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	<title>Habib Toumi &#187; Kuwait</title>
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	<link>http://www.habibtoumi.com</link>
	<description>Observations from the Arab world and beyond</description>
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		<title>Kuwait busts spy cell working for Iran</title>
		<link>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/05/01/kuwait-busts-spy-cell-working-for-iran/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=kuwait-busts-spy-cell-working-for-iran</link>
		<comments>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/05/01/kuwait-busts-spy-cell-working-for-iran/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 May 2010 08:26:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Habib Toumi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Revolutionary Guards]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habibtoumi.com/?p=1746</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Security agencies in Kuwait have busted a multi-national spy cell working for Iran&#8217;s Revolutionary Guards and collecting information on vital Kuwaiti military sites and the US presence in the northern Arabian Gulf country, a local daily reported on Saturday. The paper did not however say when the arrests occurred and there were no immediate official comments on whether it was different from the busting of a terror cell reported by another Kuwaiti daily eight days ago. Citing unnamed high-ranking security sources, Al Qabas said that the cell included Kuwaiti, Arab and stateless Arabs (Bidoon) men and that some of them were employed in the interior and defence ministries. The paper said that at least seven men have been arrested and that the security agencies were looking for six or seven men suspected of being members of the spying ring.   According to the report published by Al Qabas on its front page, security forces raided the home of one of the cell leaders in Sulaibiya two days ago and found maps for vital sites, highly sensitive and sophisticated communications devices and more than $250,000 in cash. The military members of the cell have been monitoring and taking pictures of Kuwaiti and [...]]]></description>
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		<title>US decision on Kuwaiti Guantanamo detainees blasted</title>
		<link>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/04/28/us-decision-on-kuwaiti-guantanamo-detainees-blasted/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=us-decision-on-kuwaiti-guantanamo-detainees-blasted</link>
		<comments>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/04/28/us-decision-on-kuwaiti-guantanamo-detainees-blasted/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Apr 2010 10:30:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Habib Toumi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Guantanamo]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habibtoumi.com/?p=1716</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The head of a popular committee defending Kuwaiti nationals held in Guantanamo has blasted the US administration for seeking to impose restrictions on former prisoners before it could consider the release of the remaining detainees. &#8220;The US wants to impose new security conditions on former detainees because it was unable to detain or condemn them,&#8221; Khalid Al Oda said. &#8220;This is not right at all and it is undemocratic,&#8221; he said. Al Oda was reacting to news that the Obama administration was refusing to consider sending home two Kuwaiti detainees held at Guantanamo Bay unless new restrictions were placed on two former detainees already released to Kuwait. According to David Cynamon, the lawyer of the Kuwaiti detainees, the US administration has demanded that the two previously released detainees have their passports taken away, be required to check in with local authorities regularly and be under surveillance by the Kuwaiti government for a period of time. &#8220;This makes no sense, either as a matter of justice or necessity,&#8221; Cynamon said in a letter to US President Barack Obama and US Attorney General Eric Holder. Al Oda said that the US should shut down the infamous prison. &#8220;Kuwait is ready to help [...]]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Non Kuwaiti husbands may get Kuwaiti citizenship if wives approve</title>
		<link>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/04/13/non-kuwaiti-husbands-may-get-kuwaiti-citizenship-if-wives-approve/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=non-kuwaiti-husbands-may-get-kuwaiti-citizenship-if-wives-approve</link>
		<comments>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/04/13/non-kuwaiti-husbands-may-get-kuwaiti-citizenship-if-wives-approve/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 13 Apr 2010 07:09:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Habib Toumi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bidoon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[marriage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habibtoumi.com/?p=1546</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A non-Kuwaiti man who marries a Kuwaiti woman will be granted the Kuwaiti citizenship if his wife of at least ten years approves his application, a government study has recommended. According to the study, other conditions required for the citizenship stipulate that the couple has at least five children. &#8220;The husband must not take up a second wife after getting the citizenship and the wife cannot divorce her naturalized husband to marry another man,&#8221; the study said, according to Al Watan daily. &#8220;The husband has no right to a government-sponsored house or a housing loan and cannot run or vote in elections. The wife may obtain a loan to purchase a house, but the husband will not be registered as co-owner.