Day: 1 October 2024

Iraqi Minister of Transport Razzaq Al-Saadawi announced a temporary closure of Iraq’s airspace as neighboring Iran fired barrage of missiles towards the Israeli occupation on Tuesday.

All airports across Iraq will be closed to all incoming, outgoing and transiting aircraft for the safety of passengers and civil aviation, the Iraqi News Agency quoted the minister as saying.

The missiles fired by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps towards Israel are believed to have crossed the Iraqi airspace.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

The Qatar Debate Center concluded the first edition of the Debaters for Change roundtables dialogue series for the debate community, on the sidelines of the Summit of the Future hosted by the UN in New York City.

In the presence of HE Minister of State for International Cooperation Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, the panelists discussed the outcomes of the summit and the Charter for the Future, which covered a wide range of issues including global security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth and future generations, and transforming global governance.

According to a statement issued by the Qatar Debate Center, these dialogues are interactive platforms that provide an elite group of debaters, students and graduates with the opportunity to express their opinions and interact with their peers from different cultures. They are also a pivotal step towards enhancing the status of debates as an educational and cultural tool.

These dialogues are an extension of a
series of international initiatives launched by QatarDebate Center, with the aim of strengthening its partnerships with institutions and enabling young people to present their ideas, analyze contemporary issues, and expand the scope of their influence in civilized and open-to-discussion ways.

Commenting on the occasion, QatarDebate Programs Director Abdulrahman Al Subaie said that constructive dialogue is one of the basic keys to building more aware societies capable of dealing with global challenges, and this event comes within the framework of the efforts to expand the scope of the influence of the debate culture globally.

He emphasized that organizing events supports current participants and aims to cultivate a new generation for positive change. Qatar Debates focuses on youth empowerment and dialogue to build a better future through international initiatives and academic partnerships.

In the same context, New York University hosted the fifth edition of the U.S. Universities Debating Championship, which
began on Sept. 27 and lasted for 3 days, with the participation of more than 35 teams representing numerous American universities.

In the presence of a number of university officials and representatives of the Qatar Debate Center, the American championship concluded with the Indiana University team winning first place in the final round against its counterpart “Los Angeles” from the University of California, which came in second, as the two teams competed for the championship title in the issue of “Rapid progress in artificial intelligence and does it increase inequality”.

The debater Aseel Al Sharawneh came in as the best speaker in the championship, and in the Arabic language category for non-native speakers, the best speaker was Alex Bells.

Before the championship, the trainer Saad Al Assad from the Qatar Debate Center presented an in-depth training workshop in competitive debates with the aim of ensuring the readiness of the debaters and judges for the championship on arbitration methods and training t
eams and new and old debaters, which included different age groups. The preparation for the championship was accompanied by friendly debates to enhance the skills of the participating judges and debaters.

The first edition of the U.S. Universities Arabic Debating Championship was held at Harvard University in 2019, the second edition at the University of Chicago in 2021, the third at Stanford University in 2022, and the fourth edition at the University of Utah in 2023.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Kuwaiti Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah Al-Yahya telephones on Tuesday Lebanese counterpart Dr. Abdullah Bou Habib, expressing solidarity and support to the Lebanese people and government.

The Kuwaiti minister expressed support to all measures and action taken by Lebanon to preserve security and stability of the country, in addition to condemning all attacks against Lebanon.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

The State of Qatar has participated in the 7th Quint Group meeting on Somalia, which was held Tuesday in Washington, with the participation of the United States , the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the Republic of Turkey.

The delegation of the State of Qatar to the meeting was headed by HE Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Faisal bin Abdullah Al Hanzab.

In his speech during the meeting, HE the Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed the importance of intensifying efforts to support the security and stability of Somalia and enhance its unity and sovereignty over all its territories.

The attendees discussed the current situation in Somalia, especially the security and political situation that would achieve stability in the Somali territories, through capacity building and long-term training and institutional improvement in the capabilities of the federal forces, which would enhance stability and recovery in the future.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The Jordanian Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) announced a temporary closure of the Kingdom’s airspace to all incoming, outgoing and transiting aircraft on Tuesday.

The decision follows a serious escalation of hostilities in the Middle East which posed a real threat to the safety of travelers and civil aviation, CARC Chairman Haitham Misto said in a press release.

The move is in keeping with the regulations specified in the Convention on International Civil Aviation (also known as Chicago Convention), it will be reconsidered later on in the light of the new developments, he added.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

HE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi met today in Washington with HE Deputy Assistant to the US President and senior adviser for energy and security Amos Hochstein.

