Category: News

According to an article on KUNA by mid June we will be able to transfer our mobile numbers from one operator to another. A previous KUNA article stated we would be able to transfer our numbers last year at the cost of KD5 and the process would take around 24 hours. That never happened so not sure if it’s going to happen now. [Link]

(Reuters) – State-run Kuwait Airways will spend 850 million dinars ($2.98 billion) on 25 new Airbus jets and aims to lease a further 13 to upgrade its ageing fleet, a Kuwaiti newspaper reported on Sunday. [Source]

The planes will consist of 10 wide-bodied A350-900 jets and 15 of the slimmer A320neo. No A380’s so I guess the “Ya Kuwait Airways naby A380” campaign didn’t do so well.

Thanks Salem
Picture above is Kuwait Airways in the 70s

BBC have an article on how the lack of sleep affects children’s performance at school and they also included the chart above which shows Kuwait in 4th place when it comes to sleep deprivation for children aged 9-10. The blame is mostly on kids being on mobile phones and computers in bedrooms late at night. I can’t really relate since when I was in school we didn’t have smartphones. But, I can imagine if I did have one I’d probably be up late as well browsing the internet from under the sheets. Not sure though why Kuwait is that high on the list, I’m sure this must be the same with kids all over the world. [Link]

Thanks BuYousef and Matt

I just read on Zawya that the parliament might soon scrap the coeducation ban. That would mean both genders will continue to attend school and university together but I am also guessing this means the walls that currently divide the guys and girls in some university classes will also be removed. This is one proposal I’m hoping will get passed. [Link]

I first heard about this project around a year ago but due to secrecy reasons I wasn’t able to write anything. Then a few days back I noticed Frankom posted a link from AlQabas newspaper on this project so I guess it’s now officially announced.

The Green Island at the moment isn’t really serving any purpose and the proposed idea is to turn it into a mini city with a hotel, resort and a lot of restaurants located all around the island. There is a large bay in the middle of the island and if you surround the area around it with restaurants it will end up being a larger version of Marina Crescent which would be pretty cool.

If I understood the AlQabas article correctly, construction will begin end of this year and the project will be completed in 4 years. Check out the article [Here]

via Frankom

Kuwaiti author Saud Alsanousi won the 2013 International Prize for Arabic Fiction to become the youngest writer to win the prize. Saud won the prize for his story “The Bamboo Stalk” which is about a character called Issa who is a son of a Kuwaiti father and a Filipino mother.

On returning to his father’s homeland as an adult, Issa finds himself in a difficult position. Rather than the mythical country his mother has described to him, he discovers he is caught between the natural, biological ties he shares with his father’s family and the prejudices of a traditional society, which views a child of Kuwaiti-Filipino heritage as socially unacceptable. Skilfully constructed, The Bamboo Stalk is a story of great strength and depth which questions identity in modern society.

You can find out more about Saud and the prize by following this [Link]

BBC have a short film on Fawaz Al Hasawi, kinda like a behind the scenes look on who he is and why he chose to purchase the football club Nottingham Forest. Although Fawaz says the club isn’t a plaything and is a serious business, I think the way the film was edited by the BBC and the way they kept focusing on his riches made it look like it’s just another toy like his cars and houses. You can watch the video on the BBC website [Here]

They might as well have live streamed it with their social media person posting pictures on their Instagram account. [YouTube]

Update: Video link updated since previous one was taken down.

It took a lot of new burger joints and a lot of cupcakes but in the end we finally managed to top the list.

A round of double cheeseburgers on me! [Link]

Thanks Khalid

Wendy’s, Arbys, A&W and In-N-Out still MIA. [Link]

Yesterday morning a cargo ship heading into Shuwaikh port veered off path and nearly collided with the KPC building. The cargo ship had to be pulled back out into sea by tugboats and an investigation is currently taking place into the cause of this incident.

The pictures in this post were taken by KPC employees and it kinda looks like their might have been an oil leak as well. [Source]

[YouTube]

Arabian Business released their list of “The 500 Most Powerful Arabs in the World” and quite a few from Kuwait made the list including a number of women. The highest ranked Kuwaiti on the list was Mohammed Alshaya in 26th place (pictured above) while the highest Arab overall was Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed. Below are the rankings of the Arabs from Kuwait (not all are Kuwaiti):

26 – Mohammed Alshaya – MH Alshaya
51 – Ibrahim Dabdoub – National Bank of Kuwait
66 – Bader Al Kharafi – Kharafi Group
156 – Marwan Boodai – Boodai Corp
175 – Sheikha Al Bahar – National Bank of Kuwait
191 – Maha Al Ghunaim – Global Investment House
197 – Suad Al Humaidi – Landmark SAL
207 – Mohammed Husain – Equate Petrochemical Co
225 – Tarek Sultan – Agility
229 – Michel Accad – Gulf Bank
245 – Donna Sultan – KEO Consultants
261 – Faisal Al Ayyar – KIPCO
267 – Salem Al Hindi – Rotana Audio & Visual Group
275 – Omar Alghanim – Gulf Bank
282 – Mohammed Al-Khodairi – Kuwait Finance House
295 – Farouk Al Zanki – Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
302 – Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf – Cordoba Initiative
324 – Rashid Yaqoub Al Nafisi – Al Mazaya Holding
327 – Sheikha Hessa Saad Al Sabah – Council for Arab Businesswomen
328 – Saad Al Barrak – Zain
329 – Sara Akbar – Kuwait Energy
377 – Maha Hussein – Petrochemical Industries
390 – Ghosson Al Khaled – ACICO
399 – Hamad Al Falah – Kuwait Airways
411 – Ibrahim Al Qadhi – Boubyan Bank
414 – Adnan Al Musallam – The Investment Dar
444 – Naif Al Mutawa – The 99
478 – Ghaida Al Khaled – ACICO Construction
492 – Fawaz Al Hasawi – Nottingham Forest FC

For the full list click [Here]

The Shams Power Company opened their Shams 1 concentrated solar power station this week in Abu Dhabi. The station generates 100 MW and can power 20,000 homes while reducing CO2 emissions by 175,000 tons per year. [Source]

Kuwait is currently in the process of building a solar power station as well and is expected to be completed by the end of this year (2013).

The project took about two years and $600 million to build. [Source]

Now this is what I find interesting. Their solar power station is costing $600 million to build while ours is costing just $16 million. So our power station is either going to be super tiny or they got ripped off pretty badly.

On a similar subject, here is a link to vintage photos of the Shuwaikh Power Station taken back in the 1950s. [Link]

Under the change, Kuwaitis will be given priority for medical checkups at public hospitals and clinics during the morning, with foreigners only able to access doctors in the afternoon, unless it is an emergency.

Staff also will be segregated according to their nationality, with Kuwaitis working in the morning and expat doctors in the afternoon. [Source]

Even though this doesn’t apply to emergency treatment it still doesn’t make it less racist.

World’s Unfriendliest Nations
1. Bolivia
2. Venezuela
3. Russian Federation
4. Kuwait
5. Latvia
6. Iran
7. Pakistan
8. Slovak Republic
9. Bulgaria
10. Mongolia

That article is currently on CNN’s main page under “Editors Choice”. The ranking is based on the ‘Attitude of population toward foreign visitors’ category in the latest report by the World Economic Forum. Not good. [Link]

Thanks Allen