Former students of Portland State University in Oregon were welcomed to US Ambassador Joseph LeBaron’s residence yesterday evening.

Safety conditions at petrol and automobile service stations across the country might be reviewed by the authorities.

At least 17 accredited American Universities will take part in the US University Fair to be held at Marriott Hotel here today.

Who gets the credit behind the creation of a virtual actor? This and issues behind the emergence of the virtual actor (vactor) or the synthetic thespian (synthespian), among others, were tackled during a discussion organised by the Northwestern University-Qatar.

The US ambassador to Qatar said yesterday he was optimistic a branch of the Washington-based American Chamber of Commerce will open in Doha soon. “It will start a new chapter in the trade relationship between Qatar and the US,” the envoy said in remarks to this newspaper.

NEW YORK: The price of oil struck a one year-high above $78 thanks to the weak US dollar and signs of a pick-up in energy demand, traders said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, hit $78.17 a barrel on Friday — the highest level since October 14, 2008. “Markets could well test 80 dollars but in our opinion a correction next week is the likely scenario to back below $75 and even to the low $70s,” said Sucden Financial Research analyst Nimit Khamar. AFP

Some private schools will have a shorter winter holiday this year due to the delayed reopening after the summer break.

The public apprehensions about possible side effects of the H1N1 vaccine were reflected in a survey conducted by a local Arabic daily, with a majority of the participants saying that they would not go for the vaccination.

With a large number of residential projects scheduled to be completed within a year, the proportion of vacant buildings in the residential sector would cross the 10 percent mark in Qatar in 2010. The rents of commercial buildings, meanwhile, would bottom out next year, according to a real estate market survey.

A criminal court here is hearing a case in which 11 Arab expatriates are accused of circulating fake Qatari currency.