WhatsApp, owned by Meta, has added several new features recently. The company is also developing more features for future versions. Take a look at some of these

DRAWING TOOLS: The company has rolled out three new drawing tools: two new pencils and a blur tool. The blur tool was already available on WhatsApp for iOS, so what's new is the interface of the drawing editor when using these new drawing tools.

REACT TO MESSAGES WITH MORE EMOJIS: The platform currently gives users the ability to react with just 6 emojis. But the company has recently rolled out a new feature that will let users react to messages with any emoji of their choice. Emojis like a robot, french fries, surfing in the sea, etc. are some among them. The feature may take a few days to reach all Android and iOS devices that use WhatsApp, but rest assured that it is finally on its way.

2GB FILE SHARING: Users can share larger files now since the platform has increased the file transfer size from 100MB to 2GB.

512-MEMBERS GROUP CHATS: WhatsApp has doubled the maximum number of participants allowed in a group chat, from 256 to 512 people. This facility to add more people to the groups is slowly being rolled out.

MUTE, MESSAGE PARTICIPANTS DURING GROUP CALL: These group calling features would allow users to mute others during a group call and send messages to specific people. One can also see a banner when someone joins a group call off-screen.

HIDE PROFILE PHOTO, LAST SEEN FROM SPECIFIC PEOPLE: This new privacy setting would allow users to hide their 'profile photos,' 'last seen,' and 'about' information from specific people in their contact lists. Until now, users had three privacy options for one's profile photo, last seen, and About info - Everyone, My Contacts, and Nobody. These are joined by a fourth option called 'My contacts except...' which is also available for Status privacy. But if someone doesn't share their last seen with others, they won't be able to see others either, just like read receipts, with the only difference being that the latter will always remain active for group chats, even if they've turned it off.

MESSAGE EDITING TOOL: The company is readying another important function, the ability to edit a message. It has been quite a while since the app started letting users delete messages, but it never brought the ability to edit them. The upcoming feature will let users fix any typo after sending a message.

HIDE ONLINE STATUS FROM ALL: WhatsApp is also working on a feature that will give iOS users the ability to hide their online status from everyone. As of now, users can choose to display their 'Last Seen' information to contacts, some people, or no one. For a future version of the app, WhatsApp will let users follow a similar approach to the online toggle.

SEARCH SHORTCUTS: With the new shortcut feature, users will be able to make searches straight from the info page of personal contacts and group chats.

VERIFICATION CODE TO PREVENT FRAUD: The under-development feature would add an extra layer of security before logging into a WhatsApp account. That means any successful attempt to log into the user's account from another device requires an additional verification code to confirm. This feature would help to protect those users that may naively share their 6-digit code.

EXIT GROUPS SILENTLY: Currently, when users exit a group, WhatsApp normally adds a system message in the chat to inform all participants that one has exited the group. As per this under-development feature, when users want to exit a group, other people will not be notified in the chat. Only group admins will be able to see who exits the group.

MULTI-DEVICE LINKING: The new feature being tested in the beta will allow users to talk with the same account on different phones. This is a significant advance from the past when multi-devices could only be run via a desktop client or web browser. Once functional, this feature will allow users to talk with the same account on different phones, or a phone and a tablet.

PREVIEW PHOTOS AND VIDEOS: The company is working on a new way to get the document preview when you share videos and images as documents in chats. Currently, you cannot get a glimpse of an image or video sent as a document without opening it. The preview will be similar to the one that is visible when you share a PDF file as a document on WhatsApp.

POLLS: The new feature will allow you to select a question and add several options to it. This includes adding a question and up to 12 different options for responses. The feature is initially expected to be available for WhatsApp groups only.

REELS: The company is planning to allow Reels inside WhatsApp in future updates. The feature will reportedly allow users to watch Instagram Reels directly from the messaging app. It could be a part of WhatsApp’s integration plan with other Facebook-owned apps.

COMMUNITIES FEATURE: The platform is soon expected to introduce a new Communities feature for Group administrators. The feature is about to provide more control to the Group administrators. With this, admins can create Groups within Groups. The Sub-Groups will also be end-to-end encrypted.

