watch the station roundabout from any direc- the entrances to the area and its the continuous assessment grades of movement of cars on these streets, tion, I feel as if I am going through main streets. It could, in a later the students gathered through assign- we feel as if the drivers of these a minefi eld due to the many deep period, complete the maintenance ments, and attendance. Also, the first vehicles are crossing a minefi eld potholes located in the streets of of the side streets. Neglecting the semester exam scores will be merged due to the many deep potholes that the area”. main streets indicates to us that with the scores of the year-end ex- fi ll the streets, specifi cally from Al-Duwaihi asked the Ministry the area is far from the concerns ams, which are to be paper-based and the Khaitan entrance sign on the of Public Works offi cials to put of the Ministry of Public Works’ on the basis of second semester cur- Airport Road, through the police the area among their priorities like officials.” ricula only. station roundabout and the police other areas of Kuwait, and not to Many of those whom the dai- The attendees of the meeting also station street, and until all the inner let it become the second Jleeb Al- ly met said they hoped that the discussed the need for students to grad- ually return to schools from the begin- streets in the area.” Shuyoukh. ministry would at least fill the A number of residents of the ning of the second semester in early He said, “This area has large deep pits that are prevalent on March based on a well-thought-out area urged offi cials of the Ministry commercial complexes with inter- the main streets, until the signing plan, after obtaining the approval of the of Public Works to play their role national brands that are only inter- of maintenance contracts, as it is health authorities. in working on the maintenance ested in maintaining their streets.” inconceivable that the ministry is The sources revealed that an im- of these roads, as they have not Furthermore, Ayman Mustafa unable to fill the pits that cause portant meeting will be held soon been maintained for more than ten said, “Since the time I came to major breakdowns for the cars of by the Education Committee of the Photo by Rizk Taufiq years. They expressed surprise that Kuwait in 2010, the area’s streets the motorists. Council of Ministers and officials Minister of Housing Dr Ma’arafi with Al-Hajri and Al-Badi. these streets were left for several have remained the same. In fact, Informed sources said the State of the Ministry of Education, to re- years without maintenance. they have gotten worse because of Audit Bureau approved the main- view their plans for examinations and Minister vows to up credit bank’s capital In this regard, Rashid Al-Duwai- the lack of maintenance. tenance of one of three practices ensure gradual return of students to hi said, “We regret that the streets The traffi c on the main and side that were previously put forward schools, and then settle on the final of Khaitan area, which is among streets of the area is very dense due for the maintenance of the main decision. Dr Ma’arafi meets Mutla’a City the old areas of Kuwait and is in- to the huge population that resides streets in all six governorates, add- Appropriate habited by a large number of citi- in the area”. ing that it is expected that the min- Indicating that all options are open, residents to know their views zens and expatriates, are in such a In addition, Fahd Al-Otaibi istry will this week obtain the ap- the sources affi rmed the keenness of bad situation. said, “I wish the concerned au- proval of the bureau regarding the the ministry to take the most appropri- By Abdul Nasser Al-Aslami are within the fi rst phase of the Al- Mutla’a residential city project. When I go through the police thority would maintain at least remaining two tenders. ate decision for the sake of the educa- Al-Seyassah Staff tional process, and in the interest of The owners of these plots have students. KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: Minister of been waiting since Dec 2, 2020, to Meanwhile, Minister of Education State for Housing Affairs and Min- the present day to get an appoint- and Minister of Higher Education, Dr ister of State for Services Affairs, Dr ment to go to the Public Authority Ali Al-Mudhaf has emphasized on the Abdullah Ma’arafi , met a number of for Housing Welfare to receive the importance of having a second line of volunteer committees from various ‘To Whom It May Concern’ certifi - qualifi ed educators to assume the tasks housing projects to exchange views, cates addressed to both the Kuwait of supervision, and qualify adminis- fi nd out their requirements, respond Municipality and the Credit Bank trative and educational cadres with to their inquiries about the future of to help the owners of these plots to the ability and competence to follow their cities and future residential ar- complete the procedures for issuing up and continue the process success- eas, and listen to the most prominent building permits and start construc- fully, pointing out that the ministry was problems and obstacles facing the tion on their plots of land. and is still keen to take serious steps people in the Al Mutla’a residential Injustice city project. to strengthen development plans and For his part, a member of the Al- qualify the functional and supervisory The head of the voluntary commit- tees in the city of Mutla’a, Mishaal Mutla’a Residential City Residents leaderships. Committee, Misha’al Al-Badi, Dr Al-Mudhaf said this during a Al-Hajri, said Minister Dr Ma’arafi has promised to raise the capital of said: We have presented to the min- ceremony which was held to honor ister all the late matters, foremost the graduates of the twelfth batch of the Kuwaiti Credit Bank so that all residents of Al Mutla’a City can ben- of which is the injustice that befalls the Academy for Leadership Prepa- a large segment of the people of ration of the Kuwait Teachers As- efi t from construction loans and start building houses on their plots. He Al-Mutla’a residential city, who sociation recently which was held are the owners of the plots located atthe Sheikh Abdullah Al-Mubarak called on everyone to be completely reassured of this aspect. in the suburb N6 and the two dis- Al-Sabah hall at the Society’s head- tributions in the upper part of the quarters. Requirements suburb N7. “There are plans drawn up and Al-Hajri said all the requirements For his part, the head of the approved programs in line with the of the Al-Mutla’a residential city Al Mutla’a People’s Committee, policies aimed at advancing our project were presented with full trans- Khaled Al-Anzi, said the minister educational process, and to achieve parency during the meeting, and “we has been to address the Minister of its desired goals in order to fill va- explained to the minister the impor- Municipality to know the timetable cancies with qualified professional tance of speed in taking the neces- for granting building orders to citi- personnel, who are distinguished for sary decisions towards the needs of zens and to address all concerned competence, knowledge and experi- Al-Mutla’a City and the consequent parties to determine their readiness ence,” said the minister. positive effects on more than 28,000 to meet the city’s multiple needs, He pointed out the change is the families who have been waiting for such as water purifi cation stations, year of life, and one of the prudence long years, as it was discussed to open electricity, landscaping, and others. is keenness on communicating genera- the issue of loan.” tions and investing in the experiences He added, the committee has The minister promised to solve and accumulated achievements, noting called for increasing the number that the Kuwait Teachers Association this problem in addition to amend- of people who are called to re- (KTA) is a major tributary and partner ing the bylaw so that the rental al- ceive building permits from a hun- that contributes to supporting the edu- lowance continues to be paid to the dred citizens daily to two hundred cational process and plays a prominent citizen during the coming days af- at least, taking into account that role in supporting the educational sys- ter the New Year’s vacation. the number of plots of land in the tem. During the meeting, Al-Hajri Mutla’a City project is 28,288, a stressed on the opening of the auto- number that cannot be compared to Impact mated system for the people of Sub- the number of other projects as it is He added the training courses held urb N6 – owners of 2,445 plots, and the fi rst project awaiting building by the association in cooperation with the distribution in the upper part of orders in terms of drawing lots and the Center for Community Service and Suburb N7 owners of 730 plots, who distribution of lots. Continuing Education at the Kuwait University have a positive impact on educational administration, and “we Bid to operate diesel generators hope them to continue and expand,” said Al-Mudhaf. He continued, saying: “I am pleased MEW signs KD 4.4 million contract to send a bouquet of thanks, gratitude By Muhammad Ghanem tion Networks Sector represented by and appreciation to the teachers and all the Emergency Department held the employees of the Ministry of Education Al-Seyassah Staff preliminary meeting for the tender for their responsibility and their strenu- KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: Director for the supply of 44 generators of ous efforts which they exerted during of the Emergency Services Depart- various sizes. During the meeting, the Corona pandemic at Kuwait Uni- ment in the Electrical Distribution inquiries were answered by repre- versity.” Networks Sector, Eng Adel Mah- sentatives of companies that wish to The head of the KTA, Mutei Al- moud, announced that the ministry compete to win the tender. Ajami, said that the Academy contin- has signed a contract to transport He explained the aforementioned ued its distinction this year, through and operate diesel power generators tender includes the supply of 12 its purposeful and rich courses and with a local company. generators of 180 kV, 12 generators activities, and with the participation Eng Mahmoud said in a press of 320 kV, and 12 generators of 500 of a group of lecturers and specialists, statement the cost of the contract is kV, in addition to 8 generators of despite the challenges and diffi culties 4,409,000 dinars. The contract in- 1800 kV. in light of the decisions and preventive cludes 22 ‘truck’ heads to transport He said the Emergency Services measures that were taken by the Coun- power generators of various sizes Department is the last line of de- cil of Ministers to confront the spread from their sites to areas that are ex- fense for the Ministry of Electricity of the Coronavirus pandemic and work posed to emergency outages beyond and Water, through which the power on completing the second semester of the control of the ministry, as well outage areas are provided with the the academy ONLINE in cooperation as 10 ‘diesel tankers’, as well as necessary electrical energy, until the with the Center for Community Service providing a supply service to diesel faults are repaired and power is re- and Continuing Education at Kuwait backup generators. stored through the network, describ- University. He mentioned that the Distribu- ing it as the ministry’s ‘fi rst aid’. ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 LOCAL 3

Other Voices

‘Split opposition can’t match govt’ “THE opposition, which is shrinking will continue to direction that leads to isolation, barren convergence shrink when the rest of the papers of some of its affi li- and dissonance with every topic, event and situation to ates are exposed in the fi rst upcoming grilling or when which the life of a Kuwaiti is tied. We explicitly say that voting on any popular or government laws, and I am cer- some MPs who got elected to the 2020 have failed in tain that only 15 members will remain from the entire every area.” opposition which once boasted of more than 40 mem- ❑ ❑ ❑ bers,” columnist Za’ar Al-Rashidi wrote for Al-Anba daily. “Unfortunately, it is shameful for the National As- “In short, the government can question itself, to be sembly sessions to have such a disappointing start, shat- more precise, the government can easily ask one of the tering the hopes of many patriots in this country. Former pro-government MPs to submit a grilling request against lawmakers and ministers were even prevented from at- any one of the ministers and see the results. tending the opening session in which His Highness the “Of course, in order to mix the papers, it is better for Amir and His Highness the Crown Prince were present,” the interrogation to target a minister whose family or columnist Saoud Al-Jinfawi wrote for Al-Jarida daily. tribe has a big number of MPs, especially if they are “At the same time, hundreds of young people were al- among those affi liated with the opposition, so the gov- lowed to attend the session, while many elderly and sane ernment in this way will shuffl e the cards and hit the people were deprived of the chance to attend. This led opposition in an early political killing, which will result to chaos that never happened before. Opening sessions in the popular interrogation of the opposition or at least are supposed to bear a celebratory character, dominated dismantle it. by the spirit of optimism and hope for a better future “The previous government had for the people who are still suffering from the effects of resorted to this trick in the 2016 corruption that many have acknowledged. Some have Assembly, of course not with ac- an offi cial or popular capacity, or they are interested in curacy but with the same princi- local political affairs from outside Kuwait, such as the KUNA photo ple. international organizations or media. His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah received recently the President of “The idea is to interrogate “If democracy is contaminated with corruption and State Audit Bureau (SAB) Faisal Al-Shaya. During the meeting, Al-Shaya presented His Highness a copy of the controlled by the corrupt, we will not achieve develop- annual report of the Audit Bureau fi scal year 2019/2020. (KUNA) yourself before they question you, or based on the rule ‘if they ment or progress. The only solution is to eradicate cor- question you, then question your- ruption from the roots which are in the form of certain self and mix up their papers’ so ideas, methods and political practice. Corruption takes that you confuse them. without giving anything to the nation. “The politically or intellectu- Al-Rashidi “The democratic path must return to the right direction ‘Asphalting of roads damaged ally inconsistent opposition is un- that gives hope to the people, not pain. Our democracy is able to confront the government. Rather, the opposition real, not a farce that is used to achieve wealth for certain has lost all its political battles with the government so individuals instead of prosperity for all the people.” far and will lose in the coming days because it is multi- ❑ ❑ ❑ sectarian and not a single ideological fabric with which by ’18, recent rains continues’ “In a video clip that was uploaded recently, someone it can face a united and coherent government. “The main and basic condition for the success of any advised MP Badr Al-Dhahoum to neither cooperate nor opposition in the world is that it be of one color, and its hold hands with some groups in the Kuwaiti society King Fahd Highway priority: PART members are intellectually affi liated with it and at least towards the end of such a hateful speech,” columnist work under one leadership. Osama Safar wrote for Al-Rai daily. “As for an opposition formed from a political and in- “My conversation today is not with the person who KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: The Public Authority Sources revealed there are four contracts for mainte- tellectual mixture, including the independent, partisan, owns the video. Even if I interview him for years, he ideological and tribal cannot succeed, neither politically would not change his opinion which he grew up with for Roads and Transportation (PART) con- nance works on King Fahd Road – contract numbers 418, and that is another story. I direct my speech to the wise 419, 420 and 421 – as this is one of the most vital high- or otherwise. tinues the asphalt pavement works on several “More precisely, a political bloc of 4 members who people of this country. Is it not surprising that until the highways as per the seven maintenance con- ways that witnesses high traffi c volume throughout the are politically agreed on the principles, goals and visions writing of this article, we did not hear the voice of MP tracts it signed earlier, in addition to other day, considering it serves densely populated residential is dozens of times better than a mixed opposition made Badr Al-Dahoum, who represents the nation, including areas. Sources said this road needs maintenance works up of half the Assembly. all of the groups? road works in compliance with the offi cial di- and repair of damaged parts, especially the areas affected “Now, do you know the reason for the repeated loss “The most surprising and confusing aspect is the rective to quickly repair and maintain roads by heavy rains in November 2018. of the new opposition? Do you know the reason for gov- parliament-government silence towards those who un- throughout the country, reports Al-Jarida ernment supremacy? dermine our national unity. We did not hear any reaction Sources affi rmed the authority is keen on repairing damages except the silence of the graves! daily quoting sources. on highways; disclosing the fi fth contract (number 324) is for “The current opposition will gradually shift from the form of collective opposition that it takes now to the in- “As for the lawmakers - one of whom was mentioned, the repair and maintenance of it seems there is nothing wrong with the abovemen- the Sixth Ring Road, the sixth dividual opposition, and this matter will take place dur- ing the current session, and with the fi rst interrogation, tioned incident … as if it is ‘normal’. I did not read to contract (number 398) is for them even a single statement in this regard, knowing Fahaheel Expressway, and more of the opposition papers will be revealed that are already non-consistent and will lose their weight and that these MPs benefi t directly from the votes of their the seventh contract is for the constituents and this is normal. Fifth Ring, Ghazali, Old Jahra will diminish in numbers over the coming days. “In the event any of the opposition members present “It is really disgusting for someone to show such a roads and others. scene after all the documented history on the love of the Sources added the mainte- an interrogation now, another interrogation will follow, nance works on the highways and the title will be ‘Made in the Government’.” people for their country - Sunnis, Shiites, urbanites and doubled during the curfew pe- Bedouins - and their heroic sacrifi ces. It is really sad that riod as the authority was keen Also: the voice of extremism is heard, but the saddest aspect is on taking advantage of the “Unfortunately, the National Assembly of 2020 is de- the governmental/parliamentary silence.” period to complete the main- void of all features and the performance is clear from ❑ ❑ ❑ tenance and repair of roads all the beginning as it does not live up to the level of ambi- “Jahra is one of the largest and most populated gover- over the country. tion and aspirations. It is too restricted and captive and norates in Kuwait, yet it laden with shortcomings,” col- unable to encounter the embarrassing situations and Treatment umnist Talal Al-Enezi wrote for Al-Rai daily. events. This is quite evident and confi rmed by request- “The governorate has neither entertainment facilities Meanwhile, the Kuwait ing investigation committees which we know and they Oil Company (KOC) sent nor beaches, but it is surrounded by many health and en- know the end well, but we say it is arrogance and obsti- vironmental time bombs such as landfi lls, tyres, camps about 900 questions to local nacy, devoid of content and goal,” columnist Abdulaziz and international contrac- and others. Even the beautiful projects are neither com- KUNA photo Khuraibet wrote for Al-Shahed daily. pleted nor operated properly. HH the Kuwaiti Amir’s representative Foreign Minister Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mo- tors that are participating in “In this current situation, we do not blame any MPs the environmental treatment “For example, the new Jahra Hospital which was hammad Al-Sabah delivers a written message to His Highness the King of Bahrain. but rather we blame the voter who elected them moti- commissioned by His Highness the late Amir Sheikh project for oil-polluted soil vated by the illusion of change, while some of them do as a result of the brutal Iraqi Sabah Al-Ahmad, is indeed a huge urban edifi ce, but not have any qualifi cation, political experience, or abil- it has not been fully operational until now even if it is invasion, which is part of the ity to act in real positions. ready. United Nations’ environmen- “Such representatives just want to prove that they KPC to extend tenure of offi cials tal treatment program, reports play their role within each of the National Assembly “Some experts told me that all departments are ready Al-Anba daily. sessions in every situation and event without the need for operation, but the Ministry of Health does not want According to offi cial sourc- to receive the building. The hospital consists of more whose services expire end of Jan es, KOC has sent inquiries to to record a serious and explicit position in rejecting and denouncing what is happening, and this may also hap- than 110 wards but only 10 have been operational. The KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: The Board of Di- ter to the ministry, stating that the central the contractors about the pre- rest are ready but not operational. The most important vious work they carried out in pen in the future. rectors of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation employment data confi rmed the presence “It is not strange if the MP does not know how to wards that should be operating now include casualty, decided to extend the tenure of offi cials, of Kuwaitis who are qualifi ed to address the cleaning the oil-contaminated intensive care, internal medicine, cardiology and others. whose services in the corporation’s sub- ministry’s need for teachers with the above- soil and the most prominent exercise his right guaranteed by the constitution, for some of them do not care about reading the Constitu- “In fact, a building of this size was not used before. sidiaries will be terminated by the end of mentioned specializations, including other methods used in treatment, in The fi rst thing they wanted to do was turn it into a quar- January 2021, reports Al-Anba daily quot- jobs currently occupied by non-Kuwaitis. addition to meeting the tech- tion, the law, the articles or the internal regulations, but are concerned with one issue without realizing any other antine center for corona patients who were transferred ing a reliable source. The CSC then gave a breakdown of nical standards in order to to the old hospital after the complaints and pressure According to the source, the tenure ex- qualifi ed Kuwaiti teachers for the follow- consider the offers previously consequences and dimensions, and so on. The political agendas are almost empty of the content in addition they from some parties.” tension decision covers three offi cials at ing subjects: Islamic Sharia – 463, His- submitted. ❑ ❑ ❑ the level of chief executive offi cer in oil tory – 186, Geography – 283, Psychology The company has received are chaotic and messy. companies and whose services will con- – 150 and Philosophy – 106. bids from contractors for the “It is unfortunate that some MPs disappointed the na- “The supplementary session or the so-called special clude by the end of December 2020. And , the Financial Sector at the Min- north Kuwait and south Ku- tion from the fi rst meeting and not from the session, and session for the election of National Assembly commit- “The extension is aimed at making istry of Education continues its efforts to wait contracts for drilling, still do not know their basic roles in the National As- tees witnessed some practices that do not call for op- the appropriate comparison between the review and audit the lists of staff entitled to transportation and processing sembly. I was surprised that after a week of the elections timism in electing the chairpersons, rapporteurs and leadership positions or for the Council the excellent performance bonus, including activities. The project aims to to the post of the Speaker of the Parliament, some par- members of these committees!” columnist Dr Moham- of Ministers to decide to extend further administrators and teachers -- around 89,000 build two untreatable waste liamentarians are still unable to make a decision, express mad Al-Dowaihees wrote for Al-Shahed daily. the tenure of the concerned offi cials,” the in the head offi ce and educational districts, dumps, which include wet oil an opinion and overcome the situation and the embar- lakes and dry oil lakes, with “In general, there was no selection of the right per- source added. reports Al-Anba daily quoting sources. rassment in which they were put in front of the voters, son in the right place as the committees rather encour- Meanwhile, the Civil Service Commis- Sources disclosed the sector is ex- the basic capacity of each others are still subject to controversy and convictions as landfi ll being one million cu- aged unpleasant partisan, tribal and sectarian trends and sion (CSC) revealed that 1,188 Kuwaiti pected to complete its review and audit they still think about whether a person acts out of free currents. The interests of the homeland or the citizens teachers are qualifi ed to work in the Min- tasks within this week, indicating the lists bic meters. will or is forced to act according to the will of the others istry of Education in fi ve fi elds of speciali- will be referred to the fi nancial observers The objective of the two were not taken into consideration in choosing the chair- and this is evident because of the lack of clarifi cation of persons, rapporteurs and members of these committees. zation -- Islamic Sharia, History, Geogra- for fi nal approval and then to the Central contracts is to treat about 13 the position and opinion. phy, Psychology and Philosophy, reports Bank of Kuwait to pave way for disburse- million cubic meters of oil- This has prompted some members to withdraw from the “Some become emotional to escape the public scenar- committees as soon as they were formed! Al-Qabas daily. ment. contaminated soil. io via interaction in the virtual world and social media The CSC asked the ministry to deter- Sources said the decision to reduce the The sources affi rmed the “One of the very specialized committees elected continued commitment of platforms by declaring a state of rejection, condemna- someone who holds an intermediate certifi cate as its mine its manpower needs with the afore- ministry’s budget by 20 percent for the tion and resentment and raising the banner of battles, but mentioned specializations and to ensure current year does not include the excellent KOC to preserve the environ- chairperson while another member holds a doctorate de- that only Kuwaitis will be appointed to fi ll performance bonus , indicating the minis- ment, health and safety, and in reality they are not what they portray to be. gree in the fi eld that the committee oversees!” up such vacancies. try has allocated a KD 55 million for this enhance knowledge and un- “We must say here that the atmosphere of the Na- The daily obtained a copy of CSC’s let- purpose. derstanding of environmental tional Assembly of 2020 lacks the spirit of democracy, — Compiled by Ahmad Al-Shazli rehabilitation.

