• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

JAMADA ALAWWAL 2, 1442 AH THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 2020 16 Pages Max 24º Min 14º 150 Fils Established 1961 ISSUE NO: 18311 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net Biden joins battle for Senate Saudi cuts spending as budget Pandemic keeps German Doha to host 2030 Asian 6 as top Republican accepts win 8 deficit soars due to pandemic 13 model trains chugging along 16 Games, Riyadh 2034 edition MP files amendment to end secret voting for speakership Lawmakers file law for general amnesty for political activists By B Izzak Ghanem’s only rival MP Bader Al-Humaidi changed their mind. Three other ballots were invalid. MP KUWAIT: Opposition MP Abdulkarim Al-Kandari Marzouq Al-Khalifa said the outcome of the speak- yesterday filed amendments to the National er’s election was disappointing, adding that those Assembly internal charter to end secret voting for who changed their mind will be exposed during vot- the speaker and other office bearers, apparently in a ing on crucial laws and issues. bid to make MPs comply with their pledges. During MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri charged “foul play” in the Assembly’s opening session on Tuesday, incum- the election, and said the Cabinet’s support for bent speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem was re-elected Ghanem calls for non-cooperation with the govern- with a comfortable majority, although over 40 MPs ment. MP Mubarak Al-Hajraf said he will demand out of the 50 elected members had pledged publicly the formation of an investigation committee next not to vote for him. week into allegations of violations into the election The same thing happened in 2016, when Ghanem of the speaker. was elected with an overwhelming majority, But new MP Fayez Al-Jamhour said that the elec- although at least 28 MPs had said they would not tion of the speaker “is behind us and the Assembly vote for him. Kandari proposed changes to two arti- should look forward”. He said lawmakers have not cles in the internal charter, which stipulate secret come to trigger crises or for confrontation with the ballots for the election of the speaker, his deputy, government, but for cooperation to approve essential secretary and supervisor of the Assembly. laws. Jamhour said a bloc of MPs will be formed to Kandari said in the request that public voting for propose new legislation and call for the cancellation the speaker’s post is the right way for a transparent of others, and called on Ghanem to understand the beginning of the new Assembly, adding that the message that as many as 28 MPs did not vote for him. people have the full right to know how the lawmak- Meanwhile, five opposition lawmakers filed a ers they elected have voted. The outcome of the draft law calling for a general amnesty for political speaker’s election was shocking to a number of activists convicted over cases related to freedom of opposition lawmakers, some of whom cried betrayal speech. The law was rejected by the previous KUWAIT: Opposition MPs react after the re-election of incumbent speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem during the and said they will ask for an investigation. Assembly, but opposition lawmakers believe that National Assembly’s inaugural session on Tuesday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat Opposition MP Bader Al-Dahoum said at least their number has increased and they are capable of eight MPs who publicly pledged to vote for forcing it through. News in brief Record German deaths, US Bitcoin above $20,000 for first time cases; Europe tightens curbs LONDON: Leading virtual currency bitcoin yesterday traded above $20,000 for the first time BERLIN: Several European coun- States both started their programs, following a sustained run higher in recent weeks. tries tightened restrictions yesterday, using a vaccine developed in the EU Just 12 years old, bitcoin reached a record-high as Germany set a record for daily by Pfizer and BioNTech. The World $20,398.50 before pulling back to $20,145, which deaths and the United States broke Health Organization’s European wing was still an intra-day gain of nearly four percent. its own daily high for infection num- yesterday warned of a resurgence of It has seen a meteoric rise since March, when it bers. The tougher measures came as the virus on the continent early next stood at $5,000, spurred by online payments EU countries agreed to rollout vacci- year, urging special precautions over giant PayPal, saying it would enable account nations on the same day. “To get to the holiday season. “It may feel awk- holders to use cryptocurrency. A number of cen- the end of the pandemic, we will ward to wear masks and practice tral banks have meanwhile responded to the rise need up to 70 percent of the popula- physical distancing when around of cryptocurrencies and the dwindling global use