Zara

Asset managers see sovereign wealth funds withdraw $19bn -FT | Reuters
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/persiangulf-funds-idUSL1N13V0KF20151207#6QB43MDhSkTjYE2M.97

Dec 6 Persian Gulf sovereign wealth funds have withdrawn money from asset managers at a record rate this year as falling oil prices have left gulf economies scrambling to inject cash into their economies, according to a Financial Times report published on Sunday.

Data provider eVestment said state investors have removed at least $19 billion from funds under management, sparking both concerns that profits for investment managers will suffer, as well as further losses to funds under management, the report said.

Countries that depend on the sale of oil and gas, which has seen a price drop of more than 50 percent since June 2014, have been forced to raid their investment portfolios the report said.

[...]
The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency is one of the sovereign wealth funds that has made withdrawals from its asset managers the report said, adding that the fund, with more than $650 billion in assets has withdrawn around $70 billion.

Inside the $100 Million Scheme to Send the Middle East’s Most Unwanted People to Africa | VICE News
▻https://news.vice.com/article/inside-the-100-million-scheme-to-send-the-middle-easts-most-unwanted-peop

Since the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011, three of the Gulf states have revoked the citizenships of hundreds of people, the majority of them advocates for political reform or democratization. Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of 159 people since 2012; Kuwait made about 100 of its citizens non-Kuwaitis with the stroke of a pen in 2014 and 2015. The UAE stripped seven of its citizens of their nationality in 2011; in July 2014, the regional Al Sharq newspaper claimed that hundreds more had been secretly rendered stateless. Amnesty International has independently made a similar claim — that Emerati authorities planned to revoke the citizenship of "scores" of nationals.

Spain ‘issues arrest warrant’ for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over 2010 Gaza flotilla attack | Europe | News | The Independent
▻http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/spain-issues-arrest-warrant-for-israeli-prime-minister-benjamin-netan

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and seven other former and current government officials are at risk of arrest if they set foot in Spain, after a Spanish judge effectively issued an arrest warrant for the group, it has been reported.

According to the Latin American Herald Tribune, Spanish national court judge Jose de la Mata ordered the police and civil guard to notify him if Mr Netanyahu and the six other individuals enter the country, as their actions could see a case against them regarding the Freedom Flotilla attack of 2010 reopened.

Le retour du boomerang - Libération
►http://www.liberation.fr/debats/2015/11/15/le-retour-du-boomerang_1413552

réquisitoire sans concession.

Les attentats à Paris révèlent les limites de Daesh - The New York Times
▻http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/17/opinion/les-attentats-a-paris-revelent-les-limites-de-daesh.html?_r=0

le terrorisme globalisé n’est pas plus efficace, en termes stratégiques, que des bombardements aériens sans support terrestre.

Le sulfureux Cheikh Salman, futur président de la Fifa ? - L’Express
▻http://www.lexpress.fr/actualite/sport/football/le-sulfureux-cheikh-salman-futur-president-de-la-fifa_1730632.html

Al-Sabah, le Koweitien derrière son succès

L’élection à la tête de l’AFC de Salman, puis sa réélection - jusqu’en 2019 - par acclamation en avril dernier, sont le fruit du soutien en coulisse d’un autre cheick, issu lui de la famille royale du Koweït. Membre du Comité international olympique (CIO) depuis 1992, entre autres casquettes, Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah s’y est taillé une influence considérable et une réputation de faiseur de rois - il a appuyé de tout son poids les votes en faveur de Thomas Bach pour prendre la tête du CIO en 2013. 

Al-Sabah, 52 ans, est également président depuis 1991 du Conseil olympique d’Asie. Le cheick Salman l’introduit au printemps dernier dans différents comités de l’AFC, élargissant encore son champ d’influence. Reconnaissant, il en fait surtout l’un des trois membres asiatiques du puissant comité exécutif de la Fifa, avec un changement de règle inhabituel quelques heures avant le vote : un mandat provisoire de deux ans avant de repasser à quatre.

Avec les Palestiniens, contre l’occupation | NPA
▻http://www.npa2009.org/actualite/avec-les-palestiniens-contre-loccupation
excellent article de Julien Salingue

Sois colonisé et tais-toi !

