Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for Kuwait
Newsline: GCC members to close embassies in Damascus
All the six member countries of the Gulf Council Cooperation (GCC) will shut down their embassies in Syria, GCC chief said on Friday. The GCC countries are taking the step because the Syrian government “chose the military means and rejected all initiatives for resolving the crisis in the country,” said Abdul Latif al-Zayani, secretary general of the GCC. The GCC groups Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait. In February, the GCC members decided to withdraw their ambassadors in Syria and demand that Syrian ambassadors in the Gulf countries leave.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-03/16/c_131470792.htm
Newsline: Kuwait settles US suit that charged servants abuse by diplomat
Kuwait’s government has settled a lawsuit brought by three domestic servants who alleged they were abused, threatened and underpaid by a diplomat and his wife. The women filed suit in federal court in the District in January 2007, saying they had been subjected to “slavery like conditions through physical and psychological abuse” by Maj. Waleed Al Saleh, an attache at the Embassy of Kuwait in D.C., and his wife, Maysaa Al Omar. The parties agreed to a settlement this month. Attorneys involved in the case would not disclose the terms of the agreement, but said both sides were satisfied. “It sends a message to other persons that may be involved in such actions,” said Steven Watt, a senior staff lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the women. “It won’t be condoned.” The women — Kumari Sabbithi, Joaquina Quadros and Tina Fernandes — cared for the couple’s four children at their McLean home and did household tasks, but were only paid a fraction of their agreed wages, according to the lawsuit. Al Saleh and Al Omar took their passports and forced them “to perform backbreaking work virtually every waking hour of the day,” from 6:30 or 7:30 a.m. to between 10:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. The lawsuit says Al Omar slapped Sabbithi and struck her with spoons, wooden boxes and frozen chicken packages. Al Omar once became enraged over a meal’s preparation, pulled Sabbithi’s hair and threatened to “cut off” her tongue, according to the suit. Domestic servants abused by diplomats often have little recourse; the officials typically assert diplomatic immunity and leave the country. Watt said naming the government in the lawsuit “brought the state of Kuwait to the table.” and helped the parties reach a settlement. Neil Koslowe, an attorney for Kuwait, Al Saleh and Al Omar, said his clients admitted no wrongdoing but declined to comment on why the parties settled. “The state of Kuwait is committed to complying with all State Department guidelines on diplomatic interactions with domestic workers,” he said.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/local/crime/2012/02/servants-kuwait-settle-suit-charged-abuse-diplomat/308956
Newsline: Kuwait Embassy in Sarajevo resumes work following harsh weather
Kuwaiti Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Mohammed Fadel Khalaf said the embassy resumed diplomatic and consular activities as of today after the completion of the restoration of the embassy building which was damaged from bad weather conditions which prevailed in the country in the past few weeks. The ambassador told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that the Embassy resumed its activities to serve interests of Kuwaiti nationals here, calling on all Kuwaiti citizens who have any inquiries to visit the embassy building in downtown.
http://www.kuna.net.kw/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=2223288&language=en
Newsline: Embassy’s petty cash still not accounted for
Petty cash amounting to E434 699.89 which was withdrawn from the coffers of the Swaziland Embassy in Kuwait remains unaccounted for. The money was withdrawn as petty cash from the embassy for petty expenditure between the months of October and December 2009. The Auditor General’s (AG) financial report for year ended March 31, 2011 revealed that it was difficult to get this money accounted for because there were no cash slips or expenditure receipts that were made available for audit. There was no justification and those responsible were not specified. The AG’s office also discovered that an unsupported expenditure of E654 525.30 was incurred in respect of passage allowance for the ambassador’s trips. Phesheya Dlamini is currently the Swazi Ambassador to Kuwait. The trips he made were from Kuwait to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Swaziland via United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa and Belgium. They were made between June 2009 and March 2010 and the total cost was KD22 990 (E654 525.30). Meanwhile, the report stated that on the issue of the unaccounted petty cash withdrawals, the controlling officer’s response was that a report about it was submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
http://www.times.co.sz/News/72766.html
Newsline: Iran Embassy denies Kuwaitis charged as spies
The Iranian Embassy in Kuwait has denied reports that its home government has accused two Kuwaitis — Attorney Adel Al-Yahya and Raed Majid — who were arrested in Abadan Province, of spying. According to the Embassy, the two Kuwaitis were arrested for violating tourist visa rules as they carried out activities prohibited for foreigners who hold such visas. The embassy confirmed the investigation is still ongoing and the concerned authorities are closely following up the case. An official from Kuwait’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday refuted reports that the two Kuwaitis were arrested on suspicion of spying. He explained the two are working for a local satellite channel station and they went to Iran to record an episode of a social program, affirming they entered the country through legal means. Iran’s Arabic-language satellite channel Al-Alam had earlier quoted local officials in Abadan, southwest of Iran, as saying that two Kuwaitis were arrested in the town on suspicion of spying and illegal entry. But a statement issued byIran’s embassy inKuwaitsaid the pair were arrested because they “committed an act contrary to their tourist visa and that the matter is under review by relevant authorities,” the official IRNA news agency reported. There were no further details.
