Kuwait's cabinet offers to resign

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The entire Kuwaiti cabinet has offered to resign in a growing rift with MPs, a statement from the government says.

The government has recently been at loggerheads with parliament over demands for a further pay rise for Kuwaiti civil servants.

The resignation is the latest in a series to hit the Gulf emirate.

Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah has faced calls recently to sack the government, appoint a new prime minister and hold early parliamentary elections.

The cabinet resignation was put at the disposal of Prime Minster Sheikh Nasser Sabah, the statement said.

It is not clear if he will accept it. Correspondents say he will consult with the emir before making the final decision.

In the joint resignation letter, deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Sabah complained that MPs were "interfering" in government business and had "disabled the cabinet from carrying out its responsibilities".

The elections in 2006 resulted in a loose alliance of reformists and Islamists securing nearly two-thirds of the seats in parliament.

Parliament is due to vote on Tuesday on a pay increase for civil servants that has been rejected by the cabinet.