Information Minister's resignation accepted

Kuwait Emir His Highness Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah has formally accepted the resignation of the information minister who quit before he was due to be questioned in parliament over allowing "immoral" Western-style concerts in the country.

"The resignation of Information Minister Mohammad Abu Al Hasan is accepted," said a decree signed by the Emir. Reuters obtained a copy of the decree, dated January 3 but published in the official state gazette yesterday.

Abu Al Hasan - the only Shiite minister in the 15-man cabinet - tendered his resignation to Shaikh Sabah on January 2.

He was due to be questioned a day later by Islamist MPs over several allegations, including negligence of social values after he approved music concerts in the Gulf state, seen by Islamists as violating Sharia law.

It was the first resignation by a member of the cabinet to be officially accepted by the ruler since Prime Minister Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, the Emir's brother, formed his first government in July 2003.

Labour and Social Affairs Minister Faisal Al Haji has been running the information ministry since Abu Al Hasan asked to step down. It was not immediately known if anyone would be named to replace him.

Islamist MPs and religious figures protested last year against a concert by artists participating in a popular televised Arab talent show. They also asked that unrelated men and women be segregated at concerts, as required by Islamic law.