Girl precedes boy 24 babies on Jan 1 KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: Hospitals in the country recorded the birth of 24 babies on the fi rst day of 2021; fi rst is a Kuwaiti baby girl born at 12:01 am in Farwaniya Hos- pital, second is a Kuwaiti baby boy born at 1:04 am in Adan Hospital, third is an Egyptian baby boy born at 1:15 am in Jah- ra Hospital and fourth is a baby - whose nationality and gender were not revealed - born at 2:04 am in the Maternity Hospital, reports Al-Anba daily. Farwaniya Hospital recorded the high- est number of babies born on Jan 1, 2021 - eight, followed by Jahra Hospital with seven, Adan Hospital with fi ve and Mater- nity Hospital with four. A total of nine Kuwaiti babies were born - three of whom were born in Adan Hospital along with 14 expatriates and one Bedoun; while the number of baby boys reached 14 compared to 10 baby girls. No twins were born on the fi rst day of the year and the methods of delivery were normal and Cesarean section. ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 LOCAL 4

Photo by Mohammad Morsi Passengers arrive in Kuwait after the resumption of fl ights on Jan 2. DGCA had closed the Kuwait International Airport from Dec 22nd until Jan 1 in view of the rising number of COVID cases. Kuwait resumes commercial fl ights with ban on ‘high risk’ countries

Commercial fl ights at Kuwait International Airport resumed on Saturday af- measure aims to avoid any strain on the country’s healthcare system. A negative COVID-19 test may also be mandatory depending on the ter a brief suspension sparked by fears over importing a new strain of the A series of precautionary measures airline passengers were urged to traveler’s fi nal destination, he added, while incoming passengers are re- coronavirus, the civil aviation authority said on Thursday. adhere to still be enforced, the offi cial clarifi ed, saying registration on the quired to provide negative PCR test results conducted within 96 hours from A travel ban on the nationals of some 35 countries Kuwait has regarded website kuwaitmosafer.com is the fi rst step for nationals wishing to travel, the date of arrival. as “high risk” due to the spread of the coronavirus will remain intact, said before obtaining a travel insurance document that contains medical cover A 14-day home quarantine will be imposed on all arrivals in Kuwait in line Assistant Director General for Airport Affairs Saleh Al-Fadaghi, adding the for COVID-19. with established health protocols, he emphasized. (KUNA) More than 78 ‘top’ positions lying vacant in MEW sectors New power minister pushes for launching delayed tenders

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: According to supervi- sory reports, there are more than 78 vacant su- KUNA photo pervisory and leadership HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received re- cently, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah. positions in the Ministry of Education, They vary between head of depart- HH sends congratulations to Cuba, Sudan ment, superintendent, director of administra- Amir writes to Oman’s ruler on ties tion and general director in various sectors in the KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3, (KUNA): His Meanwhile, His Highness the Amir Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al- sent a cable on Friday to the Cuban Presi- ministry’s headquarters Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has written a dent Miguel Daz-Canel, congratulating and the six educational letter recently, to Oman’s Sultan Haitham him on his country’s National Day. zones, reports Al-Qabas bin Tariq Al-Said over bilateral relations, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh daily. in addition to current happenings around Meshaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah In this regard, informed sourc- the world. and His Highness the Prime Minister es explained that some of these Omani Deputy Prime Minister for the Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sa- jobs remain unoccupied for Council of Ministers Fahad bin Mahmoud bah sent similar cables. Also, His High- years but the time has come to Al-Said received the letter in hand. ness the Amir sent a cable on Friday to The letter, intended for the Omani rul- the President of Sudan’s sovereign Coun- fi ll them all with national com- er was handed over by His Highness the cil Abdulfattah Al-Burhan, congratulat- petencies and deserving employ- Amir’s envoy, Foreign Minister Sheikh ing him on his country’s National Day. ees, especially since they include Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Sabah, who high- His Highness the Crown Prince and highly sensitive positions linked Photo by Bassam Abu Shanab to millions of tenders, and their New Year revelers enjoying themselves at the Marina Mall fl outing the rules of social distancing and the lighted a desire to push ties between the His Highness the Prime Minister sent wearing of face masks. Arab Gulf neighbors even further. similar cables. continuation is extremely dan- gerous. According to the audit and re- Bid to determine number of staff in healthcare centers ‘Offshore Drilling Project’ symposium held view work of the State Audit Bu- reau, the ministry did not fi ll some supervisory positions in various organizational units. Necessary MoH to install eye scanner system to Marine oil production delayed measures were not taken to fi ll them in accordance with the pro- visions of CSC’s resolution No. record entry, exit of all its employees by ten years, says KOC’s Ajmi 25/2006, as they were occupied under assignment basis for long KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: Accord- on all eye scanner devices in order district including accountants, KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: Director of Ex- ment of business during the next year, as periods in some units, which re- ing to reliable health sources, the to monitor any violations in the legal workers, public relations, ploration Group at Kuwait Oil Company we expect that the logistical operations sults in weak internal control. Ministry of Health has completed process of implementing the deci- transaction executors, informa- (KOC) Mohammad Dawas Al-Ajmi says will start soon”. This is because the assignees are all procedures for installing an eye sion. tion systems, those paid as per the production operations in the sea will When asked about the delay in the con- responsible for other supervisory scanner system in all its facilities They stressed that those suffer- the work done. The team shall not happen in ten years from now, in the tract, which has so far reached about six functions, which is not consistent and launching its operation soon ing from severe or moderate intel- prepare the list of administrative best case, as the current drilling opera- months, he said, “This matter is under with the huge number of employ- with the aim of recording the en- lectual disability will be exempted staff; along with the supporting tions carried out by the company will take review and scrutiny by Kuwait Oil Com- ees and the large number of organ- try and exit of employees, reports from the eye scanner system, pro- data such as academic qualifi ca- three years from the start of the contract pany, since contractual matters, whether izational units within the organiza- Aljarida daily. vided that they submit evidence tions, nature of work, work his- signed with Halliburton and so far is un- from delaying work or canceling the con- tional structure of the Ministry of They explained that the eye from the Public Authority for Dis- tory and date of transfer to the specifi ed after the spread of the COV- tract, are left to the concerned authorities Education. scanner system will be linked to abled Affairs to affi rm that their current work place. ID-19 pandemic, reports Al-Anba daily. in the company. They are contractual le- Occupying the integrated systems of the Civil disability does not enable them to The team will also identify the He said, “After the drilling process and gal matters affecting a group of contracts Service Commission (CSC). It use the scanner to record their at- actual need for administrative the start of oil exploration, the company and projects”. The sources explained that the will be implemented in the min- tendance. staff in the primary healthcare will develop these wells and dig new ones However, Al-Ajmi stressed that the op- State Audit Bureau stressed the istry’s headquarters in Sulaibikhat Meanwhile, Health Ministry centers, in addition to implement- to determine the volume of production. tion to cancel the contract is not on the need for occupying all supervisory area, and then in all health zones, Undersecretary Dr Mustafa Reda ing a mechanism for the distribu- Later, work on oil installations from pro- table so far, but rather the delay in imple- positions in accordance with the hospitals and health centers. issued an administrative deci- tion of administrative employees duction lines and collection centers will mentation. provisions of the aforementioned The use of the eye scanner sys- sion on the formation of a team in line with the actual manpower CSC resolution in order to avoid begin to complete the oil infrastructure to Impact tem comes within the framework tasked to determine the number needs of primary healthcare cent- deal with production from the sea. weak internal control and disrupt of the ministry’s efforts for imple- of administrative staff in primary ers and other facilities of the During a symposium titled “Offshore Regarding the extent of the impact of the functioning of these units. Not menting digital transformation. healthcare centers with the direc- ministry in a bid to improve the Drilling Project” organized by the Public the COVID-19 pandemic on the fi nancial occupying these positions is a vio- With the spread of the COV- tor of Mubarak Al-Kabeer Health quality of services offered to the Relations and Information Department of cost of the project as a whole or changing lation that has been repeated in the ID-19 pandemic, the suspension District as team leader, director of public. the Ministry of Oil recently, Al-Ajmi said the studies on seismic surveys, Al-Ajmi Ministry of Education during the of the fi ngerprint scanner system Sabah Specialized Medical Dis- Article Three of the decision the COVID-19 pandemic caused delay in explained that the Exploration Group, past years and must be avoided. was among the precautionary trict as assistant team leader and states that the team shall work for the start of the offshore drilling project since 2014, carried out the seismic sur- The most prominent supervi- measures taken by the ministry to some medical experts as mem- one month, indicating that Civil execution to discover oil in Kuwaiti re- veys of the Kuwait Sea. During the fol- sory and leadership positions in preserve the health safety of all its bers, reports Al-Jarida daily. Service Commission Resolution gional and commercial waters, which was lowing years, specifi cally in 2017 and the ministry that have been vacant employees, necessitating resorting Article Two of administrative No. 40 of 2016 on the organiza- scheduled to start in July 2020. 2018, the surveys were studied, and the for almost three years are the po- to other alternatives to record the decree number 6485 specifi es the tion of work teams in government best results were drawn based on these sitions of directors of Mubarak Explorations attendance of employees in health points of reference for the team agencies shall be applied to this results. Al-Kabeer, Capital and Jahra edu- authorities. to determine the number of ad- team which will submit a report He explained that marine exploration Any delay or cancellation of the project cational zones, Director General The sources affi rmed that sur- ministrative staff in the primary on the results and recommenda- operations in Kuwait are not new. At- will not affect those studies in which the of the Department of Private Edu- veillance cameras will be installed healthcare centers in each health tions to the undersecretary. tempts were made in the past, specifi cally latest international technology was used. cation, Director of Educational in the 1980s or before. In 2013 and 2014, The company does not have any study or Affairs, Director of Coordination the company carried out a seismic survey expectation to obtain better fi nancial prices and Follow-up Department of serve the interest of work, and has been keen to take the neces- terms of the ministry’s tenders, of the entire marine area, which covered from the contractors in the event of cance- Public Education, and the Director contribute to creating job stability sary measures towards announc- with the aim of urgently putting about 6,000-7,000 square kilometers, us- ling the project and obtaining new fi nan- of Planning Department. and development of work. ing vacant supervisory jobs in the them forward and determining the ing the world’s best technology in marine cial offers from international companies. There are a number of admin- They said the Public Education educational areas and the depart- reasons they were delayed. survey. Al-Ajmi stressed that the marine area istrations, directorates and de- sector, in its response to the State ments affi liated with it”. One of the most important items The Kuwait Oil Company has identifi ed is considered a “virgin” area, which is partments with vacancies in the Audit Bureau, affi rmed its keen- Meanwhile, Minister of Oil, and that was discussed was the tenders the drilling of six offshore wells, three of promising for oil production in Kuwait in six educational zones especially ness to fi ll all vacant supervisory Minister of Electricity and Water related to electrical power stations which are chalk reservoirs and three other the future, adding that it needs billions of Jahra, Farwaniya, Capital and positions, as a ministerial decision Dr Muhammad Al-Fares has made and water stations for the mainte- Jurassic wells. The company has set a pe- investments to take advantage of this tre- Mubarak Al-Kabeer. About 11 was issued on December 31, 2019 his fi rst impression in the Ministry nance and modernization of equip- riod of one year from the signing of the mendous potential. vacancies have remained open in with additional conditions and of Electricity and Water by coor- ment and others. contract to start the offshore drilling. The He stated that the Kuwait Oil Company the information systems depart- rules for occupying supervisory dinating with the Central Agency In addition, Minister Dr Al- offi cial operations were scheduled to start has identifi ed six exploration wells that ment for more than four years, positions and the procedures for for Public Tenders (CAPT) to Fares discussed with the minis- in July 2020, but this period coincided with are not productive for offshore drilling, ten vacancies in the educational occupying them. push for the launch of the minis- try’s undersecretaries and mem- the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation development and activities sector, The sources said, “The coun- try’s delayed tenders, reports Al- bers of the technical team the which has negatively affected the project. has set, within the 2040 strategy, a vir- six in the fi nancial sector and fi ve try’s exposure to the COVID-19 Rai daily. fi nal report about the demand for The company is currently working with the tual number for production from the sea in the educational facilities sector, pandemic and the disruption of According to reliable sources, electricity and water for the next contractor to prepare towers and logistical of about 80,000-100,000 barrels per day, planning and others. work in government departments the concerned apparatus held an twenty years. The ministry’s plan matters including equipping the port. and this number does not represent the The sources stressed the neces- led to the delay in announcing extraordinary meeting recently to meet the demand was reviewed Al-Ajmi said, “Halliburton had provid- actual number of future production from sity of fi lling these vacancies as these jobs. Upon resumption of at the Ministry of Electricity and in line with statistical and scien- ed some initial dates for the commence- the sea. soon as possible, in order to pre- work, the Public Education sector Water to discuss 56 items from the tifi c models. ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 LOCAL 5

KUNA photo His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah is pictured with the leadership, senior officials during his visit to the Kuwait National Guard headquarters. KNG ‘vital’ part of security, defense apparatus in times of need, says PM Fire-fighters efforts during pandemic wins praise

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3, (KUNA): The Kuwait National Guard (KNG) is a vital KUNA photo part of the country’s Deputy Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Anas Khaled Al-Saleh visits the rescue center opposite the Kuwait Towers. security and defense apparatus especially Missing child found drowned during the times of need, said His Highness Kuwait Fire Force’s Maritime Rescue condolences to the family of the the Prime Minister Department has managed to retrieve deceased child, who had drowned after the dead body of a child who was swept being in the company of his father, who Sheikh Sabah Khaled up at the shores of the Arabian Gulf sufferred a similar fate. Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. besides the Kuwait Towers after a Sea goers were urged to adhere to Speaking during his visit to week-long search. safety guidelines at sea, namely to the KNG General Command, The body of the child, who had been closely monitor weather conditions, missing after a sailing expedition at sea ensure that the vessel and navigation His Highness Sheikh Sabah with his father, was recovered after its systems are in full working order and to Al-Khaled congratulated the whereabouts was reported to authori- maintain a means of communication new Deputy Chief of KNG ties. Kuwait Fire Force chief Lt Gen with authorities in the event of an emer- (retired General) Sheikh Khaled Al-Mekrad extended his sincere gency. (KUNA) Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah on attain- ing his post. ‘Killer’, four others held Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, who was received by Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf and KNG KUNA photo Bedoun stabbed, perishes in hospital Undersecretary Lieut-General HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah meets the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Anas Hashem Al-Refaei, affirmed that Khaled Al-Saleh and head of the Kuwait Fire Services Department Khalid Rakan Al-Mikrad. KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: An unidentified Mubarak Al-Kabeer and Al-Qurain. the position of KNG Deputy 33-year-old bedoun who was stabbed to The Ministry of Communications said in a Chief was a position of crucial death was rushed to the Adan Hospital by statement, as soon as the Legal Affairs importance, which entails great paramedics but the doctors failed to save Department was informed of the theft responsibility, indicating that Egyptian admits, re-enacts murder him, reports Al-Anba daily. attempt or, Ali Al-Anzi from the Legal Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf was The daily added, the bedoun was stabbed Affairs Department and Abdullah competent and up to the chal- four times in the stomach which opened his Al-Mansouri from the Telephone Network lenge. Kuwaiti killed in dispute over ‘iqama’ renewal stomach. Maintenance Department, were assigned to According to the security sources, the investigate the incident and follow the issue. Legacy KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: The crime. victim and residing in Jleeb bedoun was attacked due to previous dis- A report has been filed with the Mubarak Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf is General Department of Public A security source told Al-Anba Al-Shuyoukh. When police went agreements after being lured into the Al-Kabeer Police Station and personnel succeeding the legacy of former Relations and Security Media at that the Operations Room of the to his residence, they did not find Diwaniya of the main suspect who had four from the Criminal Evidences Department KNG a top officials including the Ministry of Interior released a Ministry of Interior received a him there. visitors in the Diwaniya. have been asked to lift the fingerprints from His Highness the Amir Sheikh statement on the murder of a report on the incident at about However, he was tracked with After stabbing the bedoun, he was alleg- the area. Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Kuwaiti in Khaitan, reports 3:00 pm Wednesday that there the help of satellite technology in edly run over by a vehicle, which cracked The ministry is coordinating with other Al-Sabah and His Highness the Al-Anba daily. was a corpse in one of the build- Hawalli at the home of one of his his skull. authorities to prevent the recurrence of Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal The statement added after a ings and that traces of blood were friends. The Attorney-General has ordered to file thefts of cables. Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, report was received about the all over the place including the During interrogation he admit- the case under premeditated murder. ❑ ❑ ❑ revealed Sheikh Sabah murder of the victim, a team was walls of the building and the stair- ted to the charge and guided The owner of the Diwaniya has been Al-Khaled who reiterated his formed to find the killer and it case. police to the place where he had detained for interrogation along with the Appeal rejected: The Court of Appeals confidence in the new KNG turned out that the murderer is an When securitymen, deputy hidden the murder weapon. four others. The Attorney-General has also has rejected the appeal to release the Deputy Chief. Egyptian working for the compa- public prosecutor and forensic He told police he had a dispute ordered the vehicle that the bedoun was run Fashionista, Jamal Al-Najadah and set On his visit, His Highness ny owned by the victim. men rushed to the site they dis- with his sponsor so he went to his over by to be impounded. January 7 to issue the verdict, reports Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said The Kuwaiti was allegedly covered the victim, born in 1960 house and stabbed him several ❑ ❑ ❑ Al-Qabas daily that it came as an extension of a murdered over a dispute to renew was stabbed 7 times on various times. The victim allegedly tried Al-Najadah has been sentenced to one previous visit by His Highness the residence permit. During parts of his body. to escape from the ‘killer’ but he Theft bid foiled: The employees of the year in prison with hard labor. She is the Amir last month to the KNG, interrogation the suspect is said to The suspect was allegedly ran after him and stabbed him telephone services sector at the Ministry of charged with insulting the Public Prosecutor adding that it also came within have admitted to committing the working for the company of the repeatedly. Communications managed to foil the theft who investigated her n on suspicion of guideline set by the leadership to of the telephone cables belonging to the money laundering through an audio record- the government in supporting of Booth No. 21 (wQ) that serve the areas of ing in the social media. Kuwait’s security and defense be beneficial to Kuwait’s security they embodied the high patriotic spir- Al-Jarallah was accused of publish- entities. especially during times of crisis and it and high efficiency in performing ing two articles in two issues (18219 The KNG played an important emergency. their on the ground duties to the full- and 18228) of Al-Seyassah newspa- role in addressing the most Meanwhile, Sheikh Ahmad est. per which contained phrases and a News in Brief prominent challenge facing Al-Nawaf congratulated His In a speech delivered on the occa- caricature that allegedly insulted the Kuwait this year, which was the Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh sion of His Highness the Prime Islamic Republic of Iran, and also spread of the coronavirus Sabah Al-Khaled on earning the trust Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled using phrases deemed as interference (COVID-19) pandemic and their of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Al-Hamad Al-Sabah visit to Fire in its internal affairs, and also offen- Police efforts lauded: The ‘Jan 1 incidents’ efforts in constructing field hos- Nawaf Al-Ahmad and His Highness Force headquarters, Al-Saleh said on sive to its leadership. Undersecretary of the Ministry of pitals and quarantine facilities behalf of all of the force’s employ- The Public Prosecution argued that Interior, Lieutenant-General Issam the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal will not be forgotten, noted Al-Ahmad, expressing hopes for suc- ees, he expresses his happiness and such offenses would harm the rela- Al-Naham, accompanied by a number of Indian kills himself Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled. senior Interior Ministry officials, made cess to His Highness the Prime pride to such visit, which comes as a tions between Kuwait and a friendly He stressed that the KNG’s Minister. continuation of previous visits to country Iran via a media campaign, an inspection tour KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: As the coun- support of the Interior, Defense, of Sabah Al-Ahmad try stepped into the New Year like Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled’s visit to senior leadership, namely His as indicated in the investigations, the rest of the world, several inci- and Health Ministries was of the KNG is an honor and it reflects Highness the Amir of Kuwait. adding that he also authorized the Marine City and the utmost importance to defeat the Kabad area, Friday, dents were reported from all over the government’s keenness on the Achievements publication of articles subject to the to see the prepared- Kuwait, reports Al-Anba daily. current pandemic. security and stability of Kuwait, the first accusation without investigating ness of the security The suburb of Khaitan witnessed His Highness the Prime official affirmed. In his speech, Al-Saleh highlight- the accuracy and truth of what he personnel at the the first fire of the New Year as the Minister extended his thanks to His Highness the Prime Minister ed the achievements of the force dur- published. entrances and exits fire destroyed the contents of an the KNG under the leadership of Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad ing the Coronavirus pandemic, as the In its verdict, the court explained of the regions and apartment on the eight floor of the Chief His Highness Sheikh Al-Sabah highlighted on Thursday force distributed batches of medicine that, despite the evidence presented Salem Al-Ali Al-Sabah and also the positioning of residential apartment but no human the efforts of Kuwaiti fire-fighters to supplies to those who need it most, by the plaintiff, the articles published mobile police casualties have been reported. The commended the role played by including constructing and securing did not qualify to be termed as a former Chief and current Crown save lives during the coronavirus patrols, reports cause of the fire is not known. pandemic, saying their sacrifices quarantine areas, securing and steril- media campaign against the plaintiff. Al-Anba daily. Al-Naham In the first assault case, an Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Sabah izing various entities, Also, the articles were published ten During the tour, unidentified Egyptian said he was in developing the national guards have been nothing short of admira- ble. Fire force crews also applied and days apart from each other, thus fall- the team conveyed mugged by five people and gave apparatus. monitored fire systems applications ing short of the text of paragraph 9 of to the security men the greetings and police details of the vehicle the sus- On his part, Sheikh Ahmad As he visited the Kuwait Fire Force (KFF) headquarter, where he to all (firefighting) services and Article 21 of law No. 3/2006 in the appreciation of the Minister of the pects were driving in. The incident Al-Nawaf said that the Kuwait licenses, which reached more than 80 matter of publications and publish- Interior Sheikh Thamer Al-Ali, appreci- happened in Qairawan. National Guard (KNG) was was received by Deputy Prime percent, the minister noted. ating the role played by the security men In another case, a Kuwaiti said his Minister and Minister of State for ing. eager to develop its apparatus, He stressed the (fire-fighters’) It is worth mentioning that the and efforts exerted for the safety and ex-wife threatened to cause him harm cooperate with state bodies and Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh, His keenness to develop the human security of the citizens and residents and for an unknown reason and a vehicle Highness the Prime Minister said Public Prosecution cited evidence on defend the country when it is resource element by activating virtu- the confirmation of the incident their constant vigilance to serve the went up in flames on the King Fahd required. these efforts have garnered firefight- homeland and preserve its security. Road opposite the Bayan Palace. al reality to ensure upgrades due pay- before Al-Jarallah, from what was He affirmed that he was hon- ers the respect and admiration of His ments and graduate batches of offi- ❑ ❑ ❑ The Kuwait Oil Company reported Highness the Amir. testified by a second secretary in the the theft of six cables from the Bahra ored to continue the legacy and cers and non-commissioned officers Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Revelers under probe: Official achievements of the former “We shoulder the responsibility to to join and assist their colleagues. field. The legal representative of the live up to the expectations of His what was mentioned in the two issues Spokesperson of the Information company has filed a complaint with Deputy Chief of KNG and cur- He affirmed that the force would (18219 and 18128) of Al-Seyassah Ministry Anwar Murad has confirmed rent Crown Prince His Highness Highness the Amir,” he said, adding continue to double efforts in coopera- the area police. that KFF staff had set a precedent newspaper on the matter. the discovery of violations committed by In yet another incident, an Indian Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad. tion and support for all military and ❑ ❑ ❑ a hotel, which organized a concert with- during the pandemic through their committed suicide by hanging inside Duties civilian state bodies, keeping out obtaining a permit, reports Al-Rai his apartment in Farwaniya area. efforts to provide urgent aid nation- Kuwait’s interest in mind. KNET ops see rise: Official data daily. The General Administration of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Nawaf said wide, lauding their “preparedness” to of the Shared Electronic Banking Murad confirmed all those behind the Security Relations and Information that he would do his best to per- deal with similar emergencies. Agencies add: Services Company (KNET) revealed concert were referred to the Public at the Ministry of Interior announced form his duties, pointing out that Citing newly enacted legislation, Editor acquitted: The Criminal that the value of the company’s oper- Prosecution for violating public order security personnel were able to the KNG was eager to carry out His Highness the Prime Minister said Court presided over by Judge Faisal ations in Kuwait reached KD 20 bil- and morals as per Article 12 of arrest the suspect who had set fire the leadership’s instructions in that such laws are instrumental in Al-Harbi acquitted the Editor-in- lion as at the end of October 2020 -- Ministerial Resolution number 32/2019; to a mosque off the Salmi Road. regards to fending of the threat of pushing life-saving efforts in times of Chief of Al-Seyassah and Arab four percent growth compared to the adding that the ministry, in cooperation the pandemic. trouble, wishing the nation continued Times newspapers Ahmad same period in 2019, reports Al-Anba with other concerned public institutions, The KNG is willing to extend growth and prosperity. Al-Jarallah who was accused of daily. are keen on implementing the laws of the inside the police station, reports Al-Rai daily. cooperation to other state entities Meanwhile, Deputy Prime insulting Iran through a published The data showed that around 375 country to protect public morals. including the Interior and Minister and Minister of State for ❑ ❑ ❑ This happened when the officer seized cartoon, and using phrases that can million transactions -- five percent the driving licence and the car registra- Defense Ministries, the Kuwait Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh said be deemed as interference in Iran’s higher than in 2019 -- were carried Officer assaulted: Two young men tion book from the man behind the wheel Fire Force (KFF) as well as oth- Thursday that Fire Force mission internal affairs and offensive to Iran’s out through various electronic pay- have been detained at the Abdali Police for reckless driving and told him and his ers, he indicated. during the pandemic was “ highly leader and supreme guide, as report- ment channels of KNET like points Station for assaulting a police officer friend to follow him to the police station. The KNG Deputy Chief added commended, appreciated, and made ed by Al-Seyassah daily . of sale (POS), ATMs and online pay- that this solid cooperation would the political leadership proud,” as According to the case file, ment portal. ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 LOCAL 6 Gulf Bank 2020: Swift response to unprecedented challenges as part of ongoing commitment to sustainability

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: Gulf Bank is logical growth and advancement, as the proud to mark 2020 as a year of historic Bank works to elevate its banking experi- transformation and swift, effective re- ence to better serve clients. sponses to unprecedented challenges. Weekly Social Media Initiatives From the start of the pandemic until the This year, Gulf Bank also launched present, Gulf Bank has been at the fore- several weekly social media campaigns, front of these response efforts, mobiliz- including: “Save the Environment” Sun- ing rapidly to improve conditions for our days, in which Gulf Bank focuses on recy- employees, extend a variety of innova- cling initiatives and encourages followers tive banking services to the public, and to reduce their plastic use; Motivational provide the highest level of service for Mondays, in which the Bank posts inspi- our beloved Kuwait. rational messages and influential content; Throughout the year, Gulf Bank has Tech Tuesdays, in which Gulf Bank remained committed to maintaining a highlights a weekly technological tip; robust sustainability program at the com- and Wellness Wednesdays, in which the munity, economic, and environmental lev- Bank presents health advice for increased els through sustainability initiatives that mental and physical wellness. The weekly were strategically selected to benefit both campaigns, which have quickly become a the country and the Bank. In 2020, Gulf few of the Bank’s most anticipated digital Bank’s social responsibility initiatives also segments, aim to deliver quick and benefi- went hand in hand with international ef- cial tips for users in an effort to promote forts, aligning with the United Nations’ 17 environmental awareness, lifestyle well- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ness, and financial literacy. Also known as the Global Goals, the SDGs were adopted by all United Nations Environmental Sustainability Member States in 2015 as a universal call World Cleanup Day to action to end poverty, protect the planet, In celebration of World Cleanup Day and ensure that all people enjoy peace and and in collaboration with non-profit ini- prosperity by 2030. tiative Alnowair, Gulf Bank employees The Assistant General Manager of participated in the largest campaign in Corporate Communications at Gulf Kuwait to clean public places as part of Bank, Mr. Ahmad Al Amir, commented: the Bank’s various efforts to preserve “Social responsibility has always been environmental sustainability. By partici- among the major pillars through which pating in World Cleanup Day, Gulf Bank Gulf Bank has contributed in service of employees had the chance to organize our country, in the interest of the sus- the largest daily gathering of waste in tainability of its material and human re- Kuwait’s history and collectively engage sources. In holding steadfast to our com- in positive social behavior towards the mitment to our communities, especially environment. during exceptional health and economic “Save the Planet” Sundays conditions, Gulf Bank is proud to have As part of Gulf Bank’s ongoing efforts succeeded across its sustainability ef- to increase environmental awareness, the forts, both through personal presence Bank also launched a series of weekly so- or virtual participation throughout the cial media posts offering followers quick year. We are extremely proud to have and easy ways to protect the environment witnessed our employees’ collaborative and preserve our world. The weekly spirits and volunteering efforts first-hand, posts, which are posted on Gulf Bank’s and will remain forever thankful and ap- Instagram Story, highlight various cru- preciative of their efforts.” cial topics including: the effects of global Al Amir continued: “There is no doubt warming, the positive impact of organic that 2020 was a unique year that was truly agriculture on our environment, the im- unlike any other. As we reflect on a year portance of environmental volunteering, that presented the world with completely and more. The weekly initiative also in- new challenges, we are very proud of what cludes a series of timely posts related to Gulf Bank has been able to achieve, espe- Kuwait’s seasonal traditions, with tips cially in light of the difficult circumstances on how to clean up after outdoor gather- the country was facing. At Gulf Bank, our Orange The World ings during “kashta” season, and encour- primary goal has always been to maintain ages followers year-round to reduce their an innovative communication approach waste emission and plastic use. with our followers, and we pride ourselves Recycling with Omniya & United on being at the forefront of national ef- Waste Management Company forts to provide positive public content In 2020, Gulf Bank also partnered with and a line of continuous communication United Waste Management Company to throughout the various stages of the pan- recycle paper as part of its commitment demic. We are happy to wrap up 2020 in to recycling more materials. Through- good health and with memories that will out the year, the Bank also deepened its last a lifetime, and look forward to engag- partnership with Omniya, a nationwide ing with our local community with more recycling initiative founded in 2015 by innovative, exciting and entertaining con- young Kuwaitis aiming to raise aware- tent to come!” ness for waste recycling. Through this Now more than ever, Gulf Bank is partnership, the Bank is committed to uniquely equipped to lead sustainabil- recycling paper and plastic waste, with ity efforts in an innovative and effective a series of strategically distributed recy- manner, especially during these unprec- cling receptacles located in front of Gulf edented times. Throughout the year, Gulf Bank’s Head Office. By having recycling Bank’s sustainability program focused receptacles in one of the most visible lo- on sustainability initiatives at the com- Ahmad Al Amir The judging panel at Injaz’s company competition 2020 cations in the heart of Kuwait City, Gulf munity, economic, and environmental Bank is raising awareness for recycling levels. not only with its employees, but also with Community Sustainability members of the local community. Post-COVID Response Economic Sustainability As national efforts to curb the spread INJAZ & Community Outreach of the pandemic launched into action, Gulf Bank was not only aware of its role, As part of its commitment to empow- but proud to take it on. At the start of the ering long-standing partnerships, Gulf pandemic, Gulf Bank was quick to con- Bank extended its support to INJAZ tribute to the Central Bank of Kuwait’s Kuwait, a non-profit, non-governmental KD 10 million fund designed to allow organization for education and training local banks to support national efforts in in workforce readiness, financial literacy combating the spread of the novel coro- and entrepreneurship. As part of their on- navirus. going strategic partnership with INJAZ, During the first stages of returning to Speakers at the Tenders Forum for Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises Gulf Bank’s team on site Gulf Bank sponsored INJAZ Kuwait’s normal life, Gulf Bank has been keen on annual “Company Program” competition applying all the necessary precautionary in which students pitched their business measures to ensure the regular sterilization ideas to a panel of judges. In light of this of its locations. These measures include year’s circumstances, this year’s com- taking customers’ temperatures at the petition was held virtually, with each of entrance, maintaining physical distance, the winners taking home valuable prizes and ensuring both customers and staff are sponsored by Gulf Bank. During the pan- wearing gloves and masks at all times. demic, Gulf Bank participated in three Gulf Bank is committed to applying the INJAZ Al-Arab programs: Job Shadow, best preventive health measure to ensure Steer Your Career and Head Start. the safety of both its clients and staff. Let’s Talk Business This initiative came as part of a wider Gulf Bank also launched “Let’s Talk set of initiatives pioneered by Gulf Bank, Business,” a series of interviews with lo- as the Bank launched several community cal entrepreneurs designed to stimulate sustainability campaigns commensurate an entrepreneurial culture in Kuwait. with the conditions the country was un- The entrepreneurs are interviewed by dergoing, including the lockdown and Tareq Al-Saleh, Deputy General Man- curfew periods. These initiatives includ- World Cleanup Day Gulf Bank with the doctors at the Coronavirus Rapid Screening Center in Sabhan ager of the Economic Research Unit at ed a physical health and at-home exercise Gulf Bank, who discusses various busi- campaign, a home decor and lifestyle ness-related topics with guests including campaign, and a financial and economic ‘Gulf Bank is unwavering in its commitment to sustainability efforts Chef Ahmed Al Bader, Abdulaziz B. Al awareness initiative. Loughani, Talal Al-Nafisi, Abdullah Al- This year, Gulf Bank also launched at the community, economic and environmental levels’ Essa. The business leaders discuss the “Visit Gulf Bank,” a mobile application keys to success for small businesses, how allowing customers to book appoint- to conduct businesses during times of ments to visit their nearest branch. The crisis, how to successfully diversify and app aims to reduce wait times and make Development Goals 2030 agenda (part of the National Day holidays. Throughout expand a business, and more. The seg- the process of visiting a branch more con- the national development plan, Kuwait the day, visitors enjoyed taking instant ments aired across Gulf Bank’s various venient, especially in light of the current Vision 2035). photos at Gulf Bank’s booth next to social media channels and on the AlRai- restrictions imposed by the coronavirus World Diabetes Day models of famous Kuwaiti landmarks, AlQabas TV channel. pandemic. As part of the Bank’s community sus- including the Kuwait Towers, Libera- Tenders Forum In appreciation and recognition of the tainability program, Gulf Bank directed tion Tower, Al Hamra Tower, Chamber As part of its continuous efforts to Ministry of Health’s continuous efforts its participation to raising awareness of Commerce and Industry, and the Gulf support small and medium-sized enter- throughout the year, Gulf Bank’s sustain- about diabetes prevention and aware- Bank Head Office in Kuwait City. Gulf prises (SMEs), Gulf Bank participated ability team also assisted at the Corona- ness. In honor of World Diabetes Day, Bank also entertained visitors with sev- as a main sponsor of the Central Agency virus Rapid Screening Center in Sabhan. Gulf Bank broadcast a video of Durra eral activities celebrating Kuwait’s heri- for Public Tenders Forum for small and Employees distributed preventive mate- medium-sized enterprises. Among the Alsumaiti, Senior Clinical Dietitian at tage. As part of its entertainment activi- main objectives of the forum was to raise rials to all visitors as part of the Bank’s Dasman Diabetes Institute, in which the ties, Gulf Bank also hosted several live unwavering commitment to social re- awareness about recent legal amend- dietician shared advice with the Bank’s cooking sessions in collaboration with lo- ments on public tenders, highlighting the sponsibility, and as part of its community followers on diabetes prevention. cal talented Kuwaiti chefs: Abdulrazzaq sustainability efforts in raising awareness rights of SME owners. Speakers at the Breast Cancer Awareness Al Sayed, Sami Al-Sheredah, and Wafa forum also discussed ways to create op- about the virus and its prevention. Every year, Gulf Bank aims to increase Al-Kanderi. Gulf Bank hosted live cook- “Orange the World” Initiative portunities for owners of SMEs to take This year, Gulf Bank also participated awareness for the early detection and treat- ing sessions for a total of 48 participants, part in governmental tenders in an effort in “Orange the World,” a global initia- ment of breast cancer. Throughout Octo- who learned to cook several dishes from to consolidate relations and open doors tive launched by the United Nations to ber, Gulf Bank spearheaded several initia- a variety of international cuisines. for collaboration between governmental eliminate violence against women. The tives to raise awareness for breast cancer Kuwait Tech Expo agencies and smaller companies. Gulf event took place on 25 November 2020, in an effort to encourage the local commu- Gulf Bank was also this year’s dia- Bank, which views growing companies the International Day for the Elimination nity to get themselves checked, including mond sponsor of Kuwait Tech Expo as a vital pillar for successful economies, of Violence against Women, and kicked by lighting up its head office branch in Ku- 2020, the biggest technology and tele- continues to provide SMEs with an inte- off 16 days of activism that concluded wait City in pink. The initiative educated communications event of its kind in Ku- grated set of services designed around the on International Human Rights Day. the community on the importance of early wait. The sponsorship was one of several needs of growing companies. Throughout the campaign, Gulf Bank il- detection and regular screening. initiatives that reflected Gulf Bank’s ef- To learn more about Gulf Bank’s vari- luminated its main building in orange in Qout Market forts in advancing the national economy ous sustainability efforts and initiatives, support of efforts to eliminate violence As part of its ongoing efforts to sup- and achieving the development goals of customers can visit one of the Bank’s against women and champion broader port the creative local community in Ku- the country, in line with Kuwait Vision branches, or visit the Gulf Bank web- human rights efforts. Gulf Bank’s partici- wait, Gulf Bank also participated in this 2035 “New Kuwait.” Speakers at the site at www.e-gulfbank.com. Customers pation in the United Nations’ campaign year’s Qout Market, which took place at event offered solutions that encompassed can also use the WhatsApp service on is a tribute to women’s rights achieve- Abraj Park in Adailiya. As part of several all attendees with the aim of serving the 1805805 for round-the-clock assistance ments in Kuwait, and comes in light of entertainment activities at the market, community’s needs on both local and in- from Gulf Bank representatives, or call national progress in achieving the fifth Gulf Bank distributed coloring books for ternational levels. Gulf Bank’s participa- the Customer Contact Center on the same goal of the United Nations’ Sustainable children with drawings that celebrated From Injaz’s virtual competition tion reflected its commitment to techno- number. ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 LOCAL 7 Egypt president appreciates Kuwait efforts to reach Arab reconciliation El-Sisi receives letter from HH the Amir

CAIRO, Jan 3, (KUNA): He affirmed Egypt’s resolve to con- tinue its fundamental policy and strat- Egyptian President egy towards the Arab solidarity based Abdelfattah el-Sisi received on mutual respect and non-interfer- on Saturday a letter from ence in the domestic affairs of other nations, the spokesman noted. His Highness the Amir of Both sides agreed to intensify coor- Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf dination in the coming stage with a Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber view to guarding against risks posed to the security and stability of the Arab Al-Sabah on Kuwait’s countries, he added. efforts to reach Arab rec- Also: onciliation. CAIRO: Egypt’s President The letter was handed over by Abdelfattah el-Sisi on Saturday Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh affirmed his country’s “full” backing Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad to Sudan in all domain, out of the close ‘The Guest Show’ on Jan 7 Al-Sabah during his meeting with linking of both Egyptian and Sudanese President el-Sisi in the presence of national security. This came during a telephone call Meet Claudia Farkas Al Rashoud history in her many publications. Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri and Kuwait Ambassador between el-Sisi and head of Sudan’s on the first edition of Radio Kuwait’s Tune into our show and hear her Transitional Military Council ‘The Guest Show’ on Thursday Jan speak of her adventures which to Egypt Mohammad Al-Thuwaikh. Abdelfattah Al-Borhan, Egypt’s 7. Claudia is Kuwait’s first female includes losing her abaya clad President el-Sisi expressed, during presidential spokesman Bassam #photojournalist. mother in law in a sea of abayas the meeting, “great appreciation of the An author, photographer and during a camel race in Jahra. Radhi said in a statement. sincere efforts made by the State of The call discussed the bilateral animal activist, Claudia has cap- #Kuwait #media #radio #talkshow Kuwait over the recent years to reach tured Kuwait’s social and cultural #bridgingcultures KUNA photo cooperation between the two coun- Arab reconciliation,” Egyptian Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Dr Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah tries, the regional developments of Presidential Spokesman Bassam Radhi during his meeting with Egyptian President Abdelfattah el-Sisi. common concerns, and continued said in a press release. coordination and consultation in the President el-Sisi recalled that His and Egypt, Ambassador Radhi said. national security under the leadership upcoming period, he added. Info minister mourns writer Highness the late Amir Sheikh Sabah In his message to President el-Sisi, His of President el-Sisi, the spokesman He pointed to unlimited governmen- Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah started Highness the Amir reviewed the efforts to pointed out. tal support to maintain Sudan’s stabil- the mediation efforts and His Highness bridge the rift between some Arab coun- President el-Sisi asked Sheikh Dr ity and territorial integrity. Al-Ajmi and poet Al-Mutairi the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad tries and dealt with the deep-rooted rela- Ahmad Nasser to convey his best Al-Borhan, meanwhile, lauded gov- KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3, (KUNA): Al-Jahra popular arts group and Al-Jaber Al-Sabah built on this genuine tions between Kuwait and Egypt. wishes to His Highness the Amir of ernment and popular convergence Minister of Information and was famous for his popular poems goodwill and resumed these efforts. He expressed desire to further Kuwait, renewing Egypt’s commit- between Egypt and Sudan as well as Minister of State for Youth Affairs that highly widespread inside and He also commended the Saudi role in strengthen the relations with Egypt, ment to furthering the fruitful coopera- mutual efforts made to upgrade the Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi on outside Kuwait, he added. the framework of the Arab Quartet, made and spoke highly of Egypt’s strategic tion in all areas and promoting coordi- bonds of cooperation between the two Friday mourned with great sorrow Al-Ajmi was a renowned histo- up of the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and pivotal role in protecting the Arab nation of stances on Arab issues. countries, Radhi noted. writer Saudi bin Jemran Al-Ajmi rian who presented the first radio and poet Mutlaq Al-Mutairi who program on the desert’s people in have passed away. Kuwait in 1961, he noted. In a press statement, the minis- The writer has several books in ter, also Chairman of National both literature and history that NUKS keen to meet library needs of students Council for Culture, Arts and have enriched literature movement KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: President of University in order to meet the needs received and only through appoint- The union sorts through all the Letters (NCCAL), recalled the in the country, the ministry point- the National Union of Kuwaiti of students who make requests through ments”. requests, confirms them all, and effective contributions and great ed out. roles made by the two deceased in He expressed his sincere condo- Students – Kuwait branch, online, reports Aljarida daily. Al-Mutairi said, “It is through the delivers them to students to facilitate enriching culture, poetry and liter- lences to the relatives of the two Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi affirmed the In a press release, he revealed that union’s diligence that the process of them and to ensure their safety in ature. deceased, and the cultural and union’s keenness to be present on a NUKS processes about 2,000 requests preparing books through volunteers light of implementing the health Poet Al-Mutairi took charge of artistic families. daily basis at the student’s library in per day, adding that, “If the library has managed to cover the largest pos- requirements in the Kuwait Shuwaikh campus of Kuwait opens, only 500 students will be sible number of requests. University”. Delta CEO sees some recovery from travel slump later in 2021

