KUWAIT CITY // Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, swore in a new cabinet yesterday that includes new oil, finance and defence ministers and seven members of the ruling Al Sabah family.
The ruler of the Gulf state, which has been rocked by political turmoil for seven years, called for "positive and fruitful cooperation" between the new government and parliament to push ahead with economic development and the improvement of public services.
Kuwait has been governed by 12 cabinets since 2006, and among the key tests for the incoming government will be simply staying put for the full parliamentary term of two years.
Previous disputes between the legislative and executive bodies have forced 11 cabinets to resign and prompted parliament to be dissolved on six occasions over as many years.
Prime minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al Sabah said the new government would seek cooperation with MPs to "open a new page" in the history of Kuwait. The swearing-in of the new 16-member cabinet came after the second parliamentary election in eight months was again boycotted by some segments of the opposition.
Islamist candidates, as well as some segments of the liberal opposition, did not participate citing a dispute over changes to the electoral law made by the Emir last fall and upheld by the country's constitutional court in June.
Among the most-watched appointments was the finance portfolio, which will be managed by the former central bank governor, Sheikh Salem Abdulaziz Al Sabah, who resigned last year in protest over a huge expansion in public spending. In his resignation letter in February last year, Sheikh Salem complained that public spending had increased to unprecedented and unsustainably high levels, jeopardising fiscal and monetary stability. Between 2006 and 2012, government spending tripled to more than Dh257 billion with the overwhelming majority going to support salary increases and state subsidies. The outgoing finance minister Mustafa Al Shamali was named oil minister, a post he had held on a caretaker basis since May following the resignation of Hani Hussein. As well as the premier, six other members of the Al Sabah family were appointed to the cabinet, one more than in the previous government. They control the key ministries of foreign affairs, as well as finance, information and health. New interior and defence ministers also draw from within the ruling family. Fresh appointments to the finance and defence ministries could avert at least one potential political headache for the incoming government.
Kuwait's parliament has the power to introduce legislation and to question members of the cabinet, and several incoming MPs had threatened to grill the two ministers if the incumbents were renamed to their posts.
The former finance minister in particular had come under heavy criticism during the election campaign for authorising Dh14.7bn of aid to the military-installed government in Egypt.
Yet some in the incoming national assembly, which local press described as largely pro-government, still expressed concerns that the new cabinet saw too many repeat appointments.
"The government has seven members from the ruling family and the rest are former ministers ... This confirms that there is no intention to inject young blood," independent MP Riyadh Al Adasani said. The ministers of commerce, development, social affairs and labour, information, education and Islamic affairs were retained.
Newly-elected MP Issa Al Kundari was appointed communications minister. The cabinet retains the two female ministers in the same posts and has two members from the Shiite minority.
MP Maasouma Al Mubarak, normally close to the government, said she was shocked by the retention in the new line-up of several ministers who had failed to perform and warned it was likely to lead to new friction with parliament.
The previous cabinet, also headed by Sheikh Jaber, resigned last week in a routine process following a general election.
The July 27 vote saw turnout of 52.5 per cent, sharply up on the record low of 40 per cent in the previous election in December.
Kuwait, which says it sits on 10 per cent of global oil reserves, pumps around three million barrels of crude per day. It has a citizen population of 1.23 million and 2.67 million expatriate residents.
*With additional reporting from Agence France-Presse
Company%20Profile
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THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
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Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1 minute, 35.246 seconds.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 1:35.332.
4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.497.
5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1:35.571.
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.815.
7. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:35.963.
8. Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 1:36.046.
9. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 1:36.065.
10. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:36.242.
Eliminated after second session
11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.
Eliminated after first session
15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.443.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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Have you been targeted?
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
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Specs
Price, base: Dhs850,000
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 591bhp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.3L / 100km
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Company%20Profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20profile
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Rankings
ATP: 1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 10,955 pts; 2. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 8,320; 3. Alexander Zverev (GER) 6,475 ( 1); 5. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 5,060 ( 1); 6. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 4,845 ( 1); 6. Roger Federer (SUI) 4,600 (-3); 7. Kei Nishikori (JPN) 4,110 ( 2); 8. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 3,960; 9. John Isner (USA) 3,155 ( 1); 10. Marin Cilic (CRO) 3,140 (-3)
WTA: 1. Naomi Osaka (JPN) 7,030 pts ( 3); 2. Petra Kvitova (CZE) 6,290 ( 4); 3. Simona Halep (ROM) 5,582 (-2); 4. Sloane Stephens (USA) 5,307 ( 1); 5. Karolina Pliskova (CZE) 5,100 ( 3); 6. Angelique Kerber (GER) 4,965 (-4); 7. Elina Svitolina (UKR) 4,940; 8. Kiki Bertens (NED) 4,430 ( 1); 9. Caroline Wozniacki (DEN) 3,566 (-6); 10. Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) 3,485 ( 1)
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FFP EXPLAINED
What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.
What the rules dictate?
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.
What are the penalties?
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed