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Kuwait's 88-year-old ruler admitted to hospital after cold

Kuwait's emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah was admitted to hospital on Wednesday for medical checks after suffering from a cold, according to the Emiri Court Affairs minister.

Published November 22,2017
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Kuwait's 88-year-old ruling emir has been admitted to hospital after suffering from a cold.

That's according to a report on the state-run KUNA news agency on Wednesday, which said Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah's trip to the hospital was "for a normal medical checkup."

Sheikh Sabah has ruled Kuwait since January 2006. He came to power after parliament voted unanimously to oust his predecessor, the ailing Sheikh Saad Al Abdullah Al Sabah, just nine days into his rule and shortly before lawmakers received his formal letter of abdication.

In recent months, he's been working to try to negotiate an end to the diplomatic crisis engulfing Qatar after four Arab nations cut ties to Doha.

Kuwait is an oil-rich OPEC member wedged between Iraq and Saudi Arabia.