Kuwait will begin national celebrations on Saturday as a popular type of bread from the country’s past makes a warm reappearance.
The country will mark its National Day on February 25, with Liberation Day celebrated a day later.
As citizens prepare for the festivities, the Kuwait Flour Mills and Bakeries Company has announced it is reproducing the bread created by volunteers during the Gulf War.
Calling it the “invasion mix” or the “1990 bread mix", the campaign included a promotional video on social media with interviews with some of the volunteers behind the mix.
About 8,000 made the baked good, even though many had no milling or baking experience.
The video resonated with a Kuwaitis who lived through the conflict with Saddam Hussein's Iraqi forces.
“We made our own bread in our house during the war,” said Kuwaiti citizen Fouzia Al Shehab.
“But word travels quickly here. We all knew a group of men who knew nothing about bread making were out to take care of people."
One man featured in the video said the volunteer bakers "improvised to ensure the right quantity got to the people".
Many of the volunteers came from administrative backgrounds but, after “mixing and matching” ingredients at the Kuwait Flour Mills, the group found the right mix.
The reproduced bread is packaged in a bag bearing the company’s old logo and a “1990 mix” slogan.
Saddam invaded Kuwait over 30 years ago after the gulf nation resisted his demands to write off $14 billion it lent to Iraq, mostly during the Iraq-Iran war, and to lower oil production.
His forces eventually withdrew from Kuwait after a 42-day war known as “Operation Desert Storm."
Food security was affected during the war and people came up with new ways to eat the bread.
Some had it with an olive spread or cheese, while others dunked it in tea or milk.
The baking project has also resonated with younger Kuwaitis who were not alive during the war.
“I saw the advertisement and wanted to taste this ‘golden brown’ wonder bread people were having during the war," said Abdulla Hussain, 26.
"It’s the only physical thing connecting me to a time my parents and all my siblings went through without me, and it’s something yummy I can eat.
“We hear from many elders and people who survived the war that Kuwaitis went above and beyond during that period."
Ms Al Shehab said that during the war the “spirit of Kuwaiti people quickly came together to make sure we would all survive”.
The state-owned company’s baking initiative is “a beautiful reminder that what we did for each other can still be done today", she said.
Flags and banners will fly high in Kuwait this weekend as the country celebrates 73 years since it was founded and 32 years since its liberation.
“It’s an odd but welcomed sensation to now enjoy a bread created during a war I lived through,” Ms Al Shehab said.
“I get to eat it peacefully now.”
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Kolarov (56')
ELECTION%20RESULTS
%3Cp%3EMacron%E2%80%99s%20Ensemble%20group%20won%20245%20seats.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20second-largest%20group%20in%20parliament%20is%20Nupes%2C%20a%20leftist%20coalition%20led%20by%20Jean-Luc%20Melenchon%2C%20which%20gets%20131%20lawmakers.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20far-right%20National%20Rally%20fared%20much%20better%20than%20expected%20with%2089%20seats.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20centre-right%20Republicans%20and%20their%20allies%20took%2061.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Lexus LX700h specs
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Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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Price: From Dh590,000
FIGHT INFO
Men’s 60kg Round 1:
Ahmad Shuja Jamal (AFG) beat Krisada Takhiankliang (THA) - points
Hyan Aljmyah (SYR) beat Akram Alyminee (YEM) - retired Round 1
Ibrahim Bilal (UAE) beat Bhanu Pratap Pandit (IND) - TKO Round 1
Men’s 71kg Round 1:
Seyed Kaveh Soleyman (IRI) beat Abedel Rahman (JOR) - RSC round 3.
Amine Al Moatassime (UAE) walk over Ritiz Puri (NEP)
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Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Leaderboard
63 - Mike Lorenzo-Vera (FRA)
64 - Rory McIlroy (NIR)
66 - Jon Rahm (ESP)
67 - Tom Lewis (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG)
68 - Rafael Cabrera-Bello (ESP), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)
69 - Justin Rose (ENG), Thomas Detry (BEL), Francesco Molinari (ITA), Danny Willett (ENG), Li Haotong (CHN), Matthias Schwab (AUT)
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
