country:kuwait

Qatar signs aid deal worth $1.25bn for Morocco - Daily News Egypt

▻http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/12/29/qatar-signs-aid-deal-worth-1-25bn-for-morocco

Qatar and Morocco have signed an aid deal worth $1.25bn, part of a five-year package of financial assistance extended by wealthy Gulf states to the North African kingdom to help it weather ‘Arab Spring’ protests.
Four Gulf states – Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates – agreed in 2012 to provide aid worth a total $5bn to Morocco in the period 2012-2017 to build up its infrastructure, strengthen its economy and foster tourism.
Each of the four countries has committed $1.25 billion to Morocco for the whole five year period.
(...)
Morocco is under heavy pressure from international lenders to reduce its budget deficit after spending heavily on food and energy subsidies and higher public sector salaries in 2011 and 2012 to help defuse social tensions.

#qatar #maroc

Drama at Barrak’s trial as court may summon PM

KUWAIT: The first hearing of former opposition MP Musallam Al-Barrak in the court of appeals was full of drama yesterday as the state security officer who probed the case collapsed during cross-examination and the court may summon Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to testify in the high-profile case. Barrak, one of the opposition’s leading figures, is on trial on charges of insulting HH the Amir and undermining his authority in a speech at a public rally in October last year. Earlier this year, Barrak was sentenced to five years in jail by the criminal court. The sentence was scrapped over illegal procedures by the appeals court which decided to take over the trial itself.

▻http://news.kuwaittimes.net/drama-barraks-trial-court-may-summon-pm

▻http://www.arabianbusiness.com/kuwait-mulls-guaranteed-citizenship-for-bedouins-533244.html

A Kuwaiti MP is pushing for the government to approve legislation that would give citizenship to a compulsory number of stateless people each year.

Christopher Davidson | The Coming Collapse of the Persian Gulf |
Foreign Affairs

▻http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/140096/christopher-davidson/the-arab-sunset?cid=soc-twitter-in-snapshots-the_arab_sunset-122813

Since their modern formation in the mid-twentieth century, Saudi Arabia and the five smaller Gulf monarchies — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — have been governed by highly autocratic and seemingly anachronistic regimes. Nevertheless, their rulers have demonstrated remarkable resilience in the face of bloody conflicts on their doorsteps, fast-growing populations at home, and modernizing forces from abroad.

One of the monarchies’ most visible survival strategies has been to strengthen security ties with Western powers, in part by allowing the United States, France, and Britain to build massive bases on their soil and by spending lavishly on Western arms. In turn, this expensive militarization has aided a new generation of rulers that appears more prone than ever to antagonizing Iran and even other Gulf states. In some cases, grievances among them have grown strong enough to cause diplomatic crises, incite violence, or prompt one monarchy to interfere in the domestic politics of another.

It would thus be a mistake to think that the Gulf monarchies are somehow invincible. Notwithstanding existing internal threats, these regimes are also facing mounting external ones — from Western governments, from Iran, and each other. And these are only exacerbating their longstanding conflicts and inherent contradictions.

Did Arab uprisings deepen the Sunni-Shia divide? - Opinion - Al Jazeera English
▻http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/12/did-arab-uprisings-deepen-sunni-shia-divide-20131217293301149.html

If sectarian identities alone are enough to create conflict and instigate violence, why hasn’t this happened ever since those identities were forged and why did it intensify at certain times and not others in the history of the Sunni-Shia relations? If violence necessarily follows sectarianism, why has Sunni-Shia violence been more intense in countries like Pakistan and Iraq and almost non-existent in countries like Kuwait or Turkey?

#Kuwait acquits 70 opposition activists over storming parliament
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/kuwait-acquits-70-opposition-activists-over-storming-parliament

Kuwait’s lower court on Monday acquitted 70 opposition activists including nine former MPs of charges of storming the parliament building in the oil-rich Gulf state two years ago. “All the defendants were found not guilty” of charges of storming a public building, assaulting police, resisting orders and damaging public property, in the ruling by judge Hisham Abdullah. read more

#Top_News

▻http://gitm.kcorp.net/index.php?id=675790

The union issue is on the agenda of the GCC summit to be held on Tuesday in Kuwait.
“We are against a union,” Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi said at the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain.[...]

