The EU and rights groups have strongly condemned the executions carried out by Kuwait. A European vote on visa-free travel for Kuwaitis is likely to be impacted.

Frontline worker Ahmad al-Enezi struggles are similar to that of many other members of Kuwait's stateless community, as the Gulf country pushes to determine their status, in the latest chapter of what its critics see as an enduring human rights abuse.

In the north of Kuwait, a 2-square-kilometre (0.7-square-mile) dump has become known as the place where tyres go to die, with some 40 million of them piling up. Now the oil-rich Gulf country has plans to transform the “tyre graveyard” into a site for residential properties.

In a diplomatic breakthrough, Saudi Arabia is set to open its borders and airspace to neighboring Qatar following a prolonged crisis.

Although none of the 29 female candidates won a seat in Kuwait's elections they are far from stopping their efforts. But analysts fear calls for quotas and women's political leadership are falling on deaf ears.

Some troops were transported to Germany, while others were moved to Kuwait, reporting symptoms of concussion. Iran fired dozens of missiles on January 8 and it was originally stated that there were no injuries.