Kuwait's Defence Minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Ali, left, listens to Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al Mohammad Al Sabah at the National Assembly in Kuwait City on January 18. AFP
Kuwait's Defence Minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Ali, left, listens to Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al Mohammad Al Sabah at the National Assembly in Kuwait City on January 18. AFP
Kuwait's Defence Minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Ali, left, listens to Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al Mohammad Al Sabah at the National Assembly in Kuwait City on January 18. AFP
Kuwait's Defence Minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Ali, left, listens to Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al Mohammad Al Sabah at the National Assembly in Kuwait City on January 18. AFP

Kuwait defence minister survives vote of no confidence


Ismaeel Naar
  • English
  • Arabic

Kuwait's Defence Minister Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al Ali Al Sabah survived a vote of no confidence in parliament on Wednesday over a number of decisions, including one to allow women to serve in combat roles.

After discussing the motion against the minister, 23 members of parliament voted against the motion, while 18 voted in favour.

Four members of parliament – two for and two against – spoke on Wednesday on the motion that was brought against Sheikh Hamad last week.

Representatives Shuaib Al Muwaziri and Hamdan Al Azmi spoke as supporters of the request for a vote of no confidence, while Dr Abdullah Al Tariji and Dr Khaled Al Enezi spoke against the motion.

Mr Al Muwaizri said there was "clear and open corruption" and the questioning of Sheikh Hamad last week was not personal.

“The minister’s management is bad and the continuation of this negative performance is unacceptable,” Mr Al Muwaizri told parliament.

Kuwait’s government has also referred two senior military officers for prosecution in a major corruption case related to the purchase of Eurofighter Typhoon combat planes.

Kuwait Ministry of Interior's Captain Rashed Al Mulla, left, gives a walkie talkie to 1st Lt AL Najjar, right, after a briefing at his office in South Surra, Kuwait, on September 2, 2010. Gustavo Ferrari / The National
Kuwait Ministry of Interior's Captain Rashed Al Mulla, left, gives a walkie talkie to 1st Lt AL Najjar, right, after a briefing at his office in South Surra, Kuwait, on September 2, 2010. Gustavo Ferrari / The National

An investigation revealed the price of the jets was improperly inflated.

The country's Anti-Corruption Authority said on Monday a major general and colonel in the army would face charges over their alleged misuse of public funds.

Mr Al Turaiji, who spoke against the request for a vote of no confidence, said Sheikh Hamad issued a decision in line with a fatwa, or religious edict, that allowed for women to serve in the military.

“Legitimacy regarding women’s entry into the military was followed through and the minister answered 80 percent of parliamentary questions, which confirms his co-operation with parliamentarians,” Mr Al Turaiji said.

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood

Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

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1987

1954

1921

1888

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What to watch out for:

Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways

The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof

The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history

Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure

Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO

Rajasthan Royals 158-8 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 143/7 (20 ovs)

Rajasthan Royals won by 15 runs

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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

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Asia Cup Qualifier

Final
UAE v Hong Kong

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FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

MATCH INFO

Group B

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Torque: 624Nm

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Updated: January 26, 2022, 9:25 AM`