The Gulf Cooperation Council joint rapid deployment force could be set up this year, the Saudi chief of staff has said. “We expect the force to be established this year and it will be headquartered in the King Khalid Military City,” General Saleh Bin Ali Al Mahya was quoted as saying by Al Ayam...
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Tehran said that it was ready to talk with the Kuwaitis on the “thorny” maritime border issue as Iran’s parliament speaker Ali Larijani is making a visit to Kuwait on Saturday, Kuwaiti and Iranian sources have said. During the two-day visit, part of a tour that will also take him to Uganda and Kenya,...
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A new public war of words has erupted between Egypt and Qatar over awareness about a proposal to request the US Administration to provide guarantees that will enable the resumption of the negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. Shaikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al Thani, Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, on January 4...
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Conflicting reports about a possible visit by Hamas leader Khalid Mesha’al to Egypt and an alleged attempt by Libya to broker a compromise between rival Palestinian factions have deepened the mystery about crucial reconciliations a few weeks before the Arab summit is held. The fast-pace action from several parties was prompted by a...
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Bahrain’s electricity and water authority has urged people not to heed allegations that fees would be increased. “Recent statements by a Member of Parliament that water and electricity fees would be increased by 1,000% are not true and lack credibility,” the authority said in a statement. “The allegations were not based on facts or...
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Ali Abbas lying in hospital – 2003 A Kuwaiti MP has lashed out at his government after it announced plans to fund the building of a hospital in Basra and homes for Iraqi farmers, charging that it was making “unjustified concessions” to Iraq. “I am shocked that the development plans announced recently by the...
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Independent lawmakers in Bahrain have accused parliamentary blocs of egoism after they were denied the opportunity to head any of the three investigation committees formed last week. In an unprecedented standoff, the independent MPs decided to boycott the committees meetings until the societies reviewed their “exclusionist policies posited on self-serving interests.” “What the parliamentary...
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Egypt is refusing to receive Hamas leader Khalid Mishal until Hamas signs the Egyptian proposal for reconciliation between Palestinians, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported. Cairo has already informed reconciliation brokers in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait about its non-readiness to welcome Mishal, stressing that it has no objection to receiving a delegation from Hamas to sign...
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Kuwait has denied allegations made by Iraqi MPs that it is holding Iraqi land, either offered by the former Iraqi regime or annexed by its citizens. “Kuwait has never sought to expropriate land of other countries and has repeatedly called for the full respect of international borders,” Kuwaiti diplomats said. “What the Iraqi officials...
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Artwork by Carlos Latuff Kuwait’s foreign minister has lashed out at Israel’s prime minister, calling him “foolish” and “insane.” Commenting on Gulf concerns about a possible Israeli strike on Iran, Shaikh Mohammad Al Sabah said that everything was possible. “I am in no position to predict what Israel might do. The man ruling Israel...
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