Comme le faisait en effet remarquer la journaliste israélienne Amira Hass dans une tribune parue le 6 octobre dernier dans Haaretz, « Les Palestiniens se battent pour leurs vies, [alors qu’]Israël se bat pour l’occupation ». Et de poursuivre : « Les jeunes Palestiniens ne se mettent pas à assassiner des juifs parce qu’ils sont juifs, mais parce que nous sommes leurs occupants, leurs tortionnaires, leurs geôliers, les voleurs de leur terre et de leur eau, les démolisseurs de leurs maisons, ceux qui les ont exilés, qui bloquent leur horizon. Les jeunes Palestiniens, vengeurs et désespérés, sont prêts à donner leur vie et à causer à leur famille une énorme douleur, parce que l’ennemi auquel ils font face leur prouve chaque jour que sa cruauté n’a pas de limites. »

Quelles sont les perspectives offertes aux Palestiniens par ceux qui aujourd’hui critiquent leurs actions et exigent un « retour au calme » ? Aucune, sinon la perpétuation d’un système de domination et d’oppression contre lequel ils n’auraient pas le droit de s’insurger, et face auquel ils n’auraient qu’une seule attitude : la soumission et le silence, en attendant que les choses s’améliorent dans un avenir plus ou moins lointain. En d’autres termes : sois colonisé et tais-toi !

▻http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.678048

A senior Saudi prince and grandson of the state’s founder has issued an unprecedented call for change in the country’s leadership, the Guardian reported on Monday.
The prince, who was not named for security reasons, wrote two letters to members of the sprawling royal family earlier this month calling for the removal of the current leader, King Salman, who ascended to the throne in January this year.
The prince reportedly told the Guardian that the king is not in good health and that recent events in the kingdom have led to disquiet in the royal family, as well as among the wider public.

“The king is not in a stable condition and in reality the son of the king [Mohammed bin Salman] is ruling the kingdom,” the prince is quoted as saying.
He added that he expected four or five of his uncles, Salman’s brothers and half-brothers, to meet shortly and discuss the issues he raised in his letters.
“They are making a plan with a lot of nephews and that will open the door,” he said. "A lot of the second generation is very anxious.”

“The public are also pushing this very hard, all kinds of people, tribal leaders,” the prince added. “They say you have to do this or the country will go to disaster.”
The kingdom has been buffeted by a series of setbacks recently: The precipitous drop in the price of oil, Saudi Arabia’s key export, a draining war against Shi’ite rebels in neighboring Yemen and, most recently, two disasters during the recent hajj in Mecca that left over 800 people dead.
Blame for country’s slow and hesitant response to the hajj deaths and its halting efforts to deal with the other challenges is being laid at the door of King Salman, his crown prince, Mohammed bin Nayef, and the deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, Salman’s son.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a new arrival to the Saudi senior leadership team, has quickly become one of the most controversial. Although still very young by Saudi standards – officially 35 but rumored to be much younger – he holds a multitude of posts including minister of defense and chair of the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, which is the country’s main economic policymaking committee.
Nicknamed “Reckless,” the prince is regarded as being the main proponent of the war in Yemen, which continues to grind on, despite punishing attacks by the Saudi air force and ground forces.
Now, many are accusing Mohammed bin Salman of rushing into the war without a proper military strategy or an exit plan.
The letters from the unnamed prince call on the 13 surviving sons of Ibn Saud – specifically the princes Talal, Turki and Ahmed bin Abdulaziz – to unite and remove the leadership in a palace coup, before choosing a new government from within the royal family.
“Allow the oldest and most capable to take over the affairs of the state, let the new king and crown prince take allegiance from all, and cancel the strange, new rank of second deputy premier,” states the first letter.
“We are calling for the sons of Ibn Saud from the oldest Bandar, to the youngest, Muqrin, to make an urgent meeting with the senior family members to investigate the situation and find out what can be done to save the country, to make changes in the important ranks, to bring in expertise from the ruling family whatever generation they are from.”
The letters are the clearest indication of strife within the royal family since King Faisal deposed King Saud in a palace coup in 1964.

