Search: “kuwait”

The Kuwait Science Club sent a Kuwaiti flag into space using a weather balloon. They recorded the whole thing with a GoPro camera and you can watch the footage above. [YouTube]

Thanks Anes

Is it only me or do these rats actually sound cute? But on a serious note, it looks like we need bigger cats.

Unless an immediate plan was drawn and followed strictly to get rid of the Norwegian rats, the rodents will keep on multiplying, causing an epidemic by the end of 2014 that the state will not be able to fight, Dr Samiya Al-Tobaikh, the head of the pests and rodents combat department at the Health Ministry, has warned.

Dr Al-Tobaikh said that this dangerous breed of rats was spreading at an alarming rate in various areas around Kuwait, namely Jleeb (74 per cent), Sulaibiya industrial area (71 per cent), Ardiya industrial area, Req’ee, Jahra industrial area and across the beaches at the Chalets area. Al-Tobaikh also warned that this particular species of rodents as big as a cat was highly dangerous since it carries and spreads plague, is clever and cannot be killed easily as it can quickly recognize many kinds of poisons.

“Seeing any food, they usually send a smaller younger volunteer to eat it and if the volunteer dies, the rats never approach that food,” she said, adding that these rats were such ‘good actors’ that they can fake death when hunted and wait it out till they are thrown out. She said if one rat is spotted in a house, that means that there could be 50 others hiding in and around that house.[Source]

The Kuwait Scorpions who are probably one of the oldest sports clubs in Kuwait are looking to recruit men and women for their rugby team. If you’re interested keep reading below for a small brief on who they are along with some other information.

Kuwait Scorpions is one of the founding clubs of Gulf rugby. The club originally consisted of a group of expats training together as a hobby. They then started playing similar groups in neighbouring countries and formally became the Kuwait Scorions Rugby Footballl Club in 1946. For years rugby in Kuwait continued in this way. Following the Invasion and surrounding events the rugby club gradually reformed (after most of it’s members returned to Kuwait after the unrest) and were renamed as the Kuwait Nomads (mainly due to the style in which they reunited). We played as the Nomads until a few years ago when we returned to our original name and re launched the club as the Kuwait Scorpions.

We have several teams: Mens XV, Vets X and Ladies (who play 7s). The men play in both the Gulf Premiership and Conference Leagues, the women play in the Arabian Gulf Women’s League and the Vets form for specific events and tournaments. All teams enter the Dubai 7s competition annually, where our men have reached both the final and semi final in recent years. We currently have players of a variety of nationalities and are truly a global group.

We are currently without an official pitch and training ground as KOC (our ground sponsor) have recently started a large renovation project that includes rebuilding our usual sand pitch and facilities in Ahmadi. Regardless of this our teams are still training twice a week and we are still playing in all of the above leagues. This is not the only exciting new development in Kuwait rugby this season – as Tron mentioned previously, we currently have a female Chairperson, which, we are informed, is a first in the history of rugby in this region. We also have a recently elected Kuwaiti Club Captain also, who is hoping to lead our teams to some well earned victories this year.

Last week saw us officially kick off our season with our annual fundraiser (Masquerade Ball) at the British Embassy, which was a great success. We are currently gearing up for upcoming matches for both the men and women in Doha in a few weeks time, which is alway a great trip.

We are about to embark on a big recruitment drive and are hoping to awaken some new interest in both the sport and our team. We welcome newcomers and those with experience and any member of the club will be happy to answer any questions or give directions to the next training session. Our website was unfortunately hacked over the summer and all of the informatiion wiped so it is currently under construction, but for now we are easy to find on Facebook or I can be contacted directly for more information ([email protected]).

Yesterday a friend of mine told me a bunch of UFC fighters as well as a couple of ring girls were coming to Kuwait this weekend to visit the US troops and while ago I got confirmation from another friend who represents one of the fighters that they are in fact coming to Kuwait this weekend. The UFC fighters and ring girls will be arriving to Kuwait early morning this Thursday the 11th and they’ll be staying in Kuwait for 2 nights.

Sadly I am traveling that same morning so I won’t be able to stalk them but I might leave my UFC tshirt (pictured above) filled with with my friend so he could get me some more signatures. So far my shirt has signatures from Dan Henderson, Brian Stan, Rashad Evans, Michael Bisping and a few other fighters.

Right now I know Mike Pierce and Charlie Brenneman (who just got cut from the UFC) are coming but no idea who else.

According to the blog Qortuba Valley, Kuwait’s approved LTE frequency is 1800 MHz which means iPhone 5’s purchased from the UK will work in Kuwait while ones purchased from the US will not. [Link]

Update: Arab Times also confirms the approved frequency is 1800 MHz [Link]

965Malls posted the list above last week but I just saw it now. It’s translated from an Arabic newspaper and it shows the prices of different drugs in Kuwait. [Link]

Note: What I found interesting about the list is the list itself. Since drugs are illegal there is no official price list but this list by the newspaper is kinda like one.

[YouTube]

Nuqat is currently taking place right now and finishes in 2 days time so if you still want to attend a workshop or lecture you still might be able to. [Link]

According to the 2012 Happy Planet Index, out of 151 countries researched, Kuwait came in at 143! ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY THREE out of 151! The index uses global data on life expectancy, experienced well-being and Ecological Footprint to calculate this score. The happiest place? Costa Rica. If you want to check out the full ranking as well as more details on how the whole thing is ranked you can download the PDF file from [Here]

Back in 2009 Kuwait was 128 out of 143.

