Kuwait crisis

Kuwait, Jan. 23 (Reuters): Kuwait’s cabinet today asked parliament to vote on the new emir’s ability to take office, heightening a succession battle between the two wings of the ruling al-Sabah dynasty.

The new emir, Sheikh Saad al-Abdulla al-Sabah, is 76 and ailing, but removing him would breach a long tradition of alternating power between the family’s rival branches.

Iraq judge

Baghdad (Reuters): The court trying Saddam Hussein on Monday named a new chief judge, Raouf Abdel Rahman. Rahman is a Kurd from Halabja where 5,000 died in a gas attack during an offensive by Saddam’s forces.

US on Tigers

Colombo (Reuters): Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels will never have a relationship with the US unless they cease violence, US undersecretary of state Nicholas Burns said, saying they were a “reprehensible terrorist group”.