Intifada : les jeux sont déjà faits — Gideon LEVY
▻http://www.legrandsoir.info/intifada-les-jeux-sont-deja-faits.html

Tous ceux qui se sont imaginés qu’Israël pourrait éternellement continuer sur sa lancée et que les Palestiniens continueraient à baisser la tête, à se soumettre indéfectiblement, tous ceux-là n’ont jamais ouvert un livre d’histoire. Aucun peuple d’aucune contrée n’a jamais cédé à la conquête sans résister, et certainement pas à l’époque contemporaine. La résistance est un droit qui est précieusement consigné dans les lois internationales.

UAE says 15 coalition troops killed in Yemen attack
▻http://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2015/10/6/yemen-uae-says-15-troops-killed-in-aden-attack

UAE says 15 coalition troops killed in Yemen attack

By: Al-Araby al-Jadeed & agencies
Date of publication: 6 October, 2015
Tags
Yemen, Aden, Bahah, Qasr, Palace, hotel, attack, car bomb, Hadi, UAE, troops, Emirati, missile, casualties, Houthi, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia
The United Arab Emirates says 15 members of the Saudi-led coalition battling rebels in Yemen have been killed in an assault on the port city of Aden on Tuesday.
The United Arab Emirates has said that 15 Arab troops were killed on Tuesday, and blamed Yemen’s Houthi rebels and their allies for the deaths. 

It did not provide nationalities for those killed.

Coalition vows to bring captured soldiers back | GulfNews.com
▻http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/saudi-arabia/coalition-vows-to-bring-captured-soldiers-back-1.1588114

Two Saudi soldiers have been captured by Al Houthi militia in Yemen, the Saudi-led coalition confirmed on Monday, vowing to bring them back.

“We have evidence that they are alive and they are in captivity with the militia,” Brigadier General Ahmad Al Assiri said after Al Houthi militia in Yemen last Wednesday broadcast footage of a man claiming to be a captured soldier.

Insight - From exile, a divisive figure rattles Palestinian politics | Reuters
▻http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/09/16/uk-palestinians-politics-insight-idUKKCN0RG1K720150916

Once abroad, he did not sit quietly. As well as cultivating his political ties in the Gulf, Dahlan extended his business interests in London and the Balkans. In 2013 he was granted Serbian citizenship, and he holds a Montenegrin passport too.

He has also been reaching out to Hamas, whose political leadership is based in Qatar. In the last Palestinian elections held in 2006, Hamas came out on top. Dahlan appears to see the Islamists as a lynchpin to the future.

“Remember that the Palestinian people voted down Fatah and elected Hamas, and in the next elections we’ll defer to the Palestinians’ judgment,” he told Reuters.

“Part of my initiative is to have a unified leadership for the PLO, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” he said, referring to another Gaza-based Islamist group at odds with Fatah.

‘Abdaly’ suspects deny all charges, allege torture - Kuwait Times | Kuwait Times
▻http://news.kuwaittimes.net/website/abdaly-suspects-deny-all-charges-allege-torture

Abdaly’ suspects deny all charges, allege torture

KUWAIT: In a separate case also presided by Judge Mohammad Al-Duaij, all 23 Kuwaiti suspects of the so-called “Abdaly cell” categorically denied the charges and insisted that they were tortured severely to extract confessions from them. The public prosecution charged 24 of the 26 suspects of having links to Iran and its Shiite Lebanese militia ally Hezbollah and of plotting attacks against Kuwait.

Twenty-three suspects, all Kuwaiti citizens, appeared in court in grey prison uniforms. Three others, including one Iranian, are at large. Judge Duaij allowed all the suspects to express their grievances and tell their stories in a hearing that lasted two-and-a-half-hours and witnessed intense arguments by defense lawyers. But as the hearing was about to conclude, the main suspect Hassan Abdulhadi Hassan sprang a major surprise.