The leader of Delta Air Lines is telling work- once significant numbers of people are was in 2019, but it has recovered a bit ers that he expects some recovery from the vaccinated, and that Delta must be nim- from a staggering 96% decline in mid- coronavirus travel downturn by the spring. ble and ready for change. April of last year. In this fi le photo, several CEO Ed Bastian writes in a New Year’s “Just as we’ve never experienced a It’s unclear just how quickly vaccines dozen Delta Air Lines jets are Day memo to employees that he expects global pandemic in our history, we’ve will be distributed across the US. Over parked at Kansas City Inter- 2021 to start with travel deeply depressed also never had to create and execute the past few weeks, Trump administra- national Airport in Kansas like it was last year. But as vaccines be- a plan for recovery from one,” Bastian tion health officials had talked about a City, Missouri. (AP) come more widely available, he expects a wrote. “Our success will depend on our goal of shipping enough vaccine by the turning point especially in business travel. collaboration, our willingness to be open end of the month to inoculate 20 million He says Delta should generate positive to new ideas, our ability to adapt and our Americans. Earlier this week, the gov- cash flow by the spring. humility in recognizing that we won’t al- ernment said 14 million doses had been Bastian wrote that there is uncertainty ways know the answers.” shipped, but only 2.8 million injections over what travel demand will look like Air travel is less than half of what it had been given. (AP)

Market Movements 31-12-2020 Change Closing pts Change Closing pts S. KOREA - KRX 100 +113.40 6,224.37 AUSTRALIA - All Ordinaries -92.31 6,850.61 PHILIPPINES - PSEi +17.46 7,139.71 JAPAN - Nikkei -123.98 27,444.17 INDIA - Sensex +117.65 47,868.98 GERMANY - DAX -42.60 13,718.78 PAKISTAN - KSE 100 +679.42 44,434.80 FRANCE - CAC 40 -48.00 5,551.41 CHINA - Shanghai SE +58.62 3,473.07 EUROPE - Euro Stoxx 50 -18.95 3,552.64 Business

Job losses, cash crunches and plain fear had many pulling out of stocks Painful as it was, patience paid off for investors in 2020 NEW YORK, Jan 3, (AP): Good things came to fund investors who waited in 2020. But, what a terrifying wait it was. Mutual funds and exchange traded funds of all stripes delivered strong annual returns, even better than usual. Consider the largest fund by assets, a core holding of many 401(k) accounts. Vanguard’s Total Stock Market Index fund returned 19.5%, as of Dec 22, more than double its average annual performance since 2000. But fi rst investors had to withstand a 34% plunge from February into March. Only by resisting the urge to sell and sidestep the pandemic-caused panic would they have gotten that full return. Many investors unfortunately did not have the resolve or ability to hold on through that. Job losses, cash crunches and plain fear had many in- vestors pulling out of stocks. For most of this year, investors pulled more money out of US stock mutual funds and ETFs than they put in. It’s a continuation of a yearslong trend as in- vestors have steadily moved money out of stock funds and into bond funds. Bond funds, for their part, largely ful- fi lled their traditional roles as steadying forces for portfolios during stressful mar- kets. They held up much better than stock funds early this year, and they also typi- cally produced hearty returns for 2020. That’s despite warnings at the start of the year that bond investors would likely have to accept weaker returns given how low yields were. The average intermediate-term core bond fund returned 7.3% in 2020 through Dec 22, according to Morn- ingstar. That’s nearly double its aver- age annual return over the last decade. But even within these stereotypi- cally steady funds, investors had to en- dure several days of unbridled panic. The largest bond fund by assets had a two-day stretch where it plunged 1.7% and then another 1.6%. It never had In this file photo, trader Daniel Krieger signals a thumbs-up as he arrives at the New York Stock Exchange where the trading floor reopens. Good things came to fund investors who waited in a drops that big during the 2008-09 2020. But what a terrifying wait it was. (AP) fi nancial crisis or during intermittent interest-rate spikes of the 1990s. Like with stocks, those big moves were also a product of fear. During CBK hails global cybersecurity standards met by banks the depths of the market’s sell-off, in- vestors were scrambling to raise cash KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3, (KUNA): The the need to achieve the highest levels and safety means for policies applied globally, saying it contributes to the efficiently. however they could. In many cases, Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) has of efficiency in information security in relation to cybersecurity require- assessment of expected risks and Meanwhile it said that Kuwaiti that meant selling high-quality bonds, commended several local banks after management, Kuwait’s monetary au- ments set by CBK. provides technical or operational banks whom have not yet obtained this because they were the easiest things to being recognised by the International thority said in a statement. CBK described this standardisa- solutions which contribute to the certification are currently working to sell, which sent their prices tumbling. Organization for Standardization for It will also enhance work efficiency tion as one of the most prominent management of risks effectively and fulfill these requirements. When fears peaked in March, inves- compliance with ISO 27001: 2013 tors pulled nearly $230 billion out of tax- requirements for information security able bond funds and ETFs, according to management. the Investment Company Institute. This certification comes out of keen- Gold funds sparkled in 2020 as in- ness to develop the banking business vestors looked for someplace safe to in Kuwait in accordance with the best hide from the tumult. international practices and in light of US to increase tariffs Our country is in danger By Kamel Al-Harami countries and the region. Certainly, the document issued by Independent Oil Analyst the Kuwait Chamber of Commerce THE headline “Our Country is in and Industry is a positive step that Danger!” was published on the front also addressed our democracy and pages of all the Kuwaiti newspa- stressed the need to work within the on some EU products pers. It was the headline of a report parliament, as well as to work in col- released by the Kuwait Chamber of laboration and with the cooperation Commerce and Industry last Wednes- of all, with greater emphasis, clarity day, highlighting the need for urgent and transparency. Tariffs include aircraft manufacturing parts from France & Germany economic reforms based on three Everyone is calling for economic clear objectives – giving a stronger reforms internally and internation- role to the ally. However, does our govern- WASHINGTON, Jan private sector ment have its own vision on how to 3, (KUNA): The United and realizing progress? Perhaps not, if it is still Comments come despite pandemic setback this sector’s overwhelmed with the availability of States on Thursday said importance in $600 billion in our sovereign wealth that it would raise tariffs the forthcom- funds. Or maybe it is comforting ing economic itself with The Economist’s report on some products from the Xi hails China’s economic growth reforms and on Kuwait as per which oil prices in European Union. allowing it 2021-2025 will be in the level of $51 BEIJING, Jan 3, (AP): China has made 2020, with its gross domestic product world’s second-largest economy, to fulfi ll its per barrel. However, a barrel price of The United States is adjusting tar- major progress in developing its econ- expected to exceed 100 trillion yuan would grow 1.9% in 2020, a sharp role, ensuring $81 is needed to balance the budget iffs on certain products imported from omy and eradicating rural poverty over (almost $14 trillion) for the year, Xi slowdown from its 6.1% gain in 2019, protection of and to cut its budget fi gures, some- the European Union that include air- the past year despite the coronavirus said on nationwide television, speak- and then expand 8.2% in 2021. Kuwait’s sov- thing that it is neither anticipated nor craft manufacturing parts from France Al-Harami pandemic, Chinese President Xi Jin- ing from behind his desk in his wood- That compares with an IMF forecast ereign wealth expected. and Germany as part of a commercial ping said in a New Year address. paneled offi ce. for a global economic contraction of funds, and Our country is in need of econom- lastly demographic restructuring by ic reforms with a long term vision, dispute between the two sides, Office China was the fi rst major economy The International Monetary Fund 4.4% for 2020, the worst plunge since reducing expatriate workforce. objectives, determination, and work- of the United States Trade Represen- to register positive economic growth in forecast in October that China, the the Great Depression of the 1930s. Following the new elections and ing hand-in-hand with the parlia- tative said in a statement. China has largely ended domestic with the new Parliament, the number ment in frank and open sessions and The US was authorized in October transmission of the coronavirus, but of articles and opinions regarding Ku- with the participation of all. There 2019 to impose additional duties on Xi’s speech came as the government wait’s economy has been increasing should be emphasis on fi nding al- approximately USD 7.5 billion in EU is ordering additional measures to pre- including in the British The Econo- ternative sources of income besides products as a result of the WTO Large vent a resurgence over coming months. mist, which may be sponsored by the oil so that it is no longer the main Civil Aircraft litigation, it added. China is encouraging tens of millions government. Nevertheless, all are call- source of income, without cutting The United States implemented its au- of migrant workers not to travel home ing for greater reforms, and it is time to down on the expenses, ensuring the thorized countermeasures in a restrained during February’s Lunar New Year holi- do something out of the box. introduction of value-added tax, and way and used trade data from the prior day to prevent further spread of the coro- The call is for giving priority to privatizing government-controlled calendar year to determine the amount of navirus, disrupting the most important impose some form of taxation in- departments. products to be covered, it noted. family gathering of the year. Schools na- cluding value adding tax, but not on For years, many outside former tionwide are also scheduled to begin the those with limited income particu- leaders and experts, as well as local In September, 2020 the EU was larly the government employees. economists have been writing about authorized to impose tariffs affecting Lunar New Year vacation a week early The document issued by the Ku- economic reforms in Kuwait and USD 4 billion in US trade as a result of and tourists have been told not to visit the wait Chamber of Commerce and advising our various governments related WTO litigation, it pointed out. capital Beijing during the holiday. Industry is more elaborate and de- in that regard during open meetings In implementing its tariffs, however, Xi called for increased internation- tailed, extending into every sector, and discussions on how to improve the EU used trade data from a period in al cooperation in fi ghting the virus, such as the need to reform education and rectify our situations. Alas, all which trade volumes had been drasti- In this photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President which is believed to have emerged and health sectors, distribute lands were either kept at the bottom of cally reduced due to the horrific effects Xi Jinping delivers a New Year’s address in Beijing, Thursday, Dec 31, from the central Chinese city of Wu- that are mostly 90 percent owned government’s drawers or given deaf on the global economy from the CO- 2020. (AP) han in late 2019. by the government, and controlling ears. VID-19 virus, it said. “People across the world should most of the economic activities, We are in need of a leader who The result of this choice was that to change its reference period to the same The EU calculated the amount of make joint efforts to drive away the postal sector, airport and ports by can lead and implement economic Europe imposed tariffs on substantially period used by the European Union. trade to be covered using EU-27 trade dark clouds of the COVID-19 pan- the private sector. reforms in Kuwait before the time more products than would have been However, in order to not escalate the volume (i.e., excluding UK trade). demic at an early date and build the It called for freeing part of the comes when we run out of cash and oil activities, excluding upstream in covered if it had utilized a normal period. situation, the United States is adjust- The effect of this was to unfairly in- planet Earth into a better home for all sell all of our assets globally after Although the United States ex- ing the product coverage by less than crease the retaliation for the 52 days in humanity,” Xi said. oil and gas in terms of ownerships, two decades. Our country is on a but including refi ning, distribution, dangerous path. plained to the EU the distortive effect the full amount that would be justified which the UK remained within the EU Xi also hailed progress in lifting transportation, aviation, down- ❑ ❑ ❑ of its selected time period, the EU re- utilizing the EU’s chosen time period, for tariff purposes. close to 100 million rural Chinese out stream and overseas exploration, in fused to change its approach. according to the statement. “The EU needs to take some mea- of poverty over the last eight years and line with the rest of our neighboring email: [email protected] As a result, to keep the two actions pro- The EU made another choice that un- sure to compensate for this unfair- in “fully building a moderately pros- portionate to each other, the US is forced fairly increased the amount of retaliation. ness,” it said. perous society in all respects.” ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 BUSINESS 9

Issuances from Kuwait could be a game changer if govt passes the debt law GCC govt bond & sukuk issuances seen to drop in 2021 Report prepared by KAMCO GCC governments have issued cuts mainly followed US Fed rate Invest USD 47.5 Bn in bonds in YTD- cuts that were implemented to Nov-2020 with USD 35.4 Bn dur- support economic growth post the ncertainty related to Covid-19 ing 1H-2020. Sukuks issued by the negative impact of the pandemic. Uand its impact on economic governments stood at USD 28.7 Bn Meanwhile, GCC currency pegs growth across the globe continues and was almost equally split during remains largely stable following to sustain as the number of cases the fi rst half the second half of the expectation of stable oil prices in have once again started increasing, year. Last year, bond issuances by 2021 as well as prudent reforms especially in Europe. Several coun- governments in the region aggre- implemented by the governments tries in Europe have announced a gated to USD 48.8 Bn while sukuks across the region. hard lockdown and have clearly issued were at USD 34.3 Bn. On Bond/Sukuk Maturities stated that easing the restrictions the other hand, corporate issuances would be unlikely in the near term. have also been active with USD GCC governments are expected There are also news of new strains 46.2 Bn in bond issuances this year to see USD 157.1 Bn in fi xed in- of the virus, further complicating until November-2020, whereas come maturities over the next fi ve plan of vaccine deployment. Nev- sukuk issuances stood at USD 19.9 years (2021-2025) whereas corpo- ertheless, despite the aforemen- Bn. This compares to last year’s rate maturities stand at USD 164.3 tioned, there is an underlying sense USD 45.3 Bn bonds and 14.8 Bn in Bn. A majority of these maturities of positivity related to near term sukuks. are denominated in USD at 61.3% economic recovery, that is refl ected followed by local currency issu- in equity and bond markets as well Rating actions ances in SAR and QAR at 17.8% as commodity prices. The pandemic has resulted in and 7.6%, respectively. In addition, The fi scal pressure from the almost 48 sovereign downgrades due to the credit rating profi le of decline in economic activity and and 13 upgrades by the three rat- the GCC governments, a major- lower oil revenues has resulted in ing agencies this year and numer- ity of these maturities are in the an increase in debt issuances in the ous corporate downgrades glob- high investment grade or A rated GCC in 2020. This is in-line with ally. However, with interest rates at instruments. In terms of type of issuances across the globe, which one of the lowest levels, the cost of instruments, conventional bonds despite minimal dependence on oil, funding has not been signifi cantly dominate with USD 205.7 Bn in has seen ballooning debt levels that affected. maturities over the next fi ve year has reached record highs at the end In terms of ratings action in the whereas sukuk maturities are ex- of 2020. According to WSJ that GCC, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and pected to be at USD 115.7 Bn. cited data from Dealogic, emerging Saudi Arabia witnessed down- While bond maturities shows a market governments and compa- grades by either one or more of declining trend over the next fi ve nies issued record amount of bonds the three rating agencies, espe- years, sukuk maturities are expect- in 2020 at around USD 510 Bn. Of cially around the peak of the pan- ed to increase starting from 2022. this, governments issued around demic. Apart from the impact from In terms of country split, UAE USD 250 Bn and the remaining the Covid-19, these downgrades has the biggest share of upcoming USD 260 Bn were bonds issued by mainly highlighted fi scal pressure maturities until 2025 at USD 99.2 corporates. These issuances were due to the fall in oil prices as the Bn closely followed by Saudi Ara- mainly in hard currencies while lo- GCC countries heavily depend on bia and Qatari issuers at USD 97.1 cal issuances by governments came oil revenues to meet their budgeted Bn and USD 72.4 Bn, respectively. in at around USD 30 Bn. Demand spending. During the year, Fitch Loan maturities in the GCC region for EM bonds have remained high ratings initiated credit rating on the is also almost at the same level due to relatively higher yields as UAE and assigned ‘AA-’ rating over the next fi ve years as bonds 9.3% of GCC corporate maturities perpetual instruments. According next year and to focus on prior- well as many countries have bet- with a Stable outlook. In a recent and sukuk at USD 299.3 Bn. UAE until 2025 followed by Utilities to data from Bloomberg, perpetual ity projects. Meanwhile, issuances ter fi scal management despite the update, S&P said that the GCC re- corporates account for the bulk of and Airlines at USD 11.4 Bn and issuances have seen growth for the from Kuwait could be a game pandemic. gion is expected to see modest re- the scheduled repayments over the USD 11.2 Bn, respectively. Banks fourth consecutive year in 2020. changer for the region in 2021 if The bond issuances were aimed covery in the near term and growth next fi ve years at USD 131.0 Bn in UAE have the biggest maturi- Issuances reached record levels the government passes the debt at both business expansion via new is expected to average at 2.5% over followed by Saudi Arabian and ties over the next fi ve years at USD during the year at USD 6.2 Bn as law. Kuwait completely stayed issuances as well refi nancing needs. 2021-2023. For the corporates, Qatari corporates with scheduled 45.4 Bn followed by Qatar at USD compared to USD 5.5 Bn in 2019. away from the bond market in 2020 Data from Bloomberg showed that Fitch ratings said that 2021 out- repayments of USD 100.4 Bn and 26.4 Bn. Banks in the two countries Adding maturities beyond 30 years GCC government and corporate look for GCC corporates is stable USD 28.6 Bn, respectively. accounted for 22.3% of total bond/ or from 2050 onwards, the issuanc- as the parliament failed to renew fi xed income instrument maturities refl ecting the stability in oil prices In terms of sector maturities, sukuk maturities over the next fi ve es totaled USD 39.6 Bn in 2020 vs. the debt law. stood at USD 38.7 Bn since May- and better GDP growth in 2021 vs. Banks and other Financial Services years in the GCC. Real Estate ma- USD 9.9 Bn in 2019, also a record On the other hand, corporate is- 2020 that were largely refi nanced. 2020. sector have USD 98.0 Bn in maturi- turities are concentrated mainly in during the year. suances are expected to fully or partly offset the decline in issu- Total issuances this year until No- In terms of interest rates, key ties in the next fi ve years, account- the UAE and Saudi Arabia at USD Outlook vember-2020 stood at around USD policy rates in the GCC have re- ing for around 60% of the total 6.9 Bn and USD 2.2 Bn, respective- ances by governments as better 142 Bn, almost in line with last mained stable over the last six corporate maturities and 30.5% of ly, until 2025. GCC bond and sukuk issuances economic environment is expected years levels and full year issuances months after witnessing cuts across the total maturities in the GCC until The structure of maturities are witnessed y-o-y gains for the sec- to result in higher spending by the in 2020 is expected to marginally the board ranging from 125 bps to 2025. The Energy sector was next also changing gradually as an in- ond consecutive year in 2020 and private sector. Moreover, borrow- exceed last year levels. 175 bps during 1H-2020. These with maturities of USD 15.3 Bn or creasing number of issuances are trends for the coming year shows fl at to slight decline in issuances ers are also keen on raising funds in 2021. We believe that the year due to the low cost of borrowing 2020 was an exceptional year with globally. In addition, with yield extreme events like the steep fall in on sovereign bonds reaching an all economic growth rates across the time low, governments may be mo- globe and in the GCC as well as tivated to issue new debt and lock the historic decline in oil prices that in the low cost of debt. particularly affected the oil export- Meanwhile, with four out of the ing economies in the GCC. Budget six GCC countries having com- spending needs by the government fortable investment grade ratings is expected to drive sovereign is- and the assumed support from the suances next year. However, with group to Oman and Bahrain, we a signifi cantly smaller expected defi cits of around USD 84.3 Bn believe this should support and en- in 2021 as against USD 127 Bn in able raising funds in the region as 2020, according to data from IMF, well as internationally. Moreover, we expect government issuances to the sizable sovereign wealth funds decline y-o-y in 2021. for a majority of the sovereigns in A number of GCC governments the region support the overall credit have announced a cut in spending ratings profi le. NYSE delisting 3 China companies under Trump order

