Day: 4 April 2024

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stressed Thursday the importance of promoting the partnership with southern countries, particularly Middle East and North Africa.

Stoltenberg made the remark at a press conference after receiving a report from experts on the situation in the southern neighbourhood and NATO’s relationship with atheist activity in the MENA region.

The report was made last October by established group of independent experts “to provide advice to NATO on how we, in an even better way, can address both the challenges we see in our southern neighbourhood, but also the opportunities”.

The NATO chief confirmed that the fields of this cooperation are about terrorism, instability, but it’s also about the value of the opportunities in working with partners in our southern neighbourhood in North Africa or the Middle East.

“There are different proposals there about how we can work more closely with partners in the the region. We have close partnerships in countries like Jordan, Tunisia, with Mo
ntenegro. We also have, of course, some presence in the Middle East,” he said.

“We have a mission in Iraq. So we speak about many different countries, different challenges, different opportunities,” he noted.

“But of course, that matters for the alliance, and therefore I’m looking forward to the discussion that will now take place based on the report, and then hopefully to see some ambitious conclusions being made by the Associated Government when they meet in Washington in July,” he added.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

The US administration announced historic USD 20 billion investment in clean energy and climate solutions to lower energy costs for communities across the nation.

The White House said in a statement that a national financing network is in the works to fund tens of thousands of clean energy projects across the country, especially in low income and disadvantaged communities.

The investment is part of the environmental protection agency’s greenhouse gas reduction fund, a first of its kind and national scale 27 billion USD program funded through President Biden’s inflation reduction act to combat the climate crisis.

This program will ensure communities across the country have access to capital they need to participate in and benefit from a cleaner, more sustainable economy.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Local and international mass media are covering the Kuwaiti parliament election of 2024.

Media organizations are keen to convey the electoral atmosphere, including polling stations, the role of voluntary and organizing teams, and balloting amid state bodies’ efforts to ensure a successful and smooth electoral process.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Kuwait Municipality has taken all required preparations and arrangements to ensure a smooth parliamentary election at all polling stations in the country’s five constituencies, said the minister of state for municipal affairs.

Speaking to KUNA after casting his ballot, Dr. Noura Al-Mashaan, who doubles as minister of public works, said municipal teams have deployed at all polling stations in order to demonstrate Kuwait’s civilized and democratic image.

Kuwait Municipality is working with other to ministries and state bodies in order to make it easy for people to vote in the election so smoothly and comfortably, the minister added.

The voting process for the 18th legislative term of the National Assembly began at 12:00 p.m. local time on Thursday in Kuwait’s five electoral constituencies. The 2024 elections will continue until midnight.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Acting Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Al-Sabah inspected on Thursday a number of polling stations ahead of the 2024 National Assembly elections, which will kick off at 12:00 p.m. local-time.

In one of his visits to a school in Al-Riqqa area, the minister made sure that all preparations were made to receive voters and the democratic process would run smooth.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Polling stations throughout the country saw noticeable turnout from voters after iftar (fast-breaking meal) Thursday evening.

Citizens were keen on practicing their constitutional rights to select their representatives for the 2024 National Assembly.

They flocked to the polling stations and stood in organized queues in front of the stations to pick their best candidates for the country’s future.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Many United Kingdom legal experts and academics demanded, Thursday, their government’s Israeli arm sales be suspended because of the atrocities being committed against Palestinians in Gaza.

Around 600 legal experts signed a letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stating the UK government is violating international law by their continued arm sales to Israel, the occupying force. According to the International Court of Justice’s opinion, there is a possibility of massacres taking place in Gaza, therefore the UK government should look toward legal action to prevent it from going further, the letter mentioned. Meanwhile, the UK government stressed the importance of a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, ensuring the entry of humanitarian and medical aid into the Strip, and affirming their immediate funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

The letter also called for imposing sanctions on individuals and organizations who made genocidal incitements against Palestinians, suspen
ding 2030 bilateral relations, including reviewing trade agreements with a possibility of suspension.

This came after the targeted deaths of seven aid personnel, three being UK citizens, by the Israeli occupation airstrikes on Monday. The death of the aid personnel caused a wave of condemnation by foreign governments, with the UK summoning their Ambassador to “Israel” back, and demanded the Israeli occupation conduct an investigation regarding this issue.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

The voting process for the 18th legislative term of the National Assembly began at 12:00 p.m. local-time on Thursday in Kuwait’s five electoral constituencies. The 2024 elections will continue until midnight.

Some 834,733 eligible voters will choose 50 MPs out of 200 candidates to represent them at the new legislature for a term of four years.

There are 104,038 voters in the first constituency with 41 candidates competing.

The second constituency has 39 candidates in the race to win the votes of 95,302 people.

There are 32 hopefuls in the third constituency, which has 143,693 voters.

Forty-eight candidates are competing for the votes of 220,932 people in the fourth constituency.

The fifth constituency includes 40 rivals and 270,768 eligible voters.

Some 123 designated schools would host the ballot boxes with 764 main and sub-committees therein.

This is the second election in history of Kuwait that occurs during the month of Ramadan with the first in July 27, 2013 during the 14th legislative term. The
re were by-elections held during the holy month on December 7, 2000.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Dr. Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah sent a cable of congratulations to President of Malta Myriam Spiteri Debono on swearing the oath.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

Minister of Health Dr. Ahmad Al-Awadhi said on Thursday that participating in the electoral process was a national duty and everyone must participate to serve the nation.

After casting his vote in the Al-Asmaa Bint Al-Harith High School electoral committee in the second constituency, Minister Al-Awadhi said in a statement to KUNA that his participation is part of returning the favor to Kuwait, calling on everyone to do their part to make this election a success.

Al-Awadhi stressed the keenness of the Ministry, represented by the medical emergency management sectors, in addition to the medical principles, including doctors and nurses, to carry out the role assigned to it in preparing to keep pace with the parliamentary elections. He pointed out that 140 centers have been prepared and distributed among the electoral headquarters, adding that he made inspection tours to ensure that these headquarters are equipped at the highest level.

Source: Kuwait News Agency