ARAB TIMES, MONDAY, JANUARY 18, 2016
LOCAL
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‘Sada El-Samt’ play wins top
prize at Arab Theater Festival
Kuwaiti theater honored for promoting culture, arts
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 17,
(KUNA): Minister of Information Sheikh Salman AlSabah on Saturday congratulated His Highness the Amir,
His Highness the Crown
Prince and His Highness the
Prime Minister on the honoring of the Kuwaiti theater at
the eight Arab Theater Festival.
KUNA photo
HH the Amir meets with HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah
at the Seif Palace.
The honoring came in recognition
of the role of Kuwait’s political leadership in promoting culture and arts,
the minister told reporters following
a prize-giving ceremony were the
arbitration panel of the festival announced ‘Sada El-Samt’ (echo of silence) play as winner of the fifth version of Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Hamad
Al-Qassemi theatrical prize for 2015.
The play, offered by Kuwait Theater
Troupe, is written by late Iraqi play-
Some participants of Arab Mobile Challenge competition.
Kuwait wins Arab Mobile Challenge competition
The ‘Erilnt Lab’ Speedy Small Projects recently organized the third
edition of the Arab Mobile Challenge
competitions in whichBOOKR project
of Kuwait won the first place and a
valuable prize of $20,000.
The event was held in Algeria, on
Jan 12, in the presence of the Algerian Minister of Higher Education and
Scientific Research Taher Hajar, the
Kuwaiti Ambassador to Algeria Mohammad Al-Shabo and other dignitaries. A total of 24 teams took part in the
competition including teams from US,
Qatar and Jordan.
Despite no instructions from CBK
Some banks stop giving installment loans to expats
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 17: The new banking regulations forced some banks to
stop giving installment loans worth KD
70,000 to expatriates, and restricted their
financial transactions for car loans and
other consumable commodities, although
no instructions were given specifically
regarding the issue, reports Al-Rai daily.
The daily quoting sources said the
Central Bank has specified the maximum ceiling for consumable loans at KD
15,000 in order that the total monthly de-
ductions will not exceed 40 percent of the
loanee’s salary.
They explained the State’s banking
policies and regulations don’t make a
distinction between a citizen and an expatriate, but installment loans are set aside
for a stable private housing system inside
Kuwait and it cannot be commercialized
in real estate or investment. Therefore,
expatriates will not be able to obtain
housing loans since real estate ownership
is not accessible to expatriates.
“Throughout the years, the banks were
giving installment loans to expatriates to
spend it the way they wanted based on
their commitment to pay back. The system was possible because the customer
was not required to bring any bill or provide evidence for the purpose of obtaining the loan, but the customer since last
Oct is required to provide receipts of the
items purchased within six months, so the
banks stopped giving installment loans to
expatriates.
wright Qassem Matroud directed by
Faisal Al-Ameeri, and starring AlAmeeri, Samah and Abdullah AlTurkmani.
Sheikh Salman, also Minister of
State for Youth Affairs and President of
the National Council for Culture, Arts
and Letters (NCCAL), spoke highly of
Al-Qassemi, member of the UAE Federal Supreme Council and Ruler of AlSharjah Emirate, for his role in founding the Arab Theatre Institute (ATI) in
2009 and the promotion of the Arab
theatrical arts.
Al-Qassemi, the co-founder and
president of the ATI, made several initiatives to advance the march of Arab
theater, including the offering of the
ATI award - the most prestigious Arab
theatrical prize which is named after
him.
“Dr Al-Qassemi’s presence at this
festival shows his keenness on the
advancement of the theatrical arts,”
Sheikh Salman said, noting that the
ATI Secretary General Al-Sayed Ismail Abdullah has also made praiseworthy efforts to ensure the success of
the festival.
Sheikh Salman renewed Kuwait’s
commitment to promotion of cultural
exchanges and artistic activities as a
means of brining the Arab peoples
close to each other.
