Kuwait's ruling emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, dies at age 86
Dubai (AP): Kuwait's ruling emir, the 86-year-old Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah, died Saturday.
Kuwait state television broke into programming with Quranic verses just before a somber official made the announcement.
"With great sadness and sorrow, we the Kuwaiti people, the Arab and Islamic nations, and the friendly peoples of the world mourn the late His Highness the emir, Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, who passed away to his Lord today," Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Al Sabah, the minister of his emiri court, read the brief statement.
Authorities gave no cause of death.
Kuwait's deputy ruler and his half-brother, Sheikh Meshal Al Ahmad Al Jaber, now 83, is believed to be the world's oldest crown prince. He is in line to take over as Kuwait's ruler.
In late November, Sheikh Nawaf was rushed to hospital for an unspecified illness. In the time since, the tiny, oil-rich nation had been waiting for news about his health. State-run news previously reported that he traveled to the United States for unspecified medical checks in March 2021.
The health of Kuwait's leaders remains a sensitive matter in the Middle Eastern nation bordering Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which has seen internal power struggles behind palace doors.
Sheikh Nawaf was sworn in as emir following the 2020 death of his predecessor, the late Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah. The breadth and depth of emotion over the loss of Sheikh Sabah, known for his diplomacy and peacemaking, was felt across the region.
Sheikh Nawaf previously served as Kuwait's interior and defense minister but wasn't seen as particularly active in government outside those terms. However, he was largely an uncontroversial choice for emir, though his advancing age led analysts to suggest his tenure would be short.
Sheikh Nawaf's term had been focused on domestic issues as struggles through political disputes including the overhaul of Kuwait's welfare system which prevented the sheikhdom from taking on debt. That's left it with little in its coffers to pay bloated public sector salaries, despite generating immense wealth from its oil reserves.
In 2021, Sheikh Nawaf issued a long-awaited amnesty decree, pardoning and reducing the sentences of nearly three dozen Kuwaiti dissidents in a move aimed at defusing a major government standoff. He issued another just before his illness, aiming to resolve that political impasse. Kuwait is perceived as having the Gulf's freest parliament that comparatively allows for dissent.
Meanwhile, the Gulf Cooperation Council states, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, restored ties after years of a boycott of Doha, easing regional tensions and allowing Sheikh Nawaf to focus on issues at home.
Kuwait, a nation home to some 4.2 million people which is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of New Jersey, has the world's sixth-largest known oil reserves.
It has been a staunch U.S. ally since the 1991 Gulf War expelled the occupying Iraqi forces of Saddam Hussein. Kuwait hosts some 13,500 American troops in the country, as well as the forward headquarters of the U.S. Army in the Middle East.
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Informing Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor was a crime: Rahul Gandhi on Jaishankar's 'admission'
New Delhi, May 17 (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday hit out at the government for "informing" Pakistan about targeting terror infrastructure as part of Operation Sindoor, saying it was a crime and asking who had authorised it.
In a post on X, Gandhi questioned External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar for publicly admitting that the government of India (GOI) had informed Pakistan of the action and asked how many aircraft the Indian Air Force lost as a result.
"Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime. EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it. Who authorised it? How many aircraft did our air force lose as a result?" said Gandhi, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha.
He also shared an undated video of Jaishankar saying India had informed Pakistan of the action against terror infrastructure on its soil.
Jaishankar can be heard saying in the video, "At the start of the operation, we had sent a message to Pakistan, saying, 'We are striking at terrorist infrastructure and we are not striking at the military.'"
"So the military has the option of standing out and not interfering in this process. They chose not to take that good advice," the minister can be heard saying in the clip.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB), however, has debunked claims that Jaishankar had said India informed Pakistan ahead of Operation Sindoor. In a post on X, the PIB's Fact Check Unit said the minister had not made any such statement and that he was being misquoted.
Operation Sindoor was the Indian offensive against terror camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam.
Informing Pakistan at the start of our attack was a crime.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 17, 2025
EAM has publicly admitted that GOI did it.
1. Who authorised it?
2. How many aircraft did our airforce lose as a result? pic.twitter.com/KmawLLf4yW
