Kuwait Enters Reign of Continuity with New Emir, Crown Prince

Kuwait's new Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah gestures as he arrives to take the oath of office at the country's parliament, in Kuwait City on September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
Kuwait's new Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah gestures as he arrives to take the oath of office at the country's parliament, in Kuwait City on September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
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Kuwait Enters Reign of Continuity with New Emir, Crown Prince

Kuwait's new Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah gestures as he arrives to take the oath of office at the country's parliament, in Kuwait City on September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
Kuwait's new Emir Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah gestures as he arrives to take the oath of office at the country's parliament, in Kuwait City on September 30, 2020. (Reuters)

Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah became last week the 16th emir of Kuwait and the sixth since its independence from Britain in 1961.

Sheikh Nawaf was born in Kuwait City on June 25, 1937. He is the sixth son of Kuwait’s 10th ruler, Sheikh Ahmad al-Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah, who ruled the Gulf state from 1921 to 1950. He is the stepbrother of two rulers: Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad (the 13th emir who ruled from 1977 to 2006) and Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad (the 15th ruler, who reigned from January 2006 to September 29, 2020).

Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad, who was named Crown Prince earlier this week, was born in Kuwait in 1940 and is the seventh son of ruler Ahmad al-Jaber.

The new Emir and Crown Prince share a long history in building Kuwait’s security and military agencies and have spent most of their careers in the security and defense fields.

Sheikh Nawaf is viewed as the real founder of Kuwait’s modern Interior Ministry. He was the interior minister for two terms, the first from 1978 to 1988 and the second from 2003 to 2006. Prior to assuming the post, he modernized the security institution to allow it to confront challenges facing the country. He also assumed the post of defense minister from 1988 to 1991, a period that witnessed the catastrophic Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

In the first government that was formed after Kuwait’s liberation, Sheikh Nawaf was named social affairs and labor minister before being appointed as deputy chief of the National Guard in 1994 and later returning to the interior ministry in 2003. He was named crown prince in 2006.

Sheikh Meshal studied at the Hendon Police College in the United Kingdom in 1960 before joining the interior ministry. He rose up the ranks to become head of the department of general investigation, a position he retained from 1967 to 1980 and is credited with strengthening its function as a state security service. He remained at the helm of the state security service for some 13 years.

In 2004, he was named by late Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad as deputy chief of the National Guard. Sheikh Meshal helped reform and reorganize the National Guard, strengthening it to become a main pillar of Kuwait’s armed forces. The National Guard has played a significant role in helping the government contain the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Identifying threats
During his swearing in speech before the National Assembly (parliament), Sheikh Nawaf identified the threats confronting Kuwait, the same that his predecessor Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad had always warned of. He said: “Kuwait has been exposed during its long history to serious challenges that we have succeeded in overcoming with cooperation.” He added: “Our nation today faces critical conditions and dangerous challenges that we can only overcome with unity and dedicated serious work for the sake of the people of Kuwait.”

Kuwait boasts a rich democracy and active political life that dates back to even before independence from Britain. It drafted its first written constitution and adopted its first shura council in 1921. In 1938, Kuwait was the first Gulf country to elect a legislature. It is also known for its parliamentary system, which was introduced by Sheikh Abdullah al-Salem al-Sabah. The constitution – the first in the Gulf - was also ratified during his reign. The constitution was announced in 1962 and officially adopted in 1963.

Kuwait’s democracy has been tested by regional challenges as a resource-rich country in a turbulent area. Sheikh Nawaf comes to power as the country grapples with an economy that has been impacted by the drop in global oil prices, the coronavirus pandemic, a budget deficit and liquidity crunch.

The country will soon witness National Assembly elections amid the absence of opposition figures, many of whom have been sentenced to prison over the storming of the parliament incident. Efforts had been underway in recent weeks for a pardon to be issued for the detainees, but to no avail.

The fight against corruption is also among the Emir and Crown Prince’s top priorities. In his last speech as crown prince in August, Sheikh Nawaf said that no member of the royal family is above the law should they be implicated in corruption. “Fighting corruption is not a choice, but a legitimate and constitutional duty and ethical responsibility,” he had said.

