Kuwait annuls over a hundred fraudulent citizenship issuances
In a significant move, Kuwait has been revoking thousands of citizenships linked to fraudulently obtained nationality, marking a notable shift in the Gulf region. This extensive investigation and large-scale revocation of citizenships, supported by forensic tools like DNA testing, detailed audits, and cooperation with other Gulf states, has been unprecedented in scale and rigor.
The Supreme Committee for Kuwaiti Nationality Investigations conducts thorough reviews, using DNA tests to disprove fraudulent family claims, such as cases where hundreds of dependents were fabricated. The process is transparent, with citizenship revocations published in the Official Gazette, and a four-month grace period is provided for individuals who lose their citizenship to travel with their Kuwaiti passports and a one-year window to regularize their status or obtain other legal documents.
Other Gulf countries also revoke citizenship for fraud but generally do not publicize mass purges of this scale or detail a similar formal grace period publicly. While there have been cases of citizenship revocation in other Gulf states for fraud or political reasons, available data does not show a comparable forensic approach, such as widespread DNA testing or coordinated large-scale investigations with transparent grace periods.
Kuwait's citizenship revocation system stands out among Gulf states due to its large scale, use of scientific methods, and a structured legal and humanitarian process. Other Gulf countries apply revocations more sporadically or discreetly, often linked to political issues or individual fraud cases without the same level of forensic and procedural transparency currently seen in Kuwait.
The intricate fraud network uncovered in Kuwait—with fabricated extended family trees spanning decades—also appears more systemic and intensively rooted than publicly reported elsewhere in the Gulf. With Kuwait's economy shrinking for two straight years and oil prices below breakeven levels, reducing the number of citizens can help ease the burden on the country's generous welfare state.
Elsewhere in the news, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly pushing for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip in a massive expansion of the country's military operations in the enclave. Canberra awarded a huge contract to a Japanese firm to build advanced warships for Australia's navy. The government has been purging thousands of citizenships it says were fraudulently obtained, with some political opponents also being caught up in the process.
In other parts of the world, Qatar is funding the piping of natural gas from Azerbaijan through Turkey to boost power generation in northern Syria. Members of the oil producers' group OPEC+ agreed to raise production as concerns grow over possible disruptions to Russian supply. China and Russia have opened joint naval drills in the Sea of Japan and plan to carry out patrols in parts of the Pacific.
Aramco is key to Saudi efforts to wean itself off oil, but huge challenges remain, not least a widening government deficit, persistent vulnerability to crude prices, and weak Aramco shares. Canada has had more cases than the entire US this year, and could soon lose its status of having eliminated the virus. The number of people going hungry worldwide fell by 15 million between 2023 and 2024, with Southern Asia and Latin America seeing particular gains.
Tesla is giving Elon Musk $29 billion in stock to keep his "energies focused" on the carmaker rather than his sprawling space, AI, and brain-science empire. Measles - once on the verge of being defeated globally - is surging again, thanks to vaccine skepticism. A hard-right Israeli minister sparked fury by praying at a disputed holy site in Jerusalem.
In the US, the White House is likely to name a new, senior Federal Reserve official and a top labor-market statistician in the coming days. Negotiations over a global treaty to curb plastic pollution resume today, but opposition from the US and other oil-producing states has dimmed hopes for success. BP said it made its largest global oil and gas discovery in 25 years off the coast of Brazil.
The UAE views the US as a preferred partner to develop AI infrastructure and applications. Starting in October, social media influencers in the UAE will need a government permit before posting promotional content. The US imposed sanctions on the shipping empire of the son of an ally of the Iranian leader, targeting the network that is part of the shadow fleet carrying sanctioned oil from Russia and Iran to buyers worldwide, especially China.
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This article was generated using AI and has not been reviewed by an editor.
The ongoing process in Kuwait, involving the revocation of thousands of citizenships using DNA tests and other forensic tools, is marked by a significant shift in the Gulf region, setting a precedent for general-news and politics involving citizenship fraud investigations. This tightly regulated, transparent system, providing a grace period for individuals to regularize their status or travel, stands out for its rigor and legal structure.
In other parts of the world, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reportedly pushing for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip, evoking political tensions and general-news discussions. This expansion of military operations could have profound implications on the region's stability.