“We will not prevent a union, but if it happens we will not be part of it,” Alawi told AFP on the sidelines of the gathering.

L’argent facile venu du Golfe a-t-il renforcé ou affaibli les adversaires de Bachar El Assad ?

Why Private Gulf Financing for Syria’s Extremist Rebels Risks Igniting Sectarian Conflict at Home | Brookings Institution
▻http://www.brookings.edu/research/papers/2013/12/06-private-gulf-financing-syria-extremist-rebels-sectarian-conflict-dicki

In this new Saban Center analysis paper, Elizabeth Dickinson examines why private financing by Gulf donors for Syria’s extremist rebels risks igniting sectarian conflict in Gulf countries. Over the last two and a half years, Kuwait has emerged as a financing and organizational hub for charities and individuals supporting Syria’s myriad rebel groups. These donors have taken advantage of Kuwait’s unique freedom of association and its relatively weak financial rules to channel money to some of the estimated 1,000 rebel brigades now fighting against Syrian president Bashar al-Asad.

The paper charts how individual donors in the Gulf encouraged the founding of armed groups, helped to shape the ideological and at times extremist agendas of rebel brigades, and contributed to the fracturing of the military opposition. From the early days of the Syrian uprising, Kuwait-based donors—including one group currently under U.S. sanction for terrorist financing—began to pressure Syrians to take up arms. The new brigades often adopted the ideological outlook of their donors. As the war dragged on and the civilian death toll rose, the path toward extremism became self-reinforcing. Today, there is evidence that Kuwaiti donors have backed rebels who have committed atrocities and who are either directly linked to al Qaeda or cooperate with its affiliated brigades on the ground.

Le Bahrein commence à souffrir de déficit public...et sur les conseils du FMI revient sur les subventions aux biens de consommation

Bahrain said to plan revamp of subsidies - Politics & Economics - ArabianBusiness.com
▻http://www.arabianbusiness.com/bahrain-said-plan-revamp-of-subsidies-529250.html

“We are very much aware that the level of consumption in energy and some of the foods is not sustainable,” al-Maraj said, adding: “The philosophy of directing the subsidies toward the needy is now being reflected into the programmes.”

His comments follow reports last month that Kuwait’s government plans to form a special committee to review subsidies on goods and services which are costing the Gulf Arab state more than KD4.5bn ($15.9 billion) a year[....]

Bahrain is currently the only GCC country in the red; it is expected to be followed by Oman as soon as in 2015, and Saudi Arabia in 2018.

King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa ordered a handout of BD1,000 ($2,650) per family in February in 2011, a month before Bahrain declared a state of emergency as protesters demanded more civil rights.

L’arme diplomatique des travailleurs étrangers : après avoir mis dehors bon nombre d’étrangers durant l’été, le Koweit accueille à bras ouverts des ouvriers égyptiens, faisant partie d’un vaste programme d’aide économiques à la nouvelle Egypte

Kuwait takes measures to boost Egyptian economy - HispanicBusiness.com
▻http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/2013/12/3/kuwait_takes_measures_to_boost_egyptian.htm

Kuwaiti officials expressed their contentment regarding the involvement of Egyptian company Arab Contractors Co. in a number of projects in Kuwait , adding that the Gulf country will facilitate the employment of Egyptian workers in various projects there. “The Ministry of Housing is preparing to construct three new housing cities, and hopes that Arab Contractors would participate in implementing these cities,” Kuwaiti Minister of Housing Salem Al-Azina was quoted in the statement as saying. Kuwait , along with other Gulf countries, pledged loans to Egypt in the form of interest-free deposits, cash grants and petroleum products after the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi on 3 July.

