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Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation "KAHRAMAA" has signed a series of new project contracts aimed at developing and enhancing the electricity network in the western region. The contracts were awarded to several qualified local and international companies, including Voltage Engineering LTD, the Best & Betas Consortium, Larsen & Toubro, and LS Cable.These contracts fall within Kahramaa's strategic initiatives to connect the Dukhan Solar Power Project to the national electricity network in the western region of the country. The scope of work includes engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) for building and upgrading substations, as well as installing underground cables and overhead lines.The newly signed projects support Kahramaa's efforts to ensure a secure and efficient integration of renewable energy into the grid, enhance its capacity to absorb increasing solar power generation, and improve overall network flexibility and performance. The total value of the contracts exceeds QR 2.2 billion, reflecting the scale of investment dedicated to strengthening network readiness and ensuring long-term system stability.President, Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation, Eng. Abdulla bin Ali Al Theyab, stated: "The expansion of the electricity network in the western region will have a positive impact on service reliability and quality for customers, meeting current and future electricity needs. This step further strengthens Qatar's regional position in adopting advanced clean energy solutions. At Kahramaa, we continue to advance a more resilient and efficient electricity network capable of integrating renewable energy sources and supporting supply security."Through these projects, Kahramaa reaffirms its ongoing commitment to developing high-efficiency electrical infrastructure. The corporation continues to implement its strategic plans to enhance network reliability and improve service quality for customers, keeping pace with rapidly increasing demand and supporting the development needs of all regions across the country.

The Public Works Authority (Ashghal) has announced the completion of all works under the seventh phase of its Western Areas Road Improvement Project, marking another step in the country's efforts to enhance transport infrastructure and connectivity.  According to the authority, the works included the development of permanent roads, construction of temporary roads, installation of traffic safety features, provision of parking facilities, and the implementation of infrastructure and landscaping improvements.  Hassan al-Naama, project engineer in the Western Areas Section of Ashghal's Roads Projects Department, said the project covered the areas of Al Sailiya, Al Gharrafa, Al Karaana, Al Nasraniya and Meseimeer.  He said that a total of 39km of roads had been upgraded, alongside the installation of around 285 street lighting poles.  The project included new pedestrian pathways, road signage and markings, as well as the construction of 587 parking spaces.  Al-Naama added that extensive infrastructure works were carried out, including the installation of surface and groundwater drainage systems, stormwater networks and sewage infrastructure, in addition to land grading and site preparation works in several locations.  In Al Sailiya, major improvements were made to Al Sailiya Road and its associated main roads, including new street lighting, traffic signals, sewage lines, stormwater drainage systems, pedestrian walkways and parking facilities.  In Al Gharrafa, Al Karaana and Al Nasraniya, the project focused on road construction and upgrades, enhancing traffic safety measures and delivering sewage and household connection networks.  Additional stormwater drainage works were also undertaken, particularly in Al Gharrafa.  A key element of the project was the construction of a new road stretching more than 15km to improve access to Al Kharaij Beach. Road network enhancements and landscaping works were also completed in Meseimeer to support a number of government institutions and public service facilities in the area.

