Facts and History of Kuwait

Facts and History of Kuwait Kuwaits government is a constitutional monarchy headed by the hereditary leader, the emir.  The Kuwaiti emir is a member of the Al Sabah family, which has ruled the country since 1938; the current monarch is Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The capital of Kuwait is Kuwait City, with a population 151,000 and with a metro area population of 2.38 million.   Population According to the US Central Intelligence Agency, the total population of Kuwait is about 2.695 million, which includes 1.3 million non-nationals.  Kuwaits government, however, maintains that there are 3.9 million people in Kuwait, of whom 1.2 million are Kuwaiti.   Among the actual Kuwaiti citizens, approximately 90% are Arabs and 8% are of Persian (Iranian) descent.  There are also a small number of Kuwaiti citizens whose ancestors came from India. Within the guest worker and expatriate communities, Indians make up the largest group at nearly 600,000.  There are an estimated 260,000 workers from Egypt, and 250,000 from Pakistan.  Other foreign nationals in Kuwait include Syrians, Iranians, Palestinians, Turks, and smaller numbers of Americans and Europeans. Languages Kuwaits official language is Arabic.  Many Kuwaitis speak the local dialect of Arabic, which is an amalgam of Mesopotamian Arabic of the southern Euphrates branch, and Peninsular Arabic, which is the variant most common on the Arabian Peninsula.  Kuwaiti Arabic also includes many loan words from Indian languages and from English.  English is the most commonly used foreign language for business and commerce. Religion Islam is the official religion of Kuwait.  Approximately 85% of Kuwaitis are Muslim; of that number, 70% are Sunni and 30% are Shia, mostly of the Twelver school.  Kuwait has tiny minorities of other religions among its citizens, as well.  There are about 400 Christian Kuwaitis, and about 20 Kuwaiti Bahais.   Among the guest workers and ex-pats, approximately 600,000 are Hindu, 450,000 are Christian, 100,000 are Buddhist, and about 10,000 are Sikhs.  The remainder are Muslim.  Because they are People of the Book, Christians in Kuwait are allowed to build churches and keep a certain number of clergy, but proselytizing is forbidden.  Hindus, Sikhs, and Buddhists are not allowed to build temples or gurdwaras. Geography Kuwait is a small country, with an area of 17,818 sq km (6,880 sq miles); in comparative terms, it is slightly smaller than the island nation of Fiji.  Kuwait has about 500 kilometers (310 miles) of coastline along the Persian Gulf.  It borders on Iraq to the north and west, and Saudi Arabia to the south. The Kuwaiti landscape is a flat desert plain.  Only 0.28% of the land is planted in permanent crops, in this case, date palms.  The country has a total of 86 square miles of irrigated cropland. Kuwaits highest point doesnt have any particular name, but it stands 306 meters (1,004 feet) above sea level.   Climate Kuwaits climate is a desert one, characterized by hot summer temperatures, a short, cool winter, and minimal rainfall.  Annual rainfall averages between 75 and 150 mm (2.95 to 5.9 inches).  Average high temperatures in the summer are a toasty 42 to 48 °C (107.6 to 118.4 °F).  The all-time high, recorded on July 31, 2012, was 53.8 °C (128.8 °F), measured at Sulaibya.  This is also the record high for the entire Middle East. March and April often witness large dust storms, which sweep in on the northwesterly winds from Iraq.  Thunderstorms also accompany the winter rains in November and December. Economy Kuwait is the fifth richest country on Earth, with a GDP of $165.8 billion US, or $42,100 US per capita.  Its economy is based primarily on petroleum exports, with the major recipients being Japan, India, South Korea, Singapore, and China.  Kuwait also produces fertilizers and other petrochemicals, engages in financial services, and maintains an ancient tradition of pearl diving in the Persian Gulf.  Kuwait imports almost all of its food, as well as most products from clothing to machinery.   Kuwaits economy is quite free, compared with its Middle Eastern neighbors.  