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Found this funny headline along with a 10 day weather forecast for Kuwait on Reddit. In case you missed it, Arizona has been all over the news because of the heatwave they’re currently facing which, when compared to the weather in Kuwait really is just another summer day.

In case you missed the Red Bull 5 Pics exhibition at 52 Degrees, photographer Alex Dennis Bolado created a virtual tour of the exhibition that took place there a couple of weeks back. Red Bull 5 Pics was a competition in which each photographer using just 5 photographs had to answer the brief “Kuwait through your eyes”. Check out the virtual tour [Here]

Once you’re done with the tour you can check out all the submissions including the winners on the Red Bull website [Here]

The Economist have an article on smoking and how even with all the warnings on the packets and the increase in knowledge that smoking is bad for you, in some countries smoking is still on the rise. Kuwait happens to be one of those countries. We’re definitely not nearly as bad as Myanmar and Lebanon but still bad enough to warrant a position on their chart above. Check out the full article [Here]

Thanks Narain

How much are your body parts worth in Kuwait? From a legal perspective and a legal perspective only, according to the Decree on the Regulation of the Table of Blood Money (DIYAH):

If someone hurts you by mistake with no criminal intent then they pay you the amounts listed below. If someone hurts you with criminal intent, then they pay the amounts listed below in addition to also getting punished for the crime.

Just a small note, the body parts add up. Death is actually cheaper than breaking an arm, a leg and losing an eye. Some animals cost more than KD10,000 so you would think a human life would be worth more.

Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
Have a Kuwait law related question? Email me at [email protected]

The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.

It’s been a while since my last post and since then I’ve gotten a lot of questions and rent was one of the most popular topics. That’s why I decided to put together a small FAQ on rent which you can take a look at below.

(All questions were answered according to rent law 35 for year 1978)

I have been living in my apartment for 3 years; can my landlord increase my rent?

No your landlord cannot increase rent. A landlord can only increase rent in the following situations:
1) If the tenant agrees to the proposed increase
2) Its been 5 years and the contract has ended (rule is once every 5 years)
3) The rent is 50% less than the market price

My landlord says he wants to increase the rent because he wants to do maintenance work? Does he have the right to do that?

No since the landlord is responsible for any maintenance and not the tenants.

I have a rental contract for 1 year but I’ve been living in the apartment for 18 months and the contract was never renewed. Now the landlord wants to kick me out. I know I have overstayed but do I have to leave immediately?

No in this situation he cannot kick you out but he can inform you to leave while giving you a grace period.
By law, if your rent contract ends and you continue living there then it renews by default for the same time of rent pay. Huh? What? Lawyers and there confusing terms… Simply put, if you pay rent on a monthly basis (which is how the majority of people pay rent in Kuwait) then your contract will renew automatically for a month at a time. If you paid rent every three months, then it will renew for 3 months, if you paid rent every 6 months your rent will renew every 6 months and so on.

What is the grace period?

Grace periods are only for when contracts renew by default (as explained above) and they depend on how often you pay your rent.

When can you really get kicked out? (with no grace period)

Reasons a landlord can kick you out are (for residencies and not commercial contracts)
1) If tenant hasn’t paid rent
2) If the tenant rents out the residency to a third person without permission
3) If the residence is being used for illegal activities
4) If the building is no longer structurally safe
5) If the landlord wants to rebuild the building or reconstruct it. There are a lot of variables for this one which I won’t get into.

My American friends can rent an apartment without a marriage certificate but I can’t seem to do the same? Do different citizens get treated differently in Kuwait by law?

Nationalities are not mentioned in the law so the law doesn’t talk about one nationality being treated differently than another (unless its Kuwaiti but that’s not in the rent laws), and therefore it is very disappointing to see that this kind of discrimination is being implemented in Kuwait.

Marriage certificates are also not mentioned in the law and my guess and only guess is that they ask for marriage certificates because unmarried couples might possibly engage in illegal sexual activities. The law restricts apartments from being used for illegal activities and sexual activity between two unmarried couples is considered illegal by law.

Post by Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
Have a Kuwait law related question? Email me at [email protected]

The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.