NEW CHAT FEATURE FOR GROUP ADMINS: The new chat feature for group admins will allow them to delete messages sent by other group members. This will be rolled out in a future update. When its functional, the group admins will be able to delete inappropriate messages without the permission of the authors. Also, it will give more power to admins to control the group chats. When an admin deletes a particular message in the group chat, users will receive a notification that says ‘This was deleted by an admin’.

GROUP MEMBERSHIP APPROVAL: The latest beta update also includes an admin approval feature that allows WhatsApp group admins to accept or deny requests from people wanting to join via hyperlink when enabled. When available, the feature must be manually enabled for each group that requires it. The option to toggle it on or off will be available in the group settings as 'Group Membership Approval' and whenever the feature is toggled on or off, all current customers in the group will receive a quick notification to let them know about the change. When the feature is enabled, admins will see group membership requests in a separate subsection in the 'Group Info' section each time someone tries to join the group using a sharable link. Admins can choose which clients to grant access to the group on this page.

READ LATER: Currently, when you archive an individual or group chat, the service hides it in the archive section, so that the chats are not visible on the top of the messaging app. However, when a new message arrives, the archived chat automatically shows up on the top of the screen, which is quite annoying. With this new feature, the platform aims to eliminate these interruptions. Archived chat will not be brought to the top of the messaging app. Read later will also come with an edit button for users to customise settings. The users will also be able to select multiple chats at once to quickly unarchive them.

Well informed government sources said there is no government tendency at the present time to increase the cost of living allowance in light of the resignation of the government and the dissolution of the National Assembly, especially that the state’s general budget is laden with many burdens, especially the fifth chapter devoted to salaries, and that the urgent caretaker government is working hard to take effective measures to address the imbalances of the general budget, and implement a package of programs aimed at reducing expenditures, by rationalizing spending and stopping spending outside the budgeted items, reports Annahar daily.

Sources indicated talking about raising the cost of living allowance, which is currently estimated between 120 dinars and 220 or 250 dinars, is unrealistic, especially since the total annual cost is estimated at 520 million dinars, stressing that any increase in the premium will cost the state’s general budget an amount similar to that and this will put a burden on the treasury especially since the current increase in oil prices is dependent on the geopolitical events that the world is currently going through with the Russian-Ukrainian crisis.

Sources said that the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee had previously approved the proposal to reconsider the allowance for the cost of living allowance, and increase it by 100 percent, to 240 dinars instead of 120. However, the government did not take any action in this regard.

The sources explained that raising the cost of living is not currently a priority for the government, as it is working within the framework of 3 main tracks – are reducing budget waste for unnecessary items, repricing services and goods provided to the investment and commercial sector, in addition to re-pricing state owned lands, and collecting State dues. It is worth noting that the general budget has suffered for many years from the crisis of almost total dependence on oil revenues as a major source of budget revenues to the extent that in one year its percentage reached 94 urging the government to take serious steps to reduce dependence on oil revenues as much as possible by increasing non-oil revenues and rationalizing government subsidies.

 In the index for the current year of the best countries for expatriates, Kuwait ranked behind the Gulf countries as well as globally. The UAE ranked first among the Arab and Gulf countries, followed by the Sultanate of Oman, reports Al-Seyassah daily. According to a report issued by the German “Internations” network, which specializes in monitoring the lives of expatriates outside their countries, the UAE ranked first regionally and sixth globally in the list of the best countries for expatriates to live.

It is also considered among the top 10 destinations for expatriates to work. The Sultanate of Oman ranked second in the Arab world and the Gulf region, and 12th globally in the index, which includes 52 countries.

On the Arab and Gulf levels, Bahrain ranked third, followed by Qatar in fourth place, Saudi Arabia in fifth, and finally Kuwait, which fell to the bottom of the global ranking among 52 countries. The index was based on a survey of 12,000 people around the world, covering issues including the extent of expatriates’ satisfaction with quality of life, ease of settling in and working abroad, and personal finance in their country of residence, and others. In addition, expatriates rated their financial resources, especially in terms of the prices and the quality of housing, food and health care.

