Negligence in Amiri Aircraft Deal: Jail Time Suspended for 3 Diwan advisors
KUWAIT CITY, June 2: The Misdemeanor Section in the Appeals Court suspended the prison sentence imposed on three former Amiri Diwan advisors accused of causing significant damage (estimated at $180 million of public funds) by withholding information from Kuwait Airways regarding a contract to equip an Amiri aircraft with an American company. The Misdemeanor Court had earlier sentenced them to three years in prison, fined them KD10,000 and dismissed them from their jobs on charges of negligence of their duties, breach of their duties, and abuse of power in and outside the country. Case files indicate they neglected and failed to fulfill their duties in supervising the implementation of a contract to equip, furnish and receive an Amiri aircraft and caused significant damage to public funds amounting to $180 million by withholding information from Kuwait Airways regarding the contract to equip the Amiri aircraft with an American company.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab Times
7 hours ago
- Arab Times
Musk calls Trump's big tax break bill a ‘disgusting abomination,' testing his influence over GOP
WASHINGTON, June 4, (AP): Elon Musk blasted President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" of tax breaks and spending cuts as a "disgusting abomination" on Tuesday, testing the limits of his political influence as he targeted the centerpiece of Republicans' legislative agenda. The broadside, which Musk issued on his social media platform X, came just days after the president gave him a celebratory Oval Office farewell that marked the end of his work for the administration, where he spearheaded the Department of Government Efficiency. "I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk posted on X. "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' The legislation, which has passed the House and is currently under debate in the Senate, would curtail subsidies that benefit Tesla, Musk's electric automaker. The tech billionaire followed his criticism with a threat aimed at Republicans. "In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,' he wrote in another X post. It's a sharp shift for Musk, the world's richest person, who spent at least $250 million supporting Trump's campaign last year. He previously pledged to help defeat Republican lawmakers deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump, but now he's suggesting voting them out if they advance the president's legislative priority. However, it's unclear how Musk will follow through on his criticism. He recently said he would spend "a lot less' on political campaigns, though he left the door open to political involvement "if I see a reason." The tech titan's missives could cause headaches for Republicans on Capitol Hill, who face conflicting demands from Trump and their party's wealthiest benefactor. Alex Conant, a Republican strategist, said "it's not helpful' to have Musk criticizing the legislation, but he doesn't expect lawmakers to side with Musk over Trump. "Senate Republicans are not going to let the tax cuts expire,' Conant said. "It just makes leadership's job that much harder to wrangle the holdouts.' Trump can change the outcome in Republican primaries with his endorsements, but Musk doesn't wield that level of influence, Conant said. "No matter what Elon Musk or anybody else says - and I don't want to diminish him because I don't think that's fair - it's still going to be second fiddle to President Trump,' said Republican West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito. Musk's business interests stand to take a hit if lawmakers approve Trump's bill, which would slash funding for electric vehicles and related technologies. Musk is the chief executive of Tesla, the nation's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, and SpaceX, which has massive defense contracts. Last month, Musk said he was "disappointed' by the spending bill, a much milder criticism than the broadside he leveled Tuesday. The budget package seeks to extend tax cuts approved in 2017, during Trump's first term at the White House, and add new ones he campaigned on. It also includes a massive buildup of $350 billion for border security, deportations and national security.