Three Chinese companies der Nov. 12 barring investment board. with China’s trade and human People wearing face masks to protect against will be booted off the New in publicly traded companies The Chinese government rights records and accusa- the spread of the York Stock Exchange this that the U.S. government says has accused Washington of tions of spying and technol- coronavirus talk on their month under an executive are owned or controlled by the misusing national security as ogy theft. cellphones near a booth order signed in November by Chinese military. an excuse to hamper com- U.S. offi cials have com- for Chinese telecommuni- President Donald Trump. The statement issued late petition and has warned that plained that China’s ruling cations fi rm China Mobile The exchange says China Thursday says the exchange Trump’s order would hurt U.S. Communist Party takes ad- at the PT Expo in Beijing Telecom Corp. Limited, China will suspend trading of the and other investors worldwide. vantage of access to American on Oct 14, 2020. (AP) Mobile Limited, and China companies as early as Jan. 7 Political analysts expect technology and investment Unicom Hong Kong Limited or as late as Jan. 11. It says little change in policy under to expand its military, already will be delisted from the ex- the stock issuers can appeal President-elect Joe Biden one of the world’s biggest and change. Trump issued an or- to a committee of the NYSE’s due to widespread frustration most heavily armed. (AP) Business PPluslus Eviction moratorium now extended to Jan 31; rent payments are still due What the new COVID aid package means for your money

downs, will see more than $284 billion for fi rst and second forgiv- able coronavirus relief loans. The deal provides additional funding for business owners who didn’t receive Paycheck Protection Pro- gram loans during the fi rst round in the spring. “The agreement also expands eligibility for the PPP to more businesses and other industries, such as newspapers and TV sta- tions”. In addition, the package provides grants through the U.S. Small Business Administration for eligible entertainment venues that can demonstrate a 25% reduction in revenue. If you’re in college Colleges are receiving ad- ditional emergency relief funds and must use some of the money to provide fi nancial aid grants to students that can be used for a student’s cost of attendance or for emergency costs due to the coronavirus. If you have student loans Noticeably absent from the relief bill is another extension of the interest-free payment pause for federal student loan borrow- ers, which is set to expire Jan. 31, 2021. The fi rst coronavirus relief package launched the pause, known as forbearance, and it was extended twice by President Don- ald Trump. This means it will be up to President-elect Joe Biden’s administration to extend the pause; otherwise, payments will restart Feb. 1, 2021. If you use broadband for school or job hunting The measure authorizes a discount off normal broadband rates of up to $50 per month for households with at least one person receiving reduced or free school In this fi le photo, passers-by walk past a business storefront with store closing and sale signs in Dedham, Massachusetts. The coronavirus and the drastic measures put in place by government lunch benefi ts, unemployment offi cials to try to control its spread had a severe toll on many small businesses in the US. (AP) benefi ts or a Pell Grant. By Anna Helhoski hold). Those eligible for relief benefi ts for 11 weeks, through of the local median income, with If you face surprise medical bills Providers and insurers must NerdWallet who have dependent children March 14. (The CARES Act priority given to households below will also get $600 per child. That provided $600 in supplemental 50% of median income or where negotiate acceptable payment for second wave of federal coro- means a family of four (a couple unemployment compensation, one or more people have been out-of-network doctor, hospital and Anavirus relief totaling $900 and two children) meeting the in- which expired July 31.) unemployed for 90 or more days. air ambulance bills incurred dur- billion could begin fl owing to ing emergency care. Patients will millions of Americans as soon as come threshold would see $2,400. This benefi t also extends Pan- The rental assistance money You would still receive partial demic Unemployment Assistance, can be used for past-due and fu- owe only their typical in-network the year’s end, nearly nine months costs. In the past, surprise bills The agreement also after Congress passed the original payments dropping by $5 for every which was created by the CARES ture rent payments. The payments could greatly exceed an insurance pandemic relief package known as $100 above the income limits. An Act, for those who wouldn’t tradi- may go directly to landlords (or company’s reimbursement levels, ‘ expands eligibility the CARES Act. individual who earned $86,900, for tionally be eligible for regular un- utilities) if renters co-sign the leaving consumers on the hook for Here’s what the COVID relief example, would get $5. employment, such as freelancers, application for assistance. Rental the difference. for the PPP to more package - part of a $2.3 trillion Only minor dependent children gig and part-time workers, as well assistance is available through If you rely on nutrition pro- spending bill passed by Congress are eligible for this payment; as those who are self-employed. Dec. 31, 2021. grams businesses and other and now signed by the president - adult dependents such as college These checks were originally set If you own your own home The bill includes $13 billion to could mean for you, your family, students don’t qualify, which is the to end Dec. 26 but will continue The Federal Housing Admin- increase the maximum Supplemen- industries, such as your home or your business. same as with the previous relief. through March 14. If you have istration extended the deadline tal Nutrition Assistance Program If you earn up to $75,000 per Treasury Secretary Steven not hit your maximum by March to request an initial COVID-19 benefi ts families receive through newspapers and TV year Mnuchin has said these new pay- 14, the legislation says pandemic forbearance to Feb. 28, 2021. The June 30, 2021. You’re eligible to receive ments will be distributed the same unemployment assistance will new deadline applies to single- If you need child care assistance stations a $600 one-time payment if way the earlier relief was sent - as continue until April 5, 2021. family mortgages insured by the The bill provides a $10 bil- your 2019 reported income was direct deposits and checks. If you rent FHA. The moratorium on fore- lion injection into Child Care ’ $75,000 or less. Couples who If you’re out of work The eviction moratorium is closures and evictions is extended and Development Block Grants, reported an adjusted gross income Weekly $300 supplemental extended to Jan. 31; it was set to through Feb. 28 for single-family which can be used to help families up to $150,000 will receive unemployment insurance known expire Dec. 31. Rent payments are FHA-insured loans. with copayments and tuition for $1,200 (the income limit per as Federal Pandemic Unemploy- still due. If you’re a small-business owner child care and to ensure child care couple is $112,500 for the highest ment Compensation will be added Rental assistance is available for Small businesses, which have providers can remain open despite earner or the head of the house- on top of other unemployment households earning less than 80% been hard hit by pandemic shut- decreased enrollment. (AP) How to put fi nancial survivor’s guilt to good use By Liz Weston “What I started to see was sur- Coambs, a marriage and fam- others, therapists say. That may be fi nancial survivor’s guilt is to start NerdWallet vivor guilt,” Bryan-Podvin says. ily therapist in Charlotte, North working at a food bank, donat- noticing and appreciating the posi- “They feel like they somehow Carolina. One reason people feel ing to a cause, helping someone tives in your life. inancial therapist Lindsay didn’t deserve what they have.” survivor’s guilt is because we’re update their resume or making “Turn the ‘g’ in guilt to grati- FBryan-Podvin of Ann Arbor, GUILT CAN TURN INWARD hard-wired to want justice and introductions that could help them tude,” says fi nancial therapist Michigan, specializes in helping Survivor’s guilt is a symptom fairness, he says. fi nd a job. and CFP Preston D. Cherry of people deal with their anxie- of PTSD, often felt by people “That’s really what’s getting “Some level of service, some Lubbock, Texas. Research shows ties about money. But since the who wonder why they lived activated,” Coambs says. “Like, level of giving back tends to help that writing gratitude lists, pandemic started, Bryan-Podvin while others died. While fi nancial how is it fair that I still have my us feel better,” Bryan-Podvin says. keeping a gratitude journal or has been hearing more about guilt survivor’s guilt isn’t an offi cial job but this segment of the market “It’s about knowing that you’re just contemplating what you’re than fear. psychological diagnosis, Bryan- no longer has their job?” taking steps and you’re taking ac- grateful for can lower stress, im- Sometimes survi- Several people who still have Podvin says that recognizing the Not everyone feels bad about tion to help.” prove sleep and make relation- ‘ jobs and fi nancial security felt similarities has helped her treat inequities, of course. But those But be careful about going ships better. vor guilt can be guilty about having been spared clients who are struggling. who do can experience fi nancial overboard. Some people may rush Feeling bummed out about while others suffered, says Bryan- People experiencing this self-shaming, where they feel that in with referrals and networking layoffs and economic turmoil is about taking on Podvin, author of “The Financial kind of guilt may feel sad or it isn’t OK to have money, jobs suggestions when a jobless friend normal, but experiencing sadness Anxiety Solution.” even hopeless, she says. They or opportunities that are denied is still in shock, for example. and guilt for weeks at a time is more responsibility “I would start to hear things may have obsessive thoughts, to others, Coambs says. At the Maybe your friend just needs an not, Bryan-Podvin says. If you like, ‘I shouldn’t be complaining - wondering why they were spared extreme, they may give away too empathetic listener right now. can’t sleep, you’re too distracted than is appropriate my partner has it so much worse,’ or what they might have done much, volunteer to be furloughed When your goal is to alleviate to work or you keep forgetting im- ’ or ‘I can’t even believe I’m telling differently to protect others. or otherwise put themselves at your guilt, it’s easy to miss what portant things, like what time your you this because so-and-so in my They may feel paralyzed, numb fi nancial risk because they feel the other person actually needs, kids need to be in online classes, neighborhood lost their job,’” she or burned out. guilty. Coambs says. consider getting professional says. “Survivor guilt is like any other “It’s not your fault what’s hap- Also, resist the urge to share help. The Financial Therapy As- The feelings clients expressed type of stress,” she says. “It can pened to this other person,” he the setbacks you’ve experienced, sociation is one place to look for and the language they used were impact your sleep, it can impact says. “Sometimes survivor guilt Bryan-Podvin says.”It’s better to referrals. (Cherry and Coambs are almost identical to what Bryan- your parasympathetic nervous can be about taking on more re- say, ‘I’m so sorry that happened. board members.) Podvin hears from people with system, it can impact your ability sponsibility than is appropriate.” That must be really hard,’” she “If your ability to function is so post-traumatic stress disorder, a to fully rest in the present.” COPE IN WAYS THAT HELP says. impacted, whether it’s fi nancial mental health disorder that can Recognizing what you’re expe- OTHERS MAKE ROOM FOR GRATI- survival guilt or just the trauma of be triggered by experiencing or riencing can help you cope, says A more productive approach is TUDE being alive right now, therapy is witnessing a terrifying event. certifi ed fi nancial planner Edward to look for sensible ways to help Another way to cope with not a bad idea,” she says. (AP) ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 SCIENCE 11

