Kuwait's government

A seemingly never-ending political crisis is plunging oil-rich Kuwait's economy into the mire, affecting basic services and causing mounting public concern.

Despite its large oil reserves, hospitals and educational services are in decay as squabbling paralyses the wealthy Gulf region's only fully elected parliament.

Kuwait's emir Tuesday pledged half a billion dollars at the start of a major donor conference for Syria, describing the crisis unfolding as the "biggest humanitarian catastrophe in modern history".