KUWAIT: DNA testing will only be applied on convicted felons and no one else, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah told Al-Jarida newspaper yesterday. Sheikh Sabah said that discussions on the issue of DNA testing, also known as DNA fingerprinting, were over, stressing that no tests will be applied on ordinary citizens. Recently, HH the Amir directed HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah to revise and reconsider the DNA testing law, calling on him and the government to apply constitutional standards on the proposed decree.

The Amir also addressed the situation in the region, saying that “hopefully matters of dispute will be resolved swiftly in order for development to thrive”. He stressed that Kuwait should always play a part in “resolving problems facing the region”. Regarding the donors’ conference to support education in Somalia, the Amir affirmed that Kuwait is interested in supporting the cause, which will hopefully bring enlightenment and peace to the fellow Arab nation.

On a different subject, Sheikh Sabah discussed the recent opening of the Sheikh Jaber Al-Sabah Cultural Center, saying that the facility was a gift to the Kuwaiti people aimed at entertaining and educating the masses on the values of culture and arts. — KUNA