The labor market for expatriates who are sixty years and above continue to bleed because of the cost of renewing the work permits, which exceed 800 dinars, reports Al-Qabas daily. A recent report issued by the Public Authority for Manpower, in cooperation with the Central Administration of Statistics, revealed more than 4,000 expatriates, 60 years and above have left the country during the first quarter of this year. The government report pointed out that the decline hit all types of workers from this category of workers, whether university graduates or holders of a high school certificate, while their numbers stabilized until last April at 65,000 resident workers.

Employment
The employment of 60 years and above – holders of a general secondary certificate and below – pays large fees in exchange for renewing work permits, residence and health insurance. As for the sectors that witnessed a decline in the labor market, the report pointed out that the sector of administrative and support services activities was the highest in the total number of departures in 3 months, with a decrease of 1,423 workers, followed by the construction sector, which lost 792 workers.

The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector also lost 739 workers, in addition to 257 workers who left the accommodation and food services sector, and 103 others who left permanently after working for years in the manufacturing sector. With regard to those below 60 years workers, the report indicated the “wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles witnessed an increase of 3,406 workers, followed by the professional, scientific and technical activities sector with 2016 workers.” Changes in the labor market in the first quarter of 2022 – of the 1.3 million workers in the private sector 1,423 left the administrative services sector, 792 workers left the construction sector, 3,406 workers joined the wholesale trade and vehicle repair sector and 1,499 workers entered the education sector.

Most of the retail companies have moved their sales activities from traditional stores to the Internet in response to the effects of the pandemic. This shift towards the digital world was accompanied by the emergence of strong opportunities in the field of e-marketing, especially marketing through social media, reports Al-Anba daily. Over the past few years the social media has increasingly played a vital role in the retail sector. In fact, sources believe in one in ten purchase their needs via social media, demonstrating the decline of the traditional retail site in front of the modern digital point of purchase. The results of the “Connected Consumer” report revealed that 55% of consumers prefer digital channels in order to interact with brands, and this percentage has jumped to 65% among young consumers of Generation Z.

Online revenue
Social media has allowed companies of all sizes to reach new audiences, increase their following and increase their online revenue. This trend will maintain its momentum, as 61% of dealers and consumers plan to shop more via social media over the next three years, according to the results of the fifth report from ‘Salesforce’ on the status of the “connected consumer.” Moreover, the report showed that 56 percent of consumers shop more today on social media than last year. This shift in shopping habits highlights the importance of social media as a growing source of shopper traffic and revenue for online businesses, as these media have become widely used as tools to increase profits.

Terry Nicholl, Vice President, Middle East, Africa and Europe at Salesforce, believes that forward-looking retail companies should make sure to boost their investments in social media to ensure that their businesses can keep pace with the future, but about 45% of trade managers feel unprepared. To move forward on the path of leveraging emerging digital channels such as metaverse, tik tok and modern online social storefronts. The question for many is, where does the road begin? In order to target the right audience, companies first need to know where they are located. Determining the location of the audience that is shopping through digital channels is only the first step, as companies then need to identify the platforms used by the target audience and the places they are likely to buy from, while making sure that the company’s brand, its communication messages and services are consistent across other digital channels.

Many citizens and residents felt an earthquake early on Saturday morning around the nation, mostly in the Ahmedi area. The Kuwait National Seismological Network reports that at 2:36 am on Saturday, a 2.9-magnitude earthquake was felt south of Ahmadi.

The network also stated that the earthquake took place 8 kilometres beneath the surface.

Health sources said that the new Farwaniya Hospital, which is to be taken over soon, will be dedicated to treating citizens only, providing integrated health care and service similar to what is available at the Jaber Hospital. The sources told Al-Rai that the hospital will serve citizens of the Farwaniya Governorate, and will include all medical specialties.

