HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari, now on a visit to Britain, yesterday met Baroness Morris of Bolton, the chairperson of the Qatari friendship committee at the British parliament, and a number of other parliament members.
Talks during the meeting dealt with the various aspects of cultural relations between Qatar and UK, with baroness Bolton commending the grand progress and development Qatar is now witnessing in the cultural sphere,..
Dr Al-Kuwari gave a detailed presentation on the Qatari-British cultural relations and their impact on bilateral relations as a whole.
The Culture Minister arrived in London on Sunday on a visit during which he will attend the London International Book Fair in which Qatar is taking part .
During the visit, al-Kuwari will also co-ordinate with the senior publishers in the London Book Fair, in preparation for the 25th Doha International Book Fair. Al-Kuwari will also meet his British counterpart Ed Vaizey to discuss enhancing bilateral relations in the cultural field.
Qatar to attend Arab finance ministers’ meeting
The State of Qatar will take part in the Joint Annual Meetings of the Arab Financial Institutions for the Ministers of Finance and Governors of the Arab central banks, due to start in Tunisia today.
Qatar’s Minister of Finance HE Ali Sherif al-Emadi and HE the Governor of Qatar Central Bank Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani are representing Qatar at the meetings.
Advisory Council holds meeting
The Advisory Council yesterday held its weekly meeting under the chairmanship of HE Mohamed bin Mubarak al-Khulaifi.
A memo from the Cabinet General Secretariat on the Advisory Council’s recommendations concerning a draft law amending some provisions of the Law No 4 of the year 1985 regarding buildings organisation was read out. The Council then took note of it.
The Council also reviewed a draft law on exempting certain types of goods from customs duties and decided to refer it to the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee.
Indian embassy holidays
The Indian embassy will remain closed on April 13 on the occasion of Mahavir Jayanti and on April 14 on the occasion of the birthday of Dr B R Ambedkar, the principal architect of the Constitution of India.
Woman arrested for begging
The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested an Arab lady who was begging using deceptive methods in residential areas of Doha. The department had received a number of complaints about the woman, following which a patrol arrested her after an investigation and seized QR51,791 and a mobile phone. The woman was referred to the authorities.
The CID has appealed to people to report cases of begging by contacting phone: 2347444.
Safari launches new promotion at its outlets
The Safari Group yesterday launched its QR10/20/30 promotion at its outlets. The new promotion follows the success of its “Win 5KG gold” campaign, the company said. As part of the new promotion the group’s outlets - Safari Mall, Safari Hypermarket and Safari Shopping Centre Umm Salal - have on display several thousands of products in IT and electronics, garments, toys and sports goods, foot wears, cosmetics, household items, bakery, fruits and vegetables, food and dairy products, summer wear, health and fitness equipment. The group procures fresh fish directly from Kerala and a wide range is available at the outlets. Similarly, many kinds of fresh vegetables are imported from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka as well. A three-day musical event is being organised at the Food Court at Safari Mall in Abu Hamour from today. It starts at 6 .30pm. Safari Group’s “Win 10 Toyota Camry Cars” mega promotion is currently on and will continue until July 5.
Turkish arts festival at Katara from tomorrow
A Turkish arts festival will begin tomorrow for the first time in Qatar at Katara - the Cultural Village Foundation.
The five-day festival focuses on the Turkish traditional craft such as glass handicraft and carpets. It will also feature musical and traditional dance performances. The visitors will also have the opportunity to enjoy Turkish dishes and can take part in a Turkish cuisine workshop.
The festival activities will be mostly located at Katara’s Esplanade and Building 3. For children, the organisers have lined up specially designed activities and games.
Other scheduled activities include an air show, to be presented by the Turkish Air Forces, classical and contemporary musical shows and folkdances from the different regions of Turkey.
Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, general manager, Katara, said the festival is an excellent opportunity to showcase the rich heritage of the Turkish culture.
Four arrested for selling marijuana
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Four Pakistani expatriates have been arrested by the Drug Prevention Department (DPD) of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) for selling marijuana, local daily Arrayah reported yesterday. |
The four were arrested from the Najma area and later referred to the criminal court by the prosecution. According to the report, the DPD had received information that a Pakistani expatriate was known in the Najma area as a drug dealer.
The DPD used a decoy customer to strike a deal with the accused. The decoy customer contacted the drug dealer and struck a deal to buy marijuana worth QR3,000.
When the main drug dealer came in a car with the other three to deliver the drug to customer, they were taken into custody.
A search of the car revealed more quantity of marijuana packed for delivery. Blood tests confirmed that the two of the accused had consumed marijuana, the report added.
‘Vehicles damaged in flooding eligible for compensation’
Vehicles that were damaged during the recent flooding of Salwa Road underpasses should be eligible for compensation from their insurance companies, according to Qatar Insurance Company Group CEO Khalifa al-Subaey.
He was quoted yesterday by local Arabic daily Arrayah as saying that the vehicles sustained damage in the Salwa Road flooding not only due to the rain but also because of defects on the road, which made them eligible for insurance benefits.
Al-Subaey said the incident could not be considered as a natural disaster exempted from coverage. He urged insurance companies to consider such cases as damage caused by road accidents, the report added.