After initially denying all the charges, Hassan sought permission to speak and told the court that the arms discovered at his residence were from the 1990-91 Iraqi invasion period and were given to him by a sheikh Hassan said that he was a resistance member under the sheikh during the Iraqi invasion and that after the liberation, the sheikh asked him to store the arms and ammunition. He said he stored them at his father’s residence in Rumaithiya until 2008, when he moved them to his own residence in Abdullah Al-Mubarak, where the weapons were discovered by authorities. Hassan however did not mention the arms found in a farm in Abdaly near the borders with Iraq.

The interior ministry said last month it seized large amounts of arms and weapons including 144 kilograms of explosives. The suspects said they were beaten mercilessly by security forces and repeatedly given electric shocks and forced to sign confessions to all the charges. Some of them said security members threatened to kill them if they do not confess while some said interrogators threatened to arrest their mothers, wives or daughters.

The judge gave the suspects ample time to speak after lawyers complained that they were not interrogated fairly either at the state security or by the prosecutors. Lawyers demanded that the court should set a neutral medical commission from Kuwait University to examine claims of torture, although a majority of them said they had no traces of torture on their bodies.

The lawyers also demanded that their clients be freed pending trial. The court rejected both requests and set Sept 29 for the next hearing after promising suspects to listen to their stories. The prosecutor charged that the suspects had received explosives and weapons training so they could “achieve illegal goals”. Iran has officially denied any links to the suspects.

By B Izzak

Al Wefaq leader’s trial put off to October 14 | GulfNews.com
▻http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/bahrain/al-wefaq-leader-s-trial-put-off-to-october-14-1.1584576

Bahrain’s Court of Appeals yesterday postponed the trial of Ali Salman, the secretary general of Al Wefaq society, to October 14.

The appeal was against the four-year jail sentence pronounced by the Higher Criminal Court in June.

Advocate General Haroon Al Zayani said the appeal hearing began yesterday following “a conviction of inciting non-compliance with the law, publicly inciting hatred — an act which had disturbed public peace — and insulting a statutory body.”

Al Wefaq leader’s trial put off to October 14
Public Prosecution wants reversal of lower court’s acquittal verdict
Published: 18:15 September 15, 2015 Gulf News
By Habib Toumi,Bureau Chief
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Manama: Bahrain’s Court of Appeals yesterday postponed the trial of Ali Salman, the secretary general of Al Wefaq society, to October 14.

The appeal was against the four-year jail sentence pronounced by the Higher Criminal Court in June.

Advocate General Haroon Al Zayani said the appeal hearing began yesterday following “a conviction of inciting non-compliance with the law, publicly inciting hatred — an act which had disturbed public peace — and insulting a statutory body.”

Ali Salman, 49, was convicted of the charges following investigations into recordings of public speeches and sermons that promoted extremist views, incited violence and encouraged the use of force against the kingdom’s authorities, referring to such acts as a religious duty, he added.

“In line with Bahrain’s Penal Code, these acts constitute a clear contravention of the law,” he said. “In accordance with the law, the defendant was subsequently questioned on the content of these recordings in the presence of four lawyers. Evidence submitted to the courts included examples of repeatedly making public threats about the possibility of carrying out military-style ...[operations] in the kingdom, in a similar manner to other factions and groups in the region, and the possibility of resorting to this option at any time. Additional evidence included instances wherein the defendant called upon global powers to intervene in the kingdom’s internal affairs and support the overthrow of the government, on the grounds that it would serve their interests. Other evidence included statements made by the defendant that called for the reinstatement of the disbanded Islamic Council of Scholars, as well as incitement against naturalised Bahraini citizens, accusing them of disloyalty and terrorist acts.”

Group of 32 countries criticizes Bahrain’s human rights record | Reuters
▻http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/14/us-bahrain-rights-idUSKCN0RE1L120150914

The Bahraini government said 17 policeman have been killed and 3,328 wounded since 2011 in bomb attacks or violence it says was stirred up by the opposition.

The opposition says the government is attempting to stifle free speech by jailing peaceful political dissidents.

The letter called upon the government “to appropriately address all reports of torture and ill-treatment of detainees and ensure full investigation and prosecution of these cases”.

It also called on the government to agree to a visit by the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture. In 2013, the U.N. torture investigator said Bahrain had in effect canceled a trip he had planned to the Gulf Arab state.