The government is hoping to encourage the tourism and regional trade sectors to reduce the countrys dependence on oil exports for income.  Kuwait has known oil reserves of about 102 billion barrels. The unemployment rate is 3.4% (2011 estimate).  The government does not release figures for percent of the population living in poverty. The countrys currency is the Kuwaiti dinar.  As of March 2014, 1 Kuwaiti dinar $3.55 US. History During ancient history, the area that is now Kuwait was often a hinterland of more powerful neighboring areas.  It was linked with Mesopotamia as early as the Ubaid era, beginning roughly 6,500 BCE, and with Sumer around 2,000 BCE.   In the interim, between about 4,000 and 2,000 BCE, a local empire called the Dilmun Civilization controlled the bay of Kuwait, from which it directed trade between Mesopotamia and the Indus Valley civilization in what is now Pakistan.  After Dilmun collapsed, Kuwait became part of the Babylonian Empire around 600 BCE.  Four hundred years later, the Greeks under Alexander the Great colonized the area. The Sassanid Empire of Persia conquered Kuwait in 224 CE.  In 636 CE, the Sassanids fought and lost the Battle of Chains in Kuwait, against the armies of a new faith that had arisen on the Arabian Peninsula.  It was the first move in Islams rapid expansion in Asia.  Under the caliphs rule, Kuwait once again became a major trading port connected to the Indian Ocean trade routes. When the Portuguese muscled their way into the Indian Ocean in the fifteenth century, they seized a number of trading ports including the bay of Kuwait.  Meanwhile, the Bani Khalid clan founded what is now Kuwait City in 1613, as a series of small fishing villages.  Soon Kuwait was not only a major trade hub but also a legendary fishing and pearl diving site.  It traded with various parts of the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century and became a shipbuilding center. In 1775, the Zand Dynasty of Persia laid siege to Basra (in coastal southern Iraq) and occupied the city.  This lasted until 1779 and greatly benefited Kuwait, as all of Basras trade got diverted to Kuwait instead.  Once the Persians withdrew, the Ottomans appointed a governor for Basra, who also administered Kuwait.  In 1896, tensions between Basra and Kuwait reached a peak, when the sheik of Kuwait accused his brother, the emir of Iraq, of seeking to annex Kuwait. In January 1899, the Kuwaiti sheik, Mubarak the Great, made an agreement with the British under which Kuwait became an informal British protectorate, with Britain controlling its foreign policy.  In exchange, Britain held off both the Ottomans and the Germans from interfering in Kuwait.  However, in 1913, Britain signed the Anglo-Ottoman Convention just before the outbreak of World War I, which defined Kuwait as an autonomous region within the Ottoman Empire, and the Kuwaiti sheiks as Ottoman sub-governors.   Kuwaits economy went into a tailspin in the 1920s and 1930s.  However, oil was discovered in 1938, with its promise of future petrol-riches.  First, however, Britain took direct control of Kuwait and Iraq on June 22, 1941, as World War II erupted in its full fury.  Kuwait would not gain full independence from the British until June 19, 1961. During the Iran/Iraq War of 1980-88, Kuwait supplied Iraq with massive amounts of aid, fearful of Irans influence after the Islamic Revolution of 1979.  In retaliation, Iran attacked Kuwaiti oil tankers, until the US Navy intervened.  Despite this earlier support for Iraq, on August 2, 1990, Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion and annexation of Kuwait.  Iraq claimed that Kuwait was actually a rogue Iraqi province; in response, a US-led coalition launched the First Gulf War and ousted Iraq.   Retreating Iraqi troops took revenge by setting fire to Kuwaits oil wells, creating enormous environmental problems.  The emir and the Kuwaiti government returned to Kuwait City in March of 1991 and instituted unprecedented political reforms, including parliamentary elections in 1992.  Kuwait also served as the launchpad for the US-led invasion of Iraq in March of 2003, at the start of the Second Gulf War.

