The Kuwaiti shooter Sarah Al-Hawal took the first place and won the gold medal in the “Trap” competition of the Grand Prix Shotgun championship in Konya, Turkiye. Al-Hawal dedicated this win to the Kuwaiti political leadership and the Shooting Club for their unlimited support for the sport. In a phone call with (KUNA) on Friday, Al-Hawal said that she always aspires to raise the flag of Kuwait in international forums, hoping to win more championships at international and local levels.

Al-Hawal has accomplished many international and local victories, and achieved first place in several local and Asian championships. The International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Grand Prix Shotgun started in the Turkish city, Konya, on 13 June, with participation of more than 100 athletes from 19 countries, and will continue until June 22nd. Meanwhile Al-Hawal along with her teammate in the mixed doubles event won the silver medal. Shooter Nasser Al-Miqled won the silver medal of the men’s trap singles. – KUNA

Kuwait is home to more than 217,000 millionaires, making it the second largest country in the Middle East.

More than 217,000 millionaires reside in Kuwait, making it the second largest country in the Middle East for millionaires.

Kuwait ranks 18th globally in the number of millionaires, according to the World Wealth Report 2022 published by Capgemini Research Institute for Financial Services. The number of Kuwaiti millionaires increased by 6.1 percent from 205,000 in 2020 to 217,000 in 2021. 

According to the global ranking, Kuwait is following Saudi Arabia, which saw an increase of 6.8 percent in millionaires from 210,000 to 224,000. Saudi Arabia is ranked 17th globally, followed by Kuwait.

According to the report, the Middle Eastern Middle class has grown by 5.5% while their wealth has grown by 6,3% mainly because of technology and a recovery in crude oil prices. In response to a rise in the stock market, the wealthiest people's incomes increased by 7.8% to 8%.

US, Japan, Germany, and China were the top-four countries in 2021, accounting for 63.6 per cent of the global high net worth population (HNWI), up from 62.8 per cent in 2020.

Global population growth and wealth growth were led by ultra-high-net-worth individuals ($30m+), respectively, at 9.6% and 8.1%. Those living in the Millionaires Next Door ($1-5m) group grew at a slower rate (7.7%) and gained the least wealth (7.8%).

The population and wealth of the Mid-Tier Millionaires ($5-30m) increased to 8.5% and 8.4%, respectively./agencies

According to statistics released by the Operations and Traffic department, 87 juveniles were arrested for driving the cars of their relatives without valid driving licenses. Their cases have been referred to the appropriate authority.

In the report, 30,217 miscellaneous violations were issued during the 11th through the 17th of this month, with 71 violators handling serious violations referred to the Traffic Department./agencies

Bosnia Herzegovina plays a key role in the region's stability, and Türkiye will not allow a new conflict, said the Turkish foreign minister on Friday.

Mevlut Cavusoglu's remarks came during a joint news conference with his Bosnian counterpart Jasmina Turkovic in the capital Sarajevo.

"Bosnia and Herzegovina is in a key position in terms of regional stability, Therefore, we cannot allow a new conflict here in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Everyone must act responsibly in this regard," said Cavusoglu.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan desires to hold the Türkiye-Bosnia Herzegovina-Serbia trilateral summit at the relevant time, he added.

"During our contacts in Belgrade, we saw that Serbian authorities are also ready for this summit, as well as Mr. (Serbian President Aleksandar) Vucic."

Cavusoglu on Wednesday met with his Serbian counterpart Nikola Selakovic in Belgrade.

They exchanged views on the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.

Cavusoglu reiterated Türkiye's strong support for Bosnia Herzegovina and the region.

"We will continue to strongly support the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as we have done so far.

"We will continue to pursue our efforts for the stability and development of Bosnia and Herzegovina in an inclusive way. We think that these efforts will contribute positively to the welfare of all countries in the region, he noted.

Turkovic, for her part, said Cavusoglu's visit comes at an important moment for Bosnia and the visit is an indication of the continuity of relations based on mutual respect.

"The stability and development of Bosnia Herzegovina is key to the stability of the entire region," Turkovic said.

Cavusoglu is currently on a Balkan tour. So far, he has visited Serbia, North Macedonia, and Croatia, and his next destination is Kosovo./aa

Türkiye broke records in exports to eight countries in May, according to data compiled on Saturday by Anadolu Agency from Turkish Exporters Assembly, an umbrella organization of the country's exporters associations.

Senegal, the Dominican Republic, North Macedonia, Rwanda, Tajikistan, Cameroon, Costa Rica, and Montenegro are among the countries to which Türkiye has exported a record number of goods.

Türkiye's exports to some countries skyrocketed year-on-year, with some seeing an increase of more than 200%.

While Türkiye's "alternative markets strategy" has been providing successful results, its total exports increased 15.2% annually to more than $18.9 billion in May, compared to the same month of last year.

In May, Türkiye's annual exports to Senegal jumped 190% to $87.2 million, soared 629% to $71.2 million to the Dominican Republic, and increased 87% to $66.5 million to North Macedonia.

Annual exports to Rwanda skyrocketed 821% to $32 million in May, while they increased 76.5% to Tajikistan to reach $31.5 million, and rose 211% to Cameroon, hitting $30.8 million.

