Kuwait emir accepts cabinet resignation

Kuwait’s emir has accepted the resignation of the cabinet, state news agency KUNA said on Monday, after a standoff between the government and parliament over questioning the prime minister. The political confrontation, which erupted less than a month after the cabinet was appointed, has posed the first big challenge to Emir Shaikh Nawaf al Ahmed al Sabah, who assumed power in September. It also complicates the government’s efforts to tackle the worse economic crisis in the Gulf state, which is facing a large budget deficit in the absence of a debt law that has long-caused political deadlocks. — Reuters