A number of citizens have criticised  municipality officials for ignoring  the emergence of commercial kitchens at home which has spread recently, according local Arabic newspaper Arrayah.

The home kitchens provide meals  to citizens  and residents without licence or monitoring by the municipality. They added that the  trend is increasing and these house kitchens are competing with the major restaurants in providing banquets and food to parties organised by citizens and to other communities. It is carried out through advertisements in the newspapers and on social  networking websites, citizens have said.

Citizens said that strict monitoring of these kitchens must be carried out and their owners and operators must be held responsible for violation of health requirements.

Meanwhile many people have come out in  support of  those ladies who have taken up cooking as a profession to  improve their income and many families are dependent on this income. 

A number of nutrition and general health experts have warned about the risks of  eating these meals which are cooked in places that are not open to inspection.

A citizen said  this practice  of providing food which is not available in restaurants was started by  some  resident ladies but it quickly spread. He said that it must be legalised in order to be officially monitored.

An official  source  in the Health Monitoring Section in Doha Municipality  stated that the monitoring of these kitchens running out of homes is the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy and Trade and not of the Municipality.

 

Qatar to showcase waste management technology at Abu Dhabi exhibition

Qatar’s ambitious foray into the waste-to-energy sector, which indicates the lucrative business opportunities in the emerging sustainable waste management sector, will be showcased in the inaugural EcoWASTE exhibition, being held from January 20 to 22 in Abu Dhabi by Masdar.

Completed in 2011, Qatar’s Domestic Solid Waste Management Centre (DSWMC), the first of its type in the GCC, comprises a state-of-the-art waste sorting and recycling facility, an engineered landfill, a composting plant, and a 1,500 tonnes per day capacity waste-to-energy incineration plant.

Keppel Seghers, the Singaporean company which designed and built the complex, will showcase its DSWMC technology at EcoWASTE.

“A number of Middle East countries are considering waste-to-energy as a viable and cost-effective means to address the mounting problem of municipal waste output and Qatar has led by example,” said Dr Johan De Greef of Keppel Seghers.

“The DSWMC facility is entirely self-sufficient in power and actually exports 35 megawatts of its total output of 50 megawatts to the national grid. What’s more, 95% of the waste it receives is diverted from landfill.”

In the UAE, the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Sharjah have set bold targets for reducing the amount of solid waste they send to landfill. Sharjah is targeting zero-waste-to-landfill by 2015 and Abu Dhabi aims to divert 85% of its waste from dumping grounds by 2018.

“The business potential of sustainable waste management is also set to be transformed, and with the involvement of more than 50 local and international suppliers and 2,000 industry professionals, the first EcoWASTE exhibition is providing a gateway to a multi-billion dollar industry,” said Naji El Haddad, EcoWASTE show director.

The inaugural EcoWASTE will be held in partnership with TADWEER-CWM and is co-located with the 7th annual World Future Energy Summit and the second International Water Summit, also hosted by Masdar.

 

DIA launches new app, website to help passengers

The Doha International Airport (DIA) has launched a new mobile application and introduced a new mobile website designed to optimise and enhance airport navigation for passengers.

The new services, available in both Arabic and English, will enable quick and easy access to handy information about the airport directly from smartphones and tablets.

The mobile application and website features include easy access to information about facilities and services within the airport, as well as terminal maps to locate these key services.

Additionally, passengers will be able to access flight information as well as contact details of the airport, airlines and airport authorities. 

“With one-third of the world’s population living within a four-hour flight from Doha and two-thirds of the population within an eight-hour flight, Qatar is quickly becoming a major travel and transit hub, making DIA an increasingly busy airport. We are therefore continuously looking at new ways to increase efficiency and provide value-added benefits to passengers,” said Abdulaziz Abdulla al-Mass, senior manager, Public Relations and Communications, DIA.

The DIA mobile application is available on iPhone and Android-based phones as a native application and as a mobile site on smartphones, tablets and BlackBerry.

Passengers can download the application “Doha International Airport” from the iPhone or Android smartphone app store. The application has the capability to work offline and provides information about airport facilities, contact details and maps even without an Internet connection. 

In addition, the mobile website can be accessed from the free WiFi service provided by DIA, or by entering m.dohaairport.com directly into the browser of any smartphone or tablet.

“Passengers are encouraged to check their app store regularly for updates, as we look to enhance the application bilingually, offer push notifications, point to point navigation, information on events at the airport and duty free promotions, directly to our passengers,” added al-Mass.

 

 

Minister meets ambassadors of Turkey and Greece

HE Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr Hamad bin Abdul Aziz al-Kuwari met separately Turkish Ambassador to Qatar Ahmet Demirok and Greek Ambassador Ioannis Metaxas in Doha yesterday.  During the meeting , they reviewed the preparations for the Turkish cultural events due to be held in Qatar and the Qatari events  that will be held in Turkey. They also discussed the upcoming visit of Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Omer Celik to Doha.  Aspects of cultural co-operation between Qatar and Greece and means of boosting it were reviewed as well.

 

Hungarian president meets envoy

Hungarian President Janos Ader yesterday met Qatar’s Ambassador to Budapest Abdullah Hussein al-Jaber as the former received heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Hungary.

During the meeting, Qatar’s ambassador conveyed the greetings of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to the Hungarian president, and his best wishes for further progress and prosperity to the Hungarian people.

 

Awqaf minister arrives in Sarajevo

Qatar’s  Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs (Awqaf) Dr Ghaith bin Mubarak al-Kuwari arrived yesterday in Sarajevo for a visit, during which he will attend the opening of a library that was destroyed during the Bosnian war.

The Minister and his accompanying delegation were welcomed upon arrival at Sarajevo’s airport by Bosnia’s Grand Mufti Husein Kavazovic and Qatar’s Ambassador to Bosnia Rashed bin Mubarak al-Kuwari.

Opened first in 1537, the library, whose restoration is a generous gift from HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, is the oldest one in Bosnia and Europe. The opening ceremony will take place today. The event will be attended by senior officials as well as religious and political leaders.

 

Girl hurt in toy train accident

A Qatari girl suffered serious injuries which included a broken ankle, after her feet slipped out of the toy train at the theme park in the Villaggio Mall, local Arabic daily
Arrayah has reported.

The Grade 5 student was part of a school trip comprising nearly 83 children. The private school, which organised the trip, had sent along only seven supervisors, the girl’s father told the daily.

He has accused both the school and management of the theme park of negligence as the children were left unattended. The girl’s right ankle was broken and she has also undergone surgery.

The healing process is likely to be of long duration including the likelihood of the girl developing some disability.

The girl’s father has filed a complaint with the nearest police station, accusing both the school and park management of negligence. He has also filed a case in the court demanding compensation.

 

Real estate transactions

Transactions between January 5-9 for the real estate sales contracts registered at the Ministry of Justice are worth QR982,159,909, reports QNA. The real estate registration department at the Ministry said in its weekly report that the list of properties that were traded by sale includes open plots of land, two-floor villas, annexes, houses, residential buildings and shops which are located in the municipalities of Umm Salal, Al Khor, Doha, Al Rayyan, Al Shamal, Al Daayen and Al Wakrah.

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