Around 200 Candidates to Run in Kuwait’s Parliamentary Elections

The parliamentary elections will be held on April 4. (KUNA)
The parliamentary elections will be held on April 4. (KUNA)
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Around 200 Candidates to Run in Kuwait’s Parliamentary Elections

The parliamentary elections will be held on April 4. (KUNA)
The parliamentary elections will be held on April 4. (KUNA)

The Kuwait court of appeals rejected on Sunday the appeals of a number of parliamentary elections candidates, confirming that Marzouq al-Hubaini, former MPs Marzouq al-Khalifa, Ahmad Moteh al-Azmi and Jaber al-Muhailbi will not run in the polls over violations during byelections.

In a post on the X platform addressed to the interior minister, al-Khalifa said: “We will continue to speak the truth against your unjust rulings at all legitimate platforms.”

“You will not intimidate us,” he vowed, accusing the minister of sowing strife between the Kuwaiti people.

The disqualifications brought to around 200 the number of candidates running in the April 4 National Assembly elections.

The Justice Ministry said 123 schools have been prepared as polling stations throughout the five electoral districts.

Sixteen schools have been set up as polling stations in the first district, 18 in the second, 22 in the third, 28 in the fourth and 34 in the fifth.



Qatar PM Says Gaza Ceasefire Talks Make Some Progress

FILE PHOTO: The minaret of the Great Omari Mosque, which was hit in previous Israeli strike during the war, stands damaged in Gaza City, March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The minaret of the Great Omari Mosque, which was hit in previous Israeli strike during the war, stands damaged in Gaza City, March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo
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Qatar PM Says Gaza Ceasefire Talks Make Some Progress

FILE PHOTO: The minaret of the Great Omari Mosque, which was hit in previous Israeli strike during the war, stands damaged in Gaza City, March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The minaret of the Great Omari Mosque, which was hit in previous Israeli strike during the war, stands damaged in Gaza City, March 17, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas/File Photo

Qatar's prime minister said on Sunday that efforts to reach a new ceasefire in Gaza have made some progress but an agreement between Israel and Hamas to end the war remains elusive.

"We have seen on Thursday a bit of progress compared to other meetings yet we need to find an answer for the ultimate question: how to end this war. That's the key point of the entire negotiations," said Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as foreign minister, Reuters reported.

Mossad Director David Barnea traveled to Doha on Thursday to meet Sheikh Mohammed amid efforts to reach a new ceasefire in Gaza, Axios reported last week.

Sheikh Mohammed didn't say which elements of the ceasefire talks had progressed in recent days, but said Hamas and Israel remained at odds over the ultimate goal of negotiations.

He said the militant group is willing to return all remaining Israeli hostages if Israel ends the war in Gaza. But Israel wants Hamas to release the remaining hostages without offering a clear vision on ending the war, he said.

"When you don't have a common objective, a common goal between the parties, I believe the opportunities (to end the war) become very thin," Sheikh Mohammed said at a press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Fidan said talks Turkish officials have held with Hamas had shown the group would be more open to an agreement that goes beyond a ceasefire in Gaza and aims for a lasting solution to the crisis with Israel, including a two-state solution.

Israel resumed its offensive in Gaza on March 18 after a January ceasefire collapsed, saying it would keep up pressure on Hamas until it frees the remaining hostages still held in the enclave. Up to 24 of them are believed to still be alive.

The Gaza war started after Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack. Since then, Israel's offensive on the enclave killed more than 51,400, according to local health officials.