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The price of Kuwaiti oil went up by USD 1.33 to USD 89.55 per barrel on Tuesday as opposed to USD 88.22 pb Monday, said the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) on Wednesday.
The prices of the Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate both increased by USD 1.50 and USD 1.44 to reach USD 88.92 pb and USD 85.15 pb each.
Source: Kuwait News Agency
Amman, Several Jordanian figures have praised the initiatives undertaken by the government of the Kingdom under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, and HRH the Crown Prince, in their dedication to serving Islam and Muslims worldwide and supporting their causes. These figures have highlighted the various programs initiated by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques aimed at distributing dates and facilitating iftar for fasting individuals during Ramadan, implemented by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah, and Guidance.
The Mufti of the Hashemite Authority for Military Casualties, Dr. Ayed Awad Al-Jabour, expressed gratitude towards the Saudi leadership for their significant contributions to the service of Islam and Muslims globally, emphasizing their exceptional attention to the Two Holy Mosques, pilgrims, and visitors. He noted the comprehensive coverage of these programs across all regions of Jordan, providing assistance to the impoverished and needy
during the sacred month. Dr. Al-Jabour also extended appreciation to the Ministry of Islamic Affairs for their noble initiative of providing iftar to fasting individuals across the Arab and Islamic worlds.
The Head of the Middle East Culture of Peace Unit, Counselor Mohammed Malkawi, described these programs as symbolic “Saudi Ramadan lanterns,” sponsored by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and HRH the Crown Prince, shining across various parts of the world. He commended the decision to hold such programs in Jordan, recognizing their role in fostering love, goodness, and peace among Muslims globally.
Advisor to the Minister of Islamic Affairs and Holy Places Dr. Murad Nawaf Al-Rifai expressed gratitude and appreciation to the wise leadership for their commendable initiatives. He noted the annual occurrence of these programs in Jordan, which benefits thousands of Muslims and assists needy families in fulfilling their worship during this blessed month.
Source: Saudi Press Agency
North Korea claimed on Wednesday it successfully test-fired a new intermediate-range ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead on the previous day, state media reported. The test-fire was aimed at confirming the designed technical specifications of the new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile as a whole and verifying the reliability of this weapon system, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). North Korean leader Kim Jong-un guided the testing of the Hwasong-16 missile on Tuesday, which was launched from an army unit’s training field in a suburb of Pyongyang, according to the KCNA. Expressing great satisfaction over the result of the test-fire, Kim said his country perfected the project for “putting all the tactical, operational and strategic missiles with various ranges on solid-fueled, warhead-controlled and nuclear warhead-carrying basis.” Referring to the military confrontational acts against North Korea by “the enemies,” Kim said “It is the most urgent task at present for our
state to develop an overwhelming power capable of containing and controlling the enemies He continued “that our defense science sector should continuously bring bigger successes, remaining more faithful to its historic duty to steadily improve the strongest national defense capacity.” The KCNA said that the missile reached its first peak at a height of 101.1 km and the second at 72.3 km while making 1 000-km-long flight as scheduled and accurately landed on the waters of the East Sea (Sea of Japan). The test-fire had no negative effect on the security of the neighboring countries, the news agency added.
The South Korean military said on Tuesday it detected the firing of an intermediate-range ballistic missile from the Pyongyang region and the missile flew about 600 km before falling into the East Sea, according to Yonhap News Agency. The latest launch came about three months after North Korea test-fired an intermediate-range hypersonic missile on Jan. 14. Last month, the North conducted a ground jet test of
a solid-fuel engine for a new IRBM loaded with a hypersonic warhead. Kim described the Hwasong-16 missile as a “powerful, strategic offensive weapon.”
Source: Kuwait News Agency
Geneva, The UN World Health Organization (WHO) called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and applying the relevant United Nations Security Council’s resolutions.
WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said that Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza is completely out of service and is unable to provide any medical services due to the Israeli strikes over the past two weeks against the facility, adding that 21 patients have died under the Israeli siege of the hospital.
She said the destruction of Al-Shifa Medical Complex means the collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip, and that if access to the facility and the few remaining healthcare centers in northern Gaza were allowed today, the organization’s priorities would include providing supplies of medicine, fuel, and food, and evaluating additional needs to save the lives of the remaining patients.
The spokesperson said that WHO teams have been trying to reach the hospital for several days but most of their missions were turned away.
Source: Saudi Press Agency
Kuwaitis, on April 4, will be heading to polls to cast their votes in the 2024 National Assembly elections, which coincided with the month of Ramadan this year amid an atmosphere of socializing and heightened spirituality.
Candidates in this election decided to utilize their campaigns to boost their media presence especially after breaking fast at a time when people become super active after a long day of fasting.
While that is the case, pundits and experts have wondered if the holy month of Ramadan had an adverse effect on the voting process, pondering questions about turnout as voting begins at noon and concludes at midnight.
The month of Ramadan is a chance for candidates and voters to meet during the holy occasion, exchanging views on how to better handle problems and face national challenges, assistant civil engineer professors at the American International University (AIU) Dr. Manal Al-Adwani told KUNA.
She stressed the importance of the upcoming period in the political scene of Kuwait, saying that
voters must choose wisely when casting their ballot card to ensure that whoever reached the National Assembly represented the true will and aspirations of the people.
Some voters might be hesitant to cast their vote, argued Dr. Al-Adwani, attributing that to political fatigue and disappointment of some in previous parliaments.
She said that voting counts, urging eligible voters to put those with clear intellect and political vision in the upcoming parliament formation.
Dr. Abdullah Al-Harbi — assistant professor at the Arab Open University (AOU) — predicted that the advent of Ramadan would not affect voters’ turnout due to what seemed to him, a heavy involvement and interaction on part of voters with the political scene.
The socializing aspect of the month of Ramadan is bound to have an effect on elections, argued Dr. Al-Harbi, saying that this very aspect would be key in driving people to vote for their candidates of choice.
He went on to say that, the urgent challenges facing the country would also b
ring people to voting stations to cast their ballot regardless of them observing fast during Ramadan.
Ramadan would have a “positive” impact on the elections, said political analyst Dr. Saleh Al-Saeedi on his part.
Most of the eligible voters are in the country and not on vacation or abroad, he added, noting that this very fact would help voters flock to polling stations across the country prior to breaking fast and beyond during the election eve.
The spirituality of the month of Ramadan might also have an impact on candidates’ behavior since fasting involved not only abstaining from drinking water or eating food, but the spiritual practice also heightens good manners, he said.
It remains to be seen whether the elections this year will yield a huge turnout, but what is for sure the “Ramadan effect” will have a say whether it is negative or positive.
Source: Kuwait News Agency
Riyadh: Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi, expressed his strong condemnation and deep dismay at the targeting of a convoy belonging to the “World Central Kitchen” organisation in the Gaza Strip, adding that this incident represents a blatant continuation of the series of crimes and violations committed by the Israeli occupation, which is contrary to international law and humanitarian principles, the GCC said in a statement.
According to the statement, Albudaiwi called on the international community to fulfil its role in putting an end to these serious Israeli violations and to protect innocent civilians and workers of humanitarian and relief organisations in order to avoid further escalation of the crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Albudaiwi also extended his heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the victims’ families, wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.
Source: Saudi Press Agency