Coronavirus

Travel restrictions reimposed EU probes BioNTech’s request for extra dose THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Jan 3, (AP): The European Union medicines watchdog said last Thursday that German company BioNTech has applied for clearance in the 27-nation bloc to administer up to six doses of its COVID-19 vaccine from each vial, instead of the fi ve doses currently approved. In an email to The Associated Press, the European Medi- cines Agency said that BioNTech, which developed its vaccine together with US drugmaker Pfi zer, has “submitted a request for change” which will be reviewed by the agency’s human medicines committee “in the shortest possible timeframe.” It said that if the committee establishes that six doses can be consistently extracted from each vial of vaccine, it will recom- mend changing the authorization that clears the vaccine for use in EU nations. In a written statement, Pfi zer said its vials contain enough vaccine for at least fi ve doses and the amount remaining can vary depending on the type of needles and syringes used. “Decisions regarding label updates and/or other temporary approvals re- garding dose preparation and adminis- tration belong to local health authori- ties,” the company said. German weekly Der Spiegel fi rst reported this week that BioNTech has asked European regulators to change the conditions of approval to allow doc- tors to use excess vaccine in the vials Spahn to draw a sixth dose if possible, rather than tip the leftovers away after fi ve as currently required. This could result in hundreds of thousands of additional dos- es in Germany alone during the fi rst quarter, Spiegel reported. Regulators in the United States, Switzerland and the UK al- ready allow up to six doses of 0.3 milliliters each to be drawn from vials. “The vaccine is manufactured with enough volume for fi ve A health worker engages in a COVID-19 vaccine delivery system trial in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Jan. 2. India tested its COVID-19 vaccine delivery system with doses,” the UK regulator MHRA said in an email. “However, a nationwide trial on Saturday as it prepares to roll-out an inoculation program to stem the coronavirus pandemic. Saturday’s exercise included necessary data entry into an online platform for monitoring vaccine delivery, along with testing of cold storage and transportation arrangements for the vaccine, the health ministry had it is normal for some vials to contain a slight excess volume, said. (AP) and in some cases this could allow a full sixth dose to be ex- tracted.” Forbidden “However, care needs to be taken to ensure a full 0.3 ml COVID-19 dose can be administered to the individual,” it added. “Where this cannot be achieved when diluted as recommended, the vial and its contents should be discarded after the fi fth dose has been extracted.” Approval paves way for huge inoculation program Mixing leftovers from multiple vials is forbidden by all regulators, though. German Health Minister Jens Spahn on Wednesday backed the idea of extracting additional doses if possible. India OKs AstraZeneca, local vaccines BioNTech intentionally fi lls the vials with more vaccine than necessary to ensure that even inexperienced doctors can NEW DELHI, Jan 3, (AP): India au- get at least fi ve doses out of them. thorized two COVID-19 vaccines on Meanwhile, a prominent doctors’ organization in Britain ex- Sunday, paving the way for a huge in- Should all volunteers of COVID-19 pressed anger that family physicians will have to rebook tens oculation program to stem the corona- of thousands of appointments for second vaccine dose jabs for virus pandemic in the world’s second vaccines now get the ‘real’ thing? vulnerable patients following the British government’s deci- most populous country. sion Wednesday to extend the period between the required two The country’s drugs regulator gave NEW YORK, Jan 3, (AP): Tens of “Volunteers have been instru- doses to up to 12 weeks. emergency authorization for the vac- thousands of Americans have vol- mental,” said Moncef Slaoui, chief “This group of very elderly patients is at the highest risk of cine developed by Oxford University unteered to test COVID-19 vac- scientist of the government’s Oper- death if they contract COVID-19, which is why GPs are so and UK-based drugmaker AstraZen- cines, but only about half of them ation Warp Speed program. “They concerned for them,” Dr. Richard Vautrey, chair of the British eca, and another developed by the In- got the real thing during trials. should be rewarded for it.” Medical Association’s general practitioners’ committee, said. dian company Bharat Biotech. Now, with the fi rst vaccine roll- The companies would have to “It is grossly and patently unfair to tens of thousands of our Drugs Controller General Dr. Venu- outs and a surge in coronavirus “unblind” or “unmask” the studies, A vial of the COVID-19 vaccine de- gopal G. Somani said that both vac- infections, experts are debating revealing whether participants got most at-risk patients to now try to reschedule their appoint- veloped by Oxford University and what to do about the half that got a the vaccine or the dummy shot. ments.” cines would be administered in two UK-based drugmaker AstraZeneca is dosages. He said the decision to ap- dummy shot. Unmasking is usually done at The UK’s chief medical offi cers defended the decision to checked as they arrive at the Princess Should everyone now be of- the end of testing. Moderna and delay the second jab, saying one dose of the Pfi zer/BioNTech Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, prove the vaccines was made after “careful examination” by the Central fered a vaccine? Or should the two Pfi zer, though, designed their stud- vaccine gave at least 70% protection, with the second acting as England, Saturday Jan. 2. The UK groups in the Pfi zer and Moderna ies to last two years to do long-term a booster and prolonging immunity, has 530,000 doses available for roll- Drugs Standard Control Organization, India’s pharmaceutical regulator. studies remain intact in order to col- follow-up. In a letter to the medical profession, the top medical advisers out from Monday. (AP) lect long-term data on how well the “I don’t think there’s anybody for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi vaccines work? who thinks it’s reasonable or feasi- with vaccine stocks limited around the world. “a model where called the vaccine approval a “decisive “There’s a real tension here,” ble to keep the people blinded for we can vaccinate twice the number of people in the next 2-3 turning point to strengthen a spirited said Dr. Jesse Goodman, an infec- two years,” said Susan Ellenberg, months is obviously much more preferable in public health Discovery fi ght.” tious disease specialist and former an expert in clinical trials at the Uni- terms than one where we vaccinate half the number but with “It would make every Indian proud chief scientist at the US Food and versity of Pennsylvania. only slightly greater protection. ” that the two vaccines that have been Drug Administration. “There’s not “Given we have a pandemic, A senior vaccine researcher at Berlin’s Charite hospital, Dr. Demand for backyard chickens: The given emergency use approval are an easy answer.” people are ready to settle for the Leif-Erik Sander, also said the UK’s strategy makes sense as coronavirus pandemic is coming home to made in India!” Modi tweeted. How vaccine studies work short-term results.” a temporary strategy. roost in America’s backyards. AstraZeneca has contracted Serum New drugs, vaccines or treat- Pros and cons of “unmasking” “That way we could vaccinate (more people) faster and win Forced to hunker down at home, more Institute of India, the world’s largest ments usually go through rigorous With the rollout of vaccines and valuable time in the fi ght against COVID-19,” Sander said. people are setting up coops and raising their vaccine manufacturer, to make 1 bil- tests and evaluations before reach- the uncertainty of their status, vol- own chickens, which provide an earthy lion doses of its vaccine for developing ing regulators for approval. unteers could decide to drop out He said the vaccines made by BioNTech-Pfi zer and Mod- For vaccines, researchers once they are eligible to get one. erna have a strong protective effect about 10 days after the fi rst hobby, animal companionship and a steady nations, including India. On Wednes- supply of fresh eggs. day, Britain became the fi rst country to compare what happens when a They might stay in the study if shot. The Moderna vaccine has not yet been approved in the large group of volunteers gets the they’re told what they got, said Dr. European Union or the UK. Amateur chicken-keeping has been grow- approve the shot. ing in popularity in recent years as people shots, versus what happens to Ana Iltis, a bioethicist at Wake For- “In my view, the booster vaccination can be delayed without seek environmental sustainability in the Analyzed another large group that doesn’t. est University. problem for a little while, without having to expect any signifi - food they eat. The pandemic is accelerat- But questions have been raised by They compare side effects in each “Participants could leave in cant reduction in effectiveness,” he said, noting that attention ing those trends, some breeders and poultry group. And they measure the vac- droves. They could say, ‘If you should be paid to ensuring everyone does eventually get their health experts over the vaccine devel- groups say, prompting more people to make oped by Bharat Biotech. They point cine’s effectiveness by looking at don’t tell me what I got, I’m out of second dose. how many in each group pick up here,’” said Iltis. “You cannot force the leap into poultry parenthood. out that clinical trials began only re- Businesses that sell chicks, coops and infections. people to stay.” Also: cently, making it almost impossible To do this fairly, researchers In an ideal world, participants other supplies say they have seen a surge for the fi rm to have analyzed and sub- SYDNEY: More Australian states and territories are reim- in demand since the pandemic took hold in randomly assign participants to re- could hold off to discover whether posing travel restrictions to prevent the spreading of the March and health offi cials ordered residents mitted data showing that its shots are ceive a vaccine or a dummy shot, they received the dummy shot or coronavirus from new outbreaks in New South Wales and to stay home. effective in preventing illness from the usually a dose of salt water. the vaccine. But experts agree the Victoria states. Allison and Ron Abta of Northern Cali- coronavirus. Volunteers know there’s a 50-50 current circumstances are extraor- The Australian Capital Territory has shut out non-residents fornia’s Marin County had for years talked India has confi rmed more than 10.3 chance they could be put in either dinary. who have been on the northern beaches of Sydney, where the about setting up a backyard coop. They took million cases of the virus, second in the group - and they are not told which Still, unmasking participants outbreaks are most concentrated, Greater Sydney and other the plunge in August. world behind the US, though its rate of group they landed in. Often, the re- would undoubtedly affect the trials’ smaller centers, unless they have an exemption. The couple’s three kids were thrilled infection has come down signifi cantly searchers or others involved in the scope and results. when their parents fi nally agreed to buy from a mid-September peak. It also has testing are also “blinded” and don’t If someone learns they’ve al- The island state of Tasmania has barred anyone directly know either. ready been vaccinated, for exam- linked to the latest Victorian cases, listing exposure sites chicks. reported over 149,000 deaths. “These chickens are like my favorite The country’s initial immunization Should test volunteers be ple, they may stop social distancing where confirmed cases are known to have been. The move thing, honestly,” said 12-year-old Violet, told? or wearing masks - increasing their followed Tasmania’s declaration of Greater Sydney and the plan aims to vaccinate 300 million holding a dark feathered hen in her woodsy people - healthcare workers, front-line About 17,000 of Moderna’s study potential exposure to the virus and Wollongong area south of Sydney as medium-risk zones, backyard. “They actually have personalities participants received a placebo, as possibly spreading it. It’s not yet requiring travelers to quarantine for 14 days on arrival, staff including police, and those con- once you get to know them.” sidered vulnerable due to their age or did about 22,000 people in Pfi zer’s known if vaccinated people can still while those from Sydney’s northern beaches are barred The baby birds lived inside the family’s trial. carry and transmit the virus. from entering. other diseases - by August 2021. For home for six weeks before moving into the effective distribution, over 20,000 With the ongoing coronavirus On the fl ip side, if a person fi nds Victoria reported three new cases of community transmis- chicken run in the yard. A wire-mesh en- crisis, health experts worry about out they only received the dummy sion on Sunday, down from Saturday’s 10. In total, there have closure now houses the fi ve heritage hens health workers have been trained so far leaving them in the dark and unpro- shot, they might take precautions been 21 locally acquired Victorian cases over recent days, all - each a different breed - and protects them to administer the vaccine, the Health tected. They argue they should be they wouldn’t otherwise. linked to the New South Wales outbreak. from bobcats, foxes and other predators. Ministry said. given a vaccine now in recognition Either outcome, Goodman said, But the plan poses a major chal- Victoria’s border is now closed to all travelers from New Mark Podgwaite, a Vermont chicken of their willingness to be a part of “means the trial has basically come lenge. India has one of the world’s South Wales. breeder who heads the American Poultry the trials during the pandemic. to an end.” largest immunization programs, but it On Sunday, New South Wales recorded eight new local Association, said he and other breeders have noticed an uptick in demand for chicks since isn’t geared around adults, and vaccine cases. There are 161 active cases in the state, most of them in coverage remains patchy. Still, neither 24,000 people in Britain, Brazil and ID-19. But late clinical trials began in the northern beaches of Sydney, and 13 emanating from liquor the pandemic began. His organization, which represents breeders and poultry-show exhibi- of the approved vaccines requires the South Africa suggest that the vaccine mid-November. The second shot was store that are not connected to the beaches cluster. tors, has seen a jump in new members. ultra-cold storage facilities that some is safe and about 70% effective. That to be given 28 days after the fi rst, and The news that the state is battling two separate outbreaks in “Without question, the resurgence in rais- others do. Instead they can be stored in isn’t as good as some other vaccine an immune response prompted two Sydney comes on the fi rst day of mandatory mask restrictions ing backyard poultry has been unbelievable refrigerators, making them more feasi- candidates, and there are also concerns weeks later. across Greater Sydney, with enforcement to begin at midnight over the past year,” said Podgwaite, who ble for the country. about how well the vaccine will pro- That time frame means that it isn’t Sunday. keeps a fl ock of roughly 100 birds. “It just Although Serum Institute of India tect older people. possible that the company submitted Masks will be mandatory in shopping centers, on public exploded. Whether folks wanted birds just doesn’t have a written agreement with The other vaccine, known as CO- data showing that the shots are effec- transport, in places of worship, hair and beauty premises and for eggs or eggs and meat, it seemed to re- the Indian government, its chief ex- VAXIN, is developed by Bharat Bio- tive in preventing infection from the entertainment venues such as cinemas. All hospitality staff are ally, really take off.” (AP) tech in collaboration with government virus, said Dr. Gagandeep Kang, an ❑ ❑ ❑ ecutive, Adar Poonawalla, said India also required to wear one. would be “given priority” and would agencies and is based on an inactivated infectious diseases expert at the Chris- Australia’s leading medical group says the New South receive most of its stockpile of around Wales state government has put the rest of the country at risk Conservationists attacked: The con- form of the coronavirus. Early clini- tian Medical College at Vellore. servationist group Sea Shepherd said Fri- 50 million doses. cal studies showed that the vaccine All India Drug Action Network, a by its decision not to go “hard and early” in its response to the day that two fi shermen were injured off Partial results from studies for the COVID-19 outbreak on Sydney’s northern beaches, which is doesn’t have any serious side effects public health watchdog, issued a state- Mexico’s Baja California coast when they Oxford-AstraZeneca shot in almost and produces antibodies for COV- ment demanding greater transparency. suspected to have also caused new cases in neighboring Vic- rammed their small boat into a larger vessel toria state. used by the group in efforts to protect the On Saturday, Victoria recorded 10 new local cases, bring- endangered vaquita porpoise. ing active cases in the state to 29. Trace testing has linked the The attack is the latest round in an esca- new Melbourne coronavirus cluster to the New South Wales lating spiral of protests by fi shermen who income. Groups representing fi shermen at the crew, the group said. outbreak. use banned gill nets in the Gulf of Cali- were not immediately available to com- It released a video showing one fi shing Australian Medical Association Vice President Chris Moy fornia, the only place the vaquita is found. ment. Mexico’s president is Andrés Ma- boat approaching the Farley Mowat at high said the New South Wales government was “playing the odds” Only as few as a dozen vaquitas are believed nuel López Obrador. Sea Shepherd said speed and slamming into the side of the ves- by relying heavily on its contact tracing system instead of im- to remain, making them the world’s most its vessel, the Farley Mowat, was pulling sel. posing a quick lockdown to stop the spread across Sydney. endangered marine mammal. illegal gill nets out of the waters of the gulf, Two of the boat’s occupants were pulled also known as the Sea of Cortez, on Thurs- “They have put themselves and put the rest of the country at Fishing nets confi scated by Sea Shep- from the water by Sea Shepherd crew herd vessels are expensive, so fi shermen day when people on a group of about a half members and Mexican marines, who usu- risk,” Moy told Fairfax Media. “I can completely understand dozen small, open fi shing boats began toss- why Victoria has reacted (by) closing the border very quickly, often harass the conservationists’ boats to ally accompany the crew on such trips. One try to get them back. The fi shermen claim ing gasoline bombs at the vessel, setting the was given resuscitation, because he wasn’t because they are very worried about this.” they have not received compensation from bow and another part of the ship afi re. breathing, and both were taken by the navy the Mexican government for lost fi shing The attackers also threw lead net weights Podgwaite Obrador to a hospital. (AP) Language MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 FFeatureseatures that werediscussed.(Agencies) was reiterated,amongothertopics sell Brand Dorsey, QuincyJones, O’Neal, SethMacFarlane,Jack O’Brien, a specialdinnerwithfriendsConan Special onthetopic,Kingshad December 2011,precedingaCNN book MyRemarkableJourney.In death, ashehadrevealedinhis to becryonicallypreservedupon he toldO’Brienabouthiswishes and onConanrespectively,where night Showwith 2014, KingappearedonTheTo- July 2009andagainonFebruary King saidtheninastatement.In lung cancerat51inJuly,Larry daughter heart attackat65inAugust,and other. Son fi and lungcancer. attacks anddiagnosesofdiabetes recent decades,includingheart a nightlyshowonCNN. career thatincluded25yearswith newsmakers duringahalf-century celebrities, presidentsandother most prominentinterviewersof broadcaster wasamongAmerica’s visiting him. King’s familymembersfrom Center inLosAngeles. treatment atCedars-SinaiMedical 87-year-old Kingisundergoing close tothefamily,CNNsaid nel reportedSaturday. more thanaweek,thenewschan- hospitalized withCOVID-19for show host ton Globethatheheard abarrage hospitals fortreatment. were madeasofSaturdaynight. investigation isongoing.Noarrests what causedtheshooting,and kilometers) northeastofBoston. outlets. Lynnisabout10miles(16 police Lt tered alongadead-endstreet, threatening injuries,policesaid. fi who wereshotnear ve children within weeks of each ve childrenwithinweeksofeach lming amusicvideohavelife- nations comefromacrosstheUSandanumberofothercountries. ineffective, baffl dundant, oxymoronic,clichéd,illogical,nonsensical—andotherwise encouraging avoidanceofwordsandtermsthatareoverworked,re- 1976 itsaysto“uphold,protect,andsupportexcellenceinlanguageby to framethings,soithasgo,too.” Thursday inarelease.“Butsoistheoverrelianceon‘unprecedented’ destroying lives,”BanishedWordsListcommitteememberssaid in 2002,hasbeenrestoredtothelist. ID-19” leadingtheway.“Unprecedented,”whichwasbanishedback uselessness hadsomethingtodowiththevirus. words andtermssuggestedforbanishmentduetooveruse,misuseor for 2021. times” ontheschool’slight-heartedlistofbannedwordsandphrases in thistogether,”“inanabundanceofcaution”andtheseuncertain trace ofitfromtheEnglishlanguage. University inMichigan’sUpperPeninsulasaytheywanttokickany rolled outtobattlethecoronavirus,wordsmithsatLakeSuperiorState SAULT STE.MARIE,Mich.,Jan3,(AP):Evenasvaccinesarebeing COVID-19 dominatesannuallistofbanishedwords, terms LYNN, Mass: LOS ANGELES: Last year, King lost two of his Last year,Kinglosttwoofhis He hashadmedicalissuesin The PeabodyAward-winning Hospital protocolshavekept Citing anunidentifi Travis Lorini The sixmenwere taken to Kmiec saidit’snotyetclear Police foundthesixvictimsscat- Joining pastinducteessuchas“absolutely,”“BFF,”“covfefe,”and So far,morethan1,000wordsorphraseshavemadethelist.Nomi- The schoolinSaultSte.Mariehascompiledthelisteachyearsince “To besure,COVID-19isunprecedentedinwreakinghavocand Seven ofthe10selectedareconnectedtovirus,with“COV- Out ofmorethan1,450nominationssenttotheschool,about250 “COVID-19” and“socialdistancing”arethrowninwith“we’reall ❑ Michael Kmiec Chaia King Tyra Banks, Shaquille Tyra Banks,Shaquille Andy King where his intent to do so wherehisintenttodoso Larry King Two ofsixmen FormerCNNtalk Conan O’Brien Conan O’Brien , 30,toldtheBos- ing, orirritating.” Boston died from diedfrom ed person died of a diedofa hasbeen and told news told news while Rus- Lynn garden got asurprisewhenthe pack- ordered fl CHICAGO: he said.(AP) faster thanabookoffi the bulletsoutatonce.Itsounded held thetriggerdownandletall of gunfi This imagereleasedbySonyPicturesshowsMartinLawrence,(right),andWillSmithinascenefrom‘BadBoysforLife.’(AP) “Justseemedlikesomeone disastrous. was thefi into 2021andbeyond. came premiumdigitalrentals,butmostsimplyretreated between. Somewenttostreamingservices,othersbe- leases, theblockbustertentpoleshavebeenfewandfar Although therehavebeenasteadystreamofnewre- including NewYorkandLosAngeles,remainclosed. are openintheUSandsomeofbiggestmarkets, with limitedproduct.Currently,about35%oftheaters gust andearlySeptember,itwasatlimitedcapacity garabedian said. much ofthatfromdrive-intheaters. over $4.3billion.Thisyearitbroughtin$176.5million, the pasttwoyears,summermovieseasonhasnetted ically accountsforaround40%oftheyear’sprofi months straightthroughthesummerseason,whichtyp- unpredictability becametheconstant.” abedian, aseniormediaanalystwithComscore.“The 20, that“allwentoutthewindow,”saidPaulDergar- normal year.ButwhenthetheatersshutdownMarch ards. Boxoffi to judgetheyear’sboxoffi “We’ve neverseenthislittlebusinessinindustry.” domestic theatricaldistributionforUniversalPictures. asterisk. $42.5 billion.Butofcourse,2020isayearwithbig where between$11and$12billion.2019,thattotalhit recover morefully,ticketsaleswilllikelyendupsome- Comscore. Globally,wheremarketshavebeenableto That’ll bedown80%from2019accordingtodatafi cap outatanalmost40-yearlowofaround$2.3billion. enues exceeding$11billion,2020they’reexpectedto W 2020 wasboxoffi After fi Perhaps thereisnomoretellingfactthanthat2020 When indoortheatersdidstarttoreopeninlateAu- “The drive-inbecametheheroofsummer,”Der- Most NorthAmericantheatersweren’topenforsix Outside ofJanuaryandFebruary,it’simpossible “It’s ayearlikenoother,”saidJimOrr,presidentof ags for her grandmother’s ags forhergrandmother’s ❑ re andsmelledgunpowder. Variety be diffi hen thesunsetson2020fi An veconsecutiveyearsofNorthAmericanrev- rst timeinoveradecadewithout aMarvel Illinois cult tolookatthenumbersasanythingbut ce, inaggregate,isfairlypredictablea woman who womanwho By LindseyBahr reworks’’, Seven ofthe10selectedwordsconnectedtovirus ce bypre-pandemicstand- Film ■ behavior ofwomen,”thecommitteesaid. misogynist umbrellatermforcritiquingtheperceivedoveremotional white womeninresponsetoBlackandbrownpeoplehasbecomea ■ ■ keep itthatway.” tee wrote.“That’salltrueandvital.Butbasketballplayerspivot;let’s encing, remoteworking,andotherurgentreadjustments,”thecommit- contactless delivery,virtuallearning,curbsidepickup,videoconfer- media referencehoweveryonemustadapttothecoronavirusthrough ■ ■ ■ ■ ready forthisphrasetobecome‘useless.’” of infection,”memberssaid.“Butwe’dbelyingifwesaidweren’t keeping yourdistancehaveamassiveeffectonpreventingthespread ■ itself.” cannot helpbutwishwecouldbanishthemalongwiththevirus sary orsociallyandmedicallyusefulthesewordsare,thecommittee taken ourvocabulary,”thecommitteewrote.“Nomatterhowneces- nominators areclearlyresentfulofthevirusandhowithasover- ■ “yuh know”are: ak King Banks lmboxoffi Sus,shortfor“suspicious.” Karen.“Whatbeganasananti-racistcritiqueofthebehavior Unprecedented. Pivot.“Reporters,commentators,talkingheads,andothersfromthe Intheseuncertaintimes(variousphrasings). Inanabundanceofcaution(variousphrasings). We’reallinthistogether. Socialdistancing.“Thisphraseisuseful,aswearingamaskand COVID-19(COVID,coronavirus,Rona).“Alargenumberof Drive-in becamethehero ofthesummer ce,it’ll ts. For rm and youhavetositapartbehypercon- ing toamovietheaterwhereyouhavewearmask ited. tendance throughoutthefallandwinterremainedlim- back intoseats,includingprivatetheaterrentals,butat- and experimentedwithdifferentwaystogetpeople time,” Orrsaid. It’s probablynotgoingtohappenagainforquitesome deliver onSundaymorningsafteropeningaFriday? judged anditmightremainthatwayforawhile. a reliableindicatoroffi to dothatwasprofoundlylimited.” entertained. Thatdesirehasn’tchangedbuttheability “People haveadesiretogooutsidethehomeandbe sought outthemovietheater,”Dergarabediansaid. people hadunlimitedoptionsathome,still Back,” and“TheNightmareBeforeChristmas.” leases, including“HocusPocus,”“TheEmpireStrikes “People gotomovietheatersescape.Ifyou’rego- Theaters haveembracedenhancedsafetyprotocols “The instantgratifi It’s evenchangedthewayopeningweekends,once “The silverliningformovietheatersiseventhough And atleast15fi put itin10thplace. at Thanksgivingandhasearned$30.8millionsofarto sequel “TheCroods:ANewAge,”whichwasreleased eighth placewith$57.2millionandtheanimatedfamily crack thetop10areChristopherNolan’s“Tenet,”in outside ofHollywood.Theonlypost-shutdownfi — thefi second placetotheChinesefi January releasewith$206.3million.Globallyit’sin ” hasstayedinfi the year.Sony’sWillSmithsequel“BadBoysforLife comprised mostlyoffi regularly hadtwoormorefi “ Avengers:Endgame”and“BlackPanther,”has for thepasttwoyearstoppedyear-endchartswith movie. TheWaltDisneyCo.’ssuperherofactoryhas Unsurprisingly, the2020top10isalittlechaoticand rst timethatthetopworldwidefi cording toTheQuad CityTimes. department storechain Kohl’s,ac- she orderedweeks agofromthe envelope containing thefl when sheopenedapadded Moline gifts atheraunt’shousein COVID-19 testspecimen. age arrived—someone’sapparent “I pulled out thefl Andrea Ellis ce year like noother rst placeinNorthAmericasinceits lms in thetop100wereretrore- , innorthwesternIllinois, cation thatweusedtobeable Releases lms from thefi lm’s long-term prospects, are waswrapping lms inthetop10. lm “TheEightHundred” ags and I ags andI ags East rst two monthsof lm originated lm these words—dependingonyourstateofmind.It’spossible.” joyful song,”Clarkwrote.“Perhapsyoucanreadsomethingelseinto before theblast. detonate in15minutesthenswitchedtoarecordingof“Downtown” aged dozensofbuildings.TheRVblaredawarningthatbombwould town. Theblastkilledthebomber,injuredseveralpeopleanddam- in thecityahug. of songs—whythisone?”ClarkwroteonaFacebookpostTuesday. nouncement —wasmesinging‘Downtown’!Ofallthethousands bomb detonatedinNashvilleonChristmasmorning. belief thather1964hit“Downtown”wasairedjustminutesbeforea NASHVILLE, Tenn.: “(Millions) ofpeopleallovertheworldhavebeenupliftedbythis The explosiontookplaceintheheartofNashville’shistoricdown- Clark saidshelovedNashvilleandwishedcouldgiveeveryone “I wastoldthatthemusicinbackgroundofstrangean- police, who referredtheissue to The AssociatedPress, calledthe reply toaphonemessage from COVID-19 testspecimen.” ohazard bagcontainingsomeone’s lope andpulledthatout.Itwasabi- something deeperinsidetheenve- the packingslipandthennoticed these are,’”shesaid.“Ipulledout told myaunt,‘Lookhowcute lms to ■ anymore.” tender amongnominations—fornextyearwon’thavetoincludethat tion forbanishment.Wetrustthatyour‘newnormal’—anothercon- this listwillhelp‘fl President RodneyHanleysaidintherelease.“Inasmallway,maybe and foremostCOVID-19,thatmakessense,”LakeSuperiorState Ellis, whodidn’timmediately Iknow,right? “Real-world concernspreoccupiedwordwatchdogsthisyear,fi the pandemic?It’sarecord.(AP) ers. Thatnumberwouldhavebeenadisasterbefore.For lected $16.7millionfrom2,100NorthAmericantheat- was availabletostreamonHBOMaxforfree,alsocol- offi cent investordaythattheymade$13billionatthebox model isnotgoingaway.” back intotheaterswhenit’spossibleintheirarea.The I am100%convincedthatpeoplewillcomerunning nel,” Orrsaid.“Asvaccinationscontinuetorollout, shifted tostreaming. don thetheatricalmodel,evenifsomeprioritieshave theaters. Byandlarge,studiosarenotlookingtoaban- and dollars,fewbelievethattheyareadeath-knellfor continue tocompetewiththeatersforconsumereyes looking fornewcontent.Whileat-homeoptionswill scription orondemand,fi not. fi ers, likeWarnerBros.’decisiontoreleaseallofits2021 from 90daystoaslittle17insomecases.Oth- various exhibitorstoshortenthetheatricalwindow received, likeUniversal’slandmarkagreementwith and compromises.Someinnovationshavebeenwell- although therehavebeensomehistoricdevelopments and itmaybeawhilebeforethefullimpactisknown, relief package. owners willgetabitoflifelinefromthepandemic even ifit’snotinthenearfuture.Smallmovietheater malcy returns,whicheveryoneexpectswillhappen employs some150,000fi doing adisserviceoveralltowhat’sreallygoingon.” this yearatallintermsoftheaterattendance,Ithinkis principal atthemediaadvisoryfi cal experienceissupposedtowork,”saidJohnSloss, scious ofyoursurroundings,thatisnothowthetheatri- lms onHBOMaxandintheaterssimultaneously,have This pastweekend,“WonderWoman1984,”which “That’s notsomethingtosneezeat,”Chapeksaid. Disney CEOBobChapeknotedatthecompany’sre- “I dothinkthere’sabrightlightattheendoftun- It’s nosecretthatstreamingservices,whethersub- But effectsonthebusinesseshavebeenstaggering Moviegoing in2020isthestoryofanindustrythat ce in2019. Singer atten thecurve,’whichalsowasunderconsidera- Petula Clark Also: ghting tostayafl lled ahugegapforfi of aperson fromVirginia.(AP) swab andidentifying information appeared tocontain ausednasal bag overtheweekend andthatit that shepickedup thebiohazard Health Department,toldtheAP offi Chief according toEastMolinepolice the countyhealthdepartment, expressed shockanddis- Janet Hill cer atthe rm Cinetic.“Tojudge Jeff Ramsey

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lm fans lm . rst ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 NEWS/FEATURES 13