For all the talk of trade wars and recession risks, generally the global economy has performed well in recent years. Absolute poverty has fallen, and wealth has risen.In an ownership-based global economy, those with wealth tend to accrue more wealth. Many of those born in the mid-20th century, especially in western economies, east Asia and oil-rich nations such as the Gulf, have become very wealthy indeed. As they start to die, the wealth passes down to the next generation.According to The Economist, inheritance reached around 10% of global GDP by the end of the 2010s, roughly double the proportion in the mid-20th century, and the amount passed down to the younger generation is due to total $6tn in 2025 in developed nations alone. In 2023, 53 people became billionaires through inheritance, a figure not much smaller than the 84 people who became billionaires through enterprise.Does it matter that accident of birth can be more profitable than the work ethic? It is a strong human drive to prioritise family above all else. Inheritance taxes are generally unpopular – and their implementation is problematic. They prompt all manner of ingenious tactics, such as transferring wealth before death, and the nation imposing them risks a brain drain and a wealth drain. They are better avoided, and Gulf states do not have inheritance taxes.Rich people and successful businesses still pay considerable sums in taxation. So a better approach than inheritance tax to lessen inequality may be for the state to provide affordable housing and training and employment opportunities for those with the misfortune to have parents who are poor.An old saying is that the first generation makes the wealth, the second generation maintains it, and the third generation loses it. The most spectacular example was the Vanderbilt family, one of the richest in the US in 1900, who had lost nearly all their wealth by the 1970s. But this seems to be happening less often: Wealthy families typically have a family office, and hire professional wealth managers. Being rich has become a profession.And not all rich people suffer from the third-generation curse. The Duke of Westminster once quipped that the best way to become rich in Britain is to make sure your ancestor was a close friend of William the Conqueror – King of England in the 11th century.Family offices, in common with any sector that is cash-rich and lightly regulated, are not free of scandal. In 2021 Archegos Capital Management, the family office set up by former Wall Street trader Bill Hwang, defaulted on its debts, owing more than $10bn. He received a prison sentence for fraud and market manipulation. Critics argued that the office was in effect a high-risk hedge fund, drawing attention to the loose definition of the term ‘family office’. In 2023 Singaporean police seized $3bn-worth of assets from residences, as part of an investigation into money laundering activities linked to six family offices. Since then the Monetary Authority of Singapore has tightened regulation of the sector, which has continued to grow. There are around 2,000 family offices in Singapore, up from 1,400 in 2023.At the other end of the moral spectrum, Generation Pledge is a movement co-founded by Marina Feffer-Oelsner and Sid Efromovich, through which young inheritors of wealth pledge to give 10% of their wealth to philanthropic causes within five years of inheritance, and to commit to responsible investment and business governance throughout their careers.What both philanthropists and regulators have recognised is the sheer scale of private wealth. The amount of money managed by family offices is estimated to be over $3tn, not far short of the $4.5tn of the hedge fund industry.In the Middle East, this shift towards inherited wealth is already visible, particularly in the Gulf where large fortunes built over the past few decades are now being transferred to younger generations. Unlike Western economies, the absence of inheritance tax in countries such as Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia reinforces the continuity of family wealth, making succession planning and governance even more critical.At the same time, the rapid growth of regional family offices, often linked to sovereign wealth and large business groups, is professionalising wealth management and reducing the risk of the traditional “third-generation decline.” The challenge for the region is to strike a careful balance: Preserving family prosperity while ensuring that economic opportunity remains accessible, so that growth continues to be driven not only by inheritance, but also by innovation, entrepreneurship, and human capital development.The author is a Qatari banker, with many years of experience in the banking sector in senior positions. 

Russia’s liquefied natural gas exports to China surged to a record in November, as buyers shrugged off the risk of western sanctions to access the cheaper fuel.Deliveries of the super-chilled gas from Russia more than doubled from a year earlier to 1.6mn metric tons last month, customs data released over the weekend showed. The jump saw Russia overtake Australia to become China’s biggest supplier after Qatar.Russia has turned to Asia’s biggest gas market to offset declining shipments to Europe, which was Moscow’s biggest buyer for decades until the invasion of Ukraine. It has had to cut prices to increase its appeal — its LNG was the cheapest among the 12 suppliers to China and about 10% below the average at $9.85 a million British thermal units in November, the customs data showed.Total imports had an annual increase for the first time in more than a year, after weak demand tempered requirements.China in August started importing shipments from Russa’s sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 plant through its remote Beihai terminal. Nevertheless, the Russian facility has had to cut output as winter ice complicates exports.China hasn’t imported US LNG since February, partly because of trade conflicts and weak demand. Major domestic companies are also increasingly diversifying their sources, while trying to sell contracted volumes on global markets, which is easier for American contracts that don’t tend to have destination clauses.Meanwhile, China’s domestic LNG prices fell to a five-year low as inventories grew and demand for heating during winter months remained short of expectations.The domestic wholesale LNG price at key importing terminals dropped below 3,500 yuan per ton ($10.72 per million British thermal units) this week, marking the lowest since mid-2021, according to data from SCI99, a Chinese commodities pricing agency.This marks a significant departure from typical winter patterns, where prices usually rise on higher heating demand. This year, mild temperatures and a faltering industrial and economic recovery across China have dragged domestic LNG prices lower.At the same time, inventories have grown as incoming shipments of seaborne LNG began recovering in November after a year-long slump, though cumulative volumes remain below last year’s level. Imports of piped gas have also been increasing, according to official customs data. Terminal operators have been forced to sell off stockpiles at lower prices as tanks were 73% full as of December 19, SCI99 said.“Price may remain low through the month,” Wang Ran, an analyst with SCI99, wrote in a note. 

An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale struck on Thursday a small island northwest of Sumatra in western Indonesia.The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that the quake struck Simeulue Island at a depth of 25.4 km.There were no immediate reports of tsunami warning.Indonesia is regularly exposed to earthquakes due to its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where many tectonic plates meet and cause frequent volcanic and seismic activity. 

Three earthquakes struck Balikesir province in western Turkiye, the first measuring 4.7 and the other two measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale.According to the Turkish Anadolu Agency (AA), the tremors occurred at depths of 12.31 km and 7.89 km.Turkiye, which lies on a major global seismic fault line, experienced a devastating earthquake on Feb. 6, 2023, which claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people and caused widespread destruction of infrastructure in several provinces, in addition to thousands of injuries.

Thousands of civilians remained trapped in Sudan's stricken city of El-Fasher, with fears growing for their safety, the United Nations and local groups said on Monday, after paramilitary forