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Egypt’s central bank governor, Hisham Ramez, said on 11 September that Kuwait would deposit $2bn in aid in the bank “next week”. Ramez told Al Arabiya television that the money would remain in the central bank for five years. It is part of a $4bn aid package announced by Kuwait following the overthrow of president Mohammed Morsi (GSN 951/1).

Authorities in the Phillippines have freed Kuwaiti hostage Ahmad Al-Kanderi. On 4 September, Kuwait’s state news agency, Kuna, quoted foreign office sources as saying Al-Kanderi was in good health, and being questioned by the local authorities about his abduction in August. Kidnappers had asked for a ransom of $500,000; it was not clear whether any money was paid, although there were reports that the Kuwaiti military attaché in Manila paid KD8,000 ($28,000) for his release.

Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah flew to the United States on 12 September for a two-day state visit. The emir’s delegation – which included deputy prime minister and foreign minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, deputy chief of the National Guard Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah, and senior officials from the emiri diwan and the foreign ministry – was received at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington DC by US deputy chief of protocol Natalie Jones and Kuwait’s ambassador to the United States, Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

Kuwait’s appeals court has adjourned the trial of opposition figure Musallam Al-Barrak until 27 October. According to newspaper reports, the court said it wanted to hear the testimony of witnesses who had failed to show up. Al-Barrak was sentenced to five years for his public criticism of Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah during an election rally in 2012; in May, the appeals court overturned that verdict and ordered a retrial. Al-Barrak’s lawyers have argued they were not allowed to call the witnesses they had requested.

GSN provides a round up of developments in three court cases: Sheikh Meshaal Jarrah Al-Sabah v UBS AG, Sharab v HRH Al-Saud, Habtoor Leighton Group v Al Faisal Holding

GSN’s listing of the 33rd Kuwait cabinet, announced 4 August 2013.

Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah announced Kuwait’s 33rd cabinet with an emiri decree (209/2013) on 4 August. It is the fifth cabinet since prime minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah was appointed in November 2011. There were changes at several key ministries – interior, defence and finance will all be headed by new ministers (all members of the ruling family), while Mustafa Al-Shamali moves from finance to oil, a portfolio he has been in charge of since Hani Hussein resigned in May. Seven of the government’s 16 members are from the ruling Al-Sabah, compared to six in the outgoing government. Only one minister is a member of parliament (in the past, as many as eight MPs have been included in the government).

Kuwait has often been held up as a beacon for democratisation in the region. Friction between the elected parliament and the appointed government has been an ongoing problem, however, often resulting in paralysis of the state. Parliament has twice been shut down – from 1976 to 1981 and from 1986 to 1992 – and there have been three elections in the past 18 months.

Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah has pardoned all those convicted of insulting him. “I’m pleased on the occasion of Ramadan to grant an emiri amnesty to all those convicted of offending the emir, to be effective immediately,” he said in a speech broadcast on state television on 30 July.

In the heat of a Ramadan summer, Kuwaitis went to the polls on 27 July for the third time in less than two years. The turnout of around 52% – higher than the record low 40% of the last poll in December – only just topped the temperature, which climbed close to 50 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. The election results – most notable for significant Shia losses – are difficult to read; the elected assembly seems to be slightly more balanced than in recent years, but the chances of it leading to any profound improvement in Kuwait’s prospects nonetheless seem slim.

A constitency-by-constituency listing of MPs elected on 27 July 2013 and votes received.

The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA)’s main investment arm, the Kuwait Investment Office, now manages more than $120bn globally, compared with just $27bn ten years ago. KIA managing director Bader Mohammed Al-Saad was recently quoted by Reuters as saying the sovereign wealth fund had more than doubled its investment in the UK. “The KIA has invested more than $24bn in the UK across all asset classes, sectors and industries. Ten years ago, it was $9bn,” he told an investor lunch in London.

Atlanta-based Meggitt Training Systems has installed and commissioned a new live fire law enforcement range at Mubarrak Al-Kabeer, the first new Police Governorate headquarters. Ten identical installations are planned across Kuwait; Meggitt has already won the contract for the Al-Jahra tactical range, and is also completing the installation of a multiple range complex at the new Police Training Centre.

The Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA)’s main investment arm, the Kuwait Investment Office, now manages more than $120bn globally, compared with just $27bn ten years ago. KIA managing director Bader Mohammed Al-Saad was recently quoted by Reuters as saying the sovereign wealth fund had more than doubled its investment in the UK. “The KIA has invested more than $24bn in the UK across all asset classes, sectors and industries. Ten years ago, it was $9bn,” he told an investor lunch in London.

The price of a vote in Kuwait seems to be even steeper than usual as a result of changes in the election law. The emirate will hold its next parliamentary election on 27 July; holding a vote in Ramadan is unprecedented, and there are some concerns that heat, fasting and election fatigue could see turnout dip even lower than the 39.7% seen last December.