The Kelsey Grammer TV series Boss was one of my favorite American political dramas but it sadly got canceled last year. On the bright side I think I just found a great alternative, House of Cards. House of Cards stars Kevin Spacey as a congressman and in the same way Boss was offering a behind the scenes look into US politics, House of Cards does pretty much the same thing.

Kevin Spacey’s character was promised the position of Secretary of State by the US President if elected. But when the President ended up getting elected (and all because of Kevin Spacey’s help), he decides to backtrack on his promise and give the position to someone else which pisses Kevin Spacey off who decides to take revenge. Kevin Spacey’s character is an amazing mastermind and watching him plan and set things in motion all to help him gain more power and control is really exciting and just makes you want to continue watching to see what he has planned next.

The first episode starts off a bit slow but it quickly picks up and then becomes really hard to stop watching. House of Cards was originally created for Netflix but you can also watch it on OSN and it’s also available online on OSN Play. So if you’re looking for an alternative to Boss or if you’re into political dramas then check out House of Cards.

I already posted about wakeboarding late last year but since summer is here I figured I would repost about this for everyone that missed it.

The first time I went wakeboarding I wasn’t expecting it to be that difficult. For some reason I had the impression it would be fairly easy to stand on the board while pulled by a boat and performing all kind of stunts. Turns out it wasn’t easy and I spent the first 20 minutes just trying to get up out of the water and stay up before losing control and crashing into the water. It wouldn’t be that bad if it wasn’t for the fact every time I crashed I ended up swallowing so much water. After awhile you get the hang of getting up and standing on the board and then it becomes about how long can you stay up without losing balance. Once you get comfortable you start trying to change directions going left or right and the more comfortable you get the more things you end up trying to do. In my case by the second time I went wakeboarding I had pretty much gotten the hang of it.

While with jet skis you can just go out and rent one from a number of places on the Gulf Road, with wakeboarding it’s not that easy. Last year when I wanted to try wakeboarding I did a bit of research and found out about Q8 Balance who for a fixed hourly rate will take you or teach you wakeboarding out in Khiran City. Since then I’ve been only going out with them since I like them and haven’t really checked to see if there is any another group that provide a similar service. Q8 Balance charge KD35 for an hour so if you split it with a friend or two it becomes a fairly affordable and fun activity to do. Only issue I found with them is that they are pretty popular so you need to book a time slot way ahead of time.

So if you’re interested in wakeboarding here is the link to the Q8 Balance [Facebook Page]

If you know of another group that also offers wakeboarding please post it in the comments below with the details.

The weather is still good right now catch a rooftop movie while you still can. Volver and The Life Aquatic are two movies I would want to see and maybe for nostalgia purposes I’d watch Ingmar Bergman’s The Seventh Seal again. Check out the full list of movies for Maybe below:

Thursday May 2nd, 2013 at 7:30PM
SAMSARA
From the award winning director of Baraka, Samsara takes you on an incredible journey, filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.

Saturday May 4th, 2013 at 7:30PM
BALLAD OF NARAYAMA
In Kabuki theatre style, the film tells the story of a remote mountain village where the scarcity of food leads to a voluntary but socially-enforced policy in which relatives carry 70-year-old family members up Narayama mountain to die. Given a masterpiece rating by the late Roger Ebert, and winner of Best Film at the Mainichi Film Awards, a unique insight into Japanese folk culture.

Thursday May 9th, 2013 at 7:30PM
ROSEMARY’S BABY
Multiple award winner, and considered to be one of the most haunting films of all time, Rosemary’s Baby tells the story of a pregnant woman who fears that her husband may have made a pact with their eccentric neighbors, believing he may have promised them the child to be used as a human sacrifice in their occult rituals in exchange for success in his acting career.

Saturday May 11th, 2013 at 7:30PM
HAROLD AND MAUDE
Chosen by the AFI as one of the top ten classic American comedies of all time, and considered a huge influence on the work of Wes Anderson and Jared Hess. Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets lively septuagenarian Maude at a funeral.

Thursday May 16th, 2013 at 7:30PM
DAYS OF HEAVEN
Cinematic Master and Aueteur, Terrence Mallick (director of Tree of Life and The Thin Red Line) won the Best Director award at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival for Days of Heaven. The film has since then been considered an American masterpiece, being called “one of the most beautiful films ever made”. Days of Heaven follows a hot-tempered farm laborer who convinces the woman he loves to marry their rich but dying boss so that they can have a claim to his fortune.

Saturday May 18th, 2013 at 7:30PM
VOLVER
On over 25 top ten of 2006 lists, and winner of Best Actress and Screenplay at Cannes, plus over 50 other awards worldwide, Volver comes from the masterful Pedro Almodovar. After her death, a mother mysteriously returns to her home town in order to fix the situations she couldn’t resolve during her life.

Thursday May 23rd, 2013 at 7:30PM
THE LIFE AQUATIC
From Acclaimed director Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore, and Fantastic Mr. Fox) takes us on a dreamlike journey in this award winning film. With a plan to exact revenge on a mythical shark that killed his partner, oceanographer Steve Zissou rallies a crew that includes his estranged wife, a journalist, and a man who may or may not be his son.

Saturday May 25th, 2013 at 7:30PM
THE SEVENTH SEAL
Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Cannes, and ranked #8 in Empire Magazine’s “100 Best Films of World Cinema”, Ingmar Bergman’s most recognised films follows a man who seeks answers about life and death as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.

Thursday May 30th, 2013 at 7:30PM
CHUNGKING EXPRESS
From the critically acclaimed director of In the Mood for Love, Wong Kar Wai’s Chungking Express holds a 96% rating on rottentomatoes.com, and winner of 15 international awards. Two stories, two lovelorn cops, two objects of desire: one a big-time heroin dealer in deep trouble with her boss after the cargo disappears, the other a seriously flaky take-out waitress who inadvertently gets hold of the keys to her admirer’s apartment, all shot in a breathless kaleidoscope of color and hand-held camera work to create a mesmerizing portrait of Hong Kong in the 1990s.

Cinemagic Kuwait, is organizing these events as part of its efforts to contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Kuwaiti audio-visual production industry, partly by bringing the filmmakers and audiences together and by Increasing the public’s interest in – and appreciation for – the art of film-making. Cinemagic movies are screened in the old Salmiya, on the roof on top of Alghanim Electronics and LG and there is no entrance fee. Here is a link to their Facebook group [Link]

A few months back I was sitting with the owner of Tag Heur and Patek Philippe in Kuwait and we were discussing watches when he asked me if I would be interested to cover Basel World for my blog. Basel World is the worlds largest watch expo which takes place every year and this year was going to be a bit more special since it would be the first Basel World held in the newly renovated exhibition building. I was also told I could cover any watch brand and not just their own brands so here I am at Basel World.

This is easily the largest expo I have ever been to. The exhibition building is huge and the booths, they’re not even booths they’re gigantic structures, like mini buildings inside a bigger building. I am not sure my pictures below do justice to the place since you really have to be here to see how huge these booths are. The exhibition building is three floors and each floor has a super high ceiling with super high brand booths occupying a ridiculous amount of space. I spent all day yesterday just walking around quickly trying to at least see everything quickly and I thought I had until after I left I was checking the Basel World App on my phone and I realized I missed two exhibition halls completely.

To be able to enter the booths you need to be invited in (like if you’re a watch collector or a VIP) or you need to be one of their dealers. Since I am in good contact with the dealers in Kuwait I am getting access to most of the brands I want to see except for a couple. Below is the list, if you can help get me access to the ones I am having trouble with let me know.

Hublot – Have access
Tag Heur – Have access
Patek Philippe – Have access
Chopard – Have access
Rolex – Working on access
Brietling – Working on access
Casio – No access (help needed)
Harry Winston – Have access
Omega – Working on access
Citizen – No access (help needed)

Thursday afternoon I passed by the animal market right next to the Friday Market so I could look for my friends dog. I hadn’t been there in years and even though I was expecting to find puppies and other animals there, I wasn’t expecting to find so many.

The market was just full of cages stacked on top of each other and filled with dogs and cats. I saw kittens that looked like they were born last week and I saw dogs shoved into cages so small they couldn’t fully stand in. Some were lucky enough to have drinking water in their cages while the unlucky ones didn’t. If that wasn’t already bad enough, right outside I spotted three dogs tied to trees that just looked extremely miserable and malnourished. I also assumed the dogs outside being sold were most likely the stolen ones.

