‘Kingdom making presence felt in region’ ‘Saudis embrace leader’s garb’ “THE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia simultaneously recently hosted the 36th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, the Syrian opposition move- ments conference and the anti-Houthi meeting of Yemeni groups simultane- ously in addition to receiving many Western and Eastern delegations dur- ing the same period and officials from various other countries for discussions on political, economical and strategic decision-making process comprising regional and international affairs,” columnist Yusuf Al-Jassem wrote for Al-Jarida daily Tuesday. “Given the above, we conclude that this development put emphasis on the vital role that is being played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on regional and global levels and its importance as a centre for dealing with the political reality of the Gulf region and drawing the future characteristics of this part of the world. “Moreover, the discussions reflected on the significance of the Kingdom’s contribution to the political structure of the Arab world and consecutive strate- gic changes currently happening in some of the Arab countries, particular- ly in the wake of the so-called ‘Arab Spring’ – the spring that in reality has become the ‘Arab hell’. “What calls for attention indeed is the internal affairs of Saudi Arabia, which at the moment witness some kind of relative social détente and this has become crys- tal clear by the role played by the Saudi women and their presence which is felt in hotels and the various public places without their traditional clothing. “Apart from the above, we have observed vast presence of the Saudi Shura Council members and women during the concluding session of the recent GCC summit. But the most sig- nificant thing in this context is repre- sented by the Saudi women participa- tion in the country’s municipal coun- cils as candidates and voters and this shows the restrictions which were pre- viously imposed on the contribution of the Saudi women to some of the pub- lic affairs have been lifted for good. “Furthermore, we cite the openness that currently prevails in the Kingdom’s intellectual and cultural arena and this was evident through the tangible activities of the Saudi intel- lectual and educated people in various cultural, informational and technical activities. “However, this development repre- sents nothing extraordinary for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which has efficiently managed to reconcile between its nature as a conservative country and its effective role in the Arab cultural and technical movement and this was evident through its con- tribution to the various Arab cultural, media and technical activities. “In this context, we say the Kingdom has witnessed the appearance of many prominent figures including the pub- lishers Hesham and Mohammad Ali Abdulhavefth, the role played by the sons of King Salman in terms of estab- lishing Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (Middle East) Press Foundation, the Prince Khaled Al-Faisal from Arab Intellectual Foundation, the role played by the sons of Prince Sultan in Al-Hayat newspa- per, Sheikh Saleh Kamel – the owner of ART Satellite TV Station, Sheikh Waleed Al-Ibrahim the owner of Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), the owner of Rotana Satellite TV Station Prince Al-Waleed Ben Talal, the role played by the sons of the Amir Khaled Ben Abdullah Ben Abdurrahman in terms of founding ‘Orbit’ Satellite TV Station. “It is needless to say the above media corporations have opened the door for the educated and intellectual Arabs to practice freely their cultural, political and artistic activities. Not just that, the Kingdom at the moment is seen as one of the richest countries in terms of establishing research and studies centers in addition to many forums which currently run through- out the Kingdom.” Also: “Over the past week, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosted a conference which was attended by representatives of various Syrian political parties and armed opposition groups,” columnist Zayed Al-Zaid wrote for Annahar daily Tuesday. “The two-day conference resulted in the formation of a commission grouping representatives from most of the Syrian opposition parties and movements in a prelude to form a joint delegation to represent the Syrian opposition during the forth- coming international negotiations to discuss the Syrian issue. “This development was a relative success which projected the ability of the Syrian opposition to unify its ranks and attitudes over major demand of the parties and movements which are working to topple the regime of Bashar Al-Assad. “But this unified attitude that has been adopted recently by various components of the Syrian opposition is opposed by the Russians through a ‘veto’, particularly since we know that Moscow at the moment is the major supporter of the Syrian