Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Meshal has approved a new cabinet days after dissolving parliament and suspending some articles of the constitution for up to four years.
Sheikh Meshal on Friday dissolved the National Assembly a month after it was elected. He suspended some articles of the constitution over "interference" from politicians, amid disputes that have lasted for several years.
The new government – Kuwait’s 46th since 1962 – is to be led by Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Al Abdullah Al Sabah and will be made up of 13 ministers, two of them women.
Sheikh Ahmad is a Kuwaiti economist and has served as head of the Crown Prince’s Court since 2021. In 2009, he was appointed minister of oil and minister of information, holding those portfolios for two years.
On Tuesday, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, congratulated Sheikh Ahmad and wished him success in his new duties to serve Kuwait.
The previous prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed Sabah Al Salem, refused to take up the post again amid tension between the government and the 50-member National Assembly.
Disputes between appointed members of the government and elected MPs have often led to political paralysis. Elections were held in April, the fourth poll to be held since December 2020.
Kuwait's opposition won the most seats in the elections, maintaining their years-long hold over parliament. MPs have previously accused ministers of corruption, while the government has blamed parliament for hampering development plans.
Sheikh Meshal became Emir in December after the death of his predecessor and half-brother, Sheikh Nawaf.
Under Kuwait’s constitution, a new government must be formed within two weeks of an election. Since the vote on April 4, tension between the elected parliament and the appointed Prime Minister has caused that process to stall.
All aspects of the democratic process will be studied while the articles of the constitution are suspended, Sheikh Meshal said.
“Unfortunately, we have faced some unimaginable, unbearable difficulties and impediments,” the Emir said in an address to the country on Friday. “We were left with no option other than taking this hard decision to rescue the country and protect its higher national interests, and resources of the nation.”
Sheikh Meshal has not yet named a crown prince. The Emir would normally need parliament to endorse his nominee.
During the speech, Sheikh Meshal said some people interfered with his power to choose a crown prince, and warned he would not allow the political system to be exploited to “destroy” the country.
Who is in the new government?
1 - Fahad Al Sabah, First Deputy Prime Minister, Defence Minister and Interior Minister
2 - Shereeda Al Mousherji, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs
3 - Dr Imad Al Atiqi, Deputy Prime Minister and Oil Minister
4 - Abdulrahman Al Mutairi, Minister of Information and Culture
5 - Dr Ahmad Al Awadhi, Minister of Health
6 - Dr Anwar Al Mudhaf, Minister of Finance, and Minister of State for Economic and Investment Affairs
7 - Dr Adel Al Adwani, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
8 - Abdullah Al Yahya, Minister of Foreign Affairs
9 - Dr Noura Al Mashaan, Minister of Public Works and Minister of Municipality Affairs
10 - Dr Mohammad Al Wasmi, Minister of Justice and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs
11 - Omar Al Omar, Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Minister of State for Communication Affairs
12 - Dr Mohammad Bushehri, Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy, and Minister of State for Housing Affairs
13 - Dr Amthal Al Huwailah, Minister of Social Affairs, Labour, Family Affairs and Childhood and Minister of State for Youth Affairs
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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The specs: Rolls-Royce Cullinan
Price, base: Dh1 million (estimate)
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 563hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 850Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 15L / 100km
The specs: Aston Martin DB11 V8 vs Ferrari GTC4Lusso T
Price, base: Dh840,000; Dh120,000
Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo; 3.9L V8 turbo
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic; seven-speed automatic
Power: 509hp @ 6,000rpm; 601hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 695Nm @ 2,000rpm; 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.9L / 100km; 11.6L / 100km
THE%C2%A0SPECS
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Tuesday, 11pm (UAE)
Matches can be watched on BeIN Sports
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
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if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
More on Palestine-Israeli relations
MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
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UK%20record%20temperature
%3Cp%3E38.7C%20(101.7F)%20set%20in%20Cambridge%20in%202019%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
