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Arabia

Ailing Kuwaiti amir to abdicate

2006-01-24

Kuwait's ailing amir, Shaikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, has agreed to abdicate following an understanding within the ruling family. The abdication paves the way for the prime minister and longtime de facto ruler, Shaikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah, to become the country's new amir, and ends an unprecedented public quarrel inside the ruling family. "An agreement has been reached in the family and he will sign the abdication papers tomorrow," parliamentarian Nasser al-Saneh told The Associated Press. He said the two struggling camps of the family met on Monday evening in order to reach a compromise before a parliament session on Tuesday that was to debate cabinet demands that the ailing new amir be ousted in favour of Shaikh Sabah. "The emir, Shaikh Saad, will step down tomorrow," one source in the ruling family circle told Reuters. "There is a settlement, 100 percent." A swearing-in ceremony for Shaikh Saad had been planned for Tuesday evening. It was not yet known when Shaikh Sabah would take the oath as amir.

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Arabia

Cabinet Asks For Debate On Removing Emir

2006-01-23

The Kuwaiti cabinet has asked for a special parliamentary session on Tuesday to debate the removal of the new ailing emir from power, a Kuwaiti deputy says. "Nurse! He's doing it again!" The formal request deepens a dispute within the ruling family over whether Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, who took over on January 15 after the death of the emir, his cousin Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah. However critics argue that Sheikh Saad al-Sabah, 76, is too ill to be in charge of the emirate and corrspondents say a rift is widening within the powerful ruling family. "More taste!" "Less filling!" Sheikh Saad has made it clear [he] wants the role, although in recent years he has played little part in public life. He appeared briefly at the late emir's funeral, in a wheel chair, without speaking. Rumor has it he can't, at least not speak and make sense at the same time... The cabinet and many ruling family members support the prime minister and de facto ruler, Sheikh Sabah al-Sabah. While also 76, he is in good health and has overseen the everyday running of the emirate as prime minister for some years. The al-Sabah family has ruled the tiny oil-rich emirate for decades and has never undergone a political crisis of this magnitude.

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Arabia

Kuwaiti paper calls for ruler to step down

2006-01-21

In an unprecedented move for the Arab press, a leading Kuwaiti newspaper yesterday called for the abdication of the oil-rich country's ruler, less than a week after he inherited the throne. Sheikh Sa'ad al-Abdullah al-Sabah, 76, was proclaimed emir last Sunday, just a few hours after the death of his cousin, Sheikh Jaber, 78, who had ruled since 1977. Under the constitution Sheikh Sa'ad must swear an oath in parliament before assuming his duties, but there is open speculation in Kuwait that he is too ill to utter the oath - a single sentence of around 30 words. "There! He took the oath!" "That's not the oath! That's a drool!" "I distinctly heard two words!" "His lips didn't even move!" "See, they're open right now!" "That's the 'O' sign!" Sheikh Sa'ad had colon surgery in 1997 and spent a week in hospital last year with high blood sugar. According to the pan-Arab daily, al-Quds al-Arabi, he is unable to concentrate or identify people and may have Alzheimer's disease. On its front page yesterday, al-Qabas daily said national burdens had exhausted Sheikh Sa'ad and urged him to make a further sacrifice by "leaving it to who is able among the sons of the honourable ruling family". The most likely alternative contender for the throne is Sheikh Sabah, the prime minister, who has already been de facto ruler for several years because the late emir was also incapacitated. Sheikh Sabah is himself 77 and has a pacemaker. And probably other problems. Members of the ruling family have held several meetings over the past few days to discuss the succession tangle. Removal of the ailing Sheikh Sa'ad would break a long-standing tradition in which the post of emir alternates between two branches of the family. I'm available. Ask me. I hear the money's good...

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Arabia

Kuwaiti crown prince in hospital

2005-06-10

Kuwaiti Crown Prince Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah has been admitted to hospital, official reports say. The agency said Sheikh Saad, who is in his 70s, has been suffering from a high level of blood glucose. The crown prince has been deputising for the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who is in the US recovering from medical treatment. Many of the daily duties of the ruler are already handled by Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah. In 1997, Sheikh Saad spent seven months abroad for treatment and recuperation from colonic bleeding. He became crown prince in 1978, and was prime minister until July 2003, when the Emir appointed Sheik Sabah as prime minister, breaking with a political tradition that crown princes also serving as heads of government. Like the emir, Sheik Saad has made few public appearances in recent years.

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Arabia

Saudis ’extradite shootings suspect’

2003-01-23

A man suspected of involvement in the killing of an American working at a US army base in Kuwait has been extradited from Saudi Arabia, Kuwaiti security sources say. The Kuwaiti is said to have entered Saudi Arabia shortly after Tuesday's ambush on two American civilian contractors, who were working at Camp Doha, the main US army base in the kingdom. Humm, the Kuwaiti policeman who shot the two GIs did the same thing. Do I sense a trend here? One of the Americans died and the other was seriously injured. Kuwaiti security officials are now said to be questioning the suspect following his extradition from Saudi Arabia. Question him harder, please The official Saudi Press Agency said he was detained early on Wednesday near the border with Kuwait. No group has claimed responsibility for the shooting. Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Saad al-Abdullah al-Sabah sent a letter of condolence to US President George W Bush, describing the attack as a "terrorist act". No kidding

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