Kuwait’s late emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad Al Sabah was yesterday laid to rest at a private funeral attended by select relatives, a day after he passed away.
Draped in a Kuwaiti flag, the coffin of Sheikh Nawaf, whose cause of death was not disclosed, was carried into a mosque for prayers ahead of a burial ceremony that was broadcast on state television.
Attendance was limited to members of the ruling family, making for an intimate and low-key farewell for the ruler who reigned for three years. The speaker of Kuwait’s parliament was also present.
Photo: AFP
“The choice reflects the late emir’s low-profile character,” said Bader al-Saif, a history professor at Kuwait University.
The incoming emir, Sheikh Meshal, who is expected to deliver his oath before parliament on Wednesday, attended the service.
He is to receive condolences today and tomorrow from the wider public.
During yesterday’s burial ceremony, rows of relatives stood at Shiekh Nawaf’s final resting ground and performed prayers.
Some crouched before his grave, cupping their hands, and reciting verses from the Quran.
Across Kuwait City, large digital billboards displayed pictures of the late ruler, dubbing him the “emir of wisdom, forgiveness and peace.”
Flags where lowered to half-mast amid a 40-day mourning period that would also see government offices shut until tomorrow.
Speaking outside the mosque where the funeral took place, Kuwaiti citizen Ghanem al-Sulaimani said he was saddened by the man he called the “emir of humility and forgiveness.”
“He left a great legacy ... distinguished by his great love for his people,” he said
Born in 1937, Sheikh Nawaf took over as emir in September 2020 upon the death of his half-brother Sheikh Sabah at the age of 91.
He issued numerous amnesties for political prisoners, earning him the nickname “emir of pardons.”
One of his last moves before his death was the signing of a draft decree approved by the Cabinet late last month, demanding the release of dozens of political prisoners.
Sheikh Nawaf was defense minister when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, setting off a war that drew in armies from around the world to end the occupation. He was minister of the interior when Kuwait faced a severe threat from Islamist militants in 2005.
The episodes deeply marked the country, but Sheikh Nawaf’s low-profile style meant he remained a relatively popular figure.
ANGER: A video shared online showed residents in a neighborhood confronting the national security minister, attempting to drag her toward floodwaters Argentina’s port city of Bahia Blanca has been “destroyed” after being pummeled by a year’s worth of rain in a matter of hours, killing 13 and driving hundreds from their homes, authorities said on Saturday. Two young girls — reportedly aged four and one — were missing after possibly being swept away by floodwaters in the wake of Friday’s storm. The deluge left hospital rooms underwater, turned neighborhoods into islands and cut electricity to swaths of the city. Argentine Minister of National Security Patricia Bullrich said Bahia Blanca was “destroyed.” The death toll rose to 13 on Saturday, up from 10 on Friday, authorities
DEBT BREAK: Friedrich Merz has vowed to do ‘whatever it takes’ to free up more money for defense and infrastructure at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty Germany’s likely next leader Friedrich Merz was set yesterday to defend his unprecedented plans to massively ramp up defense and infrastructure spending in the Bundestag as lawmakers begin debating the proposals. Merz unveiled the plans last week, vowing his center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU)/Christian Social Union (CSU) bloc and the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) — in talks to form a coalition after last month’s elections — would quickly push them through before the end of the current legislature. Fraying Europe-US ties under US President Donald Trump have fueled calls for Germany, long dependent on the US security umbrella, to quickly
Local officials from Russia’s ruling party have caused controversy by presenting mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine with gifts of meat grinders, an appliance widely used to describe Russia’s brutal tactics on the front line. The United Russia party in the northern Murmansk region posted photographs on social media showing officials smiling as they visited bereaved mothers with gifts of flowers and boxed meat grinders for International Women’s Day on Saturday, which is widely celebrated in Russia. The post included a message thanking the “dear moms” for their “strength of spirit and the love you put into bringing up your sons.” It
In front of a secluded temple in southwestern China, Duan Ruru skillfully executes a series of chops and strikes, practicing kung fu techniques she has spent a decade mastering. Chinese martial arts have long been considered a male-dominated sphere, but a cohort of Generation Z women like Duan is challenging that assumption and generating publicity for their particular school of kung fu. “Since I was little, I’ve had a love for martial arts... I thought that girls learning martial arts was super swaggy,” Duan, 23, said. The ancient Emei school where she trains in the mountains of China’s Sichuan Province
RSS