Law penalizing criticism of Amir upheld by court - Kuwait Times | Kuwait Times
▻http://news.kuwaittimes.net/law-penalizing-criticism-amir-upheld-court

KUWAIT: The constitutional court said yesterday that an article in the penal code which jails people who publicly criticize the Amir for up to five years is “in line with the constitution” and is necessary to protect the person of the head of the state. The court, whose rulings are final, rejected a number of challenges filed against article 25 of the penal code which considers criticizing the Amir in public, undermining his status and authorities or offending him as a “crime”.

#Kuwait upholds death sentence for woman who killed #maid
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/kuwait-upholds-death-sentence-woman-who-killed-maid

Kuwait’s supreme court upheld Monday a death sentence against a woman for murdering her Filipina maid after torturing her, and confirmed a 10-year sentence on her disabled husband. The ruling is final and cannot be challenged but could be commuted to a life term by the ruler of the Gulf emirate. Executions in Kuwait are carried out by hanging. The Kuwaiti woman was convicted of premeditated murder based on evidence that she had regularly tortured her maid before driving over her in a remote desert area. read more

#domestic_workers #Top_News

Kuwaiti couple buries maid in desert to cover up murder: report
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/kuwaiti-couple-buries-maid-desert-cover-murder-report

Police in #Kuwait arrested a couple for killing their maid and burying her body in the desert, a local daily reported Tuesday. Security officials told Al-Rai that a Kuwaiti man confessed to police that he helped bury the maid’s body after his wife beat her to death in September. The man led police to the spot where the body was buried, but an initial search turned up empty. The man then retracted his confession, and his wife denied the accusations, claiming the maid had run away. read (...)

#Top_News

Le premier ministre koweitien s’interroge sur l’avenir de l’état-providence dans son pays..

Kuwaitis unleash anger after PM declaring ‘welfare state is over’ - Alarabiya.net English | Front Page
▻http://english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/features/2013/11/04/Kuwaitis-unleash-anger-after-PM-declaring-welfare-state-is-over-.

Kuwaitis have unleashed their anger on social media when Prime Minister Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah recently declared that the country‘s “welfare state is over.”
Sabah was also backed by the Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Rola Dashti when she said that “low fees paid for services and goods, with an almost complete absence of tax revenues will force Kuwait to face a deficit between 2021-2029.”
One Kuwaiti parliamentarian, Hussein al-Kuwayaan, told Al Arabiya that Sabah’s statement has “depressed” the Kuwaiti people.
“The prime minister needs to explain to the citizens how the welfare era is over,” Kuwayaan said.
The parliament member, who intends to grill the health minister for corruption and neglecting projects including cancelling tenders for four hospitals, said the government is not capable of providing Kuwaitis with basic needs.
The political activist Fahed al-Thanian told Al Arabiya that Kuwaitis have “lost faith” in their consecutive cabinets, especially that an economic surplus has disappeared on the backdrop of the lack of development in the country.
Thanian said the country suffers from epidemic corruption that is the subject of ”gossip” from both Kuwaitis and the government.
“Many oil producers stopped depending on their oil revenues, diversifying their internal and external investments, but Kuwait is the only country that has a nominal surplus exceeding dozens of billions for over 10 years,” he said.
“We didn’t see any investment projects, and all we hear about are losses and deficit, and the government has nothing to do but keep on nagging about the deficit and the debts and its inability to meet the needs of the citizens,” he lamented.
“The citizens are still waiting for raises in salary, housing, health services, quality education, that we’re only hearing about in fairy tales.”