The Guardian published the photo above of Kuwait at night taken from space. The photo was one of many photos captured by the European Space Agency and Nasa satellites last month. The description of the photo says:

A night view of Kuwait City, the coastal city which serves as Kuwait’s political and economic capital. The metropolitan area has a population approaching 2.5 million

Check out The Guardian article [Here]

Below is another photo taken from space back in August also showing Kuwait at nigh. It was previously featured as a NASA image of the day.

NASA have a pretty good writeup on the photo above as well as a higher resolution photo which you can check out [Here]

Thanks Khalid

BurgerFuel is a New Zealand based fastfood chain with branches already in UAE and Saudi Arabia. As part of their expansion they’re now planning to open a branch in Kuwait. [Link]

I admit, I’m really terrible when it comes to business in general so I don’t understand how more burger places are opening in Kuwait, a small market thats already over-saturated with burger places. Am I missing something? Is there really still room for more burger places?

If you’re at the Avenues pass by the Kuwait Heart Foundation area setup since along with the Faculty of Medcine Students they’re attempting a Guinness World Record today and need your help. Invite your friends and family along as well since they’re trying to break the record for the highest number of BMI testings in 8 hours.

They’re starting from 12pm and ending at 8pm so pass by when you can.

Thanks BuYousef

Update: Just heard the record was broken.

Update2: Not only was the record broken but it was shattered with 9,023 measurements which is more than double the previous record. I’m curious to know if they’re going to end up sharing the total average BMI. My guess it’s going to be pretty high based on the fact we’re one of the fattest nations in the world.

Picture by The Avenues

Alshaya announced today that they’ll be bringing the franchise Katsuya by S+ARCK to Kuwait and the region. Unlike the other brands they’ve previous acquired this is probably the first one I haven’t heard of before. This is the description of what Katsuya is on their website:

Featuring the dynamic pairing of Master Sushi Chef Katsuya Uechi and design impresario Philippe Starck, Katsuya by Starck is truly a feast for the senses. With specialty cocktails, unique rolls and spectacular sushi and sashimi platters, Chef Uechi skillfully translates Japanese flavors to the American palate. Signature dishes include Crispy Rice with Spicy Tuna, Yellowtail Sashimi with Jalapeño and Miso-Marinated Black Cod. With superb talent and exacting precision, Katsuya by Starck is changing the face of Japanese cuisine.

For the press release click [Here]

Update: Katsuya is now open [Link]

Doss and I love Kuwait. So to show our appreciation for a place that has opened up so many opportunities for us we decided to make Kuwait his dance floor. We hit Mahboula, Fintas, Hawalli, Salmiya and Shaab. So enjoy and a big thanks to you all of our friends and fans! tjcfilms.com

[YouTube]

The NUQAT design conference is taking place this year from October 4th to October 9th. There will be a ton of lectures and workshops to suit everyones interest. Below are the speakers participating this year:

SULAYMAN AL BASSAM
Theatre Director

DR. NASSER ABULHASAN
Architect, founder and partner of AGI architecture – Kuwait

RANA SALAM
A world renowned branding designer, based

TAREK ATRISSI
Internationally acclaimed graphic designer and typographer based in Holland

ELIE BOU JAMRA & MIRNA HAMADY
Co-founders at Kashida, Lebanese product design studio

ALFRED TARAZI
Political mixed media artist from Lebanon

JASSIM AL SADDAH
Kuwaiti Architect, Founder of Bab Nimnim

KHALID SHAFAR
Emirati product designer

SH. ALANOUD AL SABAH
Kuwaiti jewelry designer, founder of the label, Octium

AHMAD ANGAWI
Up & coming product designer from Saudi Arabia

PLUS AZIZ
Senior Trend analyst at NYC based marketing company Fathom+Hatch

LAMYA GERGASH
Emirati Photographer and Artist

HALEH ANVARI
Iranian published Writer & Photographer

NUR KAOUKJI
Fashion Designer, owner of Noon

YOUNES DURET
Global design agency creator from Marakesh

SALEM ALQASSIMI
Graphic Designer, Artist, Instructor, and Founder of Fikra

PASCAL ZOGHBI
Acclaimed Type Designer Founder of “29 Arabic Letters”

L’ATELIER NAWBAR
Jewelry Designer

For more information or to register visit the NUQAT website [Here]

The Kuwait Little League Baseball and Softball is an organization that has been working with the children of Kuwait since the early 1980s. They function strictly with the efforts of volunteers and are a non-profit organization with all the income going towards the maintenance of the field and the equipment needed for the players.

Last year due to the kind support of sponsors they were able to get television quality lights on two of their baseball fields and scoreboards installed on three of them. They are of course as I mentioned a strictly volunteer organization that is 100% dedicated to providing children with a great, inexpensive, sport experience. This past year they took teams to international tournaments in Qatar, Dubai, Poland and the US. This was all achieved with the help of volunteer coaches, who not only gave up their evenings and weekends to work with the kids but also give up vacation time in the summers to go to competitions. The video above is their year in review video.

If you’re interested in signing up your children to the Kuwait Little League they’ve just opened registration for the 2012/2013 season. Below is the list of divisions with their ages:

Tee Ball – Boys and Girls – 5 to 7 years old
Minors – Boys and Girls – 8 to 10 years old
Majors – Boys and Girls – 11 to 12 years old
Juniors – Boys and Girls – 13 to 14 years old
Seniors – Boys and Girls – 15 to 18 years old
Softball – Girls only – 11 to 18 years old
Challenger* – Boys and Girls – 7 to 12 years old

*This is a division for children with special needs

To sign up visit the Kuwait Little League website and click on “Register Online Now” [Link]