The economy remains the greatest challenge for the new ruler. Kuwait is suffering from a liquidity crisis that has prompted warnings that it will be unable to pay public employee salaries. In August, Finance Minister Barak Al-Sheetan called on the government to approve the public debt law that will allow the country to borrow 20 billion dinars, or 66 billion dollars, in 30 years. The liquidity crisis means that Kuwait may be unable to pay state salaries after October even though it boasts a large sovereign fund estimated at 550 billion dollars.



What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
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What to Know About the Flash Floods in Texas That Killed over 100 People

 Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)
Firefighters from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, transport a recovered body on the flooded Guadalupe River days after a flash flood swept through the area, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Ingram, Texas. (AP)

Flash floods in Texas killed at least 100 people over the Fourth of July holiday weekend and left others still missing, including girls attending a summer camp. The devastation along the Guadalupe River, outside of San Antonio, has drawn a massive search effort as officials face questions over their preparedness and the speed of their initial actions.

Here's what to know about the deadly flooding, the colossal weather system that drove it in and around Kerr County, Texas, and ongoing efforts to identify victims.

Massive rain hit at just the wrong time, in a flood-prone place

The floods grew to their worst at the midpoint of a long holiday weekend when many people were asleep.

The Texas Hill Country in the central part of the state is naturally prone to flash flooding due to the dry dirt-packed areas where the soil lets rain skid along the surface of the landscape instead of soaking it up. Friday's flash floods started with a particularly bad storm that dropped most of its 12 inches (30 centimeters) of rain in the dark early morning hours.

After a flood watch notice midday Thursday, the National Weather Service office issued an urgent warning around 4 a.m. that raised the potential of catastrophic damage and a severe threat to human life. By at least 5:20 a.m., some in the Kerrville City area say water levels were getting alarmingly high. The massive rain flowing down hills sent rushing water into the Guadalupe River, causing it to rise 26 feet (8 meters) in just 45 minutes.

Death toll is expected to rise and the number of missing is uncertain

In Kerr County, home to youth camps in the Texas Hill Country, searchers have found the bodies of 75 people, including 27 children, Sheriff Larry Leitha said Monday morning. Fatalities in nearby counties brought the total number of deaths to 94 as of Monday afternoon.

Ten girls and a counselor were still unaccounted for at Camp Mystic, a Christian summer camp along the river.

For past campers, the tragedy turned happy memories into grief.

Beyond the Camp Mystic campers unaccounted for, the number of missing from other nearby campgrounds and across the region had not been released.

Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday had said that there were 41 people confirmed to be unaccounted for across the state and more could be missing.

Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice said during a Monday news conference he couldn't give an estimate of the number of people still missing, only saying “it is a lot.”

Officials face scrutiny over flash flood warnings

Survivors have described the floods as a “pitch black wall of death” and said they received no emergency warnings.

Kerr County Judge Rob Kelly, who lives along the Guadalupe River, said Saturday that “nobody saw this coming.” Officials have referred to it as a “100-year-flood,” meaning that the water levels were highly unlikely based on the historical record.

And records behind those statistics don’t always account for human-caused climate change. Though it’s hard to connect specific storms to a warming planet so soon after they occur, meteorologists say that a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture and allow severe storms to dump even more rain.

Additionally, officials have come under scrutiny about why residents and youth summer camps along the river were not alerted sooner than 4 a.m. or told to evacuate.

Rice said Monday that he did not immediately know if there had been any communication between law enforcement and the summer camps between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. on Friday. But Rice said various factors, including spotty cell service in some of the more isolated areas of Kerr County and cell towers that might have gone out of service during the weather, could have hindered communication.

Rice said officials want to finish the search and rescue and then review possible issues with cell towers, radios and emergency alerts.

Officials noted that the public can grow weary from too many flooding alerts or forecasts that turn out to be minor.

Kerr county officials said they had presented a proposal for a more robust flood warning system, similar to a tornado warning system, but that members of the public reeled at the cost.

Monumental clearing and rebuilding effort

The flash floods have erased campgrounds and torn homes from their foundations.

"It’s going to be a long time before we’re ever able to clean it up, much less rebuild it," Kelly said Saturday after surveying the destruction from a helicopter.

Other massive flooding events have driven residents and business owners to give up, including in areas struck last year by Hurricane Helene.

President Donald Trump said he would likely visit the flood zone on Friday.

AP photographers have captured the scale of the destruction, and one of Texas' largest rescue and recovery efforts.