Kuwait leadership crisis over emir’s fitness to rule

KUWAIT’S succession crisis deepened yesterday amid a confrontation between the ailing new emir and parliament over his fitness to rule.

The row over the new emir, Sheikh Saad al-Abdulla al-Sabah, who is 76 and incapacitated by illness, touches on the bitterly contested principle of alternating power between the two rival branches of the ruling al-Sabah family.

The crisis has forced parliament to postpone indefinitely regular sessions, including debate on an $8.5 billion (€6.92bn) plan to boost oil output.