CAIRO: Libya’s state-run National Oil Corp. said on Monday its chairman Mustafa Sanalla had arrived in United Arab Emirates to meet with a number of Libyan and international parties to discuss the Sharara oilfield crisis
They would “discuss security measures necessary to find a solution to the Sharara crisis, that guarantee staff safety, and pave the way for the lifting of force majeure at the field,” the statement said.

CAIRO: Kuwait celebrated on Monday its national day, marking the anniversary of its 58th Independence and its 28th Liberation Days.

The National Day commemorates the creation of Kuwait as a nation in 1961, while Liberation Day marks the end of the Iraqi occupation in 1991 during the Gulf War.

Nation-wide festivities including firework displays and epic public entertainment activities. 

The day also marks the 13th anniversary of Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s assumption to power, as he he took to the throne in 2006. 

Since independence, Kuwait adopted balanced national and foreign policies aimed at maintaining the wellbeing of its people and bolstering ties of cooperation with its regional neighbors. 

Its Gulf neighbor, the UAE, celebrated the occasion by presenting a giant sand portrait of the Kuwaiti emir that could be visible from space. 

The portrait titled ‘Prince of Humanity’ covers an area of more than 170,000 square feet, and has been registered to enter the Guinness Book of World Records.

It was captured in a video shared on Twitter by Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE. 

حب الكويت وأهل الكويت محفور في أرضنا .. ومحفور في قلوبنا .. ومحفور في تاريخنا… كل عام وكويت المحبة .. وأميرها أمير الإنسانية في عزة ورفعة وسلام pic.twitter.com/BeFLvjx6sI

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) February 21, 2019

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation also marked the occasion, by holding a series of events at its various airport terminals. 

Upon arrival to the Kingdom, passengers coming from Kuwait were greeted with roses, national flags of the two countries, and souvenirs in honor of the celebration.

A welcome statement was displayed on large screens inside the terminals of King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. 

Similar gestures were made at other Saudi airports as well. 

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump announced Monday that an American had been freed after being held hostage in Yemen for 18 months.
Danny Burch has been “recovered and reunited with his wife and children,” Trump said in a tweet.

It is my honor today to announce that Danny Burch, a United States citizen who has been held hostage in Yemen for 18 months, has been recovered and reunited with his wife and children. I appreciate the support of the United Arab Emirates in bringing Danny home…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 25, 2019

Trump did not say who had been holding Burch but he expressed appreciation for the “support of the United Arab Emirates in bringing Danny home.”
According to Burch’s family, the Texas native, who has lived in Yemen for more than two decades, was kidnapped in the capital Sanaa in September 2017.
A number of foreigners have been abducted in Yemen by the country’s heavily armed tribes for use as bargaining chips in local disputes and there have also been some kidnappings by Al-Qaeda.
In a telephone call with AFP at the time of his kidnapping, Burch’s wife, Nadia Forsa Al-Harazi, urged Houthi Shiite rebels to secure the release of her husband.
She said her husband had lived in the capital for more than 20 years and the couple had three children.
Trump said “recovering American hostages is a priority of my (administration).”
“With Danny’s release, we have now secured freedom for 20 American captives since my election victory,” he said. “We will not rest as we continue our work to bring the remaining American hostages back home!“

RABAT: Britain’s Prince Harry and his wife Meghan on Monday visited a stables in Morocco where horses provide a source of therapy for disabled youths, before sampling local cuisine at a project for underprivileged children.
The royal couple, on their last official foreign tour before becoming parents, petted the horses and strolled hand in hand through the equestrian club in Sale in the outskirts of Rabat.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as they are formally known, met workers and disabled young people grooming horses to hear how spending time with the animals helps them to face their challenges.
Meghan chatted with several children and young adults including Zakaria, a 20-year-old with mobility issues who become an IT instructor with help from equine therapy.
The American former actress also spoke to Driss, a 24-year-old with speech difficulties, and Ikram, a 19-year-old with Down syndrome.
The couple, who married last year, appeared relaxed as they stroked horses poking their heads out of the stable doors in the morning sunshine.
A joking Harry asked if anyone had any carrots to feed to them and confided that he missed his own horses.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Feb 25, 2019 at 5:30am PST

