ISSUE NO: 17850

28 Pages 150 Fils

www.kuwaittimes.net

Established 1961 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf

SHAWWAL 1, 1440 AHTUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2019

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Kuwaitis, expatriates urged to monitor and report violators

Some construction companies, workers ignore 11am-5pm ban

Ramadan Kareem

By Dr Teresa Lesher

Although the hardship of Ramadan is aboutto end and festivities of Eid are about tobegin, there will be sadness in every devout

Muslim’s heart that Ramadan has passed. Barelyhaving had their last breakfast at sunset, they willimmediately start looking forward to the nextRamadan and counting the months and weeks untilit comes again. They will begin to greet oneanother with the phrase “Aasakom min awadah”which means, “May you repeat it.”

Some people may tilt their head in confusionand wonder why would anyone look forward to amonth of daily 16-hour fasts in 45 degree tempera-tures? What is so special about Ramadan? First ofall, Ramadan is an opportunity to express yourdevotion to Allah. Everything on the earth was cre-ated for us, according to many verses in the Quran(eg 2:29).

Many use their time and the earth’s resources tosatisfy themselves through acquiring things, enter-taining themselves and seeking sensual pleasures.Doing so is not necessarily forbidden but it should-n’t be the goal of one’s’ life. So why were we cre-ated? Allah gave us life and He hopes that we willvoluntarily give it back to him through worship andsubmission to His will.

Almost everything we do in life has some sort ofreturn for us, even if it is done purely for Allah’ssake. For example, when we give charity, othersbenefit and we feel their happiness too. But fastingin Ramadan is a chance to show our devotion toour Lord, because nobody benefits from the fast.Nobody even knows if you are fasting, so thisexpression of faith is purely for Allah.

Another reason many people are sad to bidRamadan farewell is because the atmosphere ofintensified worship and charity will pass, as well asthe extra rewards that we are promised. ProphetMuhammad (PBUH) said that one who fastsRamadan with faith and hope in Allah’s reward willhave his past sins forgiven, and. One who prays atnight in Ramadan with faith and hope in Allah’sreward will also have his past sins forgiven.

And only in Ramadan can we experienceLailatul-Qadr, whose merit is worth a thousandmonths, according to the Quran. These holy daysand nights are treasures to devout Muslims. Andsoon this unique holy season will end and life willgo on as usual. I will miss Ramadan and all the les-sons it teaches me. I have learned so much aboutmyself - about how my body can adjust to extremecircumstances, and about how dedicated I can bewhen I am striving to accomplish something impor-tant.

I learn about my weaknesses too, and withoutthe usual distractions, I am able to pinpoint specificattitudes and habits that I need to change. I willmiss Ramadan for the brotherhood and sisterhoodthat is so apparent as Muslims join together in onegreat project, which is fasting for a month whilestriving to accomplish the most good and

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Farewell Ramadan

e wish our readersW EID GREETINGSKuwait Times Editor-in-Chief Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan wishes HHthe Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the CrownPrince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, HH the PrimeMinister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Cabinetmembers, heads of states around the world, Kuwaitis, expatriatesand our valued readers Eid Mubarak. Kuwait Times will not be pub-lished from June 5 to 8. Our next issue will be published on Sunday,June 9. However, readers can stay updated on breaking news andevents on our digital media channels including our websitewww.kuwaittimes.net and on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

KUWAIT: Workers seen at a construction site in Salmiya. Construction workers continue to work outside, in thedirect sun, all over Kuwait despite a ban on working outside from 11am-5pm. — Photo by Ben Garcia (See Page 3)

By Ben Garcia

KUWAIT: Construction workers continue to work out-side, in the direct sun, all over Kuwait despite a ban onworking outside from 11 am - 5 pm having come intoeffect June 1. Kuwait Times visited some constructionsites all around the country from Saturday and foundmany instances of laborers working outside in the middleof the day.

In Hawally, work continued at a building under con-struction near Al-Bahar Complex. A crane on top of thebuilding was operating, while two men were loading andunloading sand. On one side of the building, three work-ers were engaged in walling work, while two other labor-ers were carefully fixing concrete slabs on the exteriorpart of the building. When Kuwait Times asked a workerwhy they were still working under the heat of the sundespite the ban, he only smiled and shook his head.

In Salmiya, Kuwait Times visited several constructionareas and witnessed violations regarding the mid-dayworking hour ban. At 12:15 pm, this reporter witnessedthree laborers working in direct sunlight at a construc-tion site in Salmiya. None of the three wore safety hel-mets or protective gear of any kind. Nearby, men were in

the middle of installing a new billboard. Elsewhere inSalmiya, men continued to work outside at 1 pm on thefacade of a new building under construction.

In another construction site, near the Fourth RingRoad, at 1:35 pm, this reporter saw the full blown con-struction work of some men doing the usual welding andsteel bending while the rest are doing construction workof various stages of the building. Meanwhile, at past 3pm in Farwaniya area, workers continued at an almostcompleted building despite the heat of the day.

The Public Authority for Manpower in Kuwait issueda directive informing all businesses and establishments tosuspend outdoor work (of any kind) from June 1 till theend of Aug 2019 from 11 am till 5 pm. Average summertemperatures in Kuwait can record as high as 55C in theshade and much higher in direct sunlight. While manycompanies do comply with the ban, there continues to bewidespread abuse and violations.