I’m honestly not really sure what can be done about this since I don’t believe there is any law against animal cruelty. I just wanted to bring the animals some exposure since after the incident where the municipality shut down the shops due to rent issues, everyone seems to have forgotten about the cruelty that takes place there. If you want to help then don’t purchase any animals from the animal market. If you do, the sellers end up profiting and they will just bring more animals to sell.

Gulf Consult in association with Atkins were engaged to develop a comprehensive detailed Local Plan for Kuwait City entitled ‘Kuwait City Urban Development 2030’. The Plan is to guide development for Kuwait City over the next 20 years to affirm its role as a national/international, financial/business and commercial centre.

Kuwait City is strategically located at the northern peak of the Metropolitan Area overlooking Kuwait Bay, surrounded by the sea to the north east and the 1st Ring Road to the south west. It covers an area of 1,200 hectares and is well connected to the rest of Kuwait through a series of arterial roads that transverse the 1st Ring Road.

The Local Plan proposes that the new development in the city be concentrated in four Action Areas: Sawaber; Mirqab West; Mirqab East and Qibla Commercial Area 1 and 2. The main development premise for these areas is to create mixed use sustainable developments which introduce new land uses into the city.

Also integral to the Plan is the integration of a Park and Open Space Strategy; Transport Strategy; and Utility upgrades and additions.

The Project was completed in six phases: Data Collection and Analysis; Detailed Planning and Traffic Studies; Planning Alternatives for Kuwait City; Detailed Local Plan; Detailed Zoning and Subdivision Plans; and Final Plans and Documents.

The area in question is around Al Tijaria Tower, opposite Al Shaheed Park. It’s currently occupied by old warehouses, an abandoned hospital, a grave yard, garages and tons of stores selling metal pots. The renderings look pretty but since this was just a study, we shouldn’t get our hopes up. More renderings and info [Here]

“Amoot Alaik” is the latest single by Kuwaiti musician Aziz AlNasrallah. I posted his previous single before called Tara Aadi which was created by 8-bit sounds generated from a GameBoy. This song is a completely different style and is from his upcoming album “Adawir Nafsi”. Here’s some interesting trivia related to “Amoot Alaik”:

– The idea of the song was conceived in a cafe in Frankfurt International Airport by Aziz and Mishari Hamad after discussing the schizo nature of love/hate relationships.

– During the Emirates Air flight from Frankfurt to Dubai Aziz started jotting down some lyrics and Mishari realized all his equipment was on board and started laying down initial tracks and arranging the lyrics to the music which is why they nicknamed it the “mile high” song.

– Mishari was torn between watching “Prometheus” or working on the song during the flight.

– Amoot Alaik’s arrangement includes a traditional Afro-Kuwaiti beat (Tanboora) which includes goat hooves.

– To compliment the ethnic feel of the beat, a Swiss tuned percussion instrument invented in the year 2000 called a Hang Drum was used.

You can check out the song by hitting play below or you can check out his other songs on [SoundCloud]

Booking is now open for Kuwait Little Theatre’s upcoming show Grease. The show takes place end of May but tickets usually run out really quickly so if you’re interested you need to book now.

KLT regulars including Gregory Dunlop (Danny), Jemma Standen (Marty), Karen Siemers (Rizzo) and KLT returnee Tamara Quaddoumi (Sandy) are involved in this fantastically fun production.

Choreographed by Emma Gray (of Hairspray fame), musically directed by Mike Ricketts (of Hairpray and ALW fame) and directed by Kirsty AlBahlooli (director of 2010′s Mamma Mia and 2011′s Hairspray) Grease is a show not to be missed!

