SEVEN students from Qatar University have been selected to attend the 2008 Student Leader Programme in the US, organised by the Middle East Partnership Initiative.

The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) will have to depend on foreign expertise for a long time, a senior official has said.

The Qatar Technical Inspection Company (QTIC) is about to set up a new firm solely for roadside assistance. The new venture will greatly benefit those stranded on the road in their vehicles due to a breakdown and those who are mechanically-challenged.

The proposed law on housemaids and other domestic workers would make it compulsory for sponsors to deal with domestic servants in a respectful way and provide them suitable accommodation and healthcare.

Annual inflation in Qatar rose for a third quarter running in March to a near record of 14.75 percent, the country's state Planning Council said yesterday, amid a surge in food and commodity prices, and rents.

A criminal court has jailed two drug peddlers who were found hiding large quantity of hashish in a house, car and shoes. The first accused was sentenced to 10 years in jail plus a fine of QR200,000 while the second was handed six months imprisonment and QR10,000 fine, Al Sharq reported.

Reaction to the fourth series of Doha Debates, hosted by Tim Sebastian, has been overwhelmingly positive in Qatar and abroad, according to a senior official of BBC World News.

Qatar is free to drop its peg to the US dollar, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said yesterday, as the Gulf oil producer battles with near record inflation.