The United States is committed to maintaining a 35,000-strong force in the Gulf region regardless of a nuclear deal with Iran, Pentagon chief Chuck Hagel said Saturday in Bahrain.
Oil-rich Kuwait said Monday that the generous cradle-to-grave welfare system provided to its 1.2 million citizens was "unsustainable" and it was time for change.
Kuwait's top court on Sunday scrapped last December's parliamentary election, which was boycotted by the opposition, but approved the controversial electoral law that sparked the boycott.
Kuwait is to bar foreigners from attending public hospitals in the mornings, local media reported on Thursday, in a decision activists labelled as "racist".
UN chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in Baghdad on Thursday for talks with Iraqi leaders, state television said, after a visit to Kuwait in which he called for a new era in relations between the two countries.
Kuwait stands at a crossroads as voters head to the polls on Saturday for a contest being boycotted by the opposition and with little hope of restoring stability.
Around 100 protesters and 11 policemen were hurt on Sunday as Kuwaiti riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets in clashes with tens of thousands of demonstrators.