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KUWAIT: The new service enables a voter to inquire about his or her registration number and print a card with all the information needed. —KUNA
KUWAIT: The new service enables a voter to inquire about his or her registration number and print a card with all the information needed. —KUNA

New automated querying service introduced ahead of elections

US rapper Wiz Khalifa has been charged with illegal drug possession after performing at a seaside festival in Romania, where he allegedly consumed cannabis on stage, prosecutors said Sunday. The hip-hop star was headlining at the “Beach, Please!” festival in the Romanian village of Costinesti on the shore of the Black Sea, when he got caught with the drug early Sunday, prosecutors say.

Cannabis is considered a “risk drug” in Romania, and possession is punishable by up to ten years in prison. Videos posted on social media show the rapper being escorted from the venue by Romanian authorities. “During a performance at a music festival held in the resort of Costinesti, the accused was found to have possessed more than 18 grams of cannabis and to have consumed (on stage) another quantity in the form of a handmade cigarette,” Romanian anti-organized crime prosecutors (DIICOT) said in a statement on Sunday.

A source close to the investigation confirmed to AFP that Wiz Khalifa, together with other people, had been taken in for questioning early on Sunday. Khalifa was subsequently charged, but not kept in custody, the source added. The investigation into the musician is ongoing, according to prosecutors. Khalifa often refers to the delights of marijuana in his lyrics. Legal cannabis companies in the US have drawn celebrity funding or endorsements from known aficionados of marijuana like Wiz Khalifa and rapper Snoop Dogg, but also from actor Seth Rogen and former boxing champ Mike Tyson.

In another recent controversy rocking the music scene in Romania, US rapper Nicki Minaj earlier this month abruptly cancelled her appearance at the Saga Festival in Bucharest, citing safety concerns due to upcoming protests. — AFP

Chronic or non-communicable diseases - namely cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory illnesses and diabetes - are among the leading causes of death globally. These conditions, which develop over long periods, are responsible for over 6...
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