Kuwait’s foreign minister rejected US State Department comments about the case of a blogger on trial for allegedly insulting the country’s ruler, a local newspaper reported yesterday.
Daily Al-Anbaa quoted Sheikh Mohammad al-Salem al-Sabah as saying concerns expressed earlier this month amounted to interfering in Kuwait’s internal affairs.
Blogger and journalist Mohammad Abdul-Kader al-Jassem faces up to 18 years in prison if convicted, his lawyers said. He was detained on May 11 after a complaint against him was issued by the office of the Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.
“I cannot comment on a case being heard in court, but I can say we don’t accept any interference in our internal affairs at all. Kuwait is a sovereign state with its own systems and authorities,” the foreign minister said.
Jassem is also accused of spreading false news that could harm Kuwait’s national interests. He and his family say they are politically motivated.
On June 3, US State Department spokesman P.J. Corwley said Washington has raised concerns about the case with Kuwait.
“The ability of citizens and journalists of any country to freely and vigorously discuss, debate and critique the actions of governments does not threaten national interests,” he said.
South Korea’s air force yesterday apologized for a 2021 midair collision involving two fighter jets, a day after auditors said the pilots were taking selfies and filming during the flight and held them responsible for the accident. “We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by the accident that occurred in 2021,” an air force spokesman told a news conference, adding that one of the pilots involved had been suspended from flying duties, received severe disciplinary action and has since left the military. The apology followed a report released on Wednesday by the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection,
Indonesian police have arrested 13 people after shocking images of alleged abuse against small children at a daycare center went viral, sparking outrage across the nation, officials said on Monday. Police on Friday last week raided Little Aresha, a daycare center in Yogyakarta on Java island, following a report from a former employee. CCTV footage circulating on social media showed children, most younger than two, lying on the floor wearing only diapers, their hands and feet bound with rags. The police have confirmed that the footage is authentic. Police said they also found 20 children crammed into a room just 3m by 3m. “So
About 240 Indians claiming descent from a Biblical tribe landed at Tel Aviv airport on Thursday as part of a government operation to relocate them to Israel. The newcomers passed under a balloon arch in blue and white, the colors of the Israeli flag, as dozens of well-wishers welcomed them with a traditional Jewish song. They were the first “bnei Menashe” (“sons of Manasseh”) to arrive in Israel since the government in November last year announced funding for the immigration of about 6,000 members of the community from the states of Manipur and Mizoram in northeast India. The community claims to descend from
‘TROUBLING’: The firing of Phelan, who was an adviser to a nonprofit that supported the defense of Taiwan, was another example of ‘dysfunction’ under Trump, a US senator said US Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has been fired, a US official and a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, in another wartime shakeup at the Pentagon coming just weeks after US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ousted the Army’s top general. The Pentagon announced his departure in a brief statement, saying he was leaving the administration “effective immediately,” but it did not provide a reason or say whether it was his decision to go. The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Phelan was dismissed in part because he was moving too slowly to implement reforms to
RSS