Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the Emir of oil-rich Kuwait, died on Saturday after three years in power, the royal court said. He was 86 years old.
“With great sadness and grief, we mourn the death of Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of the State of Kuwait,” a statement broadcast on Kuwaiti state television said.
Before the announcement state television had cut its regular programming and switched to broadcasts of Quran recitations.