People & Places

Obits

Rapper MF Doom dead ‘Crossing Delancey’ Director Silver dies LOS ANGELES, Jan 3, (AP): Joan Micklin Silver, who forged a path for female directors and independ- ent fi lmmakers with movies including “Hester Street” and “Crossing Delancey,” has died. She was 85. Silver died from vascular dementia Thursday at her home in New York, her daughter Claudia Silver told The Associated Press. She used a combination of talent, fortitude and luck to create 1975’s “Hester Street,” her fi rst feature, re- leased when she was 40 years old. “Joan Micklin Silver was one of the most coura- geous artists I ever knew,” Carol Kane, who was nominated for a best actress Academy Award for her role in “Hester Street,” said in a statement to the AP. “She knew she could prevail at a time when women were not being taken seriously as fi lm directors.” A black-and-white period piece partly in Yiddish about a family of Jewish immigrants attempting to assimilate in New York, the fi lm became an unlikely triumph after Silver fought to make it. Kane would get her Oscar nomination for playing a wom- an attempting to make herself a Silver New World wife to please her husband. “When I read the script of ‘Hester Street,’ it was so beautifully written that I had the sensation that I was watching the movie as I read it,” Kane said. Silver would eventually move on to directing studio fi lms in a strained relationship with Hollywood. Her biggest commercial success would come with “Crossing Delancey,” a 1988 romantic comedy star- ring Amy Irving as a New York bookstore employee torn between two men. It was set nearly a century later than “Hester Street” but took place in the same neigh- borhood and explored similar themes of Judaism and This photo provided by PBS shows Glenda Jackson in a scene from ‘Elizabeth Is Missing.’ Only one project lured the two-time Academy Award winner back to the romance amid shifting cultures. screen after an absence of 25 years: ‘Elizabeth Is Missing.’ (AP) Recognition Born Joan Micklin in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1935, she went to college at Sarah Lawrence in Bronxville, Television New York. In 1956, the year she graduated, she mar- ried Raphael Silver, who would become a real estate developer and a producer of her fi lms. The two lived in Cleveland for the fi rst 11 years of their marriage and had three daughters while Joan ‘Elizabeth Is Missing,’ moving look at dementia Micklin Silver wrote plays for community theater. In 1967 they moved to New York, where she wrote scenarios for an educational fi lm company and scripts for fi lms. When scripts she sold either were not pro- Jackson returns to screen after 25 yrs duced or were changed beyond recognition, she real- ized she would have to direct them herself to tell the NEW YORK, Jan 3, (AP): Only one The fi lm has interwoven timelines of days where I was convinced that I’d stories she wanted. project lured two-time Academy and Maud seamlessly switches be- contracted the disease, but that’s par “I had always wanted to be a director,” Silver said in Award winner Glenda Jackson back to tween her 1949 past and present, re- for the course, really,” she said. a 1983 German documentary on her fi lms. “It seemed the screen after an absence of 25 years: vealing a sympathetic and unsentimen- Other recent fi lms that have tackled that I shouldn’t postpone it any longer.” “Elizabeth Is Missing.” tal portrait of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in- She set out to make “Hester Street,” fi ghting The fi lm is a mystery but so much “Nobody listens to me. Am I invis- clude “Away From Her,” “Still Alice,” through a constant lack of funding and other obstacles, In this Dec 12, l995 fi le photo, Phyllis more — a powerful and moving look ible or something?” says Maude. Later “The Notebook” and “The Savages.” helped by a little luck. The crew at one point prepped McGuire, the youngest of The McGuire at dementia, a pressing emotional and she melts down at a restaurant: “I want Brown credits writer Emma Healey, an 1896 street for a week’s worth of shooting, and she Sisters, smiles after receiving a cluster fi nancial issue for many nations with to scream but it won’t come out!” whose book of the same name was would later say that one rainstorm would mean the end of balloons from longtime friends Deb- aging populations. Jackson plays a Jackson, who picked up Acad- the source of the fi lm’s adaptation, of the fi lm. It stayed dry. bie Reynolds and Rip Taylor at her woman lost in the fog between the past emy Awards for 1971’s “Women In for fi nding a compelling way to show home in Las Vegas. Phyllis McGuire, and present. Love” and 1974’s “A Touch of Class,” mental decline. But the fi lm’s success did not mean chances to di- the last surviving member of the three rect bigger pictures immediately emerged. “This is something that as a society, swapped fi lm and TV for politics “In a way, Emma Healey used a singing McGuire Sisters who topped we have to look at seriously,” the ac- in 1992 when she became a Labour mystery to draw the viewers in but re- “I was hardly deluged with offers from Holly- the charts with several hits in the 1950s, wood,” Silver said in the German documentary. “Peo- tor told The Associated Press by phone Member of Parliament. ally that was the Trojan horse to which has died, Tuesday, Dec 31. (AP) from England. “It’s a big black hole.” we understood the disease,” she said. ple have subsequently said to me if any man had made Effects ‘Hester Street’ he would have had a three-picture deal The 90-minute fi lm aired in the UK It is Jackson’s searing portrayal that from Paramount or Warners.” in 2019 to great acclaim and American She used to visit senior centers — resonates. She plays Maude as angry Her next feature would be another indie, 1977’s viewers get a chance to see it starting they’re called care homes in Britain — and horrifi ed, embarrassed and fero- “Between the Lines,” starring John Heard, Lindsay Sunday via Masterpiece on PBS. as part of the job and saw fi rst-hand the cious. It is a role not unlike her recent Crouse and Jeff Goldblum, about an alt-weekly news- Jackson, 84, plays the role of Maud, effects of the disease. Broadway work in “King Lear,” who paper undergoing a big-business buyout. who is in the throes of Alzheimer’s “The issue is one that I’ve been descends into madness. She fi nally made her fi rst studio movie with 1979’s disease. Her home is covered with banging on about for a very long time, “It is a fi erce performance. It is ac- “Chilly Scenes of Winter,” originally released as taped-up reminders and instructions certainly when I was still a member of tually ‘Lear’-like in many ways,” said “Head over Heels.” — “Don’t forget to lock up” and “No parliament,” she said. “We are looking Brown. “She brings the fi erceness as The fi lm was not well-received, and she directed a more bread” — and her pockets are at a situation where if we continue to well as the tenderness as well as the pair of fi lms for television before returning to the big stuffed with scrawled notes she wrote live longer than we have in the past, humor — and sometimes all in one screen with “Crossing Delancey,” which would go on to remind herself of events and ap- care homes are going to be central to scene.” to make more than $100 million — more than $200 pointments. how we actually look after ourselves.” Jackson says strangers have come million in current dollars. Los Angeles Times fi lm Bardot Bolling “The unique thing about it that isn’t To get into the role, Jackson con- up to her to share the toll the disease writer Mark Olsen tweeted Thursday that “Crossing often done in pieces about dementia is sulted with the group Dementia UK has taken on their families, both physi- Delancey” may just be “a perfect movie.” that it takes the viewer inside the expe- and its head of research and publica- cally and emotionally. She’s lately “It’s certainly an ideal rom-com -- warm, empathet- Variety rience of living with dementia — the tions, Dr. Karen Harrison Dening. seen British politicians embrace the ic, heartfelt & with a distinct sense of place,” he wrote. fear, the panic, the frustration,” said “I asked her one of the things I seriousness of dementia, especially in Silver would go on to direct seven features in all, Sarah Brown, an executive producer. found most diffi cult to get around with light of how COVID-19 has ravaged though not nearly as many as she might have. NEW YORK: Claude Bolling, the French Viewers meet Maude just as she is was actually what motivated this wom- nursing homes. ❑ ❑ ❑ pianist, composer and arranger who attained insisting she fi nd out what has hap- an,” said Jackson. The response was “Let’s hope it has a similar reac- a worldwide following through his melodic pened to her friend, Elizabeth, who one word: frustration — that no one tion to those people who are suffering MF Doom, a masked rapper who awed hip-hop blend of jazz and classical infl uences and seems to have vanished. This disap- took her seriously or that she couldn’t from the reality of these diseases that fans and fellow musicians with intricate wordplay, has stayed on the Billboard classical charts for pearance becomes linked in her in- remember. it seems to have done in this country,” died. He was 49. more than a decade with his 1975 album creasingly chaotic mind with a much Jackson performance even rattled Jackson said. “The need for care is go- The British-born rapper rarely appeared in public “Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano,” has died. older one — of her sister in 1949. Jackson herself. “There were a couple ing to increase in future.” in recent years without his signature mask, modeled Bolling’s representatives announced after the Marvel Comics villain Doctor Doom. His on his website that he died Tuesday in Garches, France, at age 90. A cause of death was confi rmed Thursday by Doom’s representa- models do the twist, the mashed potato company says in the caption. to annihilate us,” tweeted Jan Nicolas, a tive, Richie Abbott. Jasmine Dumile said in a state- death was not provided. A lifelong admirer of Duke Ellington, and other classic moves, joined by Spot, a Thousands applauded the robots’ moves photographer. (AP) ment that her husband — whose real name is Daniel doglike robot, and Handle, a wheeled robot and the technology powering them. Others ❑ ❑ ❑ Dumile — died Oct. 31. the Cannes native was a professional musi- cian by his teens and over the following designed for warehouse work. appeared to be a little freaked out by their The cause of death has not been released. Boston Dynamics is infamous for its dexterity. ANCHORAGE, Alaska: An offi cial at an decades would perform with everyone Anchorage soup kitchen said she received Jasmine Dumile posted a photo of the rapper and a from Lionel Hampton to Yo-Yo Ma. He scary robot videos, but this one is clearly a “Slightly creepy, I have to admit,” heartfelt message on his Instagram page. She called as a donation of at least 30,000 pounds arranged music for Brigitte Bardot and playful attempt to close the books on 2020. tweeted Carl Bildt, a Swedish diplomat (13,608 kilograms) of food from a local him the “greatest husband” and father and thanked Juliette Greco among others, wrote sound- “Our whole crew got together to cel- who co-chairs the European Council on him for showing her how not to be “afraid to love.” towing company after a truck carrying the tracks for hundreds of French fi lm and ebrate the start of what we hope will be a Foreign Relations. produce crashed. television productions and his compositions Chance happier year,” the Waltham, Massachusetts, “Do you love me? Not when you come Bean’s Cafe and Children’s Lunchbox could be heard on such American releases CEO Lisa Sauder said the towing com- “Thank you for teaching me how to forgive beings as “The Holiday” and “Joker.” and give another chance, not to be so quick to judge Bolling’s three Grammy nominations pany offered her the food after they recov- and write off,” she wrote. “My world will never be the included one for best chamber music for ered it from a semi-truck that crashed into a same without you.” “Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano,” a col- ditch. No one was injured in the crash. The laboration with fl utist Jean-Pierre Rampal companies that were scheduled to receive Dumile was born in London and raised in New the food decided that they could no longer York. He began his rap career in the late 1980s un- which featured the playful “Baroque and Blue” and the more refl ective “Irlandaise” sell the groceries, KTUU-TV reported. der the name Zev Love X as part of the group KMD, “We were just about out of fresh which included his younger brother DJ Subroc. and sold more than 1 million copies. He would later collaborate with Angel produce,” Sauder said. “This time of year, The group released two albums: “Mr. Hood” in fresh produce gets harder and harder for us 1991 and “Black Bastards” two years later. Subroc Romero on “Concerto for Classic Guitar and Jazz Piano” and with Yo-Yo Ma on to get and so to be given this gift of pro- died shortly before the release of the second album. duce that we can be given right away for Dumile took a step back from the public eye, then “Suite for Cello and Jazz Piano Trio.” In 1984, Bolling was joined by American fl ut- meals … it’s gonna help so many people.” returned in the late 1990s under his MF Doom perso- ist Hubert Laws for a performance on the “It really is kind of a little bit of a mira- na. In 1999, he released his self-produced debut album “Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson. cle,” she said. “Operation: Doomsday.” Bolling was also notable as the com- Sauder said the donation from Vulcan Dumile released six studio albums under different poser of the Lucky Luke animated features Towing came at a time when demand at stage names, including King Geedorah and Viktor Daisy Town (1971) and La Ballade des the soup kitchen has never been higher Vaughn. He collaborated with producer Madlib on Dalton (1978). because of hardships from the coronavirus the 2004 album “Madvillainy,” which was considered Bolling’s wife of 48 years, journalist pandemic. his most celebrated release. Irène Dervize-Sadyker, died in 2017. “We are daily hearing from people Dumile’s last solo studio album, “Born Like This,” They had two sons, David and Alexandre. who have never been in this position of was released in 2009. His most recent album was a (Agencies) not knowing how they’re going to feed 2018 collaboration with the group Czarface: “Czarface ❑ ❑ ❑ their kids or where they’re going to sleep Meets Metal Face.” tonight,” Sauder said. Dumile’s death, three years after the death of his WALTHAM, Mass: These robots have The shipment included chicken, eggs, rhythm. In this May 12, 2018 fi le photo, director Christopher Nolan poses during a photo vegetables, hamburgers, strawberries 14-year-old son, shocked the hip-hop world. “Someone Boston Dynamics released a video on call at the 71st international fi lm festival, Cannes, southern France. The only and a variety of other produce. The soup just stabbed all my chakras,” rapper Pharoahe Monch Tuesday showing four of its robots dancing post-shutdown fi lms to crack the top 10 in 2020 are Nolan’s ‘Tenet,’ in eighth kitchen’s Food Service Director Scott wrote on Instagram. “I’m angry. I’m hollering and I’m to the 1962 hit “Do You Love Me?” by The place with $57.2 million and the animated family sequel ‘The Croods: A New Lingle said the package could serve those crying.” Contours, and it caught fi re online. Age,’ which was released at Thanksgiving and has earned $30.8 million so far in need for up to three weeks. Bean’s Cafe Two of the company’s humanoid Atlas to put it in 10th place. (AP) feeds around 700 to 800 people a day. (AP) ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 SPORTS 14

Undefeated 22-year-old Californian records his 18th knockout in 21 fights Young rising star Garcia stops Campbell in 7th round DALLAS, Jan 3, (AP): Ryan Garcia says he had never been knocked down before when an early blow sent the rising star to the canvas in his biggest test yet against Luke Campbell. The 22-year-old Californian had an impressive response, staggering Campbell with a body blow to win a WBC lightweight title fight on a sev- enth-round knockout Saturday night. Garcia was in control when his left hand crushed Campbell’s right side and sent the English fighter to one knee at 1:58 of the seventh. Campbell couldn’t get up, giving the undefeated Garcia his 18th knockout in 21 fights. “That was the hardest shot I was ever hit with,” Campbell said. “I tried and tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I felt him coming on, and I was moving back, and when you move back, my body relaxed a little bit and that’s the exact time he hit me.” Campbell (20-4) knocked down Garcia with a left hook in the second round, but didn’t land many other punch- es while Garcia was the more aggressive fighter until the decisive blow. The bout was postponed about a

BOXING month because Campbell tested posi- tive for COVID-19. It was moved to Texas because of coronavirus restric- tions in Garcia’s home state. “I’ve never been dropped in my life,” said Garcia, who is matching his large social media following with a flair for the dramatic inside the ring. “I think I got a little too excited in the moment.” Campbell had lost two previous title fights after winning a gold medal at his home Olympics in London in 2012. It was the fifth straight knockout for Garcia since what his camp con- sidered a disappointing majority deci- New Zealand’s Matt Henry fields the ball off his own bowling during play on the first day of the second cricket Test between Pakistan and New Zealand at Hagley Oval, Christchurch, New sion over Carlos Morales in 2018. Zealand, Sunday, Jan 3. (AP) “This is the kind of fight where superstars are made,” promoter Oscar De La Hoya said. “Down on the mat early for the first time in his career, Ryan got up, rallied, broke down his man and got the knockout.” Garcia easily won the first round before Campbell’s left hook midway Sri Lanka 157 ‘all out’ in through the second. Garcia regained con- trol by continuing to attack and by the fourth round asserted himself with a right-left combination and a quick answer to a strong right from the lefty Campbell. “I was a little dizzy with the knock- down, but I wasn’t worried,” Garcia said. “He’s not used to going forward, 2nd Test, S. Africa 148-1 so I just knew I had to cover up.” Late in the fifth round, Garcia sent Campbell staggering to the ropes just 5 India cricketers isolated after apparent quarantine breach and confronted the 33-year-old after the bell had rung. Garcia tried to pick South Africa’s bowler Anrich Nortje up where he left off at the start of the bowls during the 2nd Test cricket JOHANNESBURG, jan 3, (AP) : Sri start in Johannesburg only to fall away quickly. give test debuts to batsman Minod Bhanuka and fast sixth, but backed off after an aggres- match between South Africa and Lanka crashed to 157 all out on the Opener Kusal Perera hit a flamboyant 60 from 67 bowler Asitha Fernando at the Wanderers. sive start to the round. Sri Lanka, Wanderers Stadium in balls and with him playing fluently, Sri Lanka The injuries have especially affected Sri Lanka’s Garcia did most of the attacking, Johannesburg, South Africa, first day of the second Test in South reached 71-1 after choosing to bat first. bowling attack, and every one of its five frontline while Campbell seemed content to Sunday, Jan 3. (AP) Africa on Sunday to find no respite But the picture change completely just before bowlers at the Wanderers had played less than 10 lunch when Perera prodded outside off stump and tests coming into this game. after dropping the series opener sent an edge to Aiden Markram in the slips to be the Asitha Fernando did claim a first test wicket to counterpunch. heavily, and losing several players to first of three wickets for Mulder in the space of two remove Markram early for five. Sri Lanka couldn’t “He never fights coming forward, injuries. overs. sustain that pressure as Elgar and Rassie van der so I knew he would back up through- Dussen (40 not out) put on an unbroken 114-run out the fight,” Garcia said. “I’m natu- South Africa’s pace bowlers plowed through the patched-up Sri Lankan order in just 40.3 stand that kept Sri Lanka toiling without reward for rally a counterpuncher. But today I CRICKET the last 30 overs of the day. showed that I can be aggressive, go overs at the Wanderers after Sri Lanka chose to forward and take it to somebody.” bat first, with Anrich Nortje taking a career-best Also: All three judges had Garcia com- 6-56 and Wiaan Mulder 3-25, also his best fig- Nortje added another and Sri Lanka lost four wick- MELBOURNE, Australia: Five India players are fortably ahead when Campbell went ures. ets for 13 runs in four overs in that telling period just in precautionary isolation as India’s cricket board down, with two of them giving the South Africa’s batsmen pressed home the advan- before the break. Suddenly, Sri Lanka were 84-5 at investigates a potential breach of biosecurity proto- Los Angeles-area fighter four con- tage, reaching 148-1 at stumps to all but erase the lunch and then all out after just 16.3 overs of the cols ahead of the start of the third test on Thursday secutive rounds before the seventh. first-innings deficit. Dean Elgar was 92 not out. He second session as Nortje wrapped up the tail. against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Asked about his next fight, Garcia was out for 95 in the first test - the only time he’s He collected four of the last five wickets and Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, said he wanted to face Gervonta been dismissed in the 90s in Tests - and has a nervous ended the innings by sending a fast yorker through Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini have all been Davis but also mentioned Devin night in store as he contemplates a century. Asitha Fernando’s defenses to knock out the middle placed in isolation after a video of them sitting at a Haney. But South Africa were comfortable otherwise and stump. table in a Melbourne restaurant was posted on the In this file photo, Ryan Garcia, “I didn’t let anything stop me from looking at clinching a series victory in the two-test Sri Lanka had four players ruled out at the Twitter account of Navaldeep Singh. looks on after landing a punch to being a champion tonight,” Garcia contest. The Proteas won the first Test by an innings Wanderers with injuries picked up in the visitors’ big Singh suggested on Friday he paid the bill for the Romero Duno (not seen) during said. “Even when he dropped me, I and 45 runs to put them on course for a first series loss in the first test. Those added to the crisis, with table and then hugged Pant, although on Saturday their lightweight boxing match in knew that couldn’t stop me from win in two years. the tourists already without experienced pair Angelo Singh claimed there was no hug and players kept Las Vegas. (AP) being champion.” Like in the first game, Sri Lanka made a promising Mathews and Suranga Lakmal. It forced Sri Lanka to their distance. ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 SPORTS 15

Kispert leads Gonzaga past San Francisco Alabama stuns Tennessee in physical battle

