Qatar joined the world in observing World Drugs Prevention Day yesterday with an exhibition organized by the Permanent Committee on Drugs and Alcohol Affairs of the Ministry of Interior. Staff Major-General Saad bin Jassem Al Khulaifi, Director of General Security, formally opened the exhibition at the Villaggio mall.

A young businessman was burnt to death in a fire that broke out at his office in the Industrial Area yesterday.

Qatar has won the honour of being listed in the second top slot of the UN’s Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. This was announced at a recent meeting of the Convention held at Bonn, Germany.

The next US president, whether it be Barack Obama or John McCain, is not going to change the American policy towards Israel and the Middle East, thanks to the powerful Jewish lobby in the country, according to John J Mearsheimer, a noted American author and academician.

Providing facilities for pedestrians to cross roads is not the responsibility of Traffic Department but it is the duty of Ashghal, a senior official has said.

Shoppers at Hyatt Plaza can visit the interactive booth providing services of Hukoomi, Qatar's online gateway to the government, until June 23. The portal provides more than 290 services, including 56 e-services, and information on government entities, with more services and information planned.

Mowasalat is planning to introduce more taxis and buses in the near future to serve the fast-growing population in the country. The move is expected to address the severe shortage of cabs in the city and help the bus service expand to new regions.

Qatar has the potential to become a stronghold for entrepreneurship and establishing start-up firms, Doug Richard, entrepreneur and specialist in technology transfer, commercialisation and business education, told The Peninsula in an interview yesterday.

The Traffic and Patrol Department at the Ministry of Interior has launched the 'Fourth National Campaign for Road Accidents', with the focus on young drivers and pedestrians on highways.

MORE than 260 electricity distribution stations were built throughout the country in April and May, a senior official of the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has said.