Kuwait appoints new FM

Kuwait's ruler Sunday appointed Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah as the Gulf emirate's new deputy prime minister and foreign minister. Sheikh Khaled, a member of the ruling Sabah family, would fill the vacuum left by Sheikh Mohammad Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah, who resigned Tuesday after more than six years on the post. The appointment came two days prior to the opening of a new session of the national assembly, which is expected to see fresh grillings from opposition lawmakers against the cabinet born in May. Opposition activists and lawmakers in the past months staged weekly demonstrations to ask Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to sack Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al- Sabah, dragging the emirate deeper into political crisis. The Sabah family has ruled Kuwait for more than 250 years, with members from the royal court holding key posts such as interior, foreign and defense ministers.