Noticias

The parliament’s financial and economic committee meets today to discuss ‘populist’ draft laws that include increases to social security, rent allowance and housing loans. Meanwhile, AlQabas daily quoted committee president Faisal AlShaya who revealed that Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Sheikh Salem Abdul-Aziz AlSabah, as well as Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Health Minister Sheikh Mohammad AlAbdullah Al-Sabah, are invited “to provide the government’s opinion” on the proposals.

DUBAI/KUWAIT CITY, Nov 25, (RTRS): Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have been quietly reining in their clerics on concerns that preachers could use their influence to stir up trouble and inflame sectarian divisions at a time of high tension over the crises in Syria and Egypt. Authorities in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam and home to a powerful conservative clergy, have declined to respond to local media reports in recent months which said nearly 20 clerics had been sacked or suspended.

Kuwait's minority Shia MPs have lost more than half of their seats in the second parliamentary election in less than a year, official results show.

Shia candidates won eight seats in the 50-member parliament, compared with a record 17 in the ballot in December.

Liberal and tribal groups have emerged the main winners. Voter turnout was an estimated 52.5%, which was higher than expected despite an opposition boycott.

The previous parliament was dissolved in December over a procedural flaw.

The Appeals Court yesterday reinstated four candidates and allowed them to run in the July 27 election after it overturned a decision by the Administrative Court to disqualify them. The original decision was issued by the Interior Ministry because the candidates did not fulfill conditions for running in election.

The Council of Ministers yesterday agreed to allow a team of international monitors to observe the July 27 elections in cooperation with Kuwait Transparency Society. The Cabinet said after its weekly meeting that the decision was taken to ensure that standards of transparency and fairness are completely applied at the next election.

RIYADH: The $12 billion in aid Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait offered Egypt this week showed their delight at the army’s ousting of President Mohamed Morsi in a reversal for Islamists empowered by the Arab ferment of 2011. It also marked a recalibration of power among Gulf Arab states which, with the notable exception of Qatar, had viewed the Arab uprisings as catastrophic for regional stability and feared the Muslim Brotherhood would use its domination of Egypt to push a radical, Islamist agenda in their own backyard.

The Kuwaiti opposition has reiterated its position of boycotting the July 27 election, saying that the single-vote law, which was confirmed by the Constitutional Court last month, has undermined the constitution and aggravated divisions in the society. Speakers at a gathering late Sunday night also called for deeper democratic reforms including a number of constitutional amendments to strengthen democracy in the country.

The administrative court yesterday set July 14 as the date to issue its ruling on a petition demanding that the July 27 election should be suspended because the current Cabinet is illegal. Lawyer Adel Abdulhadi, who filed the petition last week, argued in the court yesterday that the government’s composition is not in line with the constitution which requires that at least one of its members must be an elected MP.