KUWAIT: The cassation court yesterday upheld the rulings of the lower and the appeals courts upholding the government decision to shut down Al-Watan newspaper for failing to fulfill financial requirements. The ministry of commerce and industry revoked the commercial license of the newspaper in January after it lost more than 75 percent of its capital. The action was followed by the information ministry withdrawing the media license of the newspaper after it lost its commercial status.

The lower court supported the government's decision and this was confirmed by the court of appeals. Owners of Al-Watan then challenged the rulings at the cassation court, whose rulings are final. The newspaper is owned by former oil and finance minister Sheikh Ali Al-Khalifa Al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family. Since its closure in January, the daily stopped publishing its print edition and has been updating its electronic website after substantially reducing its content. Authorities in June also shut down Al-Watan satellite TV, which is part of the same organization, citing similar reasons.

In another development, National Assembly Speaker Marzouk Al-Ghanem said yesterday that the grilling filed by MP Saadoun Hammad against Minister of Public Works and Electricity and Water Ahmad Al-Jassar is constitutional. He said the grilling has been placed on the agenda of the Dec 1 session for a possible debate. Jassar has tendered his resignation to the government, which has not yet made any decision on it, but the minister has been away from office. Ghanem said the government has three options to deal with the issue. It can either accept his resignation and the grilling ends, the minister ends his holiday and comes back, or he can ask for the grilling to be delayed for a certain duration.

Meanwhile, MP Askar Al-Enezi yesterday sent a series of questions to the finance minister about the size of surpluses amassed by Kuwait due to high prices of oil since the 2009/2010 fiscal year. The lawmaker asked the minister about the amount of the surplus in each year and what has the government done with it. He asked if the government has embarked on development projects utilizing the budget surplus when oil prices rose above $100 a barrel. He demanded a list of those development projects if they exist, otherwise he asked the minister to provide him with an explanation about the fate of the funds.

The Assembly's health and labor committee yesterday gave the government two weeks to send answers on a number of questions on the proposed health insurance scheme for citizens and the medical insurance policy for expatriate visitors. Head of the committee MP Saadoun Hammad said the panel discussed the health insurance scheme for all citizens.

By B Izzak