Meanwhile, Kuwait Society for Human Rights hasurged all Kuwaitis and expatriates to monitor laborersforced to work during the daytime in the open in thesummer period. People can check and report the viola-tion via social media with photos and videos on55643333.

KUWAIT: Kuwaiti children distribute sweets and chocolates ahead of Eid Al-Fitr.Muslims around the world are celebrating the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which marks the endof the fasting month of Ramadan. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat

LONDON: Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II shakes hands with US President Donald Trump dur-ing a welcome ceremony at Buckingham Palace in central London yesterday. — AFP

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: After a month of fasting andworship, Eid Al-Fitr is here for people togather and celebrate. The first thingMuslims all over the world do is head forEid prayers held outdoors early in themorning, usually in open yards. InKuwait, the most common tradition thatis considered a must is the family gather-ing on the first day of Eid for lunch at thegrandfather’s house. Three or four gen-erations gather for ‘Zwarat Aleid’, wear-ing new outfits.

In the evening, young people meetwith friends to go to entertainmentplaces such as cinemas and cafés, forbowling, pool or skating or to restau-rants for dinner. Younger children gowith their parents to play areas for kids.Some people choose to travel, while oth-

ers book chalets to spend the Eid holi-day, which is five days long this year.Visiting cemeteries is another traditionduring Eid, especially those whose rela-tives passed away recently or in the pastfew years. They visit their graves andpray for them.

In olden times, before the oil era,Kuwaiti girls used to apply henna ontheir hands the night before Eid, whilewomen dyed their hair with henna. Thistradition has died out (among Kuwaitis)in the present time, and only a few girlsuse henna. Shopping malls get crowdedfrom the evening of the first day of Eid.Most malls also hold special celebrationsand competitions for visitors. VisitingFailaka Island is also a good option forthose who would like to do somethingdifferent if they can’t travel, especially ifthey prefer to stay overnight.

Eid - Kuwait style

LONDON: Britain rolled out the royalred carpet for Donald Trump yesterdaybut the pomp, pageantry and banquetwith Queen Elizabeth looked set to beovershadowed by the US President’sviews on Brexit, the UK’s next leaderand a row over China’s Huawei.

Trump and his wife, Melania, weregreeted by the 93-year-old monarch atBuckingham Palace at the start of athree-day state visit which sees him fet-ed with the full force of royal ceremony:a formal dinner with the queen, tea withheir Prince Charles, and a tour of

Westminster Abbey, coronation churchof English monarchs for 1,000 years.

“I look forward to being a greatfriend to the United Kingdom, and amlooking very much forward to my visit,”Trump wrote on Twitter as he landed atLondon’s Stansted Airport. But beyondthe theatre, the proudly unpredictable45th US president is rocking the boatwith the United States’ closest ally,whose political establishment has beenin chaos for months over Britain’s depar-ture from the European Union.

As he was flying into the British capi-tal, he reignited a feud with LondonMayor Sadiq Khan - who had written onSunday that Britain should not be rollingout the red carpet for the US president -describing him as a “stone cold loser.The state visit, promised by PrimeMinister Theresa May back in January2017 when she became the first foreign

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Britain rolls out royal red carpet for Trump, wife

By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: With reconstruction worksongoing on the Seventh Ring Road, thespeed limit has been reduced to only 60km/h instead of the previous 120 km/h.Most drivers are not aware of thischange, especially since the signs placedon the road are not conspicuous, and noteven in the regular colors of red and

white or blue and white. This has result-ed in thousands of speed violations. TheInterior Ministry announced registering13,059 speed violations between May 24and 30, 2019 on the Seventh Ring Roadby traffic cameras.

Notably, the Interior Ministry’s rela-tions and security information depart-ment had released a statement onSaturday in which it denied rumors cir-culating on social media about changingthe speed limit on Seventh Ring Roadfrom 120 km/h. It said this measure islimited to areas where repairs are beingcarried out, and the speed is graduallyreduced from 120 to 80 to 60 km/h. Thespeed limit then goes up to 120 km/hafter passing the maintenance area.

7th Ring: Speed limit reduced to 60 km/h

LONDON: Scientists in Britain have usedgene-editing techniques to stop bird fluspreading in chicken cells grown in a lab -a key step towards making genetically-altered chickens that could halt a humanflu pandemic. Bird flu viruses currentlyspread swiftly in wild birds and poultry,and can at times jump into humans.

Global health and infectious diseasespecialists cite as one of their greatestconcerns the threat of a human flu pan-demic caused by a bird flu strain thatmakes such a jump and mutates into adeadly and airborne form that can pass

easily between people. In the lateststudy, by editing out a section of chickenDNA inside the lab-grown cells,researchers from Imperial CollegeLondon and the University ofEdinburgh’s Roslin Institute preventedthe bird flu virus from taking hold in thecells and replicating.

The next step will be to try to pro-duce chickens with the same geneticchange, said Mike McGrew of the RoslinInstitute, who co-led the research. Thefindings were due to be published in thescientific journal eLife on June 4. “This isan important advance that suggests wemay be able to use gene-editing tech-niques to produce chickens that areresistant to bird flu,” McGrew said in astatement.

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Scientists edit chicken genes