Kuwait City / AFP Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah opened the new parliament on Sunday by declaring that a reduction in public spending is “inevitable” in the face of weak oil prices. The emir said the sharp drop in oil revenues has resulted in a huge budget deficit and “there is no other option but to take effective …

  KHOBAR / AFP Sadara Chemical, a $20 billion petrochemical joint venture between national oil giant Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical, has signed a 20-year agreement with Saudi Rufayah Chemicals Co (RCC), Sadara said on Sunday. Under the deal, RCC, a Saudi downstream firm will use the aromatics concentrate (Pygas) and Pyoil supplied by Sadara for its new chemical complex …

  Washington / AFP Republicans rejected reports of a secret CIA assessment finding that Russia sought to tip the US presidential election in Donald Trump’s favor, as a Democratic Senate leader called for an investigation. “The intelligence is wrong,” Republican National Committee spokesman Sean Spicer told CNN. “It didn’t happen.” He was referring to a New York Times report saying …