The operational plan will be in stages as was done at the Jaber Hospital. The hospital will include advanced operating rooms, internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery and maternity wards, and specialized wards, as well. The services will also include for the first time in Kuwait, an integrated physiotherapy and rehabilitation department.

The sources explained that the healthcare for expatriates of the Farwaniya region will be temporary through the old hospital, until the opening of the health insurance hospitals, which will provide care for the largest part of them, while the remaining segment of them working in the government sector will be distributed them among other health facilities in a fair and practical manner, that does not put pressure on any of the ministry’s facilities.

Considering the series of heinous crimes that have spread fear and anxiety among people in the past days and weeks, the time has come to not be silent about the matter any longer. In an effort to put an end to the nightmare of drug addiction and drug trafficking that has become a concern for citizens and expatriates, the Ministry of Interior is working on taking a set of strict measures and decisions in the next stage.

According to well-informed security sources, the ministry has issued instructions to expel any Gulf national or resident who is proven to have used narcotic substances. This comes as an urgent step to reduce the repercussions of this phenomenon on society by taking all necessary legal measures against these abusers and preventing them from entering the country again. The sources said, “After the shocking and horrific rise in the number of drug users of Gulf, Arab and foreign nationalities as per the latest statistics, the ministry has started expelling them from the country after confirming and verifying their use of narcotic substances through tests conducted on them to prove their abuse. Kuwait will not allow them to reside on its land, as they pose a real danger to the youth, and their presence threatens to spread the scourge of the abuse and promotion of these drugs.

There are instructions not to allow intermediaries to interfere at all in the matter and to hold legally accountable any employee who is negligent in their work”. The sources explained that the Drug Control General Department has a complete record of the drug users and promoters of narcotic substances who have been released from prison after the implementation of the penalties. They are under the microscope and control of the combatants, and anyone among them who return to the abuse of narcotic substances will be referred to the court again, and then will be imprisoned.

It is unfortunate that a large number of drug users and promoters of narcotic substances did not quit this scourge and returned to prison again. This is because they quickly returned to drug abuse and trafficking after they were released from prisons when their sentences ended. The sources highlighted the issuance of strict instructions to seize drug users, refer them to the concerned authorities, take all legal measures against them, and prosecute drug dealers. They called on citizens and residents to report drug dealers by calling the hotline No. 1884141 of the National Anti- Narcotics Committee, or the emergency No. 112, affirming that the reports will be treated with utmost confidentiality and secrecy. By Munif Nayef Al-Seyassah Staff and Agencies

The Kuwait Meteorological Department expected the country to be affected by very hot air masses, with moderate northwesterly winds that will be active during the day on Thursday, causing dust at times, especially over open areas. Head of the Marine Forecasting Department at the department, Yasser Al-Balushi, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that this is due to the extension of India’s seasonal depression, which supplies the region with these very hot air masses, but the atmosphere is witnessing some changes, starting in the evening, as the country is affected by a relatively humid air mass, especially on the coastal areas.

The effect of the very hot air masses continues and causing dust at times, especially over open areas.

Regarding the weather Thursday, Al-Balushi stated that it will be very hot, with northwesterly winds to fluctuating light to moderate speed, sometimes active, ranging between 12 and 42 kilometers per hour, causing dust on open areas, and the expected maximum temperatures between 45 and 47 degrees Celsius, and the sea will be light to moderate. The waves are between 1 and 5 feet high. He stated that the weather in the evening will be hot and relatively humid on the coastal areas, and the winds will fluctuate to northwesterly, light to moderate, with speed between 8 and 35 kilometers per hour, and the expected minimum temperature is between 34 and 37 degrees Celsius, and the sea will be light to moderate, and waves and heights between 1 and 4 feet.

Maximum temperatures
He added that the weather on Friday will be relatively hot and humid over the coastal areas, with northeasterly to fluctuating winds, light to moderate, with speeds between 8 and 35 kilometers per hour, and the expected maximum temperatures between 44 and 46 degrees Celsius, and the sea will be light to moderate, and waves will rise between 1 and 4 feet. He indicated that the weather Friday night will be hot and relatively humid on the coastal areas, with light to moderate southeasterly winds, with speeds between 8 and 28 kilometers per hour, and the expected minimum temperature between 34 and 36 degrees Celsius, and the sea will be light to moderate in waves and a height between 1 and 3 feet.