Project Management For Healthcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Project Management For Healthcare - Essay Example IT risks may involve computer viruses, hacking, phishing or completed system crashes. In healthcare these have very high risk levels as they may result in loss of important electronic records for the organization and patients thus wreaking havoc to the whole system. IT risks may also involve the project information being accessed by others who may want to use it. The financial element of project management can also be a potential risk to healthcare projects; if for some reason the organization does not have enough finances for the project then it may be brought to a complete halt. Liability issues are also common in healthcare involving management of patients and their information and thus project managers must put into consideration. Risks coming directly from the project may include doing something for the first time, changes in crucial requirements, poor estimation of resources and lack of clarity in definition of responsibilities. There may also be external risks in the forms of natural catastrophes, and regulations e.g. on manufacturers of medical instruments and pharmaceutical companies. People risks include lack of proper controls, poor relations, lack of leadership, organizational designs being poor, lack of conflict management programs in place and people lacking proper skills to communicate. In conclusion therefore project management for healthcare is not an easy task; so many events some unexpected may pose risks which may make it very hard to successfully run a project. Risks range from IT, issues, financial resources, the environment, people issues and natural events. It is therefore to anticipate challenges upfront when running with projects and plan some mitigation plans in order to ensure the project is a

Vivid Description of Mother Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vivid Description of Mother - Essay Example Whenever my mother smiles, the white, well-shaped teeth brighten her whole face when she grins. She has a well soft developed body of medium height; her skin is smooth, light brown and splendid. She has four boys and one girl thus we are five siblings; two of the boys are twins, my brother and I are the eldest followed by the other siblings. Her beauty is glimpsing, she is lovely and caring about our personal problems and spiritual arena. She maintains high standards of cleanliness and wishes that all of us to follow the same pursuit. She is a hard-working, determined, goal-oriented woman and raised her family as she carried on with her studies. Despite the fact that her studies were involving, she always had time the family. She is eloquent in talking and persuasive while presenting facts that convinces one to agree wholeheartedly with her without any act of opposition. She is an academically oriented person and rarely does she stay without a plan to pursue her higher education in spite of raising her family. She is a professor in Nuclear Physic, and she attained her PhD from the Surrey University in England. She has managed to go up the ladder and fought through the academic levels to reach the highest. Her primary objective in her studies is obtaining and achieving her self-esteem through the exploration of the opportunities that she faces. The drive towards her education and what has facilitated her pursuit of education from the lowest level to the highest level has been made possible by the well financial base that she had developed in the entire life. However, she had to quit the job at the expense of her studies. She has served many institutions that range from colleges to the universities; the University of California and Harvard University just but to mention a few.  

Future of technology (advantages and disadvantages) Essay Example for Free

Future of technology (advantages and disadvantages) Essay From day to day, our world has been changed gradually from one condition to another. Nowadays, technology has advanced in huge leaps and bounds. We cannot imagine the world without technological advances such as computer, televisions, and machines and so on. However there are some advantages and disadvantages of technology. First, technologies play an important role in society because it makes life easier to live on and makes time less consuming. People do not have to do all the hard labor anymore. For example, many people have washing machines, clothes driers and dishwashers, so the amount of energy needed to wash and dry clothes and wash dishes is greatly reduced. Second, medical science is very progressive and saves many innocent lives. Medical treatment has been going well with the help of technology. Nowadays, hospitals use technology as assistance for operations. However, technology also brings harm to our society. The overuse and development of factory industries causes pollution to our world. For example the use of cars and machines causes smoke that affects the quality of our air and destroys our ozone layer and as a result people suffer illnesses like cancer. Another disadvantage is that technologies create financial problems in families because most technologies are expensive. For example people that do not have a washing machine will have to wash clothes by hand which is time consuming. In conclusion, we cannot stop technology from developing in our society. Nowadays, we as people rely on technology everyday to make our lives simpler. Without modern technology our world would be a tough place to live in.

