People in Qatar spend more on smoking than reading newspapers and periodicals, consumer price index (CPI) figures released by Qatar Statistics Authority for May show, and disturbingly indicate that the cost of living has been on the rise.

The Minister of State for Interior Affairs, H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, opened an exhibition on combating drug abuse at the Villaggio mall yesterday.

A criminal court here has sentenced a young man to a year in jail after he was found guilty of altering a woman’s photograph to make it look vulgar and posting it on the Internet along with her mobile phone number.

The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced the total closure of Majlis Al Taawn Street from the Oryx Roundabout to Lakhweir Signal (Barzan) for two days from today.

Qatar and the United Kingdom yesterday signed an agreement in London on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of financial evasion pertaining to income-tax and capital between the two countries. The agreement was signed for Qatar by the Minister of Economy and Finance, H E Yousuf Hussein Kamal, and for Britain by the Financial Secretary to the UK Treasury, Stephen Timms.

Qatari nationals and other tourists who want to spend their summer vacation in Thailand will be exempt from tourist visa fees until March 4 next year, the Thai Embassy in Qatar announced yesterday.

Qtel is offering two free new movies this weekend on its Mozaic TV+ service to celebrate the start of school holidays.

Porsche is advancing towards a deal with Qatar to give the country a shareholding in Volkswagen, a compromise that will clear the way for the carmakers to merge, according to people involved in the talks.

Qatar busted an international drug trafficking network and seized four million pills of the illegal stimulant captagon, costing approximately QR112m in what is described as the biggest-ever drugs haul in the country

Qatar has been increasingly targeted by drug traffickers due to its proximity to countries producing and consuming drugs and narcotics, a senior official of the Ministry of Interior said yesterday.