Many commuters who do not have their own vehicles prefer to hire 'taxis' that are illegally operated here by some private car owners.

British Charg・d'Affaires and Head of Mission Roddy Drummond yesterday welcomed the London signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Armed Forces of Qatar and the British Armed Forces.

Arab human rights activists have urged the setting up of a permanent human rights committee under the aegis of the GCC General Secretariat. This call was made at the end of the five-day Regional Programme for Human Rights Activists held at the Millennium Hotel here.

LONDON • Gulf Arab oil producers are unlikely to decide on a new deadline to launch a single currency until next year as the 2010 target for monetary union becomes “difficult”, Bahrain’s central bank governor said yesterday.

UNITED NATIONS • Although Doha's hotels were slightly less full during the first quarter of 2008 than against the same period last year, the outlook for tourism in Qatar remains positive, according to a new UN report.

QNB, the country’s largest bank by assets, has reported a healthy 54% growth in first half net profit to QR1.86bn.

THREE Qatar University students have made a documentary on the inflationary pressures in Qatar, particularly the impact of the rising rents, as part of their graduation project.

FOREIGN investment in Qatar leapt to $1.79bn in 2006 from $252mn in 2000, the Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) said in a report released yesterday.

AS part of its summer campaign, Qtel will introduce from tonight “Late talkers”, a promotion aimed at winning postpaid, prepaid and landline customers.

LONDON: Rafael Nadal dethroned five-time champion Roger Federer as king of Wimbledon yesterday with an epic 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5/7), 6-7 (8/10), 9-7 win in one of the greatest Grand Slam finals of all time.