THE world’s biggest meeting of newspaper editors and publishers will be held in Doha next year, The Peninsula can reveal. For the first time in their histories, the 63rd World Association of Newspapers (WAN) Congress and the 17th World Editors’ Forum will be held in an Arab country.

QATAR and Bahrain discussed co-operation, particularly in infrastructure development and exchange of expertise in the field.

The Department of Traffic and Patrols jointly with International Bank of Qatar (IBQ) is organising a series of events at secondary schools to create awareness among students about road safety.

Qatar will soon launch programmes to boost the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) here according to H E Sheikh Fahad bin Jassim bin Mohammed Al Thani, Minister of Business and Trade.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning (MMAUP) has started clearing the large collection of abandoned vehicles dumped at an open ground in Abu Hamour area. Huge trailers were seen carrying the dumped vehicles from the area to an unknown destination early yesterday.

The first round of Darfur peace talks between the Sudanese government and a major Darfur armed group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), started here yesterday.

The travel industry in Qatar has reported a drop in passenger traffic as several companies have cut down business trips and more people tend to postpone their travel plans on the back of the global meltdown.

The Department of Traffic and Patrols has launched a crackdown against vehicles transporting hazardous substances such as petroleum derivatives without permission from the authorities concerned.

Dubai construction firms are stepping up plans to expand into Gulf markets less badly hit by a property downturn than the former boom town, where prices have been hit and projects delayed.