Cabinet condemns Israeli atrocities
The weekly Cabinet meeting, presided over by HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah al-Mahmoud, yesterday condemned the Israeli atrocities in the occupied Palestinian territories, especially in the holy city of Jerusalem.
It condemned the recent arrest by Israeli authorities of Sheikh Mohamed Hussein, and the settlers continued storming of the holy Al Aqsa Mosque and aggression on worshippers.
It described Israel’s decision to build 296 settlement units near the West Bank city of Ramallah, as a fresh violations of the international law.
The Cabinet called on the international community to intervene urgently and firmly to halt the Israeli violations which contravene the Arab and international interest in the attainment of a just, lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East region.
The Cabinet then discussed topics on the agenda and took the following action:
First: Approved a draft law establishing the Health and Education Fund and decided to refer it to the Advisory Council.
The establishment of the fund comes upon an initiative by HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani with the aim of providing sustainable financial resources for health and educational services, with a capital of QR360bn to finance health and education programmes.
Second: Took the necessary procedures for the issuance of a draft law on chemical weapons after taking note of the Advisory Council’s recommendation on the draft law.
Under the provisions of the law, a person is prohibited from using, developing or producing chemical weapons or in any way obtaining, owning or possessing them for himself or for the benefit of others, stockpiling or keeping them or making any preparations for the purpose of their use or transfer directly or indirectly to anyone or attempting in any way to engage in any of these acts.
Third: Approved a draft decree on the government of Qatar’s guarantee of the obligations of Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa) arising from the purchase of water from Qatar Electricity and Water Company.
Under the provisions of the decree, the government of Qatar shall guarantee the financial obligations of Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation arising from the agreement on the purchase of water from Qatar Electricity and Water Company (Abu Funtas Project A 2), in accordance with the terms and conditions of the guarantee agreement to be concluded between the government of Qatar and Qatar Electricity and Water Company.
Fourth: Approved the following:
a- A Cabinet draft decision amending the organisation of some administrative units of the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning and the defining of their functions.
b- A draft decision by the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning amending decision No. 37 on the establishment of sections at the administrative units of the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning and the defining of their functions.
According to these amendments, the affiliation of Doha Zoo shall be transferred from the Ministry of Environment to the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning, work is to be done for its modernisation and development and a section for advertisements licenses at the municipalities’ technical affairs department is to be established. Law No. 1 of 2012 mandated the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning to regulate and control the placement of advertisements.
Fifth: Approved the final documents of the World Radio communication Conference 2012.
Sixth: The Cabinet reviewed the following topics and took the appropriate decision:
1- A study for granting some of the Qataris who obtained the highest degrees, posts and privileges.
The study included the adoption of the list of criteria and conditions necessary for the selection of the outstanding Qatari candidates.
It also included the adoption of a list containing the privileges and incentives that can be granted to the candidates who obtained a bachelor’s, master’s or PhD degrees.
2 - A letter by the Complaints Committee of Qatar Financial Markets Authority on its bi-annual report for the period from January to June 2012.
Foreign Ministry issues travel advisory for Qatari citizens
An official at the Consular Affairs Department at the Foreign Ministry has urged Qatari citizens planning to travel to the United Kingdom and Europe during the summer season to speed up the process of obtaining visas and to make sure that they secure hotel reservations one month before the date of travel.
The official said the coming period will witness significant pressure on visa applications and bookings.
The source also urged all Qatari citizens to visit the ministry’s website www.mofa.gov.qa before their travel for more details regarding instructions and important advice.
OSN’s dropping of GMA riles Filipinos
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Many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Qatar are dismayed over the removal of the GMA network by OSN, one of the cable service providers in the country, without prior notice or consultation with the subscribers. |
Ben and his family, who returned from vacation, said that they were shocked to find that their favourite channel had been changed to The Filipino Channel (TFC).
“My wife got mad because all the telenovelas she’d been following could only be watched on GMA. They changed our subscription without getting our consent,” said Ben, who e-mailed OSN to complain.
He was then contacted by OSN and informed that there was a problem between the cable provider and GMA.
Ben pays about QR200 per month for the package, which includes GMA and a few other channels.
Ben said that many of his friends share the sentiment that as subscribers who pay on time, they should have been asked first.
