Kuwait has asked Iran to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country as security forces hunt 15 Kuwaiti nationals and an Iranian who were convicted of espionage and other activities against the state.
The Kuwaiti foreign ministry on Thursday issued an order for 15 of the Iranian embassy's 19 diplomats to leave the country within 45 days. The ministry also froze all cooperation with Iran, Kuwait’s state news agency reported.
Sheikh Mohammed Abdulla Al Sabah, minister of state for cabinet affairs, said the reduction in diplomatic ties was to preserve Kuwaiti rights.
The Iranian foreign ministry said it had summoned Kuwait's charge d'affaires in Tehran for clarification and to protest over the reduction in Iranian embassy staff, Iran's Irna news agency reported.
On Wednesday, the Kuwaiti interior ministry said 15 Kuwaitis, all Shiites and linked to a cell uncovered in 2015 that was spying for Iran and Hizbollah, had gone missing along with an Iranian who was also convicted in the case.
The interior ministry said security forces had begun raiding potential hideouts throughout the country, and urged citizens and residents to cooperate by providing any information about the fugitives. Those found helping them would face prosecution, it said.
Parliament held an emergency joint session on Thursday after the ministry's revelation and called for “ministers to resign” or else face questioning.
The fugitives, who had appealed their convictions, were released in February but barred from leaving the country, the Kuwaiti daily Al Jarida reported.
The 16 men are linked to the so-called Abdalli terrorist cell, named after the northern area of Kuwait where security forces discovered the largest cache of guns and bombs ever found in the country in 2015.
A Kuwait lower court last year convicted 23 out of 26 suspects linked to the terror cell of crimes including spying for foreign entities, trading in weapons and training with firearms with intent to commit violence. Two men were given death sentences that were later reduced to life in prison, while the others were sentenced to between five years and life in jail. The convictions were overturned on appeal several months later.
However, the supreme court last month overturned the acquittals of the 16 men now on the run, and sentenced one of them to life, another to 15 years, and rest to 10 years each.
Iran has denied any links to the cell, but Kuwaiti officials have accused Tehran of trying to interfere in domestic affairs by infiltrating local Shiite communities.
Relations between Kuwait's Sunni and Shiite populations are less strained than in some other Gulf Arab countries, which has been attributed to stronger national unity forged from hardships endured during the 1991 Gulf War.
However, foreign actors have often tried to spark conflict among Kuwait's Sunni-majority 1.4 million population.
The Sunni extremist group ISIL carried out a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in 2015 that killed 27 people and injured 227 in the the worst terror attack in Kuwait’s history.
Kuwait's 87-year-old emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed, arrived at the scene within 15 minutes of the bombing, a move viewed by Kuwaitis as key to quelling any sectarian backlash that might have resulted from the attack.
Shortly afterwards, the Sunni monarch called for increased social cohesion and pushed to crack down on terrorist groups in the country.
Within two weeks of the bombing at Al Imam Al Sadiq mosque, security forces uncovered the Abdali cell during raids on farmhouses near Kuwait’s border with Iraq.
Shortly afterwards, 25 nationals and the Iranian were charged with links to Iran and spying for Hizbollah, the Iran-backed Shiite militant group in Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia along with the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have cited Qatar’s close relations with Iran as one of the reasons for cutting diplomatic ties with Doha on June 5.
Sheikh Sabah is acting as chief mediator in the row between the Gulf countries and remains hopeful that the impasse can be resolved.
Kuwait has managed to successfully balance its strong relationship with Saudi Arabia while making steps towards improving relations with Riyadh’s arch-rival Iran, despite a series of Iran-linked terror attacks in the 1980s.
%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fislamic-economy-consumer-spending-to-increase-45-to-3-2tn-by-2024-1.936583%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EGlobal%20Islamic%20economy%20to%20grow%203.1%25%20to%20touch%20%242.4%20trillion%20by%202024%3C%2Fa%3E%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fuk-economy-plunges-into-worst-ever-recession-after-record-20-4-contraction-1.1062560%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EUK%20economy%20plunges%20into%20worst-ever%20recession%20after%20record%2020.4%25%20contraction%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fbusiness%2Feconomy%2Fislamic-economy-consumer-spending-to-increase-45-to-3-2tn-by-2024-1.936583%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3EIslamic%20economy%20consumer%20spending%20to%20increase%2045%25%20to%20%243.2tn%20by%202024%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
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The%20specs
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Company%20Profile
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THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sanya Malhotra, Farrukh Jaffar, Deepak Chauhan, Vijay Raaz
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Star%20Wars%3A%20Episode%20I%20%E2%80%93%20The%20Phantom%20Menace
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
2019 Asian Cup final
Japan v Qatar
Friday, 6pm
Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
RESULTS
6.30pm: Handicap (rated 95-108) US$125,000 2000m (Dirt).
Winner: Don’t Give Up, Gerald Mosse (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap (95 ) $160,000 2810m (Turf).
Winner: Los Barbados, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
7.40pm: Handicap (80-89) $60,000 1600m (D).
Winner: Claim The Roses, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
8.15pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (Div-1) Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D)
Winner: Gold Town, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
8.50pm: Cape Verdi Group 2 $200,000 1600m (T).
Winner: Promising Run, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm: UAE 2000 Guineas Conditions $100,000 1,400m (D).
Winner: El Chapo, Luke Morris, Fawzi Nass.
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich 1
Kimmich (27')
Real Madrid 2
Marcelo (43'), Asensio (56')
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
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