* China on Tuesday (January 29) strongly urged the United States to stop the unreasonable suppression of Chinese companies, including Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., according to a Foreign Ministry spokesperson. * US President Donald Trump has accepted an invitation from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to deliver the State of the Union address on February 5. * A Russian Su-27 fighter intercepted a US reconnaissance aircraft over the Baltic Sea approaching the Russian border, the Russian Defense Ministry said on January 28. * The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China on January 29 started reviewing a new draft of the foreign investment law, the latest move to promote the country's opening-up initiative. * The United States on January 28 slapped sanctions on a state-owned oil firm in Venezuela. The sanctions on Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A., or known as PDVSA, will block US$7 billion in assets and could result in US$11 billion in lost sales over the next year, US … [Read more...] about World News in Brief: January 29
Kuwait news agency
World News in Brief: January 13
* Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono on January 12 started his five-day visit to Russia, during which he will hold consultations on a peace treaty with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. * Iran's Foreign Ministry summoned Polish charge d'affaires to voice Tehran's protest at the European country's decision to host a conference that the US is going to hold against Iran next month, Tasnim news agency reported on January 13. * Kuwait will host the third Kuwait-US Strategic Dialogue Session on January 15 with an aim of further cementing relations and cooperation between the two countries, the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) said on January 12. The strategic dialogue will set a roadmap for cooperation between Kuwait and the US for the next 25 years in different fields, KUNA said. * Jordan on January 12 called for international efforts to end the stalemate in the peace process between Israelis and Palestinians, state-run Petra news agency reported. * The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced … [Read more...] about World News in Brief: January 13
Kuwait, Japan and Vietnam: Joint petrochemical complex on schedule
Site preparation works for the proposed refinery and petrochemical complex jointly owned by Kuwait, Japan and Vietnam is proceeding "as scheduled," while the investors are exploring possibility of investment cuts, major Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co. said Monday. "We are aiming to put the plant into operation in 2014," the Tokyo-based firm said in a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA). … [Read more...] about Kuwait, Japan and Vietnam: Joint petrochemical complex on schedule
US, UK, Kuwait urge swift negotiated solution to Qatar crisis
The United States, United Kingdom and Kuwait urged all parties to a Gulf Arab diplomatic row over Qatar to resolve their dispute as quickly as possible through dialogue, Kuwait state news agency KUNA reported on Tuesday. The statement came as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and British National Security Advisor Mark Sedwill visited Kuwait, which is acting as a mediator, in order to patch up the row among the Western-allied countries. Coming from some of the most influential powers in the dispute, the plea for a negotiated solution may aim at an earlier refusal by Qatar's adversaries to discuss renewing ties with Doha until it first acquiesced to a list of stiff demands. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and Egypt imposed sanctions last month, accusing Doha of aiding terrorism, something it denies. The State Department said Tillerson would hold talks with leaders in Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Riyadh and its allies accuse Qatar of financing extremist groups and … [Read more...] about US, UK, Kuwait urge swift negotiated solution to Qatar crisis
Kuwait hangs 7 prisoners, including royal, in mass execution
Kuwait hanged seven prisoners, including a royal family member and a woman convicted of killing more than 40 people, in a mass execution on Wednesday, the first death sentences carried out in several years in the oil-rich emirate. Those executed included a Bangladeshi, a Filipina, an Ethiopian, two Kuwaitis and two Egyptians, according to a statement carried on the state-run KUNA news agency. The royal was identified as Faisal Abdullah Al Jaber Al Sabah. The statement said he was convicted of premediated murder and illegal possession of a firearm. The second Kuwaiti national executed on Wednesday was Nasra al-Enezi. She was convicted of charges including premeditated murder and sentenced to death in 2010. She was accused of setting fire to a wedding tent the previous year after her husband took a second wife. The blaze killed more than 40 women and children inside. In the Philippines, Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose identified the Filipina hanged as Jakatia … [Read more...] about Kuwait hangs 7 prisoners, including royal, in mass execution