Al-Balushi said that the weather during the day on Saturday will be very hot, with northwesterly to southeasterly light to moderate winds, with speeds between 10 and 30 kilometers per hour, and the expected maximum temperatures between 45 and 47 degrees Celsius, and the sea will be light to moderate, and its height is between 1 and 3 feet. He pointed out that the weather on Saturday night will be hot to hot and relatively humid on the coastal areas, with northwesterly winds turning to light to moderate southeasterly, with speeds between 8 and 28 kilometers per hour, and the expected minimum temperature between 35 and 37 degrees Celsius, and the sea being light to moderate in waves and height is between 1 and 3 feet. (KUNA)

Since the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) closed the zoo in March 2020 “until further notice”, as a precautionary measure to prevent the outbreak of the corona virus and limit its spread at that time, the authority has not announced any specific date for its reopening, which was receiving about 170,000 visitors annually before the pandemic, from all segments of society and age groups, and was considered one of the most important tourist and recreational facilities in the country, reports Al-Qabas daily.

The daily said, the citizens now demand the restoration of this recreational outlet and its reopening to visitors, pointing out that it is not logical to close recreational facilities without announcing a timetable for their reopening. After doing away with the restrictions related to the repercussions of the pandemic months ago and resuming most recreational activities in parks, complexes, malls, restaurants and others, it has become necessary to know the fate of the zoo, which has an area of 180,000 square meters, and is rich in many types of animals and birds and reptiles, in addition to a tram that takes visitors around the zoo moving on the green track. The zoo on the first and second days of any holiday in the past received about 2,000 visitors.

According to informed sources, the opening of the zoo again will take some time, given the need to restore and develop its facilities, especially animal cages, electrical installations, toilets and infrastructure in general. The sources pointed out the completion of these works require time between 6 to 12 months, in the event that these works are completed immediately. The sources added that the park contains 190 species of animals, birds, reptiles and mammals, with a total of about 1,500 animals, and these animals were not affected by any diseases or losses during the period of closing the park more than two years ago, indicating that this is due to the conclusion of a contract with a company to supply food inside cages throughout those years. The sources pointed out that the zoo is awaiting more government attention, to ensure the opening of this recreation within a short time, noting that the documentary cycle between government agencies may be one of the reasons for the slow completion of its maintenance work.

In light of the fact that the current prices are among the lowest in the world, Al-Anba daily reports that the government does not intend to increase fuel prices in order to match international prices.

Sources say the Government Subsidy Review Committee, headed by the Ministry of Finance, does not plan to discuss fuel price increases. According to him, the committee submits its recommendations and decisions to the Council of Ministers; reviews market conditions to compare them with subsidy values; and evaluates subsidies in order to determine whether they should be increased, reduced, or granted to specific groups.

The Legal and Financial Committee of the Council was tasked with reviewing the latest draft ordinance that the municipality of Kuwait had prepared on public hygiene and trash transportation. The new proposal includes severe measures to ensure public cleanliness, such as fining offenders up to 500 dinars for hanging clothing or other items carelessly on the streets. The proposal also forbade grilling in public places such as sidewalks, streets, squares, public parks, waterfronts, and state-owned properties, unless it is clearly stated that grilling is permitted there. Anyone who disobeys this instruction will be fined a maximum of 5,000 dinars and a minimum of over 2000 dinars.

Additionally, washing carpets and furniture while facing the street is prohibited due to the draught. It makes it against the law for owners of abandoned and damaged vehicles to leave them in public areas like squares and public spaces, including boats, homes, and mobile prefab chalets.

The Ministry of Health has established the Pharmacovigilance Office under the Drug Control Sector as part of its efforts to improve health care and drug safety, reports Al-Rai daily.