Newsline: Terror threat closes UK embassy in Kuwait
Britain’s government said Thursday a targeted terrorist threat has forced it to suspend services at its embassy inKuwait. The Foreign Office said the action was precautionary. It said it cannot rule out a threat against other British interests in Kuwait and has urged British businesses and organizations to review their own security procedures. It would not comment on the nature of the threat or how long services are expected to be affected. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait said there was no change in its operations or “security posture.” Britain’s Foreign Office does not advise any travel restrictions for Kuwait, but warns on its website that there is a “general threat from terrorism” there.
http://m.billingsgazette.com/mobile/article_c1f8b883-216f-527d-8715-f64328e819e7.html
Newsline: US Embassy in Kuwait warns against drinking mineral water
The US Embassy in Kuwait has warned its citizens against drinking a certain kind of mineral water, reports Al-Shahed daily. The report could not be independently confirmed. The embassy in a statement said this water contains contaminants and materials unfit for human consumption and harmful to public health. The statement said random samples of mineral water, the type sold in the local market, were sent to a special lab in the United States and the results were not convincing.
Newsline: Kuwait, Saudi recalls Syria ambassador, criticizes violence
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad pressed on with a tank onslaught against a city, but was plunged deeper into international isolation by Arab neighbours who denounced his violent crackdown and recalled their envoys from Damascus. Assad’s five-month campaign against opponents has emerged as one of the bloodiest episodes of the wave of unrest sweeping the Arab world this year. Violence has worsened sharply in the past week after Assad ordered tank assaults on two cities. Other Arab leaders had been cautious about criticizing one of their peers, but Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah broke the silence with a rare intervention overnight, demanding an end to the bloodshed and recalling the Saudi ambassador from Damascus. Hours later Kuwait and Bahrain recalled their envoys too. Syrian tanks and troops poured into the eastern Sunni city of Deir al-Zor in the latest stage of a campaign to crush centres of protest against 41 years of repressive rule by the Assad family and domination by his Alawite minority community. Later on Monday Assad fired defence minister Ali Habib and replaced him with chief of staff General Daoud Rajha. The state news agency said Habib was ill. Habib had been added to an EU sanctions list last week for his role in crushing protests. The sudden withdrawal of ambassadors of Gulf Arab states leaves Assad with few diplomatic friends. Western states have imposed sanctions on top Syrian officials and countries with close ties to Damascus such as Russia and Turkey had warned Assad he was running out of time. Nevertheless, countries have not proposed military action like that ranged againstLibya’s leader Moammar Gadhafi. The Saudi criticism was the sharpest the oil giant has directed against any fellow Arab state since pro-democracy uprisings began to sweep across the region in January, toppling autocrats in Tunisia and Egypt, kindling civil war inLibyaand rattling entrenched elites throughout the region. “What is happening inSyriais not acceptable forSaudi Arabia,” Abdullah said in a written statement read out on Al Arabiya satellite television. “Syria should think wisely before it’s too late and issue and enact reforms that are not merely promises but actual reforms,” said the Saudi king, an absolute ruler whose country has no elected parliament. “Either it chooses wisdom on its own or it will be pulled down into the depths of turmoil and loss.”
Newsline: Kuwaiti diplomat found dead in Moscow
A Kuwaiti diplomat who had gone missing was found dead in centralMoscowon Tuesday. Few details were immediately available, other than that an autopsy on the 30-year-old embassy official was ordered. Initially, there were no signs of violence on the man’s body, the report said. But his luxury Porsche 911 car and valuables were missing. He had last been seen Monday evening as he was leaving a restaurant inMoscow.
Newsline: President Sirleaf Opens New Liberian Embassy in Kuwait
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf opened the new Embassy of the Republic of Liberia near Kuwait City, heralding the start of a strengthened bilateral relationship between the State of Kuwait and Liberia. In remarks made at the opening ceremony, the President said she was pleased that the relationship had been “reactivated,” and that the two countries could now “begin to rebuild upon that historic and important relationship,” and together promote the development of Africa and strong partnership and relationship between the Arab States and the African continent.