Pope Pius XIIs Neutrality Essay -- Catholic Church, Holocaust, Hitler

Is it possible for a Pope to be infallible? When one looks at events, such as the Holocaust, the answer of this question becomes twofold. Were Pope Pius XII’s actions an attempt to save the Catholic Church from persecutions or a lack of understanding of Hitler’s ethnic cleansing? Nearly six million Jews were slaughtered during the Holocaust. When the world became aware of the mass murders that were taking place in Europe, World War II became a moral obligation rather than a fight for power. The Allied powers invaded Germany to save Jews and force the Nazis out of power in Germany. Many Nazi resistance groups, including Catholic groups, aided in the hiding of Jews in Europe. Surprisingly, the Vatican did not assist these resistance groups. Pope Pius XII neglected to help Jewish Holocaust victims and cowardly ignored the moral issue in order to remain neutral, avoid conflict in the war, and evade the persecution of more Catholics. **NEED A WAY TO INTRODUCE THIS PARAGRAPH In 1930, Pope Pius XI appointed Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII, as Secretary of State of the Holy See. Pacelli assisted Pius XI in writing encyclicals, dealing with diplomatic matters and handling international affairs (Sanchez 16). In fact, Pius XI selected Cardinal Pacelli to agree to the Reich Concordat of 1933 on his behalf. The Reich Concordat of 1933 was an agreement signed by Cardinal Pacelli and Herr Franz von Papen, the Vice-Chancellor of the German Reich. This agreement allowed the Pope to impose laws on the German clergy and ensure the freedom of German Catholic dioceses, schools, religious Orders, congregations and parishes (Concordat). The German Reich agreed to these terms so long as the papacy encouraged the demolition of t... ...iation against Catholics in the occupied countries. Pope Pius XII’s distrust and fear of the Jews also played role in his silence (Cornwell 296). He believed that adversity followed the Jews and as such, he wanted to distance himself from them. When war began Pope Pius XII did not believe all the reports he was hearing about Nazi Germany. Often times, he considered such reports war propaganda by the allies (Cornwell 296). The silence of the Pope was deafening. If Pope Pius XII had readily shared his knowledge regarding the deportations of Jews and death camps with the rest of the world immediately upon learning this information, it is extremely possible that many lives would have been saved. This silent reaction of the papacy began the controversy of the moral obligations of Pope Pius XII and the omissions of any reactions to the atrocities taking place.

