News

Alternatives to the current sponsorship laws in the Gulf are being discussed in a number of countries, according to an expert, who said that he had been consulted on what shape these possible changes may take.

The Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, has warned that 2009 could be a challenging year for the crude market as large oil consuming countries would use less fuel due to the global economic meltdown.

The Doha Debates at Qatar Foundation yesterday saw a free discussion on the human rights issue in the Gulf, with a majority of the participants expressing the view that the rights of nationals as well as the migrant work force are not properly protected by the governments in the region. The motion “This House believes that Gulf Arabs value profit over people” was carried with 75 percent votes,.

QATAR has taken a pioneering lead in a United Nations Environment Programme’s initiative aimed at reducing or totally curbing the use of paper in international conferences, Gulf Times learnt yesterday.

As far as rumours going around, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Madonna, and Robert Diniro are among the celebrities coming to Qatar.

Qatar is gearing up to be the IT centre in the region with the signing of a strategic agreement between Qatar Telecom (Qtel) and PCone yesterday. The agreement will see PCone join Qtel’s increasing network of Premium Partners and become a one-stop-shop providing the highest levels of support and service to customers in Qatar. Presently, Qtel has a total of eight

Property market sources expect some private players in the services segment of the energy sector to lay off some staff to cut corners due to the falling crude prices in the global market.

A FRENCH company which promotes “impregnable” vegetable fencing to replace metallic barricades was receiving a lot of curiosity at the Milipol Qatar exhibition.

Qatar is expected to be the travel destination choice for those wishing to experience a quality venue for business, meetings, culture and sport, with Qatar’s tourist authority predicting that as many as 15 million passengers will travel annually through its new airport by 2012.

Youth in the region yesterday demonstrated how they are ready to contribute to the growth of societies, when the Gulf’s largest youth conference ‘Sustainable Youth for the Gulf’ began yesterday.