regime and as a matter of fact, immediately after the summit wrapped up the opposition in question declared its rejection to hold negotiations with ‘terrorist groups’ as the regime in its pertinent statement was quoted as alleging. “However, the fact is to the con- trary, because unlike the Russian claim none of opposition parties and groups which took part in Al-Riyadh conference can be classified as terror- ist groups such as the Islamic State (IS) or the so-called ‘DAESH’, for instance, nor like the Al-Nusra Front where the latter still derives its thought from al-Qaeda. Moreover, these two organizations (DAESH and Al-Nusra) still occupy vast swathes of the Syrian territories. “However, the fact remains that the regime has caused a lot of calamities and disasters for its country and trans- formed Syria into an arena for foreign military interventions. Given the cur- rent scenario it will be very difficult to rebuild the devastated homeland, hence any future negotiations that are not based on ‘booting’ the incumbent regime, shall constitute only a mock- ery of the blood that has been shed by the Syrian people. These negotiations will eventually represent something against the interests of this people.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “The ceremony held by Kuwait, on both official and private levels to honor the dignitary Bill Gates, co- chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is a worthy celebration, befitting the man, just as worthy of Kuwait, which honors inventors in all fields, and opens its arms to embrace and appreciate charitable and humani- tarian initiatives, especially those that are in the interest of all mankind,” columnist Abdulrahman Awwad wrote for Al-Sabah daily. “From here, this appreciation mani- fested in the coolest pictures when His Highness the Amir awarded Bill Gates the Order of Kuwait a mantle of first class, ‘in recognition of his efforts, and his distinguished work in the field of philanthropy and voluntary human- itarian actions. “This honoring goes in harmony with the honoring of HH the Amir by the United Nations as the World Humanitarian Leader and chose Kuwait as the World Humanitarian Center because of the role Kuwait plays at global level in the area of development. “Hosting this great pioneer, cele- brated and honored personality is a good and noteworthy initiative and increases the importance and gives value to the visit because Gill Gates deserves the privilege to be a role model for the entire world’s youth.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “It seems that Moscow is still under the influence of Vodka and in shock over its warplane shot down by Turkish fighter jets, in view of funny allegation raised by the Russian Deputy Prime Minister Anatoli Antonov against Turkish President Rajap Toyip whom he accuses of buy- ing oil from DAESH!” Walid Ibrahim Al-Ahmad wrote for Al-Rai daily. “Antonov expanded the scope of his allegations, knowing well that the US has placed financial embargo on the Syrian business mogul George Haswani- who holds Russian pass- port- after Europe placed sanctions on Syria. The embargo on Haswani became effective after the US and Belgium ascertained that he benefited from oil extracted from oil wells under DAESH control in Syria and Iraq, and in return, sells the oil to Syrian government to fill its airplanes with explosives to bomb its citizens! “We are saying this with assurance that war is not limited to the Middle East due to the presence of the dicta- torial Russian regime, as it spreads by the intervention of US, Britain, France and Russia in the sky of Syria. These countries claim to attack DAESH all the time but we have yet to hear about losses incurred by the terrorist group or reduction in its activities!” ❑ ❑ ❑ “The enactment of law number 31/2008, which obliges a couple plan- ning to get married to undergo med- ical tests, was an excellent step. Undoubtedly, this law has had positive effects on various aspects of the soci- ety,” columnist Abdallah Mateer Al- Sharika wrote for Al-Anba daily. “We used to hear that the bride got married without her consent and such revelations proved to be damaging to relations, not only between the bride and groom but also their families. Since the enactment of the law, such cases have disappeared because going for the test is enough to signify con- sent, especially on the part of the bride. “Nonetheless, some lawmakers have shown interest in amending this law. I have some recommendations in this regard since I have experience concerning the law and the entire mar- riage process. “The law should exempt people above 50 years old and women who are close to that age from taking the tests, as well as the divorced couples who got back together. This is in addition to extending the validity of test results from six months to one year.