The daily obtained a copy of the tasks assigned to the office as follows: receive reports on the side effects and quality of pharmaceutical preparations, evaluate reports and indicators, monitor the marketing of registered drugs, continuous assessment of the safety and quality of pharmaceutical preparations, monitor and evaluate the side effects of pharmaceutical preparations to find out their causes and present solutions, monitor relevant news from international bodies and organizations, take appropriate decisions regarding the safety of pharmaceutical preparations in circulation, and follow up reports on adverse effects and problems related to the quality of all health-related products like medicines, medical, pharmaceutical, vegetable and veterinary preparations, medical devices and equipments.

The Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) revealed that 1.437 million citizens and residents live in only 8 residential areas, representing 31% of the country’s total population. A recent report by PACI related to the historical data of the regions and the extent of the increase and decrease of population in 180 residential and agricultural areas until the end of last year, of which Al-Qabas obtained a copy of, showed that the Salmiya district is the most populous, with a total of 282,541 people, followed by the Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh. The report pointed to the displacement of Jleeb during the past year, which resulted in 56,779 people leaving the region and moving to other regions, where the total population until the end of 2021 was about 271,000, after they were close to 328,000 in 2019.

The figures showed the Sabah Al- Ahmad city has 60,257 residents after the district opened the doors for residents in 2015 and as for the West Abdullah Al-Mubarak district where the population registration began in 2020 has 1,257 registered residents. The sources added, there were 10,608 people registered in the Northwest of Sulaibikhat district, where people started moving in, in 2015 and until last year, as well as approximately 10,000 people in the suburb of Abu Fatira, which entered on the list of residential areas in 2009.

It was clear, according to the PACI report, the noticeable decrease in the population numbers in many areas, including Anjafa, Al-Bida, Al-Maseela, Abu Al-Hassaniya, Al-Khairan Al-Sakani, where the numbers do not exceed a thousand people; while 652 people were registered in the Al-Bida region, 515 in the Residential Khiran, 841 in Al-Maseela and 360 in Anjafa. Civil information data indicated that approximately 500,000 people live in the Jahra Governorate in comparison with the data of other regions in the country’s governorates it turns out that the Jahra regions are overcrowded, especially the city of Saad Al-Abdullah, which houses approximately 115,000 people.

It is noteworthy to mention Taima and Sulaibiya districts have 119,000 people distributed over 10,000 plots, which is a high number compared to the total housing provided by the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) for the purpose of benefiting the owners of housing requests, as a temporary housing alternative. Civil Information data showed 27 people are registered among the residents of the ‘Sulaibikhat Cemetery’ area, a majority of those registered as residents in the cemetery area are workers affiliated to the Kuwait Municipality, and they work in professions related to burial and washing the dead.

The Ministry of Information has confirmed that holding musical concerts in public places must be in line with the law in accordance with the ministerial decision issued in this regard, it reports Al-Rai daily. The daily quoting security sources stressed that any violation of these requirements exposes the violators to legal accountability.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Information, Anwar Murad, said that the ministry “immediately took the necessary measures against the company organizing a concert that was held in a hotel on the second day of Eid al-Adha.

In this context, MP Ahmad Mutee said “after contacting the Minister of Information regarding holding of the concert contrary to Islamic law, deterrent measures were taken and the organizing company’s license was withdrawn.” He added, “Everyone who contributed and dared to hold this party, which is against the morals of our conservative Kuwaiti society, will be held accountable and deterred.”

At examination centers affiliated with the Ministry of Health, pilgrims returning from Holy Land were asked to conduct PCR tests within three days of their arrival.

There are examination centers open between 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Jaber Bridge and at the Jaber Al Ahmad Hospital. There are also private centers available.

The Immune app will display the follow-up results of PCR tests. Within 10 days of returning back home, seek medical attention if you exhibit any symptoms of COVID infection.

Shri Sibi George, the Indian ambassador to Kuwait, is most likely to be named as the new ambassador to Japan. Sibi George will take the place of Sanjay Kumar Verma, the Indian ambassador to Japan who is relocating to Canada, according to Indian media reports.

