Kuwait: Government Resigns Amid Disputes

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah pictured here presiding over the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Kuwait City on December 5, 2017. Jon Gambrell / AP
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah pictured here presiding over the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Kuwait City on December 5, 2017. Jon Gambrell / AP
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Kuwait: Government Resigns Amid Disputes

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah pictured here presiding over the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Kuwait City on December 5, 2017. Jon Gambrell / AP
Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah pictured here presiding over the Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Kuwait City on December 5, 2017. Jon Gambrell / AP

The Kuwaiti government resigned on Thursday amid internal disputes. The Emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad, accepted the resignation and ordered the government to assume the role of caretaking pending the formation of a new cabinet.

Speaker of the National Assembly of Kuwait Marzouq Al-Ghanim said he did not feel an “Emiri desire” to dissolve the National Assembly [parliament], but stressed that the problem lied in the lack of concordance within the government team” and in the need for homogeneity.

Al-Ghanim told reporters at the National Assembly that the imbalance in the government team must be addressed and resolved.

He added: “I think it will be resolved”, stressing that the government must come with a homogeneous team.

Minister of Finance Nayef al-Hajraf and Minister of Public Works Jenan Bushehri resigned this month during a questioning session over accusations of wasting public money.

Ten deputies submitted a no-confidence motion against the minister of Interior, Sheikh Khalid al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, who is also a deputy prime minister.

Kuwait’s prime minister submitted the cabinet’s resignation to the Emir, a government spokesman said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah “submitted the resignation of the cabinet to the Emir... in order to allow for a cabinet reshuffle,” government spokesman Tareq al-Mazrem said in a statement.

The outgoing government, formed in December 2017, is the 35th government in Kuwait’s history since 1962. It is also the seventh cabinet that is headed by Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al Sabah, 74, who has been prime minister since 2011.



Kuwait Includes 8 Lebanese Hospitals on 'Terror' List

Kuwait indicated that it had listed eight hospitals in Lebanon as part of regulations related to "combating terrorism.” KUNA
Kuwait indicated that it had listed eight hospitals in Lebanon as part of regulations related to "combating terrorism.” KUNA
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Kuwait Includes 8 Lebanese Hospitals on 'Terror' List

Kuwait indicated that it had listed eight hospitals in Lebanon as part of regulations related to "combating terrorism.” KUNA
Kuwait indicated that it had listed eight hospitals in Lebanon as part of regulations related to "combating terrorism.” KUNA

Kuwait's foreign ministry issued on Sunday a circular indicating that it had listed eight hospitals in Lebanon as part of regulations related to "combating terrorism.”

Lebanon's health ministry expressed surprise and said it would seek clarification.

It said it received the Kuwaiti statement "with great surprise", adding it had not been provided with "any information or notification from any Kuwaiti entity about this matter.”

"The hospitals mentioned in the statement are registered with the syndicate of private hospitals in Lebanon and carry out their role in providing treatment and health services to all Lebanese without exception," the ministry statement said.

It called the facilities "an essential part of the Lebanese health system,” and said it would contact the relevant authorities to request clarification and "protect Lebanon's health system.”

It noted that "Kuwait has numerous joint projects with the ministry... and has been among the most prominent countries that have stood by the health system during the successive crises that Lebanon has faced.”

The latest move was "unprecedented and inconsistent" with the Gulf country's usual approach, it added.


Saudi and Guatemalan FMs Discuss Bilateral Ties

The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs met on Sunday with his Guatemalan counterpart in Riyadh. SPA
The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs met on Sunday with his Guatemalan counterpart in Riyadh. SPA
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Saudi and Guatemalan FMs Discuss Bilateral Ties

The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs met on Sunday with his Guatemalan counterpart in Riyadh. SPA
The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs met on Sunday with his Guatemalan counterpart in Riyadh. SPA

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah met on Sunday with his Guatemalan counterpart Carlos Ramiro Martínez in Riyadh.

During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations and discussed developments of mutual interest.


Faisal bin Farhan, Barrack Discuss Developments in Syria

The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince met on Sunday with the US Special Envoy for Syria in Riyadh.(SPA)
The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince met on Sunday with the US Special Envoy for Syria in Riyadh.(SPA)
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Faisal bin Farhan, Barrack Discuss Developments in Syria

The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince met on Sunday with the US Special Envoy for Syria in Riyadh.(SPA)
The Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince met on Sunday with the US Special Envoy for Syria in Riyadh.(SPA)

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah met on Sunday with US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack in Riyadh.

During the meeting, they reviewed developments in Syria.