The rising cost of recruiting house maids in Qatar, compared to that of other GCC countries, has been a topic of serious discussion among Qataris of late, local Arabic daily Al-Watan reported yesterday.
The daily said that cost of recruiting an Indonesian maid amounted to QR14,000, Sri Lankan QR13,500, Kenyan QR8,000, Ethiopian QR7,500, Bangladeshi QR7,500 and Filipina QR12,000.
The less the monthly salary of the maid, the more the recruitment fee is, as demand increases. “However, the recruitment fee in another GCC country does not exceed QR4,000 in many cases,” the daily added.

Cases against the state

The state cases department at the Ministry of Justice handled 1,077 cases during the first half of 2014, local Arabic daily Al-Watan reported yesterday.
Out of these 731 were filed against the state and 346 were filed by the state against some companies and individuals. The state managed to win 486 cases with 112 verdicts in administrative cases and 374 in civil cases, while it lost 172 cases, comprising 84 administrative and 88 civilian.
In 2013, the department handled 1,127 cases including 702 against the state and 425 filed by the state.

Expat sentenced to death for killing friend
A Doha Court has sentenced a Pakistani man to death for pre-mediated killing of a friend, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported yesterday.
However, the court delayed the execution of the verdict until the 10-year-old brother of the victim comes of age and decides whether he wants to seek blood money, pardon or death for the convict.
The convict used to be a friend of his victim and used to accompany him in his car to various places, according to Arrayah.
However, the victim decided to break up with him, following which the accused travelled to his home country and tried to perform black magic to get him back on track.
“This never worked out, so he started a fight with victim when he came back to Doha and killed him,” the daily added.

PHCC to hold mock drill at Mesaimeer Health Centre
Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) has announced that it will run an emergency mock drill tomorrow at Mesaimeer Health Centre.
PHCC has requested the visitors and other stakeholders to bear with any inconveniences during the event.

Audi launches exclusive 2015 A8 L campaign

Q-Auto, the official dealer for Audi in Qatar, has announced the launch of an exclusive campaign for the 2015 Audi A8 L model.
Through the offer, customers have the opportunity to buy the luxury Audi model at a one-time only starting price and receive a range of value-added benefits. The campaign will run for the month of May.
During the period, customers are entitled to purchase the premium sedan at a price starting from QR289,995. Further, buyers will enjoy a pool of after-sales benefits that include five years/75,000km of free service, three years’ warranty with unlimited mileage and three years of free assistance on the road.
The after-sales advantages apply to two top models in the range – the A8 L 60 TFSI and A8 L 50 TFSI.
Ala Makey, sales manager, Audi Qatar, said, “The A8 L is a premium model in the Audi range, and we are eager to enable as many buyers as possible to experience the phenomenal driving that the model has to offer.”

National Day greetings sent
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Thani and HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani sent cables of congratulations to King Harald V of Norway on his country’s National Day.

Qatar, Djibouti ties discussed
HE the Minister of Administrative Development Dr Issa Saad al-Jafali al-Nuaimi met the Djibouti Labour Minister in charge of Administrative reforms Abdi Houssein Ahmed in Doha yesterday.  Bilateral relations were discussed.