Qatar’s non-resident ambassador to Kosovo Yusuf bin Hassan al-Saei represented Qatar in the inauguration ceremony of  Kosovo’s President Hashim Thaci which was held in the capital Pristina in the presence of a number of heads of state and senior officials and figures in the world. The ambassador conveyed greetings of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani to President Hashim Thaci.

Al-Kuwari arrives in South Africa

HE Dr Hamad bin Abdul Aziz al-Kuwari,  Adviser at the Emiri Diwan and Qatar’s Candidate to the post of the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) arrived yesterday in South Africa.
This is Dr al-Kuwari’s first visit to an African country as part of his electoral campaign in appreciation of this African state which resisted racial discrimination and established a tolerance system under the leadership of Nelson Mandela and also in appreciation of its outstanding relations with Qatar. Dr al-Kuwari is expected to meet leading figures in the fields of education, culture and media.
Tomorrow al-Kuwari will take part in a celebration, to be attended by diplomatic corps members along with a number of dignitaries and officials, to speak on some aspects of his vision on Unesco especially matters related to Africa.  
Dr al-Kuwari assumed the post of Deputy Chairman of the Anti-Racism Committee in his capacity as a UN delegate, for which the African side accords a special appreciation.
Al-Kuwari was welcomed upon arrival by Qatar’s ambassador to South Africa Salem Abdullah al-Jaber.


Man sentenced to three-month jail for disturbing peace in drunken state

An Asian man got a jail sentence of three months for being intoxicated in public and annoying others, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported yesterday.
A Doha Criminal Court also ordered the defendant to pay a fine of QR3,000 for his conduct and a fine of QR500 for breaking the outer door of a company’s accommodation.  The issue started when the defendant returned one night to his accommodation while intoxicated and started to make noise, disturbing the peace of others and causing them great annoyance. Police was alerted and the man was arrested. A blood test proved that he had drunk alcohol.

Deputy PM meets UK ambassador
HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid al-Mahmoud yesterday met UK’s ambassador to Qatar Ajay Sharma. Talks  covered bilateral
relations and ways of promoting them, as well as issues of mutual concern.


MEC issues 125 rights certificates
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) issued 125 certificates pertaining to copyright and related rights during the six-month period between October 1, 2015 and March 31 this year.
The registered certificates were distributed in the fields of painting (43), written material (42), architectural design and engineering (12), decorative arts (12), books (7), computer software (5), audio-visual works (3) and sculpture (1).
“In accordance with Law No 7 of 2002, the copyright is assigned to the author who created a piece of literary or artistic work, whether it was created by a single author or by a number of persons who joined together in creating it or if it has been classified collectively according to the directive of an ordinary or moral person,” the MEC said in a statement.
“All types of copyright works are protected throughout the life of the author and extend for a period of 50 years following his death or the death of the last co-authors,” it added.
The law defines related rights as the “rights of performers and producers of audio recordings and broadcasting organisations”.
As far as performers are concerned, their rights take effect from the end of the year of releasing the work to the public, while the rights of producers of audio recording material take effect from the year that follows the publication of the material or its release by media if it has not yet been published, the statement further explains.
The rights of broadcasting organisations are fixed for a period of 20 years.
Related Story