Kuwait to Resume Friday Mosque Prayers

Kuwaitis wearing face masks walk inside the reopened Avenues Mall, the country's largest shopping center on June 30, 2020 in Kuwait City. (AFP)
Kuwaitis wearing face masks walk inside the reopened Avenues Mall, the country's largest shopping center on June 30, 2020 in Kuwait City. (AFP)
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Kuwait to Resume Friday Mosque Prayers

Kuwaitis wearing face masks walk inside the reopened Avenues Mall, the country's largest shopping center on June 30, 2020 in Kuwait City. (AFP)
Kuwaitis wearing face masks walk inside the reopened Avenues Mall, the country's largest shopping center on June 30, 2020 in Kuwait City. (AFP)

The Kuwaiti government announced Monday the resumption of Friday prayers at mosques as of July 17.

Health authorities recorded five new coronavirus deaths, putting overall fatalities at 373 since the outbreak months ago.

The Ministry of Health announced 703 new infections, bringing the total to 50,644.

In a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), official spokesperson of the Ministry of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Sanad said 152 patients were receiving treatment at intensive care wards.

The Ministry also announced the recovery of 538 people, bringing the tally to more than 41,000.

In Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Health said in a statement that 4,207 new confirmed cases have been reported, bringing the total number to 213,716. As many as 4,398 cases have recovered, taking the total to 149,634, and 52 new deaths have been reported, raising the toll to 1,968.

Oman recorded five more deaths due to COVID-19. With this, the toll has risen to 218 fatalities. The Ministry of Health reported 1,557 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number to 47,735.

In Qatar, the Ministry of Public Health confirmed 546 cases of COVID-19 and 1,614 recoveries, bringing the total number of people recovered from the disease to 93,898. The Ministry also announced five new deaths.



Arab, Islamic, African Mechanism Established to Support Palestinian Cause

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (Reuters)
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (Reuters)
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Arab, Islamic, African Mechanism Established to Support Palestinian Cause

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (Reuters)
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (Reuters)

The Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the African Union (AU) signed a tripartite agreement on Monday to support the Palestinian cause, during the Arab-Islamic Summit in Riyadh.

The move was praised by the summit, especially for the African Union’s strong position on the issue.

According to information obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat, the mechanism will be coordinated through the organizations’ secretariats. Representatives will meet regularly to align their positions and strengthen their influence in international forums.

Joint coordination meetings will be held soon to finalize the details of the agreement.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan welcomed the cooperation, noting that the three organizations will now speak with one voice internationally, instead of through individual bilateral talks.

Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit added that while Arab-African and Arab-Islamic cooperation already exists, this is the first time an agreement has united the three organizations on this issue.

He said the agreement will expand cooperation and set a clear strategy moving forward.