The UAE has officially announced three days of mourning after Kuwait’s ruler, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, died on Saturday.
A statement posted on Wam, the state news agency, confirms the “declaration of mourning for three days and the flags to be flown at half-mast starting today at all official departments within the country and the embassies and diplomatic missions of the country”.
The Presidential Court announced that funeral prayers in absentia would be performed for Sheikh Nawaf following Sunday noon prayers in all mosques across the UAE.
The Kuwaiti royal court confirmed the news of the leader’s death earlier on Saturday.
“With great sadness and sorrow, we mourn the death of Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait,” the statement said.
State television cut its regular programming and switched to a broadcast of Quran verses before the announcement of the death.
In late November, Sheikh Nawaf was admitted to hospital “due to an emergency health problem”, but was later reported to be in a stable condition.
Sheikh Nawaf handed over some constitutional powers to Sheikh Mishal Al Sabah two years ago.
In 2021, Sheikh Nawaf travelled to the US for medical check-ups.
Born in 1937, Sheikh Nawaf was the fifth son of Sheikh Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, who ruled from 1921 to 1950.
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In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
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Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
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The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
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Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
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Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
