KUWAIT CITY // The British Embassy in Kuwait has partially closed until at least Sunday because of a terrorist threat, an embassy official said yesterday.
"We are aware of an increased terrorist threat," said Paul Gaskell, the Deputy Head of Mission, without giving details. "We don't take these threats lightly."
The embassy has suspended some services, such as issuing visas, until officials review the danger after the weekend.
Travel advice posted on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's website says services had been suspended since Wednesday.
"Whilst the threat is targeted against the embassy itself, we cannot rule out threats against other British interests in Kuwait," the statement says.
"We therefore advise that British organisations and businesses in Kuwait review the security procedures they have in place."
The travel advice states although there is a "general threat from terrorism" in Kuwait "the overall level of the advice has not changed; there are no travel restrictions in place".
About 6,000 British expatriates live and work in Kuwait, according to the embassy's website. About 50 British companies operate in sectors such as oil, defence, construction and shipping.
British teachers are commonly found staffing the former protectorate's English-language schools and British officers help train Kuwaiti forces.
Kuwait has not seen a major terrorist incident since 2005, when security forces fought a gun battle with Al Qaeda-linked militants in a residential area of the capital.
In 2009, six Kuwaitis were arrested for suspected membership of a cell linked to Al Qaeda. The group was allegedly planning to attack several targets including Camp Arifjan, the largest US military base in the country.
jcalderwood@thenational.ae
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Usain Bolt's World Championships record
2007 Osaka
200m Silver
4x100m relay Silver
2009 Berlin
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2011 Daegu
100m Disqualified in final for false start
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2013 Moscow
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
2015 Beijing
100m Gold
200m Gold
4x100m relay Gold
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20Profile
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New schools in Dubai
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Biblioasis
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants