Kuwait's Sheikh Meshal al-Ahmad al-Sabah, in his first speech as emir since the death of his predecessor last week, criticized lawmakers and the government on Wednesday for decisions he said had damaged the national interests of the US allied state. Sheikh Meshal, 83, castigated decisions to appoint people to positions that were "not consistent with the simplest rules of justice and fairness" and objected to pardons granted by his predecessor. Reuters