Décharge de pneus au Koweit.
(trouvé après l’avoir vu sur le numéro spécial de Science & Vie Spécial Terre, en 30 ans tout a changé, la preuve en 100 images satellite (octobre 2013, pas encore sur leur site))

World’s biggest tyre graveyard : Incredible images of Kuwaiti landfill site so huge it can be seen from space | Mail Online
▻http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2337351/Worlds-biggest-tyre-graveyard-Incredible-images-Kuwaiti-landfill-site-h

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/07/article-2337351-1A3181E4000005DC-334_964x714.jpg

An average car tyre will travel around 20,000 miles over its lifetime, but when they have reached the end of their life in Kuwait... they are destined for the tyre graveyard.

In Kuwait City’s Sulaibiya area every year gigantic holes are dug out out in the sandy earth and filled with old tyres - there are now over seven million in the ground.

The expanse of rubber is so vast that the sizable indents on the earth are now visible from space.

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/06/07/article-2337351-1A318218000005DC-464_964x636.jpg

Kuwait : Chicken Soup With the Emir | Al Akhbar English
►http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/kuwait-chicken-soup-emir

While the video itself is not majorly scandalous, the medium in which it went viral is indicative of a subtle transformation in public forms of criticism. There is an awareness in Kuwait that WhatsApp isn’t completely secure, but for the moment it seems to be the tool through which ideas and views are being more actively shared in an effort to dodge potential arrests.

Une vidéo fait le buzz au Koweit.

Tic_arabes

Gulf homosexual ban was ‘just a proposal’: Kuwait chief | GulfNews.com
▻http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/gulf-homosexual-ban-was-just-a-proposal-kuwait-chief-1.1245007

A senior Kuwaiti official said that the decision to bar homosexual and transgender foreigners from working in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has not yet been adopted.

“It is a mere proposal that Kuwait will present to fellow GCC members in order to look into the possibility of amending the medical checkup rules for foreigners wishing to work and live in the GCC,” Khalid Al Jarallah, the foreign ministry undersecretary, said.

Didier Reynders, Belgium’s foreign minister, on Friday told Al Rai that the European Union would take up the GCC decision to bar homosexual and transgender foreigners “because it is a matter that cannot be ignored since there is a form of discrimination.”

“The European Union will make the right decision on this issue in order to reinforce human rights,” he was quoted as saying.

Reynders told the daily that he would gather further details on the ban proposal from his country’s diplomatic missions in Kuwait and the Gulf.

“Belgium is a pioneer in protecting and reinforcing the fundamental rights of homosexuals, and therefore it cannot ignore any decision or law that fight this category or creates any form of discrimination against them on the basis of sexual orientations,” he said.

Kuwait jails writer for tweets ‘defaming’ Shaikh Nasser | GulfNews.com
▻http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/kuwait/kuwait-jails-writer-for-tweets-defaming-shaikh-nasser-1.1238561

A Kuwaiti court on Wednesday sentenced prominent opposition writer Mohammad Al Wushaihi to a three-month jail term for tweets deemed derogatory to a former prime minister.

The court ruling said Wushaihi had been convicted of posting messages on Twitter defaming former premier Shaikh Nasser Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family.

The ruling stipulated that Wushaihi, who is also a television presenter, must start serving his jail term immediately, but that he could appeal the sentence.

He could also request the judge suspend the implementation of the jail term until any appeals court ruling on the case.

Kuwait’s Stateless Protest for Citizenship Rights · Global Voices
▻http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/10/07/kuwaits-stateless-protest-for-citizenship-rights

To mark the international day of non-violence, more than 3,000 protesters from the stateless community of Kuwait (Bedoon) marched to demand their rights to citizenship. The protest, which was covered by local civil groups and bedoon activists, took place in Taimaa area on October 2.

Pour son premier déplacement à l’étranger, le président égyptien par intérim ira en Arabie Saoudite (et en Jordanie) - Ahram Online
▻http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/82570/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt%E2%80%99s-interim-president-chooses-Saudi-Arabia-for.aspx

Tout comme M.Morsi, ce qui lui avait valu des critiques.

Egypt’s Interim President Adly Mansour will make his first official visit to Saudi Arabia on 7 October, followed by brief trips to the UAE and Kuwait.