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “The government has control over the ordinary citizen but lacks similar will power over the political traders who have professionalized commer- cial politics” Mohammad Ahmad Al- Mulla wrote for Al-Shahed daily. “The political traders engage in polit- ical clowning to proclaim themselves as political activists and form groups with honorable and beautiful national names. At the same time, they perpe- trate the dirtiest political activities under groups’ name to gain positions. They go on to exploit their positions to fight for tenders, and then use the con- tracts to buyout several lawmakers. “I want to tell the political traders to prepare for their end (grave) because their billions will fritter away and their generations will become extinct. Kuwait and the Sabah dynasty will outlive them, because the citizens love the family and share a special bond. I beseech Allah to protect HH the patient Amir and HH the humble Crown Prince.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “It is normal for any country to fight gangs and become victorious at the end if the government stands for the truth and law,” Talal Al-Saeed wrote for Al-Seyassah daily. “Recent events in the sports circle indicate a gang or gangs are waging war with the government, and they struggle to be victorious with the assistance of other gangs that control FIFA by trying to scuttle the inaugura- tion of Jaber stadium to render severe blow to Kuwaiti sports. “All Kuwaiti citizens look forward to the inauguration of the stadium, which represents a new landmark in Kuwaiti sports, in order to push the country to restore its past glory. Successes attained in this regard will rescue the country from the monopoly of Kuwaiti sports where gangs regard the sport sector as their personal estate.” ❑ ❑ ❑ “Over 200,000 British citizens have signed the petition for concerned authorities to ban US presidential can- didate Donald Trump from entering Britain, and the parliament has endorsed the request allowing the con- cerned minister to ban Trump from Britain if his presence will not serve the welfare of the country,” Abdulrahman Al-Awad wrote for Al- Sabah daily. “The decision is binding under the general policy of the country, and sub- sequent to ban placed on the Dutch politician Khairat Felders in 2009 from entering Britain based on hate expressions he used against Muslims and Islam. “It is illogical to hold a nation accountable for improper actions by a single person, given that all people are not the same — especially if the majority of the people in that country frown on injustices and oppression.” —- Compiled by Zaki Taleb ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2015 6 LOCAL Al-Jassem DIWANIYA a digest of public opinion ‘Kuwait targets boost in cultural ties with Russia’ Sheikh Salman lauds Hermitage Museum SAINT PETERSBURG, Dec 15, (KUNA): Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Salem Al-Humoud Al-Sabah on Tuesday described his talks with Russian officials as “important and fruitful.” Sheikh Salman, who is also Chairman of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL), told KUNA and Kuwait TV in an exclu- sive statement before his departure from Russia that his talks with the Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky focused on means of promot- ing bilateral cultural ties, and exchange of expertise and experts’ visits, in addi- tion to benefiting from the experience of the Russian cultural centers. He said that the Russian side highly appreciated Kuwait’s role and the significant outcome of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s visit to Russia in September. A bilateral cultural agreement was signed then. Sheikh Salman said he had invited Medinsky to visit Kuwait for further dis- cussions on means to boost bilateral cul- tural cooperation, reiterating Russia’s cultural status globally. As for the talks with Director of the Hermitage Museum Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, Sheikh Salman said they addressed means of enhancing cooperation for enhancing exchange of historical books, developing museums, caring for national heritage and heritage restoration training. Offering Kuwaiti youth the opportunity to benefit from the long expertise of the Hermitage Museum, which was founded in 1764, featured high on the agenda of the talks, he said. Touring the Hermitage, Sheikh Salman expressed his deep admi- ration of the historical items on display. The minister thanked Kuwait’s Ambassador to Russia Abdulaziz Al- Adwani for his efforts, and appreciated KUNA and the Kuwait TV for coverage of the visit. He also voiced thanks to the Russian government for hospitality and warm welcome during the visit. The Kuwaiti delegation that participated in the IV St Petersburg International Cultural Forum, led by Sheikh Salman, included Ambassador Al-Adwani and NCCAL Assistant Secretary General for the Culture Sector, Mohammed Al-Zoabi, and officials from the Ministry of Information. KUNA photo Sheikh Salman and Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky at the Hermitage Museum. Rumors denied: Rumors spread through various social networking sites that some donations from Kuwait were given to those behind the attacks in France are not true, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. Affirming that all charities in Kuwait abide by the laws governing such organ- izations, sources confirmed the ministry has not recorded any violation or unusu- al observations regarding charities. Sources said the ministry is closely monitoring the activities of individuals suspected of collecting donations. They explained an expatriate proven to be collecting donations will be deport- ed, while their Kuwaiti counterparts will be asked to write a pledge to refrain from repeating the action. Sources added the ministry is keen on checking advertisements and invita- tions posted on social networking sites asking for donations, as well as announcements published by some citi- zens and officials. ❑ ❑ ❑ ‘Will shut prison’: US President Barack Obama has vowed to push ahead with plans to close the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror sus- pects, despite evidence that a substan- tial number of former detainees have returned to the battlefield. In an interview with Yahoo News that was published Monday, Obama said the strategic benefits of closing the notorious facility outweighed incidents of recidi- vism among “low-level” former inmates. The White House itself admits that around 10 percent of those released from Guantanamo have resumed fight- ing for Islamic extremist organizations, but says it is more important to shutter a facility that has become a recruiting tool for militants. Obama’s comments come as Sudanese militant Ibrahim al-Qosi — who was released in 2012 — seeming- ly appeared in a recent video by al- Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. “The judgment that we’re continual- ly making is, are there individuals who are significantly more dangerous than the people who are already out there who are fighting?” Obama said. “What do they add? Do they have special skills? Do they have special knowledge that ends up making a sig- nificant threat to the United States?” (AFP) News in Brief Drones can pin-point militants presence Least amount of error in collateral damage KUWAIT CITY, Dec 15: The Italian magazine L’Espresso has published accu- rate photographs of the Islamic State or the so-called DAESH in Iraq captured by Italian drones which took off from a mil- itary base in Kuwait which are providing supplies for US aircraft, reports Al-Rai daily. At the first glance, it does not seem anything unusual in the video, which was picked up aerial reconnaissance plane belonging to the Italian Air Force for sus- pected armed Islamic militants during their movements in different parts of Iraq. At the beginning the video shows images in black and white and monitors air strikes against what they look like the bottom of the inspection point under a huge black banner on a road in northern Iraq. Then quickly something happens radi- cally different, that is, a color video which clearly shows four armed men coming out of the house and walking in the streets of the town. At a certain stage, the video camera suddenly focuses on two armed suspects and one of them almost certainly is a ‘minor’ carrying a rifle on his shoulder clearly showing his small body compared to the gunman next to him. And those images are very clear to the point that even the shadow of those people can eas- ily be distinguished. In the e-mail message commented Thomas Keenan, Executive Director of Human Rights at the Bard College (Liberal Arts College in New York) said, “In fact, these pictures show a lot of abil- ity are very interesting, as well as the fact it is not necessary to have operators on the aircraft to portray over the site direct- ly. “This makes it clear - among other things - they have the least amount of error in terms of the potential collateral damage, because they can see objects in fine detail clearly from very high.”
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‘Kingdom making presence felt in region’
‘Saudis embrace leader’s garb’“THE Kingdom of Saudi Arabiasimultaneously recently hosted the36th Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)summit, the Syrian opposition move-ments conference and the anti-Houthimeeting of Yemeni groups simultane-ously in addition to receiving manyWestern and Eastern delegations dur-ing the same period and officials fromvarious other countries for discussionson political, economical and strategicdecision-making process comprisingregional and international affairs,”columnist Yusuf Al-Jassem wrote forAl-Jarida daily Tuesday.
“Given the above, we conclude thatthis development put emphasis on thevital role that is being played by theKingdom of Saudi Arabia on regionaland global levels and its importance asa centre for dealing with the politicalreality of the Gulf region and drawingthe future characteristics of this part ofthe world.
