Newswatch

KUWAIT CITY: Kuwait ranked 45th out of 156 countries in the 2018 World Happiness Report released Wednesday by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations.

The countries’ level of happiness is determined through their GDP per capita, social support, healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices, generosity and perceptions of corruption.

Among the GCC countries, Oman is the happiest country ranking 16th globally, followed by the United Arab Emirates which ranked 20th, Qatar ranked 32nd, Saudi Arabia ranked 33rd and Bahrain ranked 43rd.

WASHINGTON:

Security researchers said Tuesday they discovered flaws in chips made by Advanced Micro Devices that could allow hackers to take over computers and networks.

Israeli-based security firm CTS Labs published its research showing “multiple critical security vulnerabilities and exploitable manufacturer backdoors” in AMD chips.

CTS itemized 13 flaws, saying they “have the potential to put organizations at significantly increased risk of cyberattacks.”

The report comes weeks after Intel disclosed similar hardware-based flaws dubbed Meltdown and Spectre, sparking widespread computer security concerns and a congressional inquiry.

CTS said the newly discovered flaws could compromise AMD’s new chips that handle applications in the enterprise, industrial and aerospace sectors, as well as consumer products. (AFP)

ANKARA:

Turkish President Tayyip on Wednesday threatened to soon crush militants in northern Iraq, after his foreign minister last week said Ankara and Baghdad would carry out a joint offensive against Kurdish militants in Iraq.

“We are checking the terror nests in northern Iraq at every chance. Soon, we will

stomp very strongly on the terrorists there,” Erdogan told local administrators in Ankara. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said last week that Turkey and Iraq’s central government could start a joint military operation against Kurdish militants after Iraqi parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2018. (RTRS)

BAGHDAD:

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered an “immediate” investigation into the killing of a senior military officer by “undisciplined individuals” at a checkpoint north of Baghdad.

Brig Gen Shareef Ismaeel alMurshidi, a brigade commander whose forces are tasked with protecting al-Abadi and Baghdad’s Green Zone, was shot dead Tuesday at a checkpoint outside Samarra. State-sanctioned Shiite militias play a large role in securing the town, which is home to a major Shiite shrine.

The statement issued by al-Abadi’s office late Tuesday did not provide further details about the incident. (AP)

ISTANBUL:

The bodies returned to Turkey on Wednesday of 10 of the 11 women killed when a private jet crashed in Iran while returning from a pre-wedding party in the United Arab Emirates, a tragedy that shocked Turks.

The women attended the hen party of Mina Basaran, the daughter of Turkish businessman Huseyin Basaran, and were returning home when the private jet crashed into the Zagros mountains.

Mina Basaran, 28, and many of her seven girlfriends who accompanied her on the trip had successful careers with some already starting families. The disaster prompted an outpouring of grief in Turkey. (AFP)

BEIRUT:

Lebanese author and feminist Emily Nasrallah has died following a struggle with cancer. She was 87.

Her daughter Maha Nasrallah says she passed away in Beirut on Tuesday night.

Her writing touched on women’s determination, migration and the terror of Lebanon’s 1975-1990 Civil War. She was the author of several novels and children’s books, and was awarded regional and international prizes for her work. (AP)

LAHORE:

At least seven people were killed and 20 wounded late Wednesday in a motorcycle bomb attack on a police check-post near Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, officials said.

The blast took place in the suburb of Raiwind in Lahore, the main town of central Punjab province, near a mosque hosting a religious congregation.

“At least seven people including some police officials have been killed, the bomb was planted in a motorbike,” Jam Sajjad, a spokesman for emergency services, told AFP. (AFP)

Shahid Waheed, a senior government official in Lahore confirmed the attack and said the police check-post was the target.

“More than 20 people have been wounded and taken to hospitals,” Waheed added.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. (AFP)