Information Minister Isa Abdulrahman said that whenever individuals were questioned or imprisoned by the authorities it was due to a violation of the law and had nothing to do with freedom of expression or human rights.

Attentat au Koweït : 7 condamnations à mort
▻http://www.lefigaro.fr/flash-actu/2015/09/15/97001-20150915FILWWW00078-attentat-au-koweit-7-condamnations-a-mort.php

La Cour criminelle de Koweït a condamné à mort aujourd’hui sept personnes, dont cinq par contumace, pour leur implication dans un attentat sanglant contre une mosquée chiite revendiqué par le groupe Etat islamique (EI). Vingt-neuf personnes au total, dont sept femmes, étaient jugées pour leur implication dans cet attentat commis par un kamikaze saoudien et qui avait fait 26 morts et 227 blessés le 26 juin à Koweït.

Les deux condamnés à mort en état d’arrestation sont le chauffeur de la voiture utilisée par le kamikaze pour se rendre sur le lieu de l’attentat et une autre personne considérée comme le « wali » (émir) de l’EI au Koweït. Parmi les cinq condamnés à mort par contumace figurent deux frères saoudiens qui ont introduit au Koweït, selon la justice, la ceinture d’explosifs ayant servi pour commettre l’attentat.

Quatorze des prévenus ont été acquittés et les huit autres condamnés à différentes peines de prison. Les prévenus sont de nationalités koweïtienne, saoudienne et pakistanaise. Certains sont aussi des apatrides. L’attentat, le premier du genre au Koweït, avait provoqué une vive émotion dans l’émirat. Revendiqué par l’EI, il avait été condamné à travers le monde.
L’EI, groupe jihadiste sunnite, considère les musulmans chiites comme des hérétiques.

A suivre aujorud’hui

BAHREIN- Procès en appel du chef de l’opposition chiite à Bahreïn, cheikh Ali Salmane, condamné en juin à quatre ans de prison pour « incitation à la désobéissance ».

KOWEÏT - Verdict attendu dans le procès d’une trentaine de personnes accusées d’implication dans l’attentat suicide antichiite ayant fait 26 morts fin juin dans une mosquée de Koweït.

Début du procès de 25 membres d’une cellule liée à l’Iran et au Hezbollah libanais, accusés d’avoir préparé des attaques contre le Koweït.

La chute des prix du pétrole a des répercussions sur les politiques de subvention des denrées alimentaires au Bahreïn

Registration for Bahrain meat subsidy pay-out opens Tuesday - ArabianBusiness.com
▻http://www.arabianbusiness.com/registration-for-bahrain-meat-subsidy-pay-out-opens-tuesday-606102.

Bahraini citizens wishing to receive cash compensation once meat subsidies are scrapped can register online from Tuesday, the prime minister announced on Sunday.
Last week the government announced that proposals to abolish meat subsidies in Bahrain would take effect from October 1.
The plans have been postponed since the summer as the plans are reviewed in parliament.
The government is concerned to minimise the social and economic impact of removing the subsidy, and has pledged to offer cash compensation to eligible Bahraini families.

Kuwait To Purchase 28 Typhoons
▻http://www.defensenews.com/story/breaking-news/2015/09/11/kuwait-purchase-28-typhoons/72059404

Kuwait has agreed to purchase 28 Typhoon combat jets in a multibillion euro deal with the Italian government, industry sources in the region said Friday.

The deal is still in negotiation but Kuwait has agreed to buy 22 single seat and six twin-seat Typhoons in a government-to-government agreement.

7,030 stateless in Kuwait regularise status | GulfNews.com
▻http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/7-030-stateless-in-kuwait-regularise-status-1.1581887

More than 7,000 people living illegally in Kuwait, also known as Bidoon (stateless) have adjusted their legal status between 2011 and August 2015 by declaring their original nationalities.

According to the Central Apparatus for Illegal Residents’ Affairs, 4,973 out of the 7,039 residents regularised their status by announcing the Saudi nationality, 778 the Iraqi nationality, 726 the Syrian nationality, 79 the Iranian nationality, 47 the Jordanian nationality and 436 other nationalities, the director of the agency for status adjustment Colonel Mohammad Al Wuhaib told Kuwait News Agency (Kuna).