tion vaccinated,” European Com- friends and family, but doing so con- of cash by announcing plans for bank-backed mission chief Ursula von der Leyen tributes significantly to ensuring that BOGOTA: Smoke comes out of a mannequin’s mouth to show how viruses can digital units. — AFP told MEPs. everyone remains safe and healthy,” spread in the air during a campaign to raise awareness for the prevention of the Pressure has been mounting on the the health agency said. novel coronavirus on Tuesday. — AFP bloc since Britain and the United Continued on Page 2 Pakistan approves anti-rape laws ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has approved the chemi- Al-Sadu, couscous cal castration of rapists as part of sweeping new Baghdad booze legislation sparked by outcry over the gang rape of a mother on a motorway. Under the new laws, listed as intangible special courts will be established to try cases of attacks: Turf war rape and sexual abuse against women and chil- world heritage dren, which must be completed within four or vice squads? months. They also create the country’s first nation- PARIS: UNESCO has placed Kuwait and Saudi al sex offenders register, establish anti-rape cells Arabia’s traditional Al-Sadu weaving on the world’s BAGHDAD: Escalating attacks on the Iraqi across the country for conducting initial investiga- intangible cultural heritage list, a Kuwaiti diplomat capital’s few liquor stores have terrified shop- tions and medical examinations within six hours of said yesterday. The achievement comes partly due owners who fear hardline Islamists are flexing filing a police complaint - while abolishing an inva- to the efforts of the National Council for Culture, their muscle against alcohol consumption. But sive medical examination known as the two-finger Arts and Letter’s Department of Antiquities and there may be a bigger story behind the virginity test for rape victims. — AFP Museums, Kuwait’s representative to UNESCO Baghdad booze bombings, as some suspect turf Adam Al-Mulla told KUNA. A woman makes a traditional Sadu weaving. wars for control of the lucrative niche trade in It becomes the second cultural practice to be the Muslim majority country. added to the list for Kuwait after date palm pro- event, is at once ordinary and special,” their joint Over the past two months, at least 14 alcohol Lab-grown meat to make debut duction and related cultural activities. Al-Sadu is a presentation argued. “Ordinary because of the fre- shops across the city have been firebombed in conventional textile hand woven by Bedouin quency of its use in a family setting, and special the middle of the night or just before dawn, with SINGAPORE: Lab-grown chicken meat will women, using natural fibers found in their environ- because of the unifying and propitiatory role it three simultaneous attacks in different districts make its debut at a Singapore restaurant in a culi- ment and characterized by embroidery in geomet- plays at convivial community occasions at which Monday night alone. Most businesses are run by nary first this weekend after the company behind rical shapes. In Kuwait, the Al-Sadu Weaving Co- food is shared.” Christians or Yazidis, minorities who for decades the product announced its inaugural sale yester- operative Society was launched in 1978 to pre- Bland by itself, couscous is served with meat or have been granted the licenses required to sell alcohol in broadly conservative Iraq. day. US start-up Eat Just said earlier this month serve, document and promote this rich and diverse fish, spicy stews, chickpeas and vegetables in a Andre, an Iraqi Christian, said his shop was that its product had been approved for sale in the textile heritage. mouth-watering variety of dishes. Moroccan firebombed a few weeks ago by two people on city-state as an ingredient in chicken nuggets after Meanwhile, couscous, the Berber dish beloved restaurant owner Hicham Hazzoum was among the a motorcycle just before dawn, according to Singapore became the first country to allow meat across northern Africa’s Maghreb region and couscous connoisseurs who applauded UNESCO’s the store’s security camera footage. He said it created without slaughtering any animals to be honor. “I think we are the only Arab countries to beyond, also joined the UN list of the world’s intan- had cost him thousands of dollars to replace sold. Yesterday, the company said it had made its have a high regard for this dish,” he said. “It is gible cultural heritage. The countries that submitted the lost merchandise and repair the shop. first commercial sale of the product to 1880, a impossible not to eat it every Friday. Moroccans are the listing to UNESCO - Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia “These groups want the last of the Christians restaurant in Robertson Quay, a posh riverside and Mauritania - may have their differences, but crazy about couscous and even children love it.

Load more

  16

Copy Link