A Qatari couple died in the desert of the Empty Quarter inside Saudi Arabia when their SUV overturned, local Arabic daily Al Sharq reported yesterday. A spokesman of the Saudi Border Guard at Al-Batha Strip said that they received a telephone call last Wednesday from a Qatari, residing in Saudi Arabia, who informed that a relative of his and his wife were missing after they left in a vehicle from their estate inside the Empty Quarter. Saudi Marine Brigadier Khalid al-Arqoobi explained that the SUV was found in an area 300km away from Al-Batha in the middle of the Empty Quarter. The vehicle had overturned and the body of the lady was lying nearby. According to the website of Al-Yom Saudi newspaper, patrols assisted by search aircraft combed the desert and found the body of the husband on Thursday, 10km away from place of the accident. The Empty Quarter is the largest sand desert in the world, encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula, including Saudi Arabia and areas of Oman, the UAE, and Yemen. The desert covers some 650,000sqkm. 5,834 ships docked at Qatar ports in 2012: QSA report Qatar recorded a huge increase in ship movements in 2012, according to a recent report of Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA). The report said 5,834 vessels docked at different ports in the country in 2012, the highest-ever. Their gross tonnage amounted to 294.9mn, an increase of 8.1% compared to the previous year. Net tonnage was 128.0mn, an increase of 7.6% compared to the previous year. The main types of vessels were oil and gas tankers totalling 2,636 vessels with a tonnage of 238.7mn, an increase of 3.7% compared to 2011. Ras Laffan port accounted for the highest share, with 2,123 vessels docked in, followed by Mesaieed (2,082 vessels). Most of the vessels were registered in Panama (961), followed by Marshal Islands with 626 vessels and Bahamas with 402 vessels. As part of its objectives to support the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS), QSA released the 25th issue of the “Annual Bulletin of Maritime Navigation Statistics.” The information in this bulletin covers all movements of maritime navigation to and from Doha, Mesaieed, Halul and Ras Laffan ports. Doha Bank honours winners of Al Dana Savings campaign Doha Bank has announced the winners of the first quarterly draw of the 2013 Al Dana Savings campaign, including the first QR1mn winner of the year. The bank, which is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Al Dana Savings Programme, will reward Al Dana customers with prizes of QR10mn, 10 luxury Mercedes-Benz sedans and 10 opulent vacations in 2013. Doha Bank Group CEO Dr R Seetharaman congratulated all the awardees at a special ceremony, saying: “The Al Dana Savings Programme is a premier savings programme in Qatar. Each year we have tried to make the rewards structure more attuned to the needs and desires of our customers. The prize structure this year reflects this commitment to listening to our customers” The winner of the first QR1mn prize of the year, Mohamed Alkhayat - an Al Riyada premium banking customer - said: “I was surprisingly pleased to hear the news of this prize, which adds to my family’s savings, and I am glad to have an Al Riyada account with Doha Bank. I thank Doha Bank and the team at Al Riyada for their dedication and hard work, which make my banking experience easier every time.” During the first quarterly Al Dana campaign draw, over QR2mn in cash and luxury prizes is distributed to customers of the Al Dana and Al Dana Young Savers programmes. These include one luxury Mercedes E-300 won by Maryam Saeed and a luxury holiday package worth an equivalent of QR 25,000, awarded to joint account holders Anne and David. Dr Seetharaman said, “With the growth of Doha Bank into a truly multinational bank and the increasing appeal of Al Dana to our customers, the bank has this year dedicated prizes for international customers to ensure that they are also represented regularly in the monthly and quarterly draws. A monthly prize equivalent to QR50,000 is dedicated to customers in Kuwait and the UAE, in addition to their overall eligibility for all the other draws in the prize pool.” Mohamed Alawadhi from the Kuwait branch was the winner of the monthly dedicated GCC prize worth QR50,000. Suresh Bajpai, Doha Bank head of retail banking, said: “Doha Bank has sought to make the prizes as easily accessible as possible and the minimum balance required to qualify for a majority of the draws is a nominal QR1,000. We also value premium banking customers who maintain more than QR50,000 in their Al Dana savings accounts during the qualifying period. During the quarterly draws, there are two such lucky premium banking winners.” Doha Bank awarded QR500,000 to Sunita Nair in the special quarterly draw held for customers maintaining at least QR50,000 in Al Dana savings, while Mubarak al-Hajri was the winner of the monthly QR100,000 based on the same eligibility criteria. Through the year, monthly draws will be held to distribute QR10,000 to 20 customers maintaining at least QR1,000 in their Al Dana savings accounts, while Al Dana Young Savers will also have the chance to win amazing prizes. The quarterly QR1mn, as well as the luxury car and holiday prizes in the Al Dana draw, are available to customers maintaining a balance of just QR1,000. The Mercedes-Benz E300 saloons are the top vehicle in their category, replete with the finest luxury trim and specifications. Nine more vehicles will be distributed during the year to lucky draw winners, as will the holiday packages. The full list of winners is available on the bank’s website. New Kahramaa e-service for firms from June 24 Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) will launch a new e-service from June 24, exclusively catering to the needs of companies and business organisations. Through this facility, a company can buy tender documents online by getting itself registered on Kahramaa’s website (http://www.km.qa). The service will enable interested companies to buy tender documents online, furnishing salient information such as name of the company, e-mail ID, phone and fax numbers, commercial registration number and its expiry date, among other details. The launch of the service is part of Kahramaa’s endeavour to provide high-quality services aimed at customer satisfaction. Kahramaa adopts transparency and seeks to increase customer satisfaction by applying a continual development and improvement mechanism. The new Kahramaa initiative will pave the way for hassle-free transactions and help conserve the environment. http://www.gulf-times.com/qatar/178/details/356543/qatari-couple-found-dead-in-saudi-desert

Follow us on our social media channels: @ILQlive @ILQlive @ILoveQtr ILoveQatar