Qatar organises meeting on Syria
QNA/Geneva
Qatar’s Permanent Delegation in Geneva, in co-operation with the Permanent Missions of France, Germany, Turkey, UK and US, organised a meeting titled ‘Syria .. Human Rights and Humanitarian Tragedy’ on the sidelines of the 24th session of the Human Rights Council.
Keynote speakers participating in the meeting held here on Wednesday night were director and founder of the Syrian Network for Human Rights Fadel Abdulghani, leader of the Syrian National Coalition’s Assistance Co-ordination Unit Suheir al-Atassi and executive director of the Syrian Centre for Political and Strategic Studies Dr Radwan Ziadeh.
During the meeting, the speakers pointed out that since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, more than 100,000 people have been killed by the Assad regime, which indicates that the Syrian regime is intentionally targeting the civilian population, noting that nearly a thousand people have been killed after the government forces used chemical weapons.
They said the government forces arrested over 20,000 people, including more than 9,000 children under the age of 18 years.
The participants also held the Syrian regime accountable for all acts committed by members of its military forces, including crimes against humanity, and pointed out that the Syrian regime has lost legitimacy for failing to protect its citizens from genocide and crimes against humanity.
They further denounced the Syrian regime’s use of starvation policy during the siege imposed on the cities and neighbourhoods, which increases the humanitarian disaster, demanding the global community and international humanitarian organisations to co-ordinate with the Syrian National Coalition’s Assistance Co-ordination Unit to avoid the problem of dispersion of relief efforts.
Indian embassy receives over 2,500 complaints
The Labour and Community Welfare Section at the Indian embassy received a total of 2,565 complaints so far this year. This was revealed by the Indian embassy officials in a press statement after the monthly Open House, held at the Indian embassy premises yesterday.
During the Open House, Ambassador Sanjiv Arora and other senior officials of the embassy met the complainants, discussed their problems and assured them that the embassy would actively follow up their cases with the authorities concerned of the government of Qatar. Kareem Abdulla, president of Indian Community Benevolent Forum (ICBF), and other ICBF members also attended the Open House.
Number of deaths of the Indian nationals registered in the embassy in August and September 2013 was 27 and 14 respectively. August witnessed the highest number of deaths in any month so far during the current year. A total of 159 Indian nationals died in Qatar this year, so far.
Total number of Indian nationals in the central prison and the deportation centre is currently 44 and 212 respectively. An embassy team visited the central prison and the deportation centre this week to enquire about the welfare of the Indian inmates.
On the basis of requests received from the Qatari authorities for travel documents for inmates in the deportation centre, the embassy issued seven Emergency Certificates (ECs) in August, 2013 and 3 ECs in September 2013.
The embassy also issued five air tickets to Indian nationals for their return to India in the month of August, 2013.
Meanwhile, ICBF will be organising a medical camp for low paid workers of all nationalities at KIMS Medical Centre at Al Wakrah today from 7.30am to 12.30pm which will be inaugurated by PS Sasi Kumar, deputy chief of the embassy.
The assistance given by the ICBF to Indian nationals during September 2013 so far includes 11 air tickets for destitute workers, cargo charges for transportation of one dead body, renewal of 20 air tickets, emergency certificate fees of nine people and food assistance for 16 Indian nationals.
American education expo to be held on Oct 1
Twenty-one US Universities will be taking part in the next edition of the International Student Network’s American Education Expo (ISN Expo) to be held at Doha Sheraton on October 1.
The ISN American Education Expo is now firmly established as a unique opportunity for Qatari students who wish to study at an American University to learn first-hand about how to apply and also about the many available scholarships, which range from $10,000 to full scholarships.
Students are asked to bring multiple copies of their report cards, transcripts, and TOEFL scores to the event in order to allow the representatives to determine admission and scholarship eligibility.
The American Education Expo is supported by the US Department of Commerce at the US embassy in Doha.
Staff from the embassy will also be present at the expo to answer any questions the students and parents may have in regards to the student visa process and application.
Admission to the event, which will be held from 6pm-9pm, is free. Registration can be made at www.studentlane.com
Doha Flea Market to be held tomorrow
Some 50 vendors will tomorrow take part in the first edition of the Doha Flea Market (DFM) showcasing second hand items ranging from books to music, clothes, accessories, toys and food.
The venue of the event to be held at the Swiss Belhotel near Souq Waqif from 4pm-11pm, has been divided into different parts namely, second hand, handcraft, fashion design and foodie. Anyone can participate in ‘second hand’ bringing items in good condition.
Participation in the event is only by online registration at www.dohafleamarket.com DFM will henceforth be held last week-end of every month.