A heavily pregnant Meghan, wearing her hair in a pony tail, swapped her flowing beige dress of the previous evening for casual black jeans, a Breton striped shirt, green jacket and ankle boots.
Harry also dressed down with grey jeans, a light blue shirt and a black padded jacket for the visit to the Moroccan Royal Federation of Equestrian Sports.
At a later event the couple sampled Moroccan cuisine — which Meghan declared “delicious” — and heard how cooking is being used to help disadvantaged children.
They met renowned Moroccan chef Moha and tasted harira — a traditional Moroccan soup — as well as tajines, salads and couscous among other dishes.
The children also made Moroccan pancakes using a recipe from a cookbook launched by Meghan last year in her first solo charity project in support of families affected by the Grenfell Tower fire disaster in London.
They joked with a group of orphans visibly daunted by their presence in the gardens of the Villa des Ambassadors hotel in Rabat.
Meghan later changed into a black pleated dress and white jacket while Harry wore a grey suit to visit the Kasbah of the Udayas, a fortress at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river.
They met artisans in the Andalusian Gardens and received gifts including a pendant, a wooden jewelry box and a leather pouf.
The couple were due to meet King Mohammed VI on Monday afternoon during what is the first British royal visit to Morocco since Prince Charles and Camilla visited the kingdom in 2011.
The focus of the three-day trip is on initiatives promoting girls’ education, women’s empowerment and the inclusion of people with disabilities.
On Sunday the couple traveled to the foothills of the High Atlas mountains to visit a project that provides free accommodation for girls to give them access to education.
Meghan received a henna tattoo during a traditional ceremony for pregnant women in the North African country.
The royals watched students playing a football match and spoke to teachers before returning to the capital to attend a reception at which they met several female entrepreneurs.
 

KHARTOUM: Sudanese police fired tear gas Monday at hundreds protesting in the capital Khartoum against a state of emergency imposed by President Omar Al-Bashir to end rallies against his rule, witnesses said.
Deadly protests have rocked Sudan for more than two months, and Bashir on Friday declared a year-long nationwide state of emergency to rein in the protest campaign.
The veteran leader, who came to power in a 1989 coup, also dissolved Sudan’s federal and provincial governments as part of a major shake-up of his administration.
But protests have carried on, with demonstrators undeterred on Monday despite riot police firing tear gas at the crowds.
Chanting “freedom, peace, justice” — the rallying cry of the campaign — hundreds demonstrated in downtown Khartoum, witnesses said.
“We are challenging the regime and we are not scared of the state of emergency,” said protester Erij who gave only her first name for security reasons.
“We have only one aim and that is to make the president step down.”
Later on Monday, protesters also took to the streets in the Khartoum districts of Burri, Shambat and Al-Deim, witnesses said.
Burri has become a site of almost daily rallies, with protesters blocking streets and burning tyres and tree trunks.
Protest organisers, an umbrella group called Alliance for Freedom and Change, had called for Monday’s “rally to challenge the emergency”.
Riot police also fired tear gas into the compound of Ahfad University for Women after students staged a sit-in, witnesses said.
“Police fired tear gas when some students stepped out of the campus and began chanting slogans, that’s when some canisters hit the compound,” a witness said.
Protests first erupted in the town of Atbara on December 19 against a government decision to triple the price of bread.
They quickly escalated into demonstrations against Bashir’s iron-fisted rule as protesters called on him to step down.
Officials say 31 people have died in protest-related violence since then, while Human Rights Watch has put the death toll at 51.
The 75-year-old leader has remained defiant, but has launched top-level changes in his administration.
He even sacked his long time ally and first vice president, Bakri Hassan Saleh.
On Sunday, he swore in a new prime minister and appointed 16 army officers and two others from the feared National Intelligence and Security Service as governors for Sudan’s 18 provinces.
Sudan’s financial woes have worsened amid a lack of foreign currency since South Sudan became independent in 2011, taking with it the bulk of oil earnings.
The resulting shortages in basic goods have fuelled spiralling inflation that has devastated the purchasing power and living standards of ordinary Sudanese, from agricultural labourers to middle-class professionals.