&#8221; According to unnamed sources quoted by the paper, the stringent conditions aim to guarantee the future of the children of Kuwaiti women and to secure their rights. The study will be submitted to the parliament for debate and a final decision is expected to be reached before the end year. Immediate reactions from readers were positive. Many welcomed it as a humanitarian step that would help resolve long pending issues. &#8220;I wish they would bring down the number of [...]]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Benevolent societies strictly monitored by Kuwaiti government despite claims of innocence</title>
		<link>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/04/07/benevolent-societies-strictly-monitored-by-kuwaiti-government-despite-claims-of-innocence/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=benevolent-societies-strictly-monitored-by-kuwaiti-government-despite-claims-of-innocence</link>
		<comments>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/04/07/benevolent-societies-strictly-monitored-by-kuwaiti-government-despite-claims-of-innocence/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Apr 2010 10:11:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Habib Toumi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[benevolent]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[charity]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[terror]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habibtoumi.com/?p=1477</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Kuwait&#8217;s labour and social affairs minister said that charitable work was under close and constant scrutiny to ensure full compliance with the law. &#8220;We have competent authorities within the ministry that are strictly monitoring all charitable and benevolent work,&#8221; Mohammad Al Afassi said. &#8220;We pay special attention to charity action and donations in order to be sure there is the slightest suspicion about them,&#8221; the minister said. Several Kuwait-based charitable organizations are active both in the country and in poor areas in Asia and Africa. However, the government, wary of charges that some of them supported or sponsored terrorism, insists on monitoring their work to avoid misuses of their funds or possible links with suspicious organizations. However, leaders of the charity groups have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing. &#8220;Unfortunately, many benevolent societies have come under so much pressure that fewer needy people are today benefiting from charitable work and assistance,&#8221; Ahmad Baqer, Kuwait&#8217;s former Islamic affairs, said last month. &#8220;Charity organizations should be allowed to work freely within the confines of the law and should not be condemned or accused without proof or evidence,&#8221; he said in a paper to a forum on charity work. Some countries have abusively and with [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Labour minister says Kuwait is determined to introduce minimum wage in private sector</title>
		<link>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/04/01/minister-says-kuwait-is-determined-to-introduce-minimum-wage-in-private-sector/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=minister-says-kuwait-is-determined-to-introduce-minimum-wage-in-private-sector</link>
		<comments>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/04/01/minister-says-kuwait-is-determined-to-introduce-minimum-wage-in-private-sector/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Apr 2010 06:47:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Habib Toumi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[migrant]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[minimum wage]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habibtoumi.com/?p=1432</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Kuwait is working on introducing a minimum wage in the private sector for expatriates in the private sector to ensure decent living conditions for them, the labour minister has said. &#8220;Kuwait is keen on protecting human rights and dignity and wants to move forward after it enacted a new labour law for the private sector and a law for the handicapped,&#8221; Mohammad Al Afassi said. The labour law protects workers&#8217; rights and achievements while the law for the handicapped provides security and stability for the handicapped and their families, the minister was quoted as saying by the local media. &#8220;We are also working on scrapping the sponsorship system in order to preserve workers&#8217; rights from abuses,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The government is currently working with the competent committee in the parliament on enacting a law that would criminalize trafficking in people and impose stiff penalties on violators,&#8221; said Al Afassi who is also in charge of the social affairs portfolio. Expatriates who suffer abuse or violence or denied their financial dues will be hosted in a special shelter as their problems are being sorted out, the minister said. The labour and social development ministry will ensure that women workers are not [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Minister denies involvement in money-laundering scheme as report claims operations covered Bahrain, Kuwait, Dubai, Iran and Europe</title>