“Moreover, the discussions reflectedon the significance of the Kingdom’scontribution to the political structure ofthe Arab world and consecutive strate-gic changes currently happening insome of the Arab countries, particular-ly in the wakeof the so-called‘Arab Spring’ –the spring thatin reality hasbecome the‘Arab hell’.
“What callsfor attentionindeed is theinternal affairsof Saudi Arabia,which at themoment witness some kind of relativesocial détente and this has become crys-tal clear by the role played by the Saudiwomen and their presence which is feltin hotels and the various public placeswithout their traditional clothing.
“Apart from the above, we haveobserved vast presence of the SaudiShura Council members and womenduring the concluding session of therecent GCC summit. But the most sig-nificant thing in this context is repre-sented by the Saudi women participa-tion in the country’s municipal coun-cils as candidates and voters and thisshows the restrictions which were pre-viously imposed on the contribution ofthe Saudi women to some of the pub-lic affairs have been lifted for good.
“Furthermore, we cite the opennessthat currently prevails in theKingdom’s intellectual and culturalarena and this was evident through thetangible activities of the Saudi intel-lectual and educated people in variouscultural, informational and technicalactivities.
“However, this development repre-sents nothing extraordinary for theKingdom of Saudi Arabia which hasefficiently managed to reconcilebetween its nature as a conservativecountry and its effective role in theArab cultural and technical movementand this was evident through its con-tribution to the various Arab cultural,media and technical activities.
“In this context, we say the Kingdomhas witnessed the appearance of manyprominent figures including the pub-lishers Hesham and Mohammad AliAbdulhavefth, the role played by thesons of King Salman in terms of estab-lishing Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (MiddleEast) Press Foundation, the PrinceKhaled Al-Faisal from Arab IntellectualFoundation, the role played by the sonsof Prince Sultan in Al-Hayat newspa-per, Sheikh Saleh Kamel – the owner ofART Satellite TV Station, SheikhWaleed Al-Ibrahim the owner ofMiddle East Broadcasting Corporation(MBC), the owner of Rotana SatelliteTV Station Prince Al-Waleed Ben Talal,the role played by the sons of the AmirKhaled Ben Abdullah BenAbdurrahman in terms of founding‘Orbit’ Satellite TV Station.
“It is needless to say the abovemedia corporations have opened thedoor for the educated and intellectualArabs to practice freely their cultural,political and artistic activities. Notjust that, the Kingdom at the momentis seen as one of the richest countriesin terms of establishing research andstudies centers in addition to manyforums which currently run through-out the Kingdom.”
Also:“Over the past week, the Kingdom
of Saudi Arabia hosted a conferencewhich was attended by representativesof various Syrian political parties andarmed opposition groups,” columnistZayed Al-Zaid wrote for Annahardaily Tuesday.
“The two-day conference resultedin the formation of a commissiongrouping representatives from most ofthe Syrian opposition parties andmovements in a prelude to form ajoint delegation to represent theSyrian opposition during the forth-coming international negotiations todiscuss the Syrian issue.
“This development was a relativesuccess which projected the ability ofthe Syrian opposition to unify itsranks and attitudes over majordemand of the parties and movementswhich are working to topple theregime of Bashar Al-Assad.
“But this unified attitude that hasbeen adopted recently by variouscomponents of the Syrian oppositionis opposed by the Russians through a‘veto’, particularly since we know thatMoscow at the moment is the majorsupporter of the Syrian regime and asa matter of fact, immediately after thesummit wrapped up the opposition inquestion declared its rejection to holdnegotiations with ‘terrorist groups’ asthe regime in its pertinent statementwas quoted as alleging.
“However, the fact is to the con-trary, because unlike the Russianclaim none of opposition parties andgroups which took part in Al-Riyadhconference can be classified as terror-ist groups such as the Islamic State(IS) or the so-called ‘DAESH’, forinstance, nor like the Al-Nusra Frontwhere the latter still derives itsthought from al-Qaeda. Moreover,these two organizations (DAESH andAl-Nusra) still occupy vast swathes ofthe Syrian territories.
