The South Security Department has rewarded two religious figures for their efforts in spreading awareness about religion among non-Arab inmates.

Qatar has one of the highest paid expatriates in the Middle East, with one in four expats earning more than $200,000 per year. The expats have a monthly disposable income in excess of $3,000, an international expatriate survey has revealed.

Barwa Real Estate Company (BARWA) has said that it may not be able to deliver its Assaileya residential homes on time, due to the serious financial crisis faced by the main contractor of the project.

Some 40 mosques across the country will be refurbished with expensive Turkish carpets at a cost of QR2m ahead of the holy month of fasting as part of interior décor facelift of the places of worship.

Three young men have landed in jail for stealing a petty sum of QR135 from a victim. The criminal court which heard the case sentenced them to two years in jail.

Date traders at the Omani market are in the middle of their peak season. The market is busy right through the day with hordes of customers in search of dates.

A pair of US-based scientists are currently in Qatar investigating the stray dog population as part of a study to determine exactly where dogs were first domesticated.

Qatar will stop importing the ozone depleting substances - chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) - by 2010 and reduce the consumption of hydrocholorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) by 10%, a ministry of environment official said at a workshop yesterday.

Disputes between the main and sub-contractors involved in the Public Works Authority’s (Ashghal) prestigious projects make up majority of cases being heard by the Qatar International Centre for Arbitration (QICA).

People in Qatar spend more on smoking than reading newspapers and periodicals, consumer price index (CPI) figures released by Qatar Statistics Authority for May show, and disturbingly indicate that the cost of living has been on the rise.