Indian fishermen fined
A Doha court slapped a fine of QR3,000 each and awarded a two-week sentence to 16 Indian fishermen from Saudi Arabia for straying into the country’s territorial waters. Since the fishermen have already completed the jail sentence and their sponsors, have remitted the fine, they have been allowed to travel back to Saudi Arabia, community sources said. The fishermen were members of a 26-strong group which were apprehended by Qatari coastguards on January 21. The court will hear the appeal of the other 10 members of the team on February 11.Hotel and tourism industry boom
The number of tourists coming to Qatar is expected to increase by 1.9% every year until 2022 and as many as 85,000 hotel rooms are likely to be available within the next 10 years. The local Arabic daily Al-Sharq has quoted a report published by the Arab Travel Market stating that there will be a parallel growth in investments in the hotel and tourism industry in Qatar along with the increase in infrastructure. “Qatar is developing its infrastructure as part of a US$65bn investment plan ahead of its hosting of the football World Cup,” said the report.