Kuwaiti interior minister steps down

Kuwait says it's replacing the country's embattled interior minister with a relative of the Gulf nation's ruler. The statement on the official news agency KUNA could signal an attempt to weaken calls for street protests Tuesday inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt.
KUNA says the resignation of Sheik Jaber Al-Khaled Al-Sabah was accepted Sunday. He had offered to step down last month after outrage over the death of a man while in po|ice custody, but Kuwait's Cabinet asked him to stay. The news agency says he was replaced by Sheikh Ahmed Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah, a cousin of Kuwait's emir. Kuwaiti opposition groups have sharply increased pressure on the government over claims it seeks to roll back political freedoms.