Saudi Crown Prince

reassures of King’s health

CAIRO: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman offered reassurances about the health of King Salman during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, state media reported. The royal court said on Sunday the 88-year-old monarch would undergo medical tests for a lung inflammation. “The crown prince reassures everyone of the health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (the king) ... praying to God Almighty to bless him with a speedy recovery and to grant him good and sound health,” the state news agency (SPA) said on X. — Reuters

Immigration boosts UK

population by 1 percent

LODON: The UK population rose by a record one percent in the year to mid-2023 and by 1.2 million over a two-year period, with immigration the key driver, official data showed on Tuesday. An estimated 68.3 million people lived in UK in mid-2023 — an annual increase of 662,400 or 1.0 percent — according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the UK’s statistical institute. It is the largest annual percentage and numerical increase since comparable data began in 1971 and comes with the UK government facing political pressure over migration levels, as well as the provision of housing and services. — AFP

Elon Musk ‘all in’ for

Trump in US election

LOS ANGELES: Elon Musk is ramping up his public support of Donald Trump, telling Tucker Carlson in a conversation streamed Monday that he is “all in” on the Republican presidential candidate. “My view is that if Trump doesn’t win this election, it’s the last election we’re going to have,” the entrepreneur, who is from South Africa, told Carlson. Musk, who has increasingly courted controversy in recent years, said he believed “illegals” — migrants — were being deliberately transported to a handful of key states, where if they are eventually granted citizenship, they would become Democrat voters. — AFP