Kuwait replaces oil minister in new cabinet

Kuwait's Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah formed a new cabinet Sunday, dropping his oil minister and replacing him with Mohammad al-Baseeri who previously held the communications portfolio. Apart from changes to the key oil and commerce ministries, the new line-up includes six new faces who replaced six who were dropped from the government that resigned on March 31 over a dispute with parliament. The 16-member lineup presented by the premier was sworn in by Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the state-run KUNA news agency reported. Baseeri, a veteran Islamist politician, was given the oil portfolio in the place of the man who had held the top job, Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family. Newcomer Amani Buresli, an academic, was appointed minister of commerce and industry while deputy premier for economic affairs Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah and finance minister Mustafa al-Shamali were retained. Besides the prime minister, the new cabinet includes four members of the Al-Sabah ruling family, one less than in the previous cabinet. They continue to hold the key posts of defence, interior and foreign affairs. The previous cabinet resigned more than five weeks ago following a showdown with parliament after MPs moved to question in parliament three ministers from the ruling family. Two of those ministers, Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah and Sheikh Ahamd, were however retained in the new cabinet amid threats by MPs that they will move to question them again. Also, a leading opposition group, the Popular Action Bloc, has vowed to question the prime minister himself over several allegations, including squandering public funds and administrative irregularities. Kuwait, OPEC's fifth largest producer, sits on about 10 % of global proven crude reserves and has an estimated $300 billion of surplus, but development has been hampered by continued political squabbling.