		<link>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/03/20/minister-denied-involvement-in-money-laundering-scheme-as-report-claims-operations-covered-bahrain-kuwait-dubai-iran-and-europe/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=minister-denied-involvement-in-money-laundering-scheme-as-report-claims-operations-covered-bahrain-kuwait-dubai-iran-and-europe</link>
		<comments>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/03/20/minister-denied-involvement-in-money-laundering-scheme-as-report-claims-operations-covered-bahrain-kuwait-dubai-iran-and-europe/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Mar 2010 07:02:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Habib Toumi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bin Rajab]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Iran]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[money-laundering]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habibtoumi.com/?p=1254</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A Bahraini minister has denied involvement in a money-laundering scheme, saying that reports of his arrest and interrogation were not true and lacked credibility. Addressing visitors to his weekly majlis (open house), Mansoor Bin Rajab, a state minister without portfolio, said that he had been called in by the interior ministry to answer questions about his ministry staff. “I was called by the Criminal Investigations Directorate and not by the Public Prosecution and they asked me a few questions before I went back home,” Bin Rajab said. “They were very fine with me and treated me well. When I returned home, I resumed my daily routine and here I am opening my majlis for my regular visitors,” he said. However, when pressed to say whether he would be attending the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, the minister said that it would be up to the country’s leaders to decide on the issue. He also denied a report that he felt uneasy during the questioning and that a nurse was rushed to his side, saying they were rumours. “You can look at me. I am in good condition and I never felt unwell,” he said. According to Al Ayam daily, the [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Former minister slams MPs for allegedly blackmailing officials</title>
		<link>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/03/17/former-minister-slams-mps-for-allegedly-blackmailing-officials/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=former-minister-slams-mps-for-allegedly-blackmailing-officials</link>
		<comments>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/03/17/former-minister-slams-mps-for-allegedly-blackmailing-officials/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Mar 2010 09:12:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Habib Toumi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blackmail]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nouria]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habibtoumi.com/?p=1219</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Kuwait&#8217;s former education minister has accused lawmakers of abusing their positions to ask for favours from ministers. &#8220;There are MPs who are blackmailing ministers. The minister has either to accept their demands, regardless of their legitimacy, or face grilling,&#8221; Nouria Al Sbaih, said. &#8220;Such practices cannot be called democracy, and are blatant blackmail,&#8221; the former minister was quoted as saying by Al Qabas daily on Wednesday. Kuwaitis must be highly selective in choosing their representatives and must stress competence and not tribalism and sectarianism, she said. &#8220;The people of Kuwait should be the ones who assess the performance of any minister or lawmaker.&#8221; Nouria has had a stormy history with conservative MPs who opposed her nomination in April 2007 as Kuwait&#8217;s first woman education minister and shouted and jeered as she took the oath of office after she refused to wear a headscarf in parliament. One MP, Dhaiffallah Bou Ramia, was forced by parliament Speaker Jassem Al Khurafi to sit down after he stood and shouted during the ceremony. Sharing her experience with a group of university students, Nouria said that she was pleased with her two-year experience in the government despite all the constant attention and regular scrutiny she [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>MP wants eye scan technology at Kuwait&#8217;s entry points</title>
		<link>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/03/15/mp-wants-eye-scan-technology-at-kuwaits-entry-points/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=mp-wants-eye-scan-technology-at-kuwaits-entry-points</link>