The meeting dealt with discussing the strategic relationship between the State of Qatar and the United States and the means to enhance them. The meeting also dealt with the latest developments in Gaza and Lebanon, in addition to several issues of joint interest.

HE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated during the meeting the State of Qatar’s position in support of the Republic of Lebanon, stressing the need for concerted regional and international efforts to reduce escalation and enhance the security and stability of the region.

Source: Qatar News Agency

Kuwait’s Minister of State for Communication Affairs Omar Al-Omar announced on Tuesday the launch of the English version of “Sahel” application, as part of the keenness of government on digitalizing and facilitating services.

The announcement was made during the Kuwait Cabinet weekly meeting held at Bayan Palace, under the chairmanship of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.

The move comes to facilitate services on this application to those who do not speak Arabic to help them make their transactions in an easy and efficient way, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Shereeda Al-Mousherji said in a statement after the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet commended the speech delivered by Representative of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York late last month.

During the speech, His Highness the Cro
wn Prince reaffirmed Kuwait’s principle of good neighborliness, and keenness on backing Iraq’s recovery and helping it restore its status on regional and international levels in a way that meets aspirations of its people, Al-Mousherji noted.

His Highness the Crown Prince called on Iraq to take tangible steps to address all pending issues between Kuwait and Iraq, stressing the importance of the demarcation of maritime boundary at the 162 point with Iraq, in accordance with international laws and charters.

His Highness the Crown Prince also stressed the need of addressing the files of Kuwaiti Prisoners of War and missing persons, and the national archives based on the principle of good neighborliness.

His Highness the Crown Prince also asked Iraq to abide by bilateral agreements related to security and technical aspects of Khor Abdullah issue.

His Highness the Crown Prince referred to the military operations launched by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip and the remaining
parts of the occupied Palestinian territories, including the West Bank.

His Highness denounced the collective punishment of Palestinians and the targeting of civilians by continued airstrikes that claimed the lives of more than 41,000 people, most of whom children and women.

His Highness also deplored Israeli occupation’s targeting of the headquarters of international organizations and infrastructure, as well as forced displacement of Gazans.

He reiterated Kuwait’s keenness on establishing an independent Palestinian state based on the June 4, 1967 borders in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, welcoming the recognition of several countries of Palestine as a state over the past months.

Furthermore, the Cabinet reviewed the outcomes of His Highness the Crown Prince’s meetings with a host of presidents of sisterly and friendly countries, and heads of international organizations, on the sidelines of the UNGA session.

Those meetings discussed means of enhancing
cooperation in all fields, in addition to the latest developments on regional and international arenas.

During meetings with representatives and heads of global companies, His Highness the Crown Prince conveyed the desire of His Highness the Amir to boost the presence of those firms in Kuwait. The meetings further dealt with economic and investment cooperation, and ways of bolstering collaboration between Kuwait and those companies.

Additionally, the Cabinet was informed about the accompanying delegation of His Highness the Representative of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Crown Prince that will head to Doha, Qatar on Wednesday, tomorrow. His Highness will chair the delegation to the Third Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Summit.

Moreover, the Cabinet saw a visual presentation by Minister of Finance, Minister of State for Economic and Investment Affairs and Acting Minister of Oil Noura Al-Fassam along with the National Committee of Anti-Money Laundering and C
ombating the Financing of Terrorism on reviewing appreciation results of Kuwait and the current period’s from October 2024 to October 2025.

The Cabinet decided to task the committee with intensifying efforts and enhancing cooperation with governmental concerned bodies to meet international requirements of assessment in a manner that maintains Kuwait’s position internationally.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating Hilltop Youth, a violent extremist group that has repeatedly attacked Palestinians and destroyed Palestinian homes and property in the West Bank, pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14115. “Through these violent activities, Hilltop Youth is actively destabilizing the West Bank and harming the peace and security of Palestinians and Israelis alike,” the Treasury said in a press release on Tuesday.

Hilltop Youth has devastated Palestinian communities and carried out killings, mass arson, and other so-called “price tag” attacks to exact revenge and intimidate Palestinian civilians, and has repeatedly clashed with the Israeli military as it counters their activities.

“The worsening violence and instability in the West Bank are detrimental to the long-term interests of Israelis and Palestinians, and the actions of violent organizations like Hilltop Youth only exacerbate the crisis,” said Acting Under-Secretary of the Treasu
ry for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith. “The United States will continue to hold accountable the individuals, groups, and organizations that facilitate these hateful and destabilizing acts,” Smith added.

Source: Kuwait News Agency