Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

Arabia

Kuwaiti Cabinet Takes Steps to Remove Ailing Emir

2006-01-22

KUWAIT CITY, 22 January 2006 — Kuwait’s Cabinet yesterday initiated constitutional procedures to remove the ailing Emir Sheikh Saad Abdullah Al-Sabah just days after he was appointed leader following the death of long-serving Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. The emir has however sent a letter to Parliament Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi requesting a house session during which he would be sworn in as ruler. A statement issued by the Cabinet following an extraordinary session held yesterday said it was taking the constitutional move because of the poor health of the emir. “The Cabinet expresses its deep sorrow...over the health of his highness the emir, Sheikh Saad Abdullah Al-Sabah, and it has therefore decided to invoke constitutional procedures under Article 3 of the 1964 Succession Law,” said the statement. Article 3 stipulates that if the emir fails to meet, for health or other reasons, constitutional conditions set down for him to fulfill his duties, the Cabinet, after establishing this, must present the issue before Parliament within a closed-door session. The Parliament in turn could then decide by a two-thirds majority vote to transfer the emir’s duties temporarily to the crown prince, or transfer state leadership to him permanently. "You can't transfer power! The Emir is still capable of drooling on his own!" House Speaker Al-Khorafi yesterday told a press conference at the Parliament that he had not yet been apprised by the Cabinet of its decision but that he did indeed receive the letter from the emir requesting that he be sworn in before the house, and that constitutional experts were assigned to study the matter. “Yes, I received a letter from his highness the emir, Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, on allocating a special National Assembly session for taking the constitutional oath,” he said. He said he had been assigned to meet with the emir, and hoped the meeting would take place as soon as possible. "Nurse! He's doing it again!" Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad called the extraordinary Cabinet meeting yesterday to continue addressing leadership succession issues one day after a large gathering of Al-Sabah elders reaffirmed their confidence in him to continue running the day-to-day affairs of the country in light of the newly-appointed emir’s bad health. He accepted the responsibility as de-facto ruler under Sheikh Saad Abdullah.

Link

Arabia

Jaber Doing Well After Surgery

2005-08-06

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah will return home within 10 days from Switzerland after undergoing surgery in the United States, the prime minister said yesterday. “Rest assured ... his highness the emir is fine and will, God willing, return to the country within 10 days,” Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah told the state news agency KUNA upon his arrival from Switzerland where he was checking on the emir’s health. The ruler of the Gulf Arab state, who is in his late 70s, had traveled to Switzerland from the United States on Sunday after having two operations on his leg. He suffered a limited brain haemorrhage a few years ago. I'm very worried for him. I hope he doesn't become stable...

Link

Arabia

Kuwaiti Emir Accepts Minister's Resignation

2005-04-11

Kuwait's ruler yesterday accepted the resignation of the health minister ahead of a parliamentary no-confidence vote that had sparked fears of the assembly's dissolution, officials said. Kuwait's ruler Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah "accepted Health Minister Mohammad Al-Jarallah's resignation," the Council of Ministers confirmed in a statement after its weekly session. Energy Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahd Al-Sabah will assume responsibility for the portfolio in place of Mohammad Al-Jarallah until a new health minister is named. Yesterday's session also named Justice Minister Ahmad Baqer as minister of state for municipal affairs, a new portfolio. Jarallah became the third member of the current Cabinet effectively forced to quit by MPs. He submitted his resignation on Tuesday after 10 parliament members tabled a no-confidence vote accusing him of squandering public funds and mismanagement. The background here is that the local Islamists are trying to turn the Kuwaiti parliament into the same kind of circus the Paks have.

Link

Arabia

Kuwaiti cabinet approves new "strategy" to combat terror

2005-02-06

KUWAIT CITY - Kuwait said on Sunday it has approved a new "strategy" to combat terrorism following gun battles with militants and vowed to crush terrorists. I have a simple strategy for you, call on me, me, pick me ... The cabinet reviewed during its weekly session a "strategy to deal with the phenomenon of terrorism and extremist ideology," prepared by Kuwait's National Security Council, an official statement said, without giving details. "The cabinet asked the council to ... coordinate with other concerned authorities to formulate practical programmes necessary to combat the ideology of extremism and violence at all levels with the aim to uproot this scourge." You could call it, "killing terrorists". The cabinet also approved the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and referred it to Emir Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah before sending it to parliament for endorsement. The treaty was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 1999 in a bid to drain sources of funding terrorists. Interior Minister Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah said the number of terrorists being hunted by Kuwaiti security forces was "small" and would be crushed. "The gang of terrorists is small and will be wiped out completely ... Criminals and wanted men will not escape the hand of justice," the minister told the state KUNA news agency. He seems to have the right idea. He said security forces were still hunting for Mohsen Al Fadhli and Khaled Al Dosari, the two most wanted men who have been at large for months and whose names re-emerged after the latest clashes. Local media and everyone else have linked the two with the Al-Qaeda network and Saudi militants. Islamic Affairs Minister Abdullah Al Maatuk on Sunday formed a panel of religious scholars and academics with a mission to "strengthen moderate (Islamic) ideology and confront extremism". They've also established a dancing school for dogs.

Link

Arabia

Vote for Women: Kuwait Moves a Step Closer

2004-10-27

Ignoring stiff opposition from Islamist deputies, the emir of Kuwait Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah opened the new session of the National Assembly (Parliament) yesterday with an ambitious reform program for women including the right to vote and seek public office in all elections. The Cabinet in May approved a bill to amend the election law granting women the franchise. The bill was signed by the emir and sent to Parliament. "This is a historic move," said Mouna Al-Dashti, who has been campaigning for women's rights in Kuwait for years. "We hope this time we get positive results." With the government seen more determined than ever, the bill has a good chance of passing through the assembly, analysts said yesterday. Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Ahmad Al-Jaber has been lobbying the parliamentarians on this issue for weeks. The bill is believed to have at least 15 firm supporters in the 50-seat Parliament with a further 12 regarded as persuadable. Because Cabinet members can also vote in the assembly, the bill could muster as many as 35 votes, enough to pass.

Link

Arabia

Abdallah Holds Talks With Kuwaiti Leaders

2004-10-26

Jordan's King Abdallah held talks with Kuwaiti leaders on regional developments and bilateral ties during a brief visit to the Gulf state yesterday, the official KUNA news agency said. King Abdallah, who led a high-level delegation including Prime Minister Faisal Al-Fayez, was received at the airport by Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. He met Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Parliament Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi before returning home, KUNA said. Kuwait is the leading Arab investor in Jordan with more than $1.5 billion of investments, although their relations were strained for more than a decade.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-6 More