A formal announcement has not yet been made, though. The new appointment in Kuwait received no mention in the reports, either. Both the Indian diaspora and Kuwaiti citizens praised Sibi George, who established new standards for the Indian Embassy in Kuwait. He had altered the Embassy's appearance to make it the second home of the more than 10 lakh Indians who now reside in Kuwait.

Sibi George's departure from Kuwait will be a big loss for the neighbourhood since he launched numerous new programs for community welfare and promoted Indian among the people. Sibi George has previously worked in Tehran, Riyadh, Switzerland, Cairo, Doha, and Washington, D.C.

 Kuwait’s imports of perfumes and its preparations amounted to 219.6 million dinars, an increase of 21%, with a value of 37.969 million dinars during 2021, compared to 191.367 million dinars in the year 2020, reports Al-Anba daily.

A recent statistics show that Kuwait’s imports of essential oils, extracts of resinous materials, perfumes, decoctions or cosmetics (toilet) amounted to 53.34 million dinars during the first quarter of last year, and 54.22 million dinars in the second quarter and 52.8 million dinars in the third quarter, and 59.25 million dinars in the fourth quarter of the year.

In a development that reflects some relative improvement, Kuwait ranked 14th in the Arab world in terms of the flow of foreign direct investments during 2021, according to the Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman), reports Al- Seyassah daily. In a report issued this week, it confirmed that, “Kuwait attracted about KD 198 million during last year, a growth rate of 239.8 percent, compared to 2020, which witnessed the exit of investments of about KD 142 million”.

Despite the modest share of Kuwait in the total inflows to the Arab countries, which amounted to 0.4 percent, Dhaman clarified in its annual monitoring that Kuwait ranked third with seven percent of the total inflows issued by Arab countries in the year 2021. With regard to foreign direct investment balances issued by Arab countries, it revealed that Kuwait came in fourth place with a share of 6.7 percent. It also acquired 13.6 percent of the volume of crossborder merger and acquisition deals that the Arab countries witnessed during 2021.

Dhaman highlighted that foreign direct investment flows from Arab countries to the world rose at a rate of 46 percent to $ 52 billion, with Saudi Arabia and the UAE contributing about 90 percent of those flows, with shares of 46.1 percent and 43.5 percent respectively. It affirmed significant increases in foreign direct investment inflows to the Arab countries by 42 percent, to reach about $53 billion in 2021, and to represent its share of 6.3 percent of the total incoming flows to developing countries and 3.3 percent of the total global flows amounting to about $ 1.58 trillion.

Flydubai, a low-cost airline, has halted service to Sri Lanka because of the political and economic instability in the South Asian nation. The airline promised to issue refunds to those customers who have purchased tickets.

From July 10 until further notice, Flydubai flights between Dubai and Colombo Airport (CMB) have been cancelled. We will keep a close eye on the situation in Sri Lanka, according to a flydubai spokesperson's statement on Monday.

Sri Lanka is a well-liked tourist location, and local airlines transport plenty of people from Dubai to Colombo. In April, the low-cost airline flydubai listed Colombo as one of its most popular destinations and reported an increase in flight demand.

However, despite fuel and food shortages in the nation, the acute political and economic turmoil is driving UAE and other airlines to halt flights to Sri Lanka. Since there are hardly any dollars available to import food and fuel, Sri Lanka has been in upheaval. The government is held responsible by the people of Sri Lanka for the severe corruption and nepotism that caused the economy to collapse.

The leaders of the South Asian nation were compelled to leave their official houses as a result of widespread protests. A spokeswoman for Flydubai stated in a statement that passengers who have made reservations to take these flights will be contacted and given the option of receiving a refund. The statement apologised for the disruption to the travel plans of our passengers.

The airline, which has its base in Dubai, announced last month that it is gearing up for a record-breaking summer due to an increase in demand for travel following the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the course of the airline's busiest summer ever, it anticipates carrying three million passengers. It predicted that flydubai's network of 102 destinations will have an average of 8,500 departures each month, which is more than pre-pandemic levels.