7,030 stateless in Kuwait regularise status
New status affords residency, employment, school, health rights
Published: 14:37 September 10, 2015 Gulf News
By Habib ToumiBureau Chief
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Manama: More than 7,000 people living illegally in Kuwait, also known as Bidoon (stateless) have adjusted their legal status between 2011 and August 2015 by declaring their original nationalities.

According to the Central Apparatus for Illegal Residents’ Affairs, 4,973 out of the 7,039 residents regularised their status by announcing the Saudi nationality, 778 the Iraqi nationality, 726 the Syrian nationality, 79 the Iranian nationality, 47 the Jordanian nationality and 436 other nationalities, the director of the agency for status adjustment Colonel Mohammad Al Wuhaib told Kuwait News Agency (Kuna).

Kuwait, which formerly referred to the stateless as “bidoon”, now classifies them as “illegal residents”.

Kuwait has been looking into ways to address the issue of the approximately 105,000 stateless residents who have been seeking Kuwaiti citizenship as well as civil and social rights that they do not have given their “illegal” status.

However, the government said that only 34,000 qualified for consideration while the rest are Arabs or descendants of Arab people who moved to Kuwait following the discovery of oil and deliberately disposed their original passports to seek citizenship in the oil-rich country, Kuwaiti media reported.

In 2010, in a new effort to find a solution to the issue and determine those who deserved the citizenship, - including residents whose stateless parents failed to register for citizenship following Kuwait’s independence in 1961 - Kuwait set up the Central Apparatus for Illegal Residents.

The agency provides a package of incentives to illegal residents who adjust their legal status and declare their original nationalities.

Benefits include granting all family members a renewable five-year residency permit with no fees incurred, free-of-charge education and health services, supply cards, and priority recruitment after Kuwaiti nationals in public agencies and bodies and smoother procedures for driving licences, Kuna said.

In 2014, a plan to offer stateless people citizenship of the African nation of Comoros to help settle the social, economic and political issue was criticised by lawmakers.

Under the plan, the illegal residents obtain the economic citizenship of the Comoros islands that would give them the rights to reside in Kuwait under Article 22 (self-sponsorship), to free education and health care, and to employment.

Family heads would receive a passport and nationality, while the children would be given original Comorian nationalities and passports, he added.

According to the accord, Kuwait will fulfil the Comoran condition to build schools, institutes and houses on the islands and open a branch of the Zakat House.

Kuwait would not deport any naturalised Comorian without a court order. The deported would have the rights to housing, health care and education provided by the Kuwaiti government.

Kuwait approves unified labour contract - ArabianBusiness.com
▻http://www.arabianbusiness.com/kuwait-approves-unified-labour-contract-606068.html

A newly approved unified labour contract in Kuwait takes into consideration the rights and duties of both labourers and employers, a government representative has said.
According to Abdullah Al-Motoutah, acting director of the manpower authority, the contract is fully aligned with Kuwait’s Labour Law act number 6/2010, especially article 28, including the date of commencement, validity, job nature and wages in contracts.
The new contract form is expected to go into effect soon as instructed by Hind Al-Subaih, Social Affairs and Labour Minister, with the aim of introducing executive reforms.
“This unified form had been a top priority for minister Subaih with the aim of protecting both sides’ rights,” Al-Motoutah underlined.

Kuwait discovers huge oil reserves
▻https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/middle-east/20949-kuwait-discovers-huge-oil-reserves

Kuwait has discovered large quantities of crude oil in several strategic areas that could potentially increase the country’s production levels to 3.3 million barrels in two years, Al-Khaleej has reported.

According to the news agency, seismic surveys conducted by the Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) on several areas of sea and land confirmed the presence of huge reserves of crude oil.

Sources told local press that the discovered reserves herald good news for Kuwait in the coming years with regards to increasing the country’s oil and gas reserves and increasing its production capacity, as well as both the quantity and quality of extracted oil.

