Kuwait's ruler opens parliament after medical treatment

Kuwait’s 90-year-old ruler opened the country’s parliament on Tuesday with a call to fellow Gulf Arab states to end a row that has shattered regional unity, in his first public address since being hospitalized last month in the United States. Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who has ruled the OPEC oil producer since 2006, has been trying to mediate in the dispute that has seen Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain impose a boycott of Qatar since mid-2017. “It is neither acceptable nor tolerable for the dispute between our brothers in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council to continue,” he said, standing to address lawmakers from a podium in a speech at the annual opening of Kuwait’s National Assembly.