Headlines

• Kuwaiti Business Charged with Defrauding US Government of $3.5 million
• Despite being somewhat old news, it is worth mentioning that Ali Hijazi, managing partner of Kuwaiti business LaNouvelle General Trading and Contracting Company, and Jeff Mazon, a former employee of Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) and Halliburton have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Illinois of attempting to defraud the US government of more than $3.5 million in militray contracts. Advice to future defrauders: Do it in the Middle East you are commended, do it elswhere you get prison. US Department of Justice
  
• Optimism and Self-Esteem Related to Academic Achievement
• In a study that looked at the relationship between academic achievement and optimism, self-esteem, anxiety, and pessimism, Freih El-Anzi, from the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) in Kuwait, found the existence of positive and negative relationships. After sampling 400 students, both male and female, El-Anzi found a positive correlation between academic achievement and self-esteem and optimism. Further, he found a negative correlation between academic achievement and anxiety and pessimism. Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal
  
• American Scholar Examines Ayyub Al-Ayyub, Kuwaiti Heritage
  
• In this article, William Kopycki discusses the Kuwaiti heritage in the paintings of Ayyub Husayn Al-Ayyub. "Recognition of Al-Ayyub as a highly accomplished Kuwaiti artist whose work strives to re-capture visions of an earlier and simpler era of Kuwait’s history and time; Citation of Ayyub’s authorship of several published monographs devoted to recording Kuwaiti folklore and traditions in print, from children’s games, memoirs of Kuwait’s local history and linguistic studies of Kuwaiti Arabic; Approaches used in still life, scenic paintings and the human figure; Offer of explanatory notes in all paintings to shed light about the traditional practices and way of life enjoyed by Kuwaitis." Digest of Middle East Studies (DOMES)