Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receives Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia' Al-Sudani. Photo: Kuwait News Agency
Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receives Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia' Al-Sudani. Photo: Kuwait News Agency
Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receives Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia' Al-Sudani. Photo: Kuwait News Agency
Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receives Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia' Al-Sudani. Photo: Kuwait News Agency

GCC calls on Iraq to protect fragile maritime agreement with Kuwait


Sinan Mahmoud
  • English
  • Arabic

The Gulf Co-operation Council has called on Iraq to address the consequences of the country’s top court ruling which annuls the law ratifying a 2012 agreement with Kuwait to regulate maritime navigation on a crucial waterway on the Arabian Gulf.

Earlier this month, the Iraqi Federal Supreme Court said the 2013 law which was issued by the parliament to ratify the Khor Abdullah agreement is unconstitutional. It should have been ratified with the approval of two thirds of parliament, not a simple majority, judges said in the ruling.

The GCC Foreign Ministers called on Iraq to “take serious and urgent steps to address the negative repercussions that arose from the ruling of the Supreme Federal Court,” said a statement issued after a meeting in New York on Sunday, ahead of the UN General Assembly scheduled to be held this week.

They added that the ruling “contained inaccurate historical details out of context”, but did not elaborate further.

The Ministerial Council affirmed that these developments “do not serve the relations with the GCC countries and contravene international charters, treaties, and agreements,” the statement added.

Khor Abdullah is a narrow waterway that leads in from the Arabian Gulf, curving around Kuwait's Bubiyan and Warba islands on one side and Iraq's Al Faw Peninsula on the other.

The 78th session of the UNGA is the largest yearly gathering of world leaders and high-ranking diplomats.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani has arrived in New York and is scheduled to address the gathering on Friday, the same day designated for Kuwait's speech.

Following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 833 in 1993 which determined the land border between Iraq and Kuwait.

However, the delineation of the maritime border was left to the two countries.

Early last year, Iraq paid its final war reparations to Kuwait, settling the $52.4 billion of claims made for damage inflicted during the 1990 invasion.

ARABIAN GULF LEAGUE FIXTURES

Thursday, September 21
Al Dahfra v Sharjah (kick-off 5.35pm)
Al Wasl v Emirates (8.30pm)

Friday, September 22
Dibba v Al Jazira (5.25pm)
Al Nasr v Al Wahda (8.30pm)

Saturday, September 23
Hatta v Al Ain (5.25pm)
Ajman v Shabab Al Ahli (8.30pm)

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Dhadak 2

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

History's medical milestones

1799 - First small pox vaccine administered

1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery

1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases

1895 - Discovery of x-rays

1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time

1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin

1953 - Structure of DNA discovered

1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place 

1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill

1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.

1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out

'Nope'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Jordan%20Peele%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Daniel%20Kaluuya%2C%20Keke%20Palmer%2C%20Brandon%20Perea%2C%20Steven%20Yeun%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

The past winners

2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)

2010 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)

2011 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)

2012 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)

2013 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)

2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)

2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

2017 - Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)

Married Malala

Malala Yousafzai is enjoying married life, her father said.

The 24-year-old married Pakistan cricket executive Asser Malik last year in a small ceremony in the UK.

Ziauddin Yousafzai told The National his daughter was ‘very happy’ with her husband.

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

The currency conundrum

Russ Mould, investment director at online trading platform AJ Bell, says almost every major currency has challenges right now. “The US has a huge budget deficit, the euro faces political friction and poor growth, sterling is bogged down by Brexit, China’s renminbi is hit by debt fears while slowing Chinese growth is hurting commodity exporters like Australia and Canada.”

Most countries now actively want a weak currency to make their exports more competitive. “China seems happy to let the renminbi drift lower, the Swiss are still running quantitative easing at full tilt and central bankers everywhere are actively talking down their currencies or offering only limited support," says Mr Mould.

This is a race to the bottom, and everybody wants to be a winner.

Brief scores:

Everton 0

Leicester City 1

Vardy 58'

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

THE BIO

Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979

Education: UAE University, Al Ain

Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6

Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma

Favourite book: Science and geology

Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC

Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.

Brief scores:

England: 290 & 346

Sri Lanka: 336 & 243

WITHIN%20SAND
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Moe%20Alatawi%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Ra%E2%80%99ed%20Alshammari%2C%20Adwa%20Fahd%2C%20Muhand%20Alsaleh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
If you go...

Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

Updated: September 18, 2023, 3:18 PM`