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee, Jan 3, (AP): It took Nate Oats a season and 10 games to fi nally get a big one. The second-year Alabama coach de- vised a solid game plan and got his play- ers to execute it to fi nally claim a Top 10 victory Saturday night. In fact, it was the program’s fi rst true road win over a team ranked in the Top 10 since 2004. John Petty hit three critical 3-point- ers and fi nished with 19 points, leading Alabama to a stunning 71-63 victory over No. 7 Tennessee. The Crimson Tide (7-3, 2-0 South- eastern Conference) turned a two- point halftime lead into a double-digit advantage midway through the second behind Petty’s trio of 3s and two more long-range makes by Joshua Primo. Primo and Herbert Jones fi nished with 11 points, and Jahvon Quinerly scored 10. Tennessee (7-1, 1-1) struggled from the fi eld the en- tire game, hit- ting 21 of 66 shots (32%). Victor Bai- ley Jr. scored 16 points and Santiago Ves- covi had 13 for the Volunteers. Keon Johnson added 12 points. Kispert Yves Pons had fi ve second-half blocks when Tennessee clawed its way back to single digits late in the game, but never got closer than six points. The fi rst half was painful on both sides. Alabama’s 31-29 lead at the break happened with the Crimson Tide shooting 39% (12 of 31), while Ten- nessee struggled shooting 33% (11 of 33). Tennessee hadn’t trailed at half- time in any game this season. The Vols had three turnovers and two missed shots before they scored their fi rst points, almost 3 minutes into the game. With 8:46 left in the fi rst half, the score was tied at 14 as both teams labored to make anything happen. Charlotte Hornets’ P.J. Washington (left), and Philadelphia 76ers’ Dwight Howard leap for a rebound during the fi rst half of an NBA basketball game, Jan 2, in Philadelphia. (AP) Gonzaga 85, San Francisco 62 In Spokane, Wash, Top-ranked Gonzaga has the most potent offense NBA Results/Standings in the country, but coach Mark Few thinks the Bulldogs can be really good on defense, too. Sexton, Andre pace Cavs WASHINGTON, Jan 3, (AP): NBA re- Corey Kispert scored 26 points on sults and standings on Saturday. 9-of-11 shooting and Gonzaga shut Houston 102 Sacramento 94 Oklahoma City 108 Orlando 99 down hot-shooting San Francisco in New York 106 Indiana 102 the second half to win 85-62 . Philadelphia 127 Charlotte 112 Joel Ayayi added 18 points and New Orleans 120 Toronto 116 Cleveland 96 Atlanta 91 Andrew Nembhard had 14 for Gon- Eastern Conference zaga (10-0, 1-0), which has won 44 Atlantic Division consecutive home games - the longest ‘rally’ in win over Hawks W L Pct GB streak in the nation. Drew Timme had Philadelphia 5 1 .833 - Brooklyn 3 3 .500 2 10 points and 11 rebounds. New York 3 3 .500 2 Jamaree Bouyea scored 18 points Rockets beat Kings; Harden sits with injury Boston 3 3 .500 2 for San Francisco (7-5, 1-1), which has Toronto 1 4 .200 3-1/2 lost 20 consecutive games to Gonzaga Southeast Division out of reach. W L Pct GB since 2012. Dzmitry Ryuny added 11 ATLANTA, Jan 3, (AP): Orlando 4 2 .667 - points. Collin Sexton scored 27 Harden had started Houston’s fi rst Atlanta 4 2 .667 - Both teams shot well in the fi rst half. three games this season and is averag- Miami 2 3 .400 1-1/2 points, Andre Drummond ing a league-leading 37 points with 11 Charlotte 2 4 .333 2 Washington 1 5 .167 3 had 12 points and 11 re- assists. Central Division BASKETBALL De’Aaron Fox had 23 points for the W L Pct GB bounds and the Cleveland Kings, who lost to the Rockets for the Indiana 4 2 .667 - Cavaliers wiped out a second straight game after winning Cleveland 4 2 .667 - San Francisco took a 14-13 lead, but Milwaukee 3 3 .500 1 the Zags replied with a 12-2 run to go 15-point defi cit in the third three of their fi rst four games. Chicago 2 4 .333 2 up 25-16. quarter and beat the At- He said they got stagnant offensively Detroit 1 4 .200 2-1/2 San Francisco cut the lead to three in the second half and was particularly Western Conference lanta Hawks 96-91 on Sat- Southwest Division several times. But the Zags closed with disappointed in their lack of assists. W L Pct GB a 9-0 spurt, including Kispert’s long urday. 76ers 127, Charlotte 112 New Orleans 4 2 .667 - 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave the The Cavs’ keys to the game de- In Philadelphia, Joel Embiid had Houston 2 2 .500 1 19 points and 14 rebounds and Tobias San Antonio 2 3 .400 1-1/2 Bulldogs a 47-37 halftime lead. fensively were to prevent Atlanta Dallas 2 3 .400 1-1/2 Few said his team took too many from spending the whole game Harris scored 24 points to lead the Memphis 2 3 .400 1-1/2 quick shots in the fi rst half, which al- Philadelphia 76ers to a 127-112 win Northwest Division lowed San Francisco to stay close. shooting free throws and from fi r- over the Charlotte Hornets. W L Pct GB ing at will from beyond the arc, Utah 3 2 .600 - Kispert had 18 points in the fi rst half Ben Simmons had 15 points, 12 re- Portland 3 2 .600 - as Gonzaga shot 58%. Bouyea had 16 two categories in which the Hawks bound and 11 assists to help the Sixers Minnesota 2 3 .400 1 points to keep San Francisco within are among NBA leaders. New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson (1) is fouled as he drives beat the Hornets for the 12th straight Oklahoma City 2 3 .400 1 striking distance. But he scored only JaVale McGee, who fi nished with time. Philadelphia has not lost to Char- Denver 1 4 .200 2 to the basket by Toronto Raptor forward Pascal Siakam (43) during the Pacifi c Division two in the second half. 14 points, scooped in a runner to help second half of an NBA basketball game on Jan 2, in New Orleans. (AP) lotte since Nov. 2, 2016. W L Pct GB The Zags scored the fi rst seven the Cavs reclaim the lead at 84-83, and Terry Rozier scored 35 points for Phoenix 5 1 .833 - points of the second half to complete a Sexton made it a three-point lead with Rockets 102, Kings 94 But he has defi nitely been impressed. the Hornets. LA Clippers 4 2 .667 1 In Houston, John Wall scored 28 The Rockets scored the fi rst nine LA Lakers 4 2 .667 1 16-0 run and led 54-37. a 17-footer on the next possession to The Sixers are rolling in Doc Riv- Sacramento 3 3 .500 2 Anton Watson’s basket gave Gon- keep Atlanta on its heels. points and the Houston Rockets beat points of the fourth quarter to extend ers’ fi rst season on the bench and fol- Golden State 2 3 .400 2-1/2 zaga a 65-45 advantage with 12 min- Clint Capela had 16 points and 16 the Sacramento Kings 102-94 de- their lead to 92-81 with about 8½ min- lowed a 24-point win over Orlando utes left as the Dons made only three rebounds for the Hawks, who had spite playing without an injured James utes left. Eric Gordon led the team in with another victory where they led by of their fi rst 13 shots in the second 22 turnovers in the fi nal three quar- Harden. that stretch, making a 3-pointer and double digits for most of the game. began. The Bruins found out second- half. A 15-3 run pushed Gonzaga’s ters but tied it at 88-all on Bogdan Harden, who sat out with a sprained three free throws. Maligned in Philly for a paycheck leading scorer and rebounder Chris lead to 75-48 as the Dons went more Bogdanovic’s 3 before Sexton hit a 3 right ankle, was not listed on the in- Sacramento ended a scoring drought not commensurate with his production, Smith has a torn ACL and his career in than six minutes without a fi eld goal. to put the Cavs up 91-88 with 27.2 sec- jury report and coach Stephen Silas did of more than 3½ minutes soon after Harris has become the catch-and-shoot Westwood is likely over. The Dons ended up shooting only onds remaining. John Collins missed not mention his injury in his pregame that on an alley-oop dunk by Richaun 3-point ace the Sixers needed to give Still, they came together and rallied 38.9% for the game, compared to an ensuing dunk attempt before Darius availability. The team announced that Holmes. them another scoring threat alongside for a 65-62 victory over the Buffaloes 52.6% for Gonzaga. Garland hit a free throw and Sexton hit he wouldn’t play about 38 minutes be- Both teams struggled to score after All-Stars Embiid and Simmons. Yet it on Saturday night, extending their The Zags also won the rebound bat- four foul shots to end the scoring in the fore the game was scheduled to begin. that as they combined to miss 10 shots was Harris’ full-court drive-and-dunk home winning streak to 13 games. tle 40-25 and outscored the Dons in the closing seconds. Wall, who sat out Houston’s fi rst in a row. Gordon fi nally made a shot for down the lane that posterized - or per- Smith fed his teammates passes dur- paint by 44-24. two games because of COVID-19 con- Houston with just less than fi ve minutes haps GIF’d in the modern era - Bismack ing pre-game warmups and was on his San Francisco coach Todd Golden BASKETBALL tact tracing, missed all of last season to go, and Wall added a bucket a few Biyombo and left the Hornets reeling. feet cheering from the bench during said his team competed hard. and played just 32 games two years seconds later to extend the lead to 96-83. Knicks 106, Pacers 102 the physical and closely fought game. Oregon 73, Stanford 56 ago because of injuries. He scored 22 Silas raved about his team’s defense In Indianopolis, Austin Rivers made The Bruins’ (7-2, 3-0 Pac-12) streak In Eugene, Ore., Chris Duarte Collins’ alley-oop dunk on a feed points in his Rockets’ debut on Thurs- on Saturday and said without Harden’s the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:23 left includes six wins this season, and scored 23 points and No. 21 Oregon from Trae Young gave the Hawks day after a trade from Washington to scoring prowess it was even more im- and fi nished with 15 points to help the they’ve also won 10 straight league defeated Stanford 73-56 for its eighth their biggest lead at 15 points with make him the fi rst player to score 50 portant to concentrate on that part of New York Knicks rally past the Indi- games at home. straight win. 6:28 left in the third, but the Cavs points in his fi rst two games after an the game. ana Pacers 106-102 . The Bruins never led by more than Eugene Omoruyi added 15 points, went on an 18-5 run to trim it to 72-70 absence of at least two years since Mi- The Kings used an 8-2 run, capped The Knicks have won three of four seven in the second half. McKinley and LJ Figueroa had 13 points and 12 on Garland’s 3 in the fi nal minute of chael Jordan did it in 2001, according by four points from Harrison Barnes, to pull to .500 after six games under Wright IV’s 3-point play tied the game rebounds. Eric Williams scored 12 for the period. They fi nally took the lead to the Elias Sports Bureau. to get within 98-91 with less than a new coach Tom Thibodeau. R.J. Bar- for the last time at 54-all. the Ducks (8-1, 3-0 Pac-12). early in the fourth when Cedi Osman’s Silas wasn’t sure what to expect minute to go. But Christian Wood re- rett scored a team-best 25 points. Arizona 86, Washington St. 2OT Bryce Wills and Spencer Jones had 3-pointer from the right wing made it from Wall after being out for so long. sponded with a dunk to put the game Thunder 108, Magic 99 In Pullman, Wash., freshman Benn- 12 points apiece to pace the Cardinal 76-74 with 9:47 remaining. In Orlando, Fla., Darius Bazley had edict Mathurin had his fi rst career (5-3, 1-1), who had their four-game Atlanta took its fi rst double-digit lead a season-high 19 points, George Hill double-double, Terrell Brown Jr. hit a winning streak snapped. when Young’s acrobatic layup made scored 13 of his 18 points in the third 3-pointer with 13 seconds left and Ari- Stanford took a 46-45 lead on a bas- it 30-19 at the 2:49 mark of the fi rst. quarter and Oklahoma City beat Or- zona beat Washington State 86-82 in ket by Wills with 9:45 to play before Young had other highlights in the sec- lando 108-99 on. double overtime . Omoruyi and Aaron Estrada hit con- ond, stealing the ball and passing from The Thunder ended a three-game Mathurin was 8-of-12 shooting and secutive 3-pointers for the Ducks. his knees to Cam Reddish for a layup losing streak and bounced back nicely fi nished with career highs of 24 points Amauri Hardy added a 3 for Or- that made it 45-35, and assisting Capela from a 33-point loss to New Orleans and 11 rebounds and Brown scored 15 egon, and Omoruyi made one of his from the left side for an inside basket two nights earlier. Oklahoma City also points. James Akinjo added 18 points, own to put the Ducks ahead 57-51 that kept the lead at 10 at the 2:39 mark. avenged a 118-107 home loss against six assists and three steals and Azu- with 6:21 left. Duarte later scored fi ve The Hawks, coming off a win at the Magic fi ve nights ago. olas Tubelis had 12 points and nine re- straight points to put Oregon up 62-53 Brooklyn on Thursday, looked slug- Pelicans 120, Raptors 116 bounds for Arizona (9-1, 3-1 Pac-12). with 4:26 to go. gish throughout, but still carried a 56- In New Orleans, Eric Bledsoe Washington State (9-1, 1-1) had Oregon’s 28 straight home wins 44 lead into intermission. The closest capped a 19-point, 10-assist perfor- won nine in a row dating to last season. are the second-most in school history Cleveland got in the second quarter mance with a go-ahead 3-pointer in Nevada 84 , New Mexico 74 and tied for the second-longest active was a 3 by Osman that made it 53-44, the fi nal minute, and the New Orleans In Lubbock, Texas, Grant Sherfi eld streak in the NCAA. Ducks coach but Kevin Huerter quickly followed Pelicans held on for a 120-116 victory had a career-high 28 points as Nevada Dana Altman earned his 677th win with a 3 from the right wing to push over the Toronto Raptors. topped New Mexico 84-74 . to tie former Stanford and California the lead back to 12. Brandon Ingram added 31 points, Sherfi eld hit 11 of 12 free throws. coach Mike Montgomery for 23rd in The Hawks began the game lead- capped by four free throws in the last He added eight assists. Division I history. ing the NBA in scoring (125.8) and 13 seconds to seal the victory. Zion Desmond Cambridge Jr. had 15 Oregon was without freshman point free throws made per game (25.2), and Williamson scored 21 points, high- points and six rebounds for Nevada guard Jalen Terry for the second con- ranking second in 3-pointer made, sec- lighted by a pair of driving spin moves (8-3, 3-1 Mountain West Conference). secutive game due to COVID-19 pro- ond-chance points (17.0) and rebounds Missouri guard Dru Smith (12) drives past Arkansas defender Desi Sills in the lane to set up left-handed leaners Kane Milling added 14 points. Zane tocols. (49.4). (3) during the fi rst half of an NCAA college basketball game in Fayetteville, off the glass. Meeks had 10 points. N. Colorado 64, Montana 62 Ark, on Jan 2. (AP) Keith McGee had 14 points for the In Missoula, Mont., Tre’Shon Lobos (3-4, 0-4), whose losing streak Smoots came off the bench to score lift Northern Colorado to a 64-62 win Colorado (5-3, 2-1 Big Sky Confer- the Grizzlies (3-6, 0-3). Brandon Whit- UCLA 65 Colorado 62 reached four games. Makuach Malu- 16 points and assisted on a basket by over Montana. ence). Daylen Kountz added 14 points. ney added 10 points. Kyle Owens had In Los Angele, UCLA took a huge ach added 13 points. Jeremiah Francis Bodie Hume with 1.0 seconds left to Hume had 14 points for Northern Robby Beasley III had 12 points for 10 points. loss before its game against Colorado III had 10 points. ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 4, 2021 16

First placed Slovakia’s Petra Vlhova celebrates on the podium of an alpine ski, women’s World Cup Slalom, in Zagreb, Croatia, Jan 3. (AP) Sports Latest sports scores at — http://sports.arabtimesonline.com City surge to 3-1 win over Chelsea Leicester edge Newcastle, move up to 3rd

LONDON, Jan 3, (AP): Manchester City left Chel- sea in disarray by sweeping to a 3-1 victory on Sunday with a ruthless attack- ing display that consigned Frank Lampard’s team to a fourth loss in their past six Premier League games. İlkay Gündoğan, Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne scored in a dev- astating 16-minute fi rst-half spell as City rose to fi fth in the stand- ings despite coronavirus cases de- pleting the squad. Chelsea are only three points behind City but has played two games more and the manner of this defeat will be alarming to notoriously impatient own- er Roman Abramovich. The absence of any crowd due to coronavirus restrictions spared Lam- pard from any negativity from his own fans at least. City had been missing fi ve players due to coronavirus infections and there was off-fi eld tumult in the buildup to the game caused by defender Benjamin Mendy breaching pandemic restrictions on inter-household mixing by holding a New Year’s Eve party. With Ederson in isolation recover- ing from COVID-19, goalkeeper Zack Steffen started his fi rst Premier League game. It was a nervy start for the 25-year-old American, earning a book- ing for handling outside the penalty area after fi ve minutes. But thanks to City’s scintillating for- ays forward and Chelsea’s attacking de- fi ciencies, Steffen wasn’t tested. SOCCER

Instead it was opposite number Ed- ouard Mendy picking the ball out of his net three times. Chelsea’s Mateo Kovacic (centre), and Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan challenge for the ball during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Manchester City at In the 18th minute, Foden received Stamford Bridge, London, England on Jan 3. (AP) a pass from De Bruyne and teed up Gündoğan on the turn to net his third goal in four games. City were in devastating form, or- Atlético retake Iowa State wins Fiesta Bowl chestrated as so often by De Bruyne with less than three minutes between the opening two goals. lead in La Liga An initial cross from the Belgium BARCELONA, Spain, Jan 3, Texas A&M beats N. Carolina with late burst playmaker was intercepted by Thiago (AP): Luis Suárez scored a 90th- Silva, but he regained the ball to set up MIAMI GARDENS, Fla, Jan 3, (AP): Foden for the second. It was a slick fi nal minute winner as Atlético Madrid defeated Alavés 2-1 to win their Devon Achane had two late touch- touch from Foden that allowed him to down runs, including a 76-yarder with beat Mendy at his near post. fourth in a row and retake the Spanish league lead on Sunday. 3:44 left that put Texas A&M ahead to Leicester 2, Newcastle 1 stay, and the fi fth-ranked Aggies beat Youri Tielemans’ stunning strike Suárez scored from close range completing a cross by João Fé- No. 14 North Carolina 41-27 in the gave Leicester a 2-1 victory at Newcas- Orange Bowl on Saturday night to cap tle, handing the 2016 champions a fi fth lix after Atlético had conceded successive Premier League win. an equalizer in the 84th minute a winless bowl season for the Atlantic The Belgium midfi elder’s goal in the against an Alavés team that played Coast Conference. 72nd minute added to James Maddi- with 10 men from the 63rd. Kellen Mond passed for 232 yards son’s 55th-minute opener as the Foxes Suárez had helped Atlético take and ran for a score for the Aggies (9- profi ted from two rare pieces of quality. the lead with a 41st-minute assist 1) in their fi rst Orange Bowl since Even Jamie Vardy was strangely off- to Marcos Llorente, who cleared 1944. Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher key as he repeatedly strayed offside, improved to 3-0 in Orange Bowls, although it was his astute pull-back winning two previous ones at Florida which allowed Maddison to open the SOCCER State. scoring. Achane’s go-ahead score came on Arsenal 4, West Brom 0 three defenders outside the area a play where he darted left, nearly Arsenal continued to revive their before firing a low shot that de- tripped over one of his own blockers, season after thumping West Bromwich flected off a defender before find- broke a tackle and then got loose down Albion 4-0 to pile more misery on the ing the net. the sideline. The Aggies got a fourth- Baggies. Alavés lost defender Victor down stop on the ensuing possession, Alexandre Lacazette’s second-half Laguardia with a straight red card and Achane sealed the win on a 1-yard brace added to excellent strikes from determined by video review for a run with 1:34 left. Kieran Tierney and Bukayo Saka be- hard foul on Thomas Lemar. The Sam Howell passed for 234 yards fore the break as Arsenal recorded three hosts equalized when Atlético de- and three touchdowns, two of them to successive league victories for only the fender Felipe found his own net Josh Downs, for the Tar Heels (8-4). second time under Mikel Arteta. while trying to clear a cross inside North Carolina was without leading West Brom remained second from the area. rushers Javonte Williams and Michael bottom, with just one win in 17 match- The win gave Atlético a two- Carter, leading receiver Dyami Brown es, and have now conceded 12 goals in point lead over second-place Real and top tackler Chazz Surratt - all of Sam Allardyce’s three home games. Madrid, which defeated Celta whom opted out of the bowl game. Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell holds the trophy after the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game against Arsenal climbed to 11th but are at It was a tough end to the season for Vigo 2-0 at home on Saturday. Oregon, Jan 2, in Glendale, Ariz. Iowa State won 34-17. (AP) least within striking distance of the top Atlético have two games in hand the ACC, which sent two teams to the six, sitting three points behind Chelsea. on their city rivals. four-team College Football Playoff, ly that put Ole Miss up 13-3 midway between Tyler Shough and Anthony Washington pulled out and beat South- Baggies coach Allardyce had said the Diego Simeone’s team has won yet still had a winless postseason by through the second quarter. Brown at quarterback, but couldn’t ern California for their second straight Gunners were in the relegation battle 11 of its past 12 league matches, a combined 223-152 count. NC State Jack Tuttle was 26 of 45 for 201 sustain anything on offense and was title. with them before Arsenal beat Chelsea with the only setback a 2-0 loss at lost 23-21 to Kentucky, Miami lost yards in his second start in place Mi- plagued by numerous mistakes. Kentucky 23, N. Carolina State 21 and Brighton over the festive period. 37-34 to Oklahoma State, and the four chael Penix Jr. for Indiana (6-2). Ste- The Ducks were a replacement in In Jackvile, Fla, A.J. Rose ran for West Brom came into the game after Real Madrid four rounds ago. Alavés, which stayed in 11th other games – including losses by vie Scott III rushed for 99 yards and the Pac-12 championship game after a career-high 148 yards, Chris Rodri- Tuesday’s 5-0 hammering by Leeds. Notre Dame and Clemson in the CFP scored on runs of 3 and 2 yards to help guez added 84 yards and two scores Arsenal grabbed the lead and total place, has one win in its past six matches. semifi nals on Friday - were all decided the Hoosiers wipe out a 20-6 defi cit in and Kentucky held off North Carolina control after 23 minutes when Tierney by two touchdowns or more. the fourth quarter. State in a chippy Gator Bowl. proved why, when fi t, he is such an as- Iker Muniain scored a 25th- minute winner as Athletic Bilbao None of the other current Power 5 Ole Miss missed the extra point after Christopher Dunn missed two fi eld set. conferences has ever come close to go- Drummond’s go-ahead TD catch. Indi- goals for the Wolfpack (8-4), who Brighton 3, Wolves 3 defeated struggling Elche 1-0 at home. ing 0-6 in a bowl season. The last win- ana drove to the Rebels 33 before stall- trailed 16-14 late when Bailey Hock- Struggling Brighton fought back less ACC bowl season was 1983, when ing and turning the ball over on downs man threw his third interception of the from two goals down to snatch a point The win left Athletic in ninth in a thrilling 3-3. place, while Elche stayed 17th, the conference went 0-2. in the fi nal minute. game. Rodriguez scored on the ensu- Captain Lewis Dunk nodded in the just outside the relegation zone. Mississipp 26, Indiana 20 Iowa State 34, Oregon 17 ing play, going nearly untouched for home side’s 70th-minute equalizer at Promoted Elche is winless in In Tampa, Fla, Matt Corral threw In Glandale, Ariz, Breece Hall ran 26 yards. the Amex Stadium after Neal Maupay’s 10 consecutive matches, with for 342 yards and two touchdowns to for 136 yards and two touchdowns, NC State got a fi nal chance after penalty early in the second half sparked their last victory against Valencia help Mississippi beat Indiana in the Brock Purdy accounted for two scores Jordan Houston scored with 1:10 re- a seemingly unlikely comeback. back in October. Outback Bowl. and Iowa State beat Oregon in the Fi- maining. But Allen Dailey recovered Midtable Wolves had complete con- esta Bowl. Dunn’s onside kick, and the Wildcats trol at halftime thanks to Romain Saiss’ FOOTBALL The Cyclones (9-3) used their ball- (5-6) ran out the clock. Coach Mark header, Dan Burn’s own-goal and Ru- clear of the bottom three but have control offense to dominate the time of Stoops got a Gatorade bath following ben Neves’ spotkick following Aaron played two games more than 18th-place possession and keep Oregon’s offense the team’s third straight bowl victory, Connolly’s early opener for Brighton. Fulham. Corral’s 3-yard pass to Dontario off the fi eld for long stretches to win which ended a tumultuous season that Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolves crum- Brighton took the lead in the 13th Drummond put the Rebels (5-5) ahead their fi rst New Year’s Six bowl. included the loss of offensive line bled after the restart and may be thank- minute when Leandro Trossard twisted for good with 4:12 remaining. Ole Hall, an AP All-American, had 34 coach John Schlarman. ful not to leave the south coast empty- and turned Rayan Ait-Nouri on the Miss came through with one more stop carries and his ninth 100-yard game Kentucky fi nished with 281 yards handed as the Seagulls also struck the right fl ank before crossing for Connolly for its fi rst non-losing record since go- this season. Purdy, who went to high on the ground, helping offset one of crossbar through Adam Webster during to poke home. ing 6-6 in 2017. First-year coach Lane school in nearby Gilbert, threw for the nation’s worst passing attacks. a vastly improved second-half showing. Morocco international Saiss lev- Kiffi n was rewarded before the game 156 yards and a touchdown on 20-of- Ohio State running back Trey Ser- Stoops fi red offensive coordinator Ed- Brighton remain without a home eled just six minutes later, diverting a with a new contract. 29 passing, adding a touchdown on mon runs past Clemson safety Jo- die Gran and quarterbacks coach Darin league win this season but showed looping header beyond Robert Sanchez Drummond fi nished with six catch- the ground. Iowa State had a time of seph Charleston during the fi rst half Hinshaw after the team’s regular-sea- plenty of the fi ghting spirit they will following Nelson Semedo’s right-wing es for 110 yards. Corral completed 30 possession advantage of more than 25 of the Sugar Bowl NCAA college son fi nale and later hired Los Angeles need to avoid relegation. cross and Wolves edged ahead 11 min- of 44 passes without an interception, minutes. football, Jan 1, in New Orleans. Ohio Rams assistant Liam Coen to fi ll those The Seagulls moved three points utes before the break. including a 5-yard throw to Casey Kel- Oregon (4-3, CFP 25) alternated State won 49-28. (AP) roles in 2021.

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