Mountains: A road to recreation

â€Å"Chasing angels or feeling demons, go to mountains† said by Jeffrey Rasley. The word recreation means refreshment of health or spirits by relaxation and enjoyment. In other sense refreshment of one’s mind and body. Pakistan is a God gifted land. There are many breathtaking landscapes present in it. The land of Pakistan is known as the land of adventures and nature. Beside, Murree, there are many hill stations and resorts such as in the places like Swat, Kalam , and Hunza Vellay. So, I agree with the statement that mountains are use for recreation. Firstly, for recreational purpose, mountains are use for hiking. Mountaineering was introduced in eighteen century by intellectuals such as scientists and philosophers. They climb on mountains for research purposes. At that time â€Å"Chamonix† which is located in France, became the attracting point for many hikers. Especially Mount Blanc, which had an elevation of about sixteen thousand feet. After half of the eighteen century, British hikers started to hike on Swiss mountains with their guides. These guides were from different countries such as from Switzerland, Italy, and France. After Alpes, in late nineteen century, hikers started to hike on Andes mountain ranges which are located in South America. By the advent of twentieth century, hikers came to hike Himalayas which are also located in Pakistan. In Himalayas ranges, the highest peak is K2 which has an elevation of about twenty eight thousand feet. Now in twenty first century, hiking become very common in our society. First of all, some people hike on mountain as for fun. But after words they chose mountain hiking as their profession. For instance Conrad Kein is one of them. Bachendri Pal who is first Indian women to climb on Mount Everast. She conquered Mount Everst peak on twenty third May, 1984. Secondly, for recreational purpose, people use to prefer mountainous areas for visiting. People also used to come on mountains for camping. In Pakistan, Swat valley is known as â€Å"Mini Switzerland†. Where everywhere, you will see greenry. This valley is also more fertile as compared to other northern areas of Pakistan. So, for attracting people, government has built different places for recreation, such as museum, golf course, and parks. Local people also made restaurants in hilly areas. In swat museum, you can see the things of second century BC. Especially, the crafts of Mauryan Emporer. In Murree , there is Ayubia park which is named after our first military dictator General Ayub Khan. In that park, there is chair lift, that’s why it is very famous. Thirdly, the people of plain areas used to go to mountainous areas for relaxing their selves. So, in Murree, you will hardly find any place in restaurants especially in summer vocations. In that period of three to four months, some hotel owners are not good enough because they charge more. So, in that response Kalam Hotel Association General Sectery Rahuet Din Siddique said in a statement that â€Å" his union would take action against those hotel owners who had been fleecing visitors by demanding high prices†. But this is the dilemma of our people that we always think that how to flatter others. Fourthly, in Pakistan, there are also worth seeing places such as Kashmir which is a mountainous area and is known as â€Å"Paradise†. The Great Mughal King Shah Jahan said â€Å"If there is heaven anywhere on earth that is the Kashmir†. So, he was the first to say it as a Heaven. Concordia is known as the ‘paradise of mountaineers’ which is present in north of Pakistan and is close to China boarder. Concordia is a chain of fourteen mountains and highest mountain is K2 which has an elevation of about eighty six hundred meter and is also known as world’s second highest mountain. The locals named K2 as â€Å"Choghori†. The name Concordia derived from the Latin word which means ‘harmony with the heart’. People used to visit in these places for recreation. Due to the poor securitization of Pakistan, people are scared to visit these places. In recent incidence in which eleven mountaineers are killed by terrorist. One mountaineer was left alive in the incidence. She said that she was not scared and she is full determined for expedition of Nanga Parbat. And she said in a statement that she will come next year. In response to that statement , the ACP President Col Manzoor Hussain said â€Å" we apologize to you that our government failed to protect the lives of your team members†. Although, the indigenous of mountainous areas are known for their hospitality. Visitors are welcomed by these people open heartedly. But due to security lapse, people are scared and they want protection from government. So, government should take action against terrorists. In short, mountaineering is very famous all over the world. People use to go on mountain areas throughout the whole year. In summer season, people go on mountains for recreation in order to see the beauty and nature. This time the temperature is moderate. In winter season, people use to go on mountainous areas for skating etc. But unfortunately, people are refused to go on these areas just because of poor security. As, Pakistan is fighting war on terror, so , people are scared to go. At last, if we go through the context of Pakistan, many tourist from all over the globe attract towards the scenic beauty of these mountain. K2 is famous in this regard.

Discovering Practices That Reduces Recidivism - 1362 Words

Discovering Practices that Reduces Recidivism Kemisha Reid John Jay College of Criminal Justice Abstract Prisoner reentry has recently returned to policymaking agenda, as the need to remedy the cycle of incarceration is being acknowledge and addressed. With this renewed interest in reentry come federal funds and an effort to rigorously evaluate programs aimed at helping prisoners successfully reintegrate into their communities. This paper examines these initiatives, describing lessons learned and identifying obstacles of both program implementation and evaluation. The goal is to provide insights and recommendations for policymakers and practitioners in order to facilitate the development of evidence-based practices. I find that many†¦show more content†¦Inmates are released with few if any resources and usually end up returning to the institution after failing to reestablish productive lives in the community. This alarming reality is both a fiscal and social problem: state budget deficits bring enormous prison expenditures to light as social injustices in the system persist . Reforming the system to end the cycle of incarceration will have positive effects on the bottom line while reducing crime and thereby increasing public safety. Clearly, the deterrence effects of harsh prison sentences have not been effective. It may be time to once again embrace and expand the rehabilitative capacity of the criminal justice system. The prevailing model of rehabilitative in reentry initiatives today is needs-based. Much of the research has identified major areas of the research has identified major areas in which offenders lack skills and resources as opportunities for intervention. Release inmates face many material and psychological obstacles that must be overcome to prevent a return to the institution. To the extent that these deficiencies are assumed to contribute to repeat offending (or technical violations of parole), addressing them is expected to reduce recidivism. Actually doing this, however, is no easy task and not necessarily one that the current criminal justice system is set up to handle successfully. Meeting all of these needs undoubtedly requires partnerships and cooperation