Kuwait Celebrates 60th National Day, 30th Liberation Day

Gulf

February 25th, 9:39am

Kuwait- Mirza al-Khuwaildi

Kuwaitis miss National Day celebrations canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic | KUNA

Today, Kuwait is celebrating its 60th National Day and the 30th anniversary of its liberation amid political and social developments. The most prominent of these changes is Emir Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah succeeding the late Emir Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Seeking to calm political disputes between the Gulf country’s legislative and executive authorities, Emir Nawaf issued a decree on Wednesday to postpone parliament meetings for a month starting from Thursday. Based on Article 106 of the constitution, the decree aims to both quell rising tensions and give the prime minister an opportunity to form the cabinet. On Jan. 24 the emir reappointed Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah to nominate a new cabinet and the premier had been holding consultations with MPs ahead of doing so. More so, Kuwait’s Constitutional Court rejected all lawsuits contesting the annulment of the National Assembly’s elections that were held in 2020. This year’s National Day falls amid renewed discussions on the economy, corruption, enhancing transparency, and the general amnesty law. Due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Kuwait was forced, for the second year in a row, to cancel public events celebrating its National Day. Popular celebrations, parades, and artistic evenings were canceled. A rise in the rate of coronavirus infections forced Kuwait to close its land and sea border crossings with certain exceptions made for shipping workers and returning citizens and their immediate family members and companions. The shutdown was decided by the country’s Council of Ministers. The government also warned it might resort to stricter measures to curb the spread of the virus. Kuwait reported on Tuesday 1,015 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 186,004. The Kuwaiti Health Ministry also announced eight more deaths, taking the death toll to 1,057. It is noteworthy that Kuwaiti diplomacy succeeded in helping end the Gulf crisis between Arab Quartet countries (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt) and Qatar.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2827161/kuwait-celebrates-60th-national-day-30th-liberation-day