“However, the fact remains that theregime has caused a lot of calamitiesand disasters for its country and trans-formed Syria into an arena for foreignmilitary interventions. Given the cur-rent scenario it will be very difficult torebuild the devastated homeland,hence any future negotiations that arenot based on ‘booting’ the incumbentregime, shall constitute only a mock-ery of the blood that has been shed bythe Syrian people. These negotiationswill eventually represent somethingagainst the interests of this people.”
❑ ❑ ❑
“The ceremony held by Kuwait, onboth official and private levels tohonor the dignitary Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda GatesFoundation, is a worthy celebration,befitting the man, just as worthy ofKuwait, which honors inventors in allfields, and opens its arms to embraceand appreciate charitable and humani-tarian initiatives, especially those thatare in the interest of all mankind,”columnist Abdulrahman Awwad wrotefor Al-Sabah daily.
“From here, this appreciation mani-fested in the coolest pictures when HisHighness the Amir awarded Bill Gatesthe Order of Kuwait a mantle of firstclass, ‘in recognition of his efforts,and his distinguished work in the fieldof philanthropy and voluntary human-itarian actions.
“This honoring goes in harmonywith the honoring of HH the Amir bythe United Nations as the WorldHumanitarian Leader and choseKuwait as the World HumanitarianCenter because of the role Kuwaitplays at global level in the area ofdevelopment.
“Hosting this great pioneer, cele-brated and honored personality is agood and noteworthy initiative andincreases the importance and givesvalue to the visit because Gill Gatesdeserves the privilege to be a rolemodel for the entire world’s youth.”
❑ ❑ ❑
“It seems that Moscow is still underthe influence of Vodka and in shockover its warplane shot down byTurkish fighter jets, in view of funnyallegation raised by the RussianDeputy Prime Minister AnatoliAntonov against Turkish PresidentRajap Toyip whom he accuses of buy-ing oil from DAESH!” Walid IbrahimAl-Ahmad wrote for Al-Rai daily.
“Antonov expanded the scope ofhis allegations, knowing well that theUS has placed financial embargo onthe Syrian business mogul GeorgeHaswani- who holds Russian pass-port- after Europe placed sanctions onSyria. The embargo on Haswanibecame effective after the US andBelgium ascertained that he benefitedfrom oil extracted from oil wellsunder DAESH control in Syria andIraq, and in return, sells the oil toSyrian government to fill its airplaneswith explosives to bomb its citizens!
“We are saying this with assurance
that war is not limited to the MiddleEast due to the presence of the dicta-torial Russian regime, as it spreads bythe intervention of US, Britain, Franceand Russia in the sky of Syria. Thesecountries claim to attack DAESH allthe time but we have yet to hear aboutlosses incurred by the terrorist groupor reduction in its activities!”
❑ ❑ ❑
“The enactment of law number31/2008, which obliges a couple plan-ning to get married to undergo med-ical tests, was an excellent step.Undoubtedly, this law has had positiveeffects on various aspects of the soci-ety,” columnist Abdallah Mateer Al-Sharika wrote for Al-Anba daily.
“We used to hear that the bride gotmarried without her consent and suchrevelations proved to be damaging torelations, not only between the brideand groom but also their families.Since the enactment of the law, suchcases have disappeared because goingfor the test is enough to signify con-sent, especially on the part of thebride.
“Nonetheless, some lawmakershave shown interest in amending thislaw. I have some recommendations inthis regard since I have experienceconcerning the law and the entire mar-riage process.
“The law should exempt peopleabove 50 years old and women whoare close to that age from taking thetests, as well as the divorced coupleswho got back together. This is inaddition to extending the validity oftest results from six months to oneyear.”
❑ ❑ ❑
“The government has control overthe ordinary citizen but lacks similarwill power over the political traderswho have professionalized commer-cial politics” Mohammad Ahmad Al-Mulla wrote for Al-Shahed daily.
