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UAE, US Discuss ‘Serious Developments’ in the Region

The UAE and US flags
The UAE and US flags
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UAE, US Discuss ‘Serious Developments’ in the Region

The UAE and US flags
The UAE and US flags

UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss serious developments in the Middle East, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported Thursday.

They discussed efforts to end escalation in all its forms and reach a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, WAM said.

Sheikh Abdullah affirmed the importance of boosting the efforts of the international community to improve the humanitarian response to the escalating crisis and ensure the protection of all civilians in the Gaza Strip.

He underscored the importance of putting an end to extremism and halting escalating tensions and violence in the region, which threaten regional and global peace and security, as well as accelerating the drive to alleviate the suffering of civilians in the Palestinian enclave.

Sheikh Abdullah and Blinken also discussed developments in the situation in Sudan and their humanitarian repercussions, WAM added.

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Gulf

Kuwait Jails 13 Citizens, Fines them $87 Mn for Hezbollah Funding

A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice in Kuwait City, June 16, 2013. (Reuters)
A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice in Kuwait City, June 16, 2013. (Reuters)
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Kuwait Jails 13 Citizens, Fines them $87 Mn for Hezbollah Funding

A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice in Kuwait City, June 16, 2013. (Reuters)
A general view of the Kuwait Palace of Justice in Kuwait City, June 16, 2013. (Reuters)

Kuwait’s Court of Cassation on Monday sentenced 13 citizens to three years in prison for raising funds through a charity to support Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

The court also fined them 27 million Kuwaiti dinars ($87 million), overturning a previous acquittal by a lower court.

The court that issued the sentencing was presided over by Judge Abdullah Jassim Al-Abdullah.

Initially, the Criminal Court had acquitted the defendants, citing the absence of legislation explicitly criminalizing unlicensed fundraising for public purposes since the establishment of Kuwait's Social Affairs Department on December 14, 1954.

The court said this legal gap limited its authority under Article 132 of the Code of Criminal Procedures and Trials. However, the decision was reversed by the higher court.

The defendants had been interrogated in November 2021 over alleged financial support to organizations linked to Hezbollah.

At the time, the Public Prosecution ordered their detention, and security authorities conducted extensive investigations into financial transfers suspected of funding such groups in Lebanon.

The case dates back to November 2021. The charges included significant financial transfers made over several years to foreign entities, including in Lebanon, prompting authorities to scrutinize transaction records.

The defendants denied the charges, claiming they had worked with a charity committee for 30 years, primarily sponsoring orphans in Lebanon and other countries.

In March 2024, the Court of Cassation classified Hezbollah as a banned terrorist group, describing it as an armed organization working to undermine Kuwait’s system and spread Iran’s revolutionary ideology.

The ruling officially confirmed Hezbollah’s designation as a terrorist entity under Kuwaiti law.