Serena Williams of the US beat Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova 7-6 (8-6), 7-5 at the Sony Ericsson Championships here yesterday. In the final match of the opening day at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, the American second seed had a tough match against the Russian. “It was a difficult match against Svetlana. It was a difficult first set tie-breaker as I rolled over my ankle. I got just right after re-taping my ankle,” said Serena.

The Qatar Museum of Islamic Art (QMIA) has banned the parking of vehicles by the public at its premises for the next few days. The parking area would be closed at 2pm on October 29, 2009 and will re-open on November 2. http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=October2009&file=Local_News2009102871945.xml

RAS LAFFAN INDUSTRIAL CITY: The Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani yesterday inaugurated RasGas’ sixth natural gas liquefaction train which places Qatar in a position of undisputed leadership in world LNG.

As the Grand Hyatt prepares to host the ‘Whatever It Takes’ and 21st Century Leaders gala dinner on Friday evening, the finishing touches are being put to an exhibition room which will feature the work of a number of world-renowned artists.

More than 20 healthcare facilities were shut down since November last year, due to violations ranging from use of rusted and unhygienic medical equipment to working without authorisation.

The 21st Century Leaders Foundation will honour three women at their inaugural awards ceremony on Friday at Grand Hyatt Doha.

The weather in Qatar will be fine with slight haze and some scattered clouds and chance of scattered rain to the north.

An exclusive collection of artwork will be exhibited, with some available for purchase, as part of the 21st Century Leaders Art Exhibition at the Grand Hyatt Doha this weekend.

The Qatar University’s Scientific Accounting Association (SAA) is organising a series of workshops and courses in November, designed to contribute to the improvement in performance level of accountants and auditors in the country.

A Turkish firm is to help Mowasalat to improve its operational control and quality control. Speaking on the sidelines of the UTIP Congress yesterday, business development director Ahmed al-Ansari said the transport firm was looking for a solution backed by efficient business process and industry standard technologies to provide information about operations, vehicles and drivers.