The sources added that the seismic surveys of marine areas conducted by KOC and the Kuwait Gulf Oil Company proved that some of the offshore and onshore fields have extended reserves, thus enhancing the quantity of those reserves and increasing future production quantities.

Kuwait’s current production rate is around 2.9 million barrels per day, and the Kuwait Oil Company was able to compensate for the lost production quantities from the Al-Wafrah and Al-Khafji oil field during the last period.

Meanwhile, sources said the amount of heavy oil in the north of Kuwait will increase with the new discovery, pointing out that the heavy oil production is likely to increase to 3.3 million barrels a day.

Kuwait summons Iranian ambassador over statement | GulfNews.com
▻http://gulfnews.com/news/mena/iran/kuwait-summons-iranian-ambassador-over-statement-1.1580500

A spokesperson said the foreign ministry regretted and rejected the embassy statement for ignoring basic diplomatic norms that require resorting to official communication channels between governments when seeking information regarding a specific issue, and not going to the public media instead.

“The statement by the Iranian embassy in Kuwait regrettably ignored the Kuwaiti government’s official stance regarding the issue at hand about which the Kuwaiti cabinet made an official statement stressing the need not to pass any judgement by anyone before the Kuwaiti court decides on the case first and foremost,” the spokesperson said.

“The decision by the public prosecutor to issue a gag order against publishing any news regarding the Abdali cell shows Kuwait’s keenness on not having the issue discussed in public at this time for fear of its negative impact on the progress of the case, thereby harming it, and at the same time to ensure total fairness,” the spokesperson said.

Cellule « liée à l’Iran » : Téhéran « profondément mécontent » des accusations du Koweït - L’Orient-Le Jour
▻http://www.lorientlejour.com/article/942414/cellule-liee-a-liran-teheran-profondement-mecontent-des-accusations-d

Dans un communiqué publié par l’agence officielle iranienne Irna, l’ambassade exprime en outre « sa profonde tristesse » face à ce qu’elle considère comme une campagne systématique menée dans les médias koweïtiens contre les relations entre les deux pays. Des parlementaires koweïtiens ont cependant exhorté leur gouvernement à prendre des mesures de rétorsion contre l’Iran.

Le député islamiste Homoud al-Hamdan a appelé à « rompre les relations diplomatiques avec l’Iran » et à réduire le nombre des quelque 50.000 Iraniens vivant dans l’émirat. Le chef de la commission juridique du Parlement, Moubarak al-Haris, a proposé au gouvernement de classer le Hezbollah « organisation terroriste ».
Ces initiatives bénéficient du soutien d’autres élus.

Le Koweït entretenait traditionnellement avec l’Iran de meilleures relations que les autres monarchies du Golfe mais ces liens se sont tendus récemment. Dimanche, le chef de la commission des Affaires étrangères du Parlement koweïtien, Hamad al-Harashani, avait qualifié l’Iran chiite de « vrai ennemi » des Etats arabes sunnites du Golfe.

« Il est devenu évident pour tout le monde que l’Iran est un ennemi qui complote pour avaler nos Etats et ressources, et que c’est le vrai ennemi de la région », avait déclaré le parlementaire, lançant ainsi l’attaque la plus virulente contre l’Iran depuis des années. Dans son communiqué, l’ambassade souligne que l’Iran a toujours été soucieux de la sécurité de ses voisins et joué un « rôle constructif » pour préserver la paix régionale.

Quand l’émissaire du Qatar à Gaza évoque la corruption du Hamas et loue Israël | Coolamnews
▻http://coolamnews.com/quand-lemissaire-du-qatar-a-gaza-evoque-la-corruption-du-hamas-et-loue-i

Selon al-Emadi, il a finalement été décidé de mettre en place un nouvel accord d’entrée des matériaux de construction dans le cadre du plan qatari de reconstruction de la bande de Gaza : Face au refus égyptien de laisser passer les camions de marchandises vers Gaza, 1000 tonnes de matériaux de construction par jour seront acheminés via le terminal israélien de Kerem Shalom. Il a ajouté qu’avec ce nouveau programme, la bande de Gaza ressentira prochainement les effets du processus de reconstruction.