The Kindi Centre for Computing Research (Kindi) at Qatar University College of Engineering (QU-CENG) recently participated in the strategic grant consortium ‘Platform Grants’ funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The Open University (UK) has established a consortium of selective top 17 research labs around the world, and Kindi is one of them. The consortium has been awarded a research grant equivalent to $1,906,905 (QR6,940,077) for the next four years.        
The main objective of this project is to build collaborative research relationships with these partners around the globe including Kindi, and engage in various pilot projects and empirical studies in the areas of “Secure, Adaptive, Usable Software Engineering”. The grant will allow the project team  to enhance the existing partner networks in these areas and to develop impact pathways for their research, going beyond the scope and lifetime of individual research projects. Kindi director Dr Noora Fetais said, “We are proud to be a part of this grant which refers to the high quality research the centre is providing in collaboration with local and international partners in a way that makes a good difference in the cyber security research outcomes.”

Call to promote role of waqf in developing Muslim societies
Participants in a forum organised by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs called for the advancement of the Islamic waqf to regain its role in the Islamic economy and enable it to play its active development roles in Muslim societies.
During the last session of the forum, entitled ‘Waqf and Its Role in the Development of Muslim Societies’, the participants underlined the important role of waqf in developing Muslim societies and building them on a fair basis, and achieving social justice during the Islamic civilisation, before its role was reduced by the colonial tide and intellectual invasions that targeted the waqf culture.
The speakers noted that waqf institutions played an important role in establishing the leading educational institutions in the Islamic world, including Al-Zaytuna, Quaraouiyine and Al-Azhar and other scientific strongholds in the Muslim world, as well as building libraries, hospitals and student shelters and securing wages, in addition to other well-known social and developmental roles in all fields.
Director-General of the General Department of Awqaf Dr Sheikh Khalid bin Mohamed al-Thani said that the waqf in the history of Muslims began with the Prophet (PBUH) and continued with the companions and followers until the present time. He referred to two types of endowment: the investment endowment, such as properties, land or plantation, and the waqf of places of worship and the like.
He said that Qatar has made great strides in the advancement of the waqf, starting with the enactment of the laws regulating it, and taking all measures to ensure the governance and transparency of waqf operations, including informing the people on their waqfs.
For his part, Dr Yusuf Husaini Nadwi, Head of Imam Ahmad Al-Shaheed University in India, praised the development achieved by Qatar in the field of waqf, stressing that it represents a model for the rest of the Islamic world that wishes to develop its endowment system.


Recall of Chrysler, Jeep models
The Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC), in collaboration with United Cars Almana ( After Sales), has announced the recall of Chrysler-300 C models of 2011, 2012 and 2013 and Jeep Grand Cherokee models of 2012, 2013 and 2014 over the possibility of a defect in the generator, which may cause the engine to stop working.
The MEC said the recall campaign comes within the framework of its ongoing efforts to protect consumers and ensure that automobile dealers follow up on vehicles’ defects and repair them. The MEC said that it will co-ordinate with the dealer to follow up on the maintenance and repair works and will communicate with customers to ensure that the necessary repairs are carried out.
The MEC has urged all customers to report any violations to its Consumer Protection and Anti-Commercial Fraud Department through the following channels: Call centre: 16001, e-mail: [email protected], Twitter: @MEC_Qatar, Instagram: MEC_Qatar, MEC mobile app for Android and IOS: MEC_Qatar