Dates: May 21 to 24 & 28 to 31
Price: KD5

To book tickets click [Here]

Yesterday I posted the picture above on my Instagram account of a new tshirt I had ordered online. It took me a month to get the tshirt because it was on backorder and so when a friend of mine pointed out that a local fashion store was selling a locally printed version (i.e. imitation) I got upset for two reasons:

1) If its a good creative idea you support the designer who came up with the idea and you don’t get a local printshop to reprint the design for you

2) The store that was selling the fake tshirts (I won’t mention the brand and any mention of the brand in the comments will be deleted) is actually a very well respected brand and one that I actually liked

So I visited their Instagram account and found the tshirt listed for sale there and in the comments I read the following:

The tshirt was by a local designer and not the official one in NYC so I left the following comment:

To my surprise instead of them apologizing for selling imitation goods they responded with the following comment:

I stayed diplomatic and responded highlighting the fact that they themselves said it was by a local designer and not that they had permission from the official brand to reprint it in Kuwait. I also tagged my friend Fajer the lawyer in the comments so that she was aware of the situation as well. A few moments later they deleted all my comments and blocked me from their account.

I decided to contact the original designer just to make sure I hadn’t made a mistake and turns out I hadn’t. According to the designer who created the orignal tshirt she never gave anybody permission to sell or reprint her tshirts. In fact the local store was sent the following email to cease sale of the tshirts:

VIOLATION OF TRADEMARK – Remove Immediately
We have been notified that you are in violation of our trademark ‘Ain’t Laurent Without Yves’. Please immediately cease sale of all materials with our trademark logo on it; Should you continue to sell these items we will pursue severe legal damages for profits lost.

We never gave you, or any other vendor permission to sell our product with our slogan on it. Your claims on twitter are false and are damaging our brand.

The reason I am pointing this situation out is to discuss how criticism is handled in the region. Even when I was right I got attacked and a lot of other people do too. We should be able to have freedom of speech and criticism actually helps companies (and people) to know how they can improve. People in the region need to calm down and start accepting criticism.

If you’re interested in the tshirt above you can purchase it directly from the original designer at whataboutyves.com

THE QUESTION
Hey Fajer, I work for a private company in Kuwait and the company has my passport (and other employees) and refuses to keep it with us because they’re afraid we might leave the country. Do they have a right to keep our passports? I was told they don’t but I’m afraid if I make a big issue out of this then I might get fired.

THE RESPONSE
So this question/answer is only for private company employees

Do employers have the right to keep an employees passport?

No, No and NOOOOO!

This is a very common question, at work and now from my readers on the blog.

Why is it illegal?

The Ministry resolution number 143/A/2010 says in (Article 1) “It is prohibited for private sector employers and oil sector employers to hold traveling documents of their employees”

Then (Article 2) mentions a punishment from the labor law for employers in the private sector who do not follow (Article 1). The punishment mentioned in (Article 141) from the labor law is as follows:

“In the event where the violator does not remedy the violation within the specified period, he shall be subject to a fine of not less than KD100 and not more than KD200 for each of the workers who are involved in the violation. In the event of recurrence within three years from the date of the final judgment, the punishment shall be doubled.” This means that your employer will get fined KD100-200 for keeping your passport.

Can you get fired?

No, No and NOOOOO!

You can not get fired except for reasons stated in the law which I won’t get into now but basically non of them is for telling your boss to be legal.

I want everyone to know the following for any labor law violations by your employers in the future:

– There is a hotline you can call (no one picked up when I called) 128

– There is a site where you can file a complaint (no one replied to me yet) https://www.mosal.gov.kw/

– There is also an NGO organized by Bibi Nasser called Social Work Society of Kuwait located in mishref www.q8sws.com Tel: 25375031 they might be able to help you with issues, even though most of their work is for domestic and construction workers

– According to the labor law, if you have a complaint against your employer, the Minstry of Labor and Social affairs will look into it before it gets to court and will try to resolve it

– If it does go to court, the court has exempted laborers from any court fees

– I sat with officials 2 weeks ago from the Minstry of Labor and Social Affairs for a research paper by John Hopkins about domestic workers in Kuwait and their rights. The officials I met with told me that an employee who’s passport is held by their employer can come in if he or she really needs to travel and get a paper from them that will allow the employee to travel

Fajer Ahmed – Legal Counsel
Have a Kuwait law related question? Email me at [email protected]

The legal opinions expressed in this post are those of the author Fajer. Opinions expressed by Mark or any other writer on mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com are those of the individual’s and in no way reflect Fajer’s opinion.