		<comments>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/03/15/mp-wants-eye-scan-technology-at-kuwaits-entry-points/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:30:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Habib Toumi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[eye scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habibtoumi.com/?p=1179</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Kuwait should introduce a mandatory eye scan at the airport and seaport to check the identity of all foreigners coming into the country, a lawmaker has said. &#8220;We have seen that many people who had been deported or denied entry into Kuwait resort to forged travel documents to come back using,&#8221; MP Abdullah Al Rooomi said. &#8220;Some of them have criminal records and allowing them here means new security challenges that we must tackle without failure. The eye scan should be a great solution to catch illegal visitors,&#8221; he said in a motion submitted to the parliament. The scan should be carried out at all entry ports, the lawmaker said. Kuwait is home to around 2.3 million foreigners, mostly from Asian countries. Last year, the government deported around 17,000 foreigners who were staying illegally in the country. Several MPs expressed concerns that many of the deportees would try to come back into Kuwait on forged passports. Several countries in the region have introduced the eye scan technology to detect criminals, passengers trying to re-enter after deportation and people traveling on fake passports.      ]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Russia to supply Kuwait, Saudi Arabia with weapons as Iran deal delayed for technical reasons</title>
		<link>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/02/24/russia-to-supply-weapons-to-kuwait-saudi-arabia/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=russia-to-supply-weapons-to-kuwait-saudi-arabia</link>
		<comments>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/02/24/russia-to-supply-weapons-to-kuwait-saudi-arabia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:18:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Habib Toumi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kinshchak]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Russia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Saudi Arabia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weapons]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habibtoumi.com/?p=926</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Russia will supply Kuwait with several types of weapons under a bilateral agreement, Kuwaiti media said on Wednesday. Quoting Alexander Kinshchak, Russia&#8217;s ambassador to Kuwait, Al Anba said that the two countries have agreed on all the details and that Kuwaiti experts will be trained on the use of the new weapons. A Kuwaiti military delegation is expected to fly to Russia for matters related to the training, the paper said. Kinshchak who was talking at a reception he hosted to mark the Army Day, however, refused to give details about the weapons. &#8220;We are now in the implementation stage and we will scrupulously apply all the conditions stipulated in the agreement,&#8221; he said. Kinshchak said that Kuwait- Russia military cooperation was robust and included technical reinforcement in all military areas, but ruled out joint exercises in the present time. &#8220;We do not have military units in Kuwait in order to engage in military manoeuvres.  However, such cooperation could take place in the future,&#8221; said Kinshchak who has been in his post in Kuwait since April 2008. &#8220;The fact that we can cooperate indicates that we have good relations.&#8221; Asked about the delay in delivering the S-300 air defense missiles [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Kuwait seeks end to diplomatic row between Libya and Switzerland</title>
		<link>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/02/23/kuwait-seeks-end-to-diplomatic-row-between-libya-and-switzerland/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=kuwait-seeks-end-to-diplomatic-row-between-libya-and-switzerland</link>
		<comments>http://www.habibtoumi.com/2010/02/23/kuwait-seeks-end-to-diplomatic-row-between-libya-and-switzerland/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 23 Feb 2010 09:05:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Habib Toumi</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kuwait]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Libya]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[row]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Switzerland]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.habibtoumi.com/?p=903</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Kuwait will seek to help defuse the diplomatic tension between Libya and Switzerland, the Kuwaiti foreign minister has said. Shaikh Mohammad Al Sabah who started on Monday a European tour of Portugal, Britain, Luxemburg and Belgium, will also visit Libya for discussions that include the Arab summit to be hosted by Tripoli next month as well as the diplomatic row between Tripoli and Geneva. &#8220;The visit to Libya is highly significant because it comes amid preparations for the annual summit,&#8221; Shaikh Mohammad said. &#8220;But, there is also the standoff between Switzerland and Libya and its effect on the Libyan-European relations. I will take up this issue during my stops in Europe and will brief the Libyan foreign minister on the outcome of the meetings with European officials,&#8221; Shaikh Mohammad was quoted as telling Kuwaiti media prior to his departure. The row between Tripoli and Berne started in July 2008 when two Swiss men were barred from leaving Libya after police in Geneva angered Tripoli by arresting a son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on charges of abusing two domestic helpers. The charges were later dropped, while Tripoli has denied there was any link between the two cases. However, the two [...]]]></description>
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