Emir exchanges Ramadan greetings with Arab leaders
QNA/Doha
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani exchanged greetings over the telephone with a number of leaders of Arab and Islamic countries on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan.
The Emir exchanged greetings with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Saud of Saudi Arabia, the emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifah of Bahrain, King Abdullah of Jordan, King Mohamed of Morocco, and President Mohamed Moncef Marzouki of Tunisia.
The Emir also exchanged greetings with President Omar Ahmad Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine, President Abdullah Gul of Turkey, President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti, and Crown Prince of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah.
Separately, HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, has also exchanged cables of greetings with heads of Arab and Islamic governments on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan.
Qatar welcomes Libyan council election results
The State of Qatar has welcomed the announcement by Libya’s High National Electoral Commission of partial results for the elections of the Council of Representatives for the transitional period held in due time despite the security situation, describing it as an important step to enrich the democratic process in the country.
A statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hailed the role being played by all groups in Libya in the success of the elections.
The Ministry also stated that the elections will hopefully contribute to the consolidation of democracy and promote national unity that will help bring security to the Libyan people.
Customs authority attends Brussels meeting
The Customs General Authority took part in the 40th Regional Meeting of Directors-General of customs authorities and departments of North Africa and the Near and Middle East, which was held in Brussels and the meeting of the World Customs Organisation Council, which concluded yesterday.
Qatar’s delegation was led by the Customs General Authority Director General Ahmed bin Ali al-Mohannadi. The meeting discussed matters related to customs work in North Africa and the Near and Middle East, including the report of the regional technical attache at the capacity building department of the World Customs Organisation, and adopted the regional strategic plan for the years 2014-2015.
Katara Cultural Souq launched
The Cultural Village, Katara, has launched the Katara Cultural Souq.
The Souq located on the beach and marine esplanade, was launched under the umbrella of Katara Cultural Forum. It comprises stores and departments mainly concerned with arts, heritage and culture. Dr Khalid bin Ibrahim al-Sulaiti, general manger of Katara, said that Souq will be held in two stages: the first during Ramadan, where there will be an open cultural café each Thursday evening. Also, the Souq will be open daily for visitors after Taraweeh prayers until 1am. The second stage will be launched after the month of Ramadan, during which periodical heritage events will be held.
QTA events to capture the essence of Ramadan
The Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA), the government’s tourism planning and promotion arm, has launched several events to transform Ramadan into a festive and memorable occasion through branding, public engagement and social media activities in the country.
‘Ramadan in Qatar’, QTA’s newly created brand for the programme, is aimed at generating a unified and consistent ambiance for the holy month in Qatar. The brand will be used as a means of showcasing the Qatari Islamic and Arab culture and traditions that are heightened in significance during this month, giving visitors a true authentic experience.
To encourage the hospitality industry to boost their Ramadan activities this year and enhance the quality of their services, QTA is awarding hotels which provide the best quality experiences to their visitors. Criteria will include quality of service, decoration, quality of entertainment provided in the establishment and the overall adoption of the Ramadan concept.
QTA hopes that this mechanism will encourage the hospitality sector, the main tourism industry stakeholder, to give visitors a real taste of the Ramadan spirit and to make Ramadan in Qatar an attractive occasion for residents as well as tourists, both regional and international.
“Ramadan is an integral part of this region’s culture and tradition. And, this year, we’ve decided to introduce this new unifying notion to capture the essence of Ramadan, which is built upon our values of generosity and community. We aim to provide an authentic experience and to communicate the warm ambience of this month to those in Qatar,” said Rashed al-Qurese, Executive Director of Marketing and Promotions, QTA.
Speaking about the planned schedule of events in Qatar, al-Qurese said: “Spending your summer holidays in Qatar will be the ideal choice. Qatar is offering families and people of all ages a range of options for holiday entertainment during the month of Ramadan. We, as a tourism entity in Qatar, are promoting all the events that will be happening, and have a selection of major family-oriented events and activities going on during Ramadan, as highlighted through our Qatar events diary ‘onqatar.qa.’ Our events calendar onqatar.qa will include all public activities that are organised by partners during the month of Ramadan.”
In addition to these efforts, QTA will be launching the hashtag #RamadanInQatar on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to encourage those in Qatar to share their enjoyable experience.
QScience official elected to world ethics committee
QScience’s Editorial Director Dr Christopher Leonard has been elected to join the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), an international body that provides guidance on best practice within the academic publishing world.
COPE provides advice to academic editors and publishers regarding all aspects of publication ethics and, in particular, how to handle cases of research and publication misconduct. It also provides a forum for its members to discuss individual cases. The cross-publisher body is widely regarded as setting the gold standards for workflows in peer review, academic integrity, editorial ethics and plagiarism.
Dr Leonard is the first Qatar-based representative to be elected within COPE and hopes to help establish QScience, Qatar Foundation For Education, Science and Community Development and Qatar as centres of excellence in research and publication ethics.
Commenting about his election to full council member, Dr Leonard, said: “This is a wonderful validation of the efforts that Qatar Foundation has made in ensuring the highest international standards are adhered to with regards to academic research publishing with QScience.”
“We have, in the past, made extensive use of COPE’s guidance and advice. Now, in addition to being a consumer of ethical standards in research publishing, I firmly believe it is also time for Qatar to become a contributor. I am honoured to be elected to the COPE council, and I hope to bring new perspectives and insights from a rapidly-growing country as it transforms into a knowledge-driven economy.”
QScience.com is a peer-reviewed online publishing platform from Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Journals (BQFJ) that offers a unique and collaborative research environment for scientists in Qatar and the rest of the world.
Malabar Gold & Diamonds to host Iftar events
Malabar Gold & Diamonds, one of the leading jewellery retailers, is planning to host Iftar events in various parts of GCC, a company spokesman said.
As part of their CSR activities, Malabar Gold will provide special Iftar dinner to more than 50,000 GCC residents this Ramadan. Every year Malabar Gold & Diamonds conducts similar Iftar events.
The company also undertakes social welfare activities all year long, focusing on five priority areas such as medical, educational, environment as well as housing and women empowerment.
“The jewellery chain which has 116 retail outlets in India, the GCC and Singapore sets apart 10% of its net profit for the benefit of the needy,” the spokesman added.
Panel to suggest law on safety at worksites
The cabinet has proposed creation of a committee to suggest amendment in law to ensure health and safety at worksites, local daily
Al-Sharq has reported.
According Khalid Abdullah al-Ghanim, director at the labour inspection department under the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the committee would assess the existing laws on health and safety in the work
environment.
“The findings and recommendations of the proposed committee would then be incorporated into law,” al-Ghanim said.
The committee would comprise of representatives from various ministries.
According al-Ghanim, the law for health and safety is being prepared in line with the country’s efforts to provide a secure environment for workers.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour has intensified the inspection and monitoring of worksites to examine reasons for injuries sustained by workers and to check if companies were complying with the labour laws.
One of the provisions of the law requires employers to provide first aid kit for every 25 workers, a clinic and a nurse for every 100 workers, and a doctor in the workplace for every 500 workers.
Representatives of the National Human Rights Committee and the Ministry of Justice, in addition to the director of the Labour Inspection Department, have said that the new legislative amendments would incorporate all human rights requirements as specified by international organisations.