#Egypte

#Kuwait opposition writer sentenced over #Twitter comments
▻http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/kuwait-opposition-writer-sentenced-over-twitter-comments

A Kuwaiti court on Wednesday sentenced prominent opposition writer Mohammed al-Wushaihi to a three-month jail term for tweets deemed derogatory to a former prime minister. The court ruling said Wushaihi had been convicted of posting messages on Twitter defaming former premier Sheikh Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmad al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family. The ruling stipulated that Wushaihi, who is also a television presenter, must start serving his jail term immediately, but that he could (...)

#Top_News

Egyptian activist Asmaa Mahfouz deported from Kuwait - Ahram Online

▻http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/82689.aspx

Egyptian activist Asmaa Mahfouz has been deported from Kuwait to Cairo airport on Saturday, according to Al-Ahram Arabic news website.
(...)
Mahfouz is a former founding member of the April 6th Youth Movement. In 2011, she was awared the Sakharov Human Rights Award by the EU Parliament for her role in the 25 January revolution.

Egypt’s interim president chooses Saudi Arabia for first official foreign visit Ahram Online

▻http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/82570.aspx

Egypt’s Interim President Adly Mansour will make his first official visit to Saudi Arabia on 7 October, followed by brief trips to the UAE and Kuwait

Purge anti-FM au Koweït

On September 21, the anti-Syrian regime daily As-Seyassah daily carried the following report: "Alongside the rhythm of the massive war that several Arab countries are fighting against organized terrorism practiced by the MB group against their people, well-informed sources revealed that the government tendency to push the group’s members from the decision making circles in Kuwait has started to be implemented a few weeks ago.

On September 21, the anti-Syrian regime daily As-Seyassah daily carried the following report: "Alongside the rhythm of the massive war that several Arab countries are fighting against organized terrorism practiced by the MB group against their people, well-informed sources revealed that the government tendency to push the group’s members from the decision making circles in Kuwait has started to be implemented a few weeks ago.

“The political sources told Al-Seyassah: “The new policy that has started to be implemented in a number of institutions and governmental services comes in response to a Gulf decision that was reached during a meeting that included prominent officials from the GCC. The decision indicated that the members and figures of the MB group must be pushed away from leading and vital posts in the official and state institutions in the six Gulf States.” The sources indicated that Kuwait expressed its full commitment to carrying out this decision.

“They added: “The decision indicated that this endeavor must be implemented in phases and gradually with a main focus on the higher officials in the vital sectors.” However, the implementation of this decision in Kuwait was faster than expected whereby the MBs were sacked from the presidency of the House of Zakat two weeks ago. The sources indicated that the upcoming phase will further see the sacking of MBs from leading posts in the Ministry of Awqaf [i.e. the ministry of religious endowments], the Awqaf’s secretariat general, the ministry of electricity and power, the University of Kuwait and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training in addition to other sectors that will later be included in the schedule.

▻http://www.al-seyassah.com

Arab League states’ views on Syria response far from uniform
▻http://www.thenational.ae/news/world/middle-east/arab-league-states-views-on-syria-response-far-from-uniform

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait pushed for the resolution blaming the Syrian regime for the attack. The Saudi foreign minister, Saud Al Faisal, speaking later in Jeddah, said that Syria’s use of chemical weapons required a “firm and serious” response, adding that Mr Al Assad’s government had “lost its Arab identity and is no longer affiliated in any way for the Syrian civilisation”.

But Algeria objected to language in the resolution, including wording carried over from recent league resolutions on Syria, supporting the right of member countries to assist Syrians fighting in “self defence”. Iraq also abstained from voting on that paragraph, as well as one condemning the Syrian regime for the chemical weapons attack.

Egypt’s government, meanwhile, urged countries to wait for the results of an investigation by UN weapons inspectors in Damascus before assigning blame for a chemical attack. Lebanon abstained from voting on the resolution altogether.

These divisions over Syria are not new, but they have widened in recent months.