On his part, the ATI Secretary General paid homage to the pioneers of the
Kuwaiti theater for their contributions
to the Arab theatrical movement.
Abdullah also appreciated the efforts
made jointly by NCCAL and the ATI
in setting the state for the festival and
thanked all participants for contributing
to the success of this annual event.
Meanwhile, head of the arbitration
panel Mokhlad Nusair Zayoud commended as fruitful the cultural exchanges and cooperation between NCCAL and the ATI.
“The themes of war, violence and
terrorism featured prominently in the
plays offered at this edition of the festival,” he noted.
The closing ceremony saw the honoring of number of celebrities who influenced the Kuwaiti theater and were
nominated by NCCAL. These include
Ibrahim Al-Sallal, Jassem Al-Nabhan,
Hayat Al-Fahad, Khaled Al-Obaid,
Suad Abdullah, Saad Al-Faraj, Suleiman Hezami, Suleiman Al-Yassin, Abdulhussain Abdelredha, Abdulrahman
Al-Aqel, Abdulaziz Al-Haddad, Abdulaziz Al-Sarayye’, Abdullah Al-Hubail, Awatef Al-Bader, Fuad Al-Shatti,
Mohammad Al-Mansour, Mohammad
Abdulaziz, Mohammad Jaber, Maryam
Al-Saleh and Hayfa Adel.
The festival, which opened on Sunday, Jan 10, was co-organized by NCCAL and the Arab Theatre Institute
(ATI). It gathered 415 Arab theatrical
figures and featured 15 plays.
Al-Kandari seeks
probe on Al-Qurain
market activities
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 17: Minister
of Communications and State Minister for Municipality Affairs Essa
Al-Kandari has forwarded to the
Cabinet the decision of the Fatwa and
Legislation Department to separate
from the Legal Department at Kuwait
Municipality due to contradictions in
their edicts on the licensing of commercial and professional activities
in Al-Qurain Market, reports Al-Rai
daily quoting a reliable source from
the Municipality.
The source revealed Al-Kandari
restored the hope of young investors
in the market, following the issuance
of a verdict by the Appeals Court that
it is illegal to establish commercial
shops in the market. He explained
the decision on the separation of the
two departments was referred to the
Cabinet to look into the possibility
of allowing 27 commercial activities,
instead of limiting it to professional
activities.
The source added Al-Kandari issued a directive to investigate the AlQurain Market issue and to hold accountable the Municipality officials
proven to have intervened in the process of granting permission to carry
out commercial and professional activities in the market.
KUNA photo
HH the Amir meets with Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim.
Amir receives top state officials
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah
Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah received
Sunday at Seif Palace His Highness
the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf AlAhmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
His Highness the Amir also received Parliament Speaker Marzouq
Al-Ghanim.
His Highness Sheikh Sabah also
received His Highness the Prime
Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak
Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and First Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled
Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. (KUNA)
AIPU panel holds meeting
Al-Ghanim meets Yazidi
girl survivor of IS attack
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 17, (KUNA):
Parliament Speaker Marzouq Ali AlGhanim met on Sunday, with a Yazidi
girl who has survived aggressions by
the so-called Islamic State (IS) in the
northern Iraqi city of Mosul, where
she had spent months in captivity.
Nadia Murad, who is on a visit to
Kuwait at the invitation of Al-Ghanim,
gave the Parliament Speaker the minutia of the adversity she and her ethnic
community had to endure at the hands
of (IS) in the city of Sinjar, which had
fallen under (IS) control.
Al-Ghanim extolled Murad’s valiancy, vowing that the Arab Interparliamentary Union (AIPU) would
vigorously pursue the issue.
Murad had recently visited the United Nations (UN) and Egypt as part of
efforts to shed light on female detainees held captive by (IS).
Meanwhile, the Executive Committee of the Arab Inter-Parliamentary
Union (AIPU) started its 18th session
in Beirut on Sunday, chaired by Undersecretary of the Kuwaiti Parliamentary Caucus MP, Faisal Al-Shayea.
