''Al-Qabas'' () is an

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

daily Kuwaiti newspaper and tabloid published by Dar Al Qabas Press Printing Publishing and Distribution Company in

Kuwait City Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif Pal ...

History and profile

''Al-Qabas'' was launched on 22 February 1972. The founding shareholders of ''Al Qabas'', according to the founding contract as printed in the official gazette ''Kuwait Al-Yawm'' are Kuwaiti merchant families Al-Nusif, Al-Kharafi, Al-Bahar, Al-Shaya, and Al-Saqer. The paper is headquartered in Kuwait City. ''Al-Qabas in early days were characterized by Mohammed Al-Sager, who had been its dynamic editor-in-chief since 1982 until his election in the Kuwait National Assembly in 1999. With his experience in international finance, Al-Sager had set up an international edition that was published in Paris, London and Marseilles (for the North African market). The paper had maintained the most extensive foreign correspondent staff of any Kuwaiti newspaper with large bureaus in Washington, London, Beirut, Cairo, and Moscow. After the

liberation of Kuwait The Liberation of Kuwait campaign was between 24 and 28 February 1991, consisting of a major ground offensive into Iraqi-occupied Kuwait following the successful Gulf War air campaign. Approximately 650,000 troops of the American-led 42-coun ...

, ''Al Qabas'' discontinued its international editions. During the invasion it moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and was first published there on 2 August 1990. ''Al Qabas'' had a weekly supplement on

environmental issues Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans (human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot recov ...

, which can be translated into English as ''Our Environment is Our Life''. The daily had a circulation of 120,000 copies before the invasion of Kuwait in 1991. Its 2001 circulation was 79,000 copies and the paper was the third best selling newspaper in Kuwait. The paper also began its online edition which had 30,000 weekly hits in 2001.

Political stance and staff

''Al Qabas'' had a critical approach to government of Kuwait and is a liberal publication. In April 2012, it published an editorial calling for ending the struggle within the ruling family of Kuwait, Al Sabah. The paper's editor, Mohammed Al-Sager, is a winner of the International Press Freedom Award of the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...

"for courageous reporting on political and human rights issues in the face of government threats of censorship and prosecution". The other significant editors of the daily include Abdullatif Al-Duaij and Ahmad Bishara. The Palestinian cartoonist Naji Salim al-Ali worked for the paper in the 1980s and he was killed in 1987 while working for the London edition of the daily. Respected Arab figures also contributed to the daily, including

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

novelist

Naguib Mahfouz Naguib Mahfouz Abdelaziz Ibrahim Ahmed Al-Basha (, ; 11 December 1911 – 30 August 2006) was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize in Literature. In awarding the prize, the Swedish Academy described him as a writer "who, through wo ...

and Egyptian philosopher Fauad Zakara. In 2019, ''Al Qabas'' launched a premium digital subscription service, producing video content for subscribers. Its flagship show, ''The Black Box'' featured 32 interviews with controversial former Kuwaiti MP and academic Abdullah Al-Nafisi. Subsequent seasons featured extensive interviews with former Guantanamo detention camp detainee

Faiz Al Kandari Faiz Mohammed Ahmed Al Kandari (born 3 June 1977) is a Kuwaiti citizen who was held in extrajudicial detention in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detainment camp in Cuba, from 2002 to 2016. He has never been charged with war crimes. The US ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qabas 1972 establishments in Kuwait Arabic-language newspapers Newspapers established in 1972 Newspapers published in Kuwait Mass media in Kuwait City