The global economic downturn has not affected any of Qatar’s projects, Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, H E Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem bin Jabor Al Thani, said here yesterday.

While world leaders and environmentalists gather in Denmark for the 11-day Copenhagen Climate Conference (COP15 Summit), the Japanese Embassy here has been giving its own discussions and lectures about the environment.

The weather in Qatar will be partly cloudy to cloudy with slight dust haze and a chance of scattered rain may be thundery to the north.

Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has been named as the “Best Company for Investor Relations in Qatar” in the First Middle East Investor Relations Society Awards at a major ceremony in Dubai.

Development of the Shard, Europe’s tallest, and first major mixed-use building, has now reached the point where its steel skeleton is appearing over the top of London Bridge station and is becoming a highly visible presence to the 375,000 users of the rail terminus.

Santa Claus, cartoon characters, a brass quartet and children’s choir rendering Christmas melodies, and a number of stalls offering a vast array of products were among the highlights of celebrations at Royal Plaza yesterday.

A new mechanism is being put in place to ensure that companies requesting work visas for particular nationalities get them, provided their requests are genuine.

With the weathermen forecasting rainy days ahead, the ongoing excavation works on roads across the country are giving worries to motorists. Many roads where excavation works are progressing are highly prone to waterlogging. What worries motorists more are the dug up roads at sites where work has been suspended for long.