Kuwaiti man kidnapped in Lebanon

Armed men kidnapped a Kuwaiti in eastern Lebanon on Saturday, a security official said, adding that the abduction did not appear to have a political motive. The man, who lives in Lebanon, was seized from his car in the town of Howsh al-Ghanam in the Bekaa valley, the official told AFP. "There are no signs that the kidnapping was politically motivated." Security sources said that the kidnappers had decreased their ransom demand from $400,000 to $200,000 for his release. The official said there had been a number of kidnappings for ransom which are unrelated to political tensions or the conflict gripping neighbouring Syria. Nevertheless, such incidents fuel fears of Syria-related violence spilling over into Lebanon, where a Shiite clan kidnapped around 20 Syrians last week in retaliation for the abduction of a family member by a Syrian rebel group. Kuwait and several other Gulf states last week ordered their nationals -- who often holiday in Lebanon -- to leave the country in the face of threats, particularly against Saudis and Qataris, whose governments are staunch opponents of the Damascus regime.