In the same month, the country's annual exports to Costa Rica soared 403% to $28.4 million, while exports to Montenegro jumped 200% to $28.2 million.

The steel industry saw the largest amount in exports to five of the eight countries.

Steel exports to Senegal amounted to $41.7 million in May, accounting for nearly half of total exports to the West African country. Steel exports to the Dominican Republic stood at $61.3 million – a share of 86% in total exports.

Steel exports to North Macedonia totaled $25.8 million last month, and almost $15.4 million to Cameroon, accounting for half of the total exports to that country.

Steel exports to Costa Rica were $26.7 million in May – a 94% share of total exports to the country.

The same commodity exports to Rwanda stood at $200,000 last month, with just a 0.6% share, whereas it was $269,000 to Tajikistan for a 0.85% share, and $291,600 to Montenegro with a 1% share.

Istanbul was the top Turkish city making the highest amount of exports to those eight countries.

Companies in Istanbul exported $74.7 million worth of goods to Senegal in May, having an 85.6% share in Türkiye's exports to the country.

Istanbul firms' goods exports to the Dominican Republic stood at $62.3 million, with an 87.5% share, and it was $27.3 million for North Macedonia for a 41% share.

The city's exports to Rwanda last month came in at $29.1 million – a 90.9% share.

There was $13.8 million worth of goods exported to Tajikistan from Istanbul in May for a 43.8% share, $18.8 million to Cameroon with a 61% share, $26.2 million to Costa Rica with a massive 92.2% share, and $24.4 million to Montenegro for an 86.5% share./aa

 Iran's former top military commander Qassem Soleimani was killed to stop a plot against 500 Americans, according to former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"General Soleimani was engaged in a plot to kill another 500 Americans. We had the opportunity to take down that plot, and we did," Pompeo said in an interview with Al Arabiya published Friday.

Asked about the circumstances behind the Soleimani’s killing despite the warnings, he said: "Much like the warnings that said if you want to withdraw from the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action - Iran nuclear deal) there will be war, and much like the warnings that said if the United States moves its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem there will be war, there were warnings that said if you strike at General Soleimani there will be war."

"Well, we didn't just do one of those or two of those. We did each of those three things and there was no war," he said.

Asked whether it was a fast decision made by the government, he said "we had been working to protect our assets in Iraq, our people in Syria and in fact, Americans all across the world for an awfully long time."

"We had been watching what the Quds Force was up to," he said. "And so in that sense, it was a project that we had been engaged in continuously and then we had this opportunity to stop what was an imminent attack on US resources, US assets, US people and ... the president made the decision to just do that."

Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike Jan. 3, 2020.

- Iranian regime 'evil theocrats' aiming to destroy US, Israel

Pompeo said the Iranian regime is made up of "evil theocrats" who are aiming to destroy the US and Israel.

"We know who the Iranian regime is. These are evil theocrats intent on the destruction of the nation of Israel and the United States of America. We ought not to be negotiating to figure out how much money to give them in exchange for an ephemeral promise for just a moment to slow down their enrichment and weapons program," he said, regarding US President Joe Biden's approach to Iran and a possible return to the Iran nuclear deal.

Talks between Iran and world powers in Vienna to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, have been stalled amid key disagreements between Tehran and Washington.

The US walked out of the deal in May 2018 and reinstated sanctions on Iran. In response, Tehran ramped up its uranium enrichment process from 3.65% stipulated in the deal to 60%.

"We know they (Iran) lied about the history of that program the first time. Why would we negotiate with someone who has lied about their nuclear program is beyond me," said Pompeo.

Regarding a resolution adopted by the UN nuclear agency urging Iran to fulfill its obligation to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Pompeo said it was "good" but should have been done "months ago."

Iran has been "in violation of the NPT for an awfully long time," he said. "The question isn’t what resolution someone will sign at a cocktail party. It’s what is the enforcement mechanism that one is prepared to use in order to ensure that Iran comes back into compliance with the NPT."/aa

US gasoline prices dove below $5 per gallon level on Saturday, after American crude oil prices posted a 6% daily loss with recession fears and weak oil demand.

The national average stood at $4.989 per gallon (3.785 liters) for regular gasoline, down from $5 the previous day and $5.004 a week ago, according to the latest figures from the American Automobile Association (AAA).

The latest price, however, is still a 9.2% increase from $4.567 last month and a massive 62.3% gain from $3.073 a year ago, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency.

While the price of premium gasoline stood at a national average of $5.684 per gallon, the average price of diesel was at $5.811 in the US as of Saturday.

The highest price was recorded in the state of California at $6.408, followed by Nevada at $5.656.

The price decline came after American oil benchmark Brent crude dove 5.2% to $113.61 per barrel on Friday, while the international oil benchmark Brent crude plummeted over 6% to $110.48 a barrel.

The US Federal Reserve and some of the central banks' aggressive monetary tightening around the world have intensified fears of recession and weak oil demand worries.

High gasoline prices have been increasing inflationary pressures for months in the US, where annual consumer prices in May climbed 8.6% – its largest gain since December 1981./aa