Kuwait Times
12 hours ago
- Kuwait Times
Iran says no nuclear deal if deprived of ‘peaceful activities'
CAIRO: Iran said Monday it will not accept a nuclear agreement that deprives it of what it called 'peaceful activities', a reference to uranium enrichment, as it pressed the United States for guarantees it would drop sanctions. Uranium enrichment has remained a key point of contention between the foes in talks to seal a nuclear deal, ongoing since April, with Iran defending what it says is its pursuit of a civil nuclear program but with the US side calling it a 'red line'. Speaking in Cairo, where he met the UN nuclear watchdog's chief Rafael Grossi, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said: 'If the goal is to deprive Iran of its peaceful activities, then certainly no agreement will be reached.' Araghchi insisted that Iran has 'nothing to hide' on its nuclear program. 'Iran has a peaceful nuclear program... we are prepared to provide this assurance to any party or entity,' he said. The remarks came after Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Monday called for more transparency from Iran following a leaked report that showed Tehran had stepped up uranium enrichment. The IAEA report showed that Iran has ramped up production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent — close to the roughly 90 percent level needed for atomic weapons. 'There is a need for more transparency — this is very, very clear — in Iran, and nothing will bring us to this confidence (besides) full explanations of a number of activities,' Grossi said ahead of meeting Araghchi. Grossi added that some of the report's findings 'may be uncomfortable for some, and we are... used to being criticized'. Iran has rejected the report, warning it would retaliate if European powers that have threatened to reimpose nuclear sanctions 'exploit' it. 'Some countries are trying to abuse this agency to pave the way for escalation with Iran. I hope that this agency does not fall into this trap,' Araghchi said of the IAEA. Iran meanwhile pushed for the United States to drop sanctions that have crippled its economy as a condition for a nuclear agreement with President Donald Trump's administration. Araghchi said on Saturday that he had received 'elements' of a US proposal for a nuclear deal following five rounds of talks mediated by Oman. Both Araghchi and Grossi met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who praised the US-Iran talks and called for 'de-escalation in order to prevent a slide into a full-fledged regional war'. On Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told a news conference: 'We want to guarantee that the sanctions are effectively lifted.' 'So far, the American side has not wanted to clarify this issue,' he said. The US envoy in the nuclear talks said last month that Trump's administration would oppose any Iranian enrichment. 'An enrichment program can never exist in the state of Iran ever again. That's our red line. No enrichment,' Steve Witkoff told Breitbart News. Following a phone call with Witkoff the day before about the ongoing nuclear talks, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty urged a peaceful solution and a nuclear-weapon-free Middle East, saying in Monday's press conference that 'the region is already experiencing enough problems and crises'. He warned that military confrontation would create 'a state of chaos from which no one will be spared'. Iran has vowed to keep enriching uranium 'with or without a deal' on its nuclear program. The United States has sent Iran a proposal for a nuclear deal that the White House called 'acceptable' and in Tehran's 'best interest' to accept, US media reported on Saturday. The New York Times, citing officials familiar with the diplomatic exchanges, said the proposal calls on Iran to stop all enrichment and suggests creating a regional grouping to produce nuclear power. — AFP Iran has held five rounds of talks with the United States in search of a new agreement to replace the deal with major powers that Trump abandoned during his first term in 2018. — AFP
Kuwait Times
2 days ago
- Kuwait Times
Chinese students face anxious wait for visas under Trump's crackdown
Chinese students face anxious wait for visas under Trump's crackdown Sign of latest spillover from US-China trade war tensions BEIJING: Caught in the middle of Washington's renewed visa crackdown on Chinese international students, Beijing postgraduate Lainey is anxiously waiting to resume the visa process to study a PhD at her dream school, the University of California. 'We feel helpless and unable to do anything,' said the 24-year-old sociology student, who declined to give her surname for privacy reasons. 'The situation in North America this year is not very good. From applying for my PhD until now, this series of visa policies is not very favorable to us. But we have no choice but to wait.' The US State Department said on Thursday it would not tolerate the 'exploitation' of American universities or theft of US research and intellectual property by Beijing. Spokesperson Tammy Bruce did not elaborate on how many Chinese students would be affected by a new plan announced on Wednesday to 'aggressively' revoke visas. The visa crackdown is the latest in a series of moves targeting the international student community, especially Chinese nationals, who make up roughly 1 in 4 of all international students in the US, as the Trump administration pursues its hardline immigration agenda. If applied to a broad segment of the 277,000 Chinese students already at US colleges, the visa revocations could disrupt a major source of income for universities and a crucial pipeline of talent for US technology companies. Chinese students make up 16 percent of all graduate science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) students in the United States. Defer enrolment? The announcement on Chinese student visa holders came after the Trump administration ordered its missions worldwide to stop scheduling new appointments for student and exchange visitor visa applicants. If the visa appointment system is not resumed soon, Lainey wishes to defer enrolment for a year. 'Although everyone says the US admissions system may be biased against Chinese students, in reality US schools are indeed the top in terms of academic quality,' she said. 'I may also consider (applying to) some places outside the US, such as Europe, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore.' The measures are a sign of the increasing spillover from a bruising trade war between the two global superpowers, and threaten to derail a fragile truce reached mid-May in Geneva. A Friday editorial by China's state-owned Global Times newspaper said the new visa measures raised 'the spectre of McCarthyism' and likened them to an 'educational witch-hunt'. 'In recent years, the suppression of Chinese students has increasingly become an important part of the US strategy to contain China,' the commentary said. Potentially even more damaging than the immediate economic impact for the US could be a long-term erosion of the appeal of US universities and the subsequent brain drain. International students – 54 percent of them from India and China - contributed more than $50 billion to the US economy in 2023, according to the US Department of Commerce. 'If I really have to wait until 2026 to reapply, I might not have such positive feelings towards America,' said Lainey. 'If I can't even get a visa, then I'd have no choice but to go somewhere else.'— Reuters
