DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The 83-year-old ruling emir of Kuwait flew on Thursday to the United States for medical checks, state-run media reported, just months after he ascended the throne. State-run KUNA news agency described the purpose of Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah’s visit to the US as “the usual medical check-ups,” without elaborating. Given his age, Sheikh Nawaf’s medical trip raises concerns over his health condition, of which little is known. After his predecessor, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, fell ill last summer, a US Air Force C-17 flying hospital ferried him to Rochester, Minnesota, home of the flagship campus of the Mayo Clinic, where he later died. Kuwait, a Persian Gulf state home to 4.1 million people that’s slightly smaller than the US state of New Jersey, has the world’s sixth-largest known oil reserves.

Source: Egypt Independent March 04, 2021 13:07 UTC