KUWAIT, May 19 (KUNA) -- 1952 -- Late Amir Sheikh Abdullah Al-Salem Al-Sabah issues a decree stipulating establishment of the National Bank of Kuwait with a capital of 13.1 million Rupees (approximately KD one million), with 13,100 shares, each valued 1,000 Rupees. Assets of the bank, the first national lender to be established in Kuwait and the Arab region, had reached, until 2003, some USD 13 billion.
1999 -- Fahad Al-Duwairi, a literature pioneer, passes away at the age of 78. He left visible marks on Kuwaiti culture and media. Al-Duwairi was one of the first writers of "Kathma" magazine in 1948. His first novel was titled "From Reality" (Mina Al-Waqea).
2000 -- Kuwait made a record achievement at the general assembly of the International Theatre Institute, held in the French city of Marseille, when director Fuad Al-Shatti was chosen to occupy a seat in the Institute's Supreme Council.
2008 -- Kuwait's National Committee for Protection of the Ozone Layer was awarded the 2008 award by the US Environment Protection Agency at a ceremony in Washington. (end)