“The political traders engage in polit-ical clowning to proclaim themselves aspolitical activists and form groups withhonorable and beautiful nationalnames. At the same time, they perpe-trate the dirtiest political activitiesunder groups’ name to gain positions.They go on to exploit their positions tofight for tenders, and then use the con-tracts to buyout several lawmakers.
“I want to tell the political traders toprepare for their end (grave) becausetheir billions will fritter away andtheir generations will become extinct.Kuwait and the Sabah dynasty willoutlive them, because the citizens lovethe family and share a special bond. Ibeseech Allah to protect HH thepatient Amir and HH the humbleCrown Prince.”
❑ ❑ ❑
“It is normal for any country tofight gangs and become victorious atthe end if the government stands forthe truth and law,” Talal Al-Saeedwrote for Al-Seyassah daily.
“Recent events in the sports circleindicate a gang or gangs are wagingwar with the government, and theystruggle to be victorious with theassistance of other gangs that controlFIFA by trying to scuttle the inaugura-tion of Jaber stadium to render severeblow to Kuwaiti sports.
“All Kuwaiti citizens look forward tothe inauguration of the stadium, whichrepresents a new landmark in Kuwaitisports, in order to push the country torestore its past glory. Successes attainedin this regard will rescue the countryfrom the monopoly of Kuwaiti sportswhere gangs regard the sport sector astheir personal estate.”
❑ ❑ ❑
“Over 200,000 British citizens havesigned the petition for concernedauthorities to ban US presidential can-didate Donald Trump from enteringBritain, and the parliament hasendorsed the request allowing the con-cerned minister to ban Trump fromBritain if his presence will not servethe welfare of the country,”Abdulrahman Al-Awad wrote for Al-Sabah daily.
“The decision is binding under thegeneral policy of the country, and sub-sequent to ban placed on the Dutchpolitician Khairat Felders in 2009from entering Britain based on hateexpressions he used against Muslimsand Islam.
“It is illogical to hold a nationaccountable for improper actions by asingle person, given that all people arenot the same — especially if themajority of the people in that countryfrown on injustices and oppression.”
—- Compiled by Zaki Taleb
ARAB TIMES, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2015
6LOCAL
Al-Jassem
DIWANIYAa digest of public opinion
‘Kuwait targets boost incultural ties with Russia’
Sheikh Salman lauds Hermitage Museum
SAINT PETERSBURG, Dec15, (KUNA): Minister ofInformation and Minister ofState for Youth AffairsSheikh Salman Sabah SalemAl-Humoud Al-Sabah onTuesday described his talkswith Russian officials as“important and fruitful.”
Sheikh Salman, who is alsoChairman of the National Council forCulture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL),told KUNA and Kuwait TV in an exclu-sive statement before his departurefrom Russia that his talks with theRussian Minister of Culture VladimirMedinsky focused on means of promot-ing bilateral cultural ties, and exchangeof expertise and experts’ visits, in addi-tion to benefiting from the experienceof the Russian cultural centers.
He said that the Russian side highlyappreciated Kuwait’s role and the significantoutcome of His Highness the Amir SheikhSabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s visitto Russia in September. A bilateral culturalagreement was signed then.
Sheikh Salman said he had invitedMedinsky to visit Kuwait for further dis-cussions on means to boost bilateral cul-tural cooperation, reiterating Russia’scultural status globally.
As for the talks with Director of theHermitage Museum Mikhail BorisovichPiotrovsky, Sheikh Salman said theyaddressed means of enhancing cooperationfor enhancing exchange of historical books,developing museums, caring for nationalheritage and heritage restoration training.
Offering Kuwaiti youth the opportunityto benefit from the long expertise of theHermitage Museum, which was foundedin 1764, featured high on the agenda ofthe talks, he said. Touring the Hermitage,Sheikh Salman expressed his deep admi-ration of the historical items on display.
The minister thanked Kuwait’sAmbassador to Russia Abdulaziz Al-Adwani for his efforts, and appreciatedKUNA and the Kuwait TV for coverageof the visit. He also voiced thanks to theRussian government for hospitality andwarm welcome during the visit.
The Kuwaiti delegation that participatedin the IV St Petersburg InternationalCultural Forum, led by Sheikh Salman,included Ambassador Al-Adwani andNCCAL Assistant Secretary General for theCulture Sector, Mohammed Al-Zoabi, andofficials from the Ministry of Information.
KUNA photo
Sheikh Salman and Russian Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky at theHermitage Museum.
Rumors denied: Rumors spreadthrough various social networking sitesthat some donations from Kuwait weregiven to those behind the attacks inFrance are not true, reports Al-Raidaily quoting sources from theMinistry of Social Affairs and Labor.
Affirming that all charities in Kuwaitabide by the laws governing such organ-izations, sources confirmed the ministryhas not recorded any violation or unusu-al observations regarding charities.
Sources said the ministry is closelymonitoring the activities of individualssuspected of collecting donations.They explained an expatriate proven tobe collecting donations will be deport-ed, while their Kuwaiti counterpartswill be asked to write a pledge torefrain from repeating the action.
Sources added the ministry is keenon checking advertisements and invita-tions posted on social networking sitesasking for donations, as well asannouncements published by some citi-zens and officials.
❑ ❑ ❑
‘Will shut prison’: US PresidentBarack Obama has vowed to pushahead with plans to close the
Guantanamo Bay prison for terror sus-pects, despite evidence that a substan-tial number of former detainees havereturned to the battlefield.
In an interview with Yahoo News thatwas published Monday, Obama said thestrategic benefits of closing the notoriousfacility outweighed incidents of recidi-vism among “low-level” former inmates.
The White House itself admits thataround 10 percent of those releasedfrom Guantanamo have resumed fight-ing for Islamic extremist organizations,but says it is more important to shuttera facility that has become a recruitingtool for militants.
Obama’s comments come asSudanese militant Ibrahim al-Qosi —who was released in 2012 — seeming-ly appeared in a recent video by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
“The judgment that we’re continual-ly making is, are there individuals whoare significantly more dangerous thanthe people who are already out therewho are fighting?” Obama said.
“What do they add? Do they havespecial skills? Do they have specialknowledge that ends up making a sig-nificant threat to the United States?”(AFP)
News in Brief
Drones can pin-point militants presence
Least amount of error in collateral damageKUWAIT CITY, Dec 15: The Italianmagazine L’Espresso has published accu-rate photographs of the Islamic State orthe so-called DAESH in Iraq captured byItalian drones which took off from a mil-itary base in Kuwait which are providingsupplies for US aircraft, reports Al-Raidaily.
At the first glance, it does not seemanything unusual in the video, which waspicked up aerial reconnaissance planebelonging to the Italian Air Force for sus-pected armed Islamic militants duringtheir movements in different parts of Iraq.
At the beginning the video showsimages in black and white and monitors
air strikes against what they look like thebottom of the inspection point under ahuge black banner on a road in northernIraq.
Then quickly something happens radi-cally different, that is, a color videowhich clearly shows four armed mencoming out of the house and walking inthe streets of the town.
At a certain stage, the video camerasuddenly focuses on two armed suspectsand one of them almost certainly is a‘minor’ carrying a rifle on his shoulderclearly showing his small body comparedto the gunman next to him. And thoseimages are very clear to the point that
even the shadow of those people can eas-ily be distinguished.
In the e-mail message commentedThomas Keenan, Executive Director ofHuman Rights at the Bard College(Liberal Arts College in New York) said,“In fact, these pictures show a lot of abil-ity are very interesting, as well as the factit is not necessary to have operators onthe aircraft to portray over the site direct-ly.
“This makes it clear - among otherthings - they have the least amount oferror in terms of the potential collateraldamage, because they can see objects infine detail clearly from very high.”
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