Equally miffed with the removal of GMA was a woman, who declined to be identified, who pays an additional QR60 per month for a Mozaic package.
However, she said that Mozaic advised subscribers one month in advance that the channel will be taken out by April 28. “It’s not the same as the OSN case, but the problem is they did not offer any solution to that.”
“I understand their claim but they didn’t even consult us subscribers about this,” said another complainant.
In an e-mail, OSN told Gulf Times that “GMA demanded an increase in their revenue share which will force OSN to pass on this cost to subscribers as a price increase in their monthly subscription fee”.
“OSN continuously strives to increase the value of our pay TV packages by adding premium content with minimal cost impact to our customers. Hence, we decided that rather than increasing the subscription fee of our customers, OSN will provide better value by adding the 4 Abs-Cbn channels at no extra cost to our existing customers,” said Akram Roushdy from the customer care department.
The channels removed included GMA Life TV and GMA Pinoy.
The new OSN channels are: TFC, the flagship 24/7 general entertainment channel of Abs-Cbn; BRO, a 24/7 sports and entertainment channel geared toward the Filipino male audience; Cinema One Global, a 24/7 premium Filipino movie channel featuring movies from the film libraries of Star Cinema, Regal Entertainment and Viva Films; and, ANC, the 24/7 news channel of Abs-Cbn featuring news programmes, documentaries talk shows, tele-magazine shows about the Philippines and the world.
Philippines embassy culture attaché Richard Billedo has meanwhile disclosed that Al Mashriq general manager Salem Rashid al-Muhanadi and vice-president for operations at GMA International Joseph Jerome Francia visited the embassy yesterday.
Billedo said that GMA will hold a re-launching in Qatar under its new marketing arm, Al Mashriq, which will offer three channels – PinoyTV, GMA Life, and NewTV.
Speaker meets Omani FM
HE the Speaker of Qatar’s Advisory Council Mohamed bin Mubarak al-Kholaifi yesterday met Omani Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah during his official visit to Muscat.
The two sides reviewed bilateral relations and means of enhancing and boosting them in parliamentary affairs.
Al-Kholaifi arrived in Muscat on Monday on a three-day visit to Oman.
Minister to attend Malaysia meeting
HE the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah will take part in an international forum on peace and security from Islamic perspectives, to be held in Kuala Lumpur today under the theme “Islam and Diplomacy - The Search for Human Security.” The two-day event will be held at the Malaysian Foreign Ministry’s Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR), in partnership with the Diplomatic Institute of Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Director of Qatar’s Diplomatic Institute Dr Hassan bin Ibrahim al-Muhannadi will present a paper titled “Diplomacy in Islam and Human Security: The Orientations of Qatar’s Foreign Policy.” The Forum bridges theoretical and pragmatic themes, exploring higher objectives of peace and security in Islam. It offers resources for resolving conflicts within societies, and promoting humane and peaceable conditions. The Forum will discuss several topics such as peace as a universal Islamic value, roots of security and peace in Islam, The Prophet’s peaceful strategy, peace building: role of government and civil society, challenges of peace building for Muslim nations and others.
QNB platinum sponsor of auditing meet
Qatar National Bank (QNB) has announced its Platinum sponsorship of the third National Conference on Internal Auditing 2013, which will be held at College of the North Atlantic - Qatar from May 18 to 20.
The event will be under the patronage of HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, Chairman of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority. This year’s conference theme is “The value of an effective Internal Auditing Function”.
The event will showcase a series of seminars and workshops with a particular focus on how the internal audit function can add value to any organisation.
The conference will also examine how both individuals and organisations can effectively deal with the multiple present-day challenges, such as the onset of intense competition, advancing technology, regulatory complexities, changing business dynamics and increasing expectations of stakeholders.
The workshops and seminars are in line with the requirements to assist in the realisation of Qatar National Vision 2030 and, more specifically, to build a knowledge-based society.
Painting exhibition opening today
An exhibition of paintings by Indian artists Seetha Menon and Chaitra Somanath will open today at Crowne Plaza Hotel.
HE the Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari and Indian Ambassador Sanjiv Arora will inaugurate the exhibition at 7pm.
The exhibition will conclude on Saturday.