Wednesday 20th November holiday for whom? and Why?

Its Raining and Pouring Rain (my English Grammar teacher is definitely going to slaughter me for my grammatical destruction). But since the news about the holidays is meant for the schools and universities, and that also due to the current weather system bring in clouds with abundant amounts of rain, I took liberty in starting the post with some jabs and puns.

Now the main point, Ministry of Education (Undersecretary) has officially declared holiday (20/11/2013) for the students ONLY. The teaching and educational staff have been told to report to the schools. The holiday applies across all grades (Elementary, Primary and Secondary) of students (Boys and Girls) from Public, Private and Special Needs schools. (Source of News: KUNA in arabic & Kuwait Times in English)

Also Director General of the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training ( PAAET) that all students of colleges and institutes, except for teaching and administrative staff will be on holiday tomorrow (20th November 2013). The holiday is due to the bad weather and heavy rains and some of the PAAET's facilities had taken damage by the rain. (Source of News: KUNA and Kuwait Times)

19th Nov 2013 is Holiday

Photo Courtesy to Kuwait Upto Date - shared by Mariam

The 3rd Africa Arab Summit is taking place on 19th and 20th November 2013 corresponding to Tuesday and Wednesday. As many as 71 delegations from nations and international organisation are to attend the summit, including over 34 head of state, seven deputy leaders and three prime ministers (CLICK HERE for the source). Therefore there is a lot of activity going around in Kuwait. Based on the size of the event, the Government of Kuwait has declared a government holiday for the 19th November 2013, Tuesday. This applies to Government offices and across government schools. The private companies and schools have to make their own decision. Below is the Circular released by the Council of Ministers with regard to 19th November 2013 being declared a Rest day.

Now this brings us to others subjects, like traffic management issues before, during and after the summit takes place. We should be keeping the eyes on the newspapers for more information with this regard. Already we should be feeling the presence of the Traffic Police in full action performing drills since Saturday 9th November 2013. MOI has informed us about the traffic diversions that need to be taken. KUNA articles covers this information. CLICK HERE for the KUNA article. The gist of the articles is as follows:

Closing down Sabhan Route, starting from the Seventh Ring Road en route to each King Faisal and Riyadh Motoways (opposite the area of Yarmouk). All the drivers are advised to use Sheikh Zayed Motorway. For people exiting the Kuwait International Airport are suggested to use Ghazali Road. For people heading to the Kuwait International Airport are suggest to use either Sheikh Zayed, the Sixth Ring Road or Ghazali Motorways.

• Starting on 16th November 2013, Saturday - 11:30 pm.
• Official Welcoming schedule of the guest, Sunday, 17th Nov - 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm.
• 18th Nov, Monday - 10 am to 1 pm for the morning.
• 18th Nov, Monday - 5:30 pm to 7 pm for the evening.

UPDATE (18/11/2013): Civil Service Commission (CSC) declares that 19/11/2013 is a holiday across government and public institutions based on Cabinet Decision number 1415 dated 11/11/2013. CLICK HERE for the KUNA article.

Road Closures for 19th November 2013 have been put up. Please take alternative routes to different destinations and also keep in mind the wonderful weather we are having to plan your movement around Kuwait.

Photo Courtesy to Kuwait Upto Date

The Roads that will be closed for Public use (Not throughout the day) are

• King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Motorway from Kuwait International Airport ( to and fro ) till 5th Ring Road Intersection.
• Sabhan - Magwa Road from 7th Ring Road ( to and fro ) till King Faisal Bin Abdul Aziz Motorway.
• Khalid Bin Abdul Aziz Road ( Road Number 206 or popularly known as Khaitan Naadi/Club Road) from Khaitan Sports Club till Mishref-Bayan Area.
• Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz Motorway between 5th and 6th Ring Roads.

Banks declaring holiday for the 19th November 2013 is another developing news. Confirmed reports from the Banks itself are still coming out. Kuwait Finance House, National Bank of Kuwait and Gulf Bank have declared 19th November 2013 as a holiday and they will reopen on 20th November 2013.

Tweet Courtesy to Twitter

UPDATE (19/11/2013): Kuwait Central Blood Bank (KCBB) has announced its timings for 19/11/2013. The Blood Bank will be open from 8 am until 1 pm.

Tweet Courtesy to Twitter - Official Kuwait Central Blood Bank

Beat Diabetes Walkathon 2013

Photo Courtesy to Landmark Group

A Landmark Group's Initiative in coordination with Ministry of Health, Kuwait and Dasman Diabetes Institute - Beat Diabetes Walkathon 2013. Since 2009 Beat Diabetes takes place across many countries. In Kuwait, Beat Diabetes takes place on Saturday, 16th November 2013 at 9 am from Kuwait Yacht Club for a distance of 3.2 kms ending at Green Island. Registration and Kit collection at 8 am. Online Registrations can be done at their WEBSITE.

7:30 am : T-Shirt / Cap collection.

Other Blogger's that posted about this event.

• Ladies who do lunch in Kuwait - CLICK HERE for the post.
• Kuwait Uptodate - CLICK HERE for the post.
• Expat and the City - CLICK HERE for the post.
• Chillnite - CLICK HERE for the post.

Photo Courtesy to Landmark Group

Tentative route of the Walkathon from A-Yacht Club to B - Green Island, Courtesy to Google Maps

UPDATE (24/11/2013): Beat Diabetes Walkathon made it on the Kuwait Television Channel 2's 'The Weekend Show'. Here is the video, CLICK HERE (Youtube link). Over 7,000 people participated in the walkathon.