The agenda of the 18th session includes a host of items, topped with
hand-over of the AIPU Secretariat
from outgoing Secretary General Nour
Eddine Bouchkouj to elected Fayez
Al-Shawabka, Al-Shayea told KUNA
on the sidelines of the gathering.
Participants will also address preparations for the coming AIPU conference.
The session will also discuss a program for honoring prominent parliamentarians who have played a significant role in the AIPU, with Speaker of
the Kuwaiti National Assembly Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim on top, besides
the Assembly’s Secretariat and head
of the Executive Committee.
Al-Shayea underscored the significant role AIPU has been playing as a
collective framework for representatives of the Arab states, amid the hazardous developments in the region.
He also called for a unified Arab
view to fight the menaces posing
threats to the region, mainly, terrorism
and war, and the ensued killings and
homelessness in many Arab countries.
The two-day session is also attended
by Kuwaiti MPs Saleh Ashour and
Seif Al-Azmi, together with representatives of eight more Arab parliaments,
Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Palestine, Sudan, Morocco, Syria and Oman.
News in Brief
Al-Ghanim presides over meet:
Officials from the National
Assembly convened for a meeting on
Sunday, presided over by Parliament
Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim.
During the meeting, some letters
pertaining to impending visits by
parliament speakers of friendly
nations were discussed, Parliament
Secretary Adel Al-Jarallah
Al-Kharafi told KUNA.
A number of security related
issues and decisions were also
reviewed, Al-Kharafi added.
Meanwhile, Al-Ghanim has
entrusted head of the parliamentary
Priorities Committee MP Yusuf
Al-Zalzalah with contacting Deputy
Prime Minister, Minister of Finance
and Acting Minister of Oil Anas
Khaled Al-Saleh.
Contacts will seek a broad meeting
to be held at the Assembly’s bureau
soon to discuss a mechanism for facing the deficit in the state budget,
Al-Ghanim said in a press statement.
The meeting, to be attended by
MPs and concerned ministers, will
also look into ways to boost oil revenues.
It responds to a resolution by the
Assembly’s last session, that the
government has to acquaint the parliament with measures to control the
budget or legalize subsidies.
(KUNA)
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134,089 illiterates in Kuwait:
Recent educational statistics indicated 134,089 illiterates are in the country, representing 69,719 male and
64,370 female, reports Al-Qabas
daily.
Statistics added that 25,814 citizens are illiterate and about 90 percent of them are women, while
108,275 expatriates represented by
67,086 male and 41,207 female are
illiterate.
Meanwhile, the percentage of illiteracy among the total population of
Council approves
MoE to hire resident
Palestinian teachers
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 17: After a
long boycott, the Minister of
Education and Higher Education
Dr Bader Al-Essa announced that
the ministry has received the
approval of the Council Ministers
to hire resident Palestinian teachers, reports Al-Nahar daily quoting
sources.
They added the contracts
signed with Syrian teachers residing in Jordan and Egypt required
the approval of the Interior
Ministry, which is in charge of issuing their entry visas in Kuwait.
He noted the importance of coordinating with the embassies of concerned countries in Kuwait to
replace the recruitment committee
for Syrian teachers in case they are
asked to complete procedures to
facilitate the processing of their
entry visas to Kuwait.
4,091,993 is 3.28. The percentage of
illiteracy among expatriates is 3.84
and Kuwaitis 2.02.
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KD 57m allocated: Assistant
Undersecretary for Finance at
Ministry of Education Yusuf
Al-Najar affirmed that the Finance
Ministry agreed on allocating 57 million dinars for excellent performance
for academic year 2015/2016, reports
Al-Anba daily.
In a chat with the daily, Al-Najar
pointed out that the Ministry of Finance
wanted to reduce the sum, and a meeting
of concerned officials concluded on the
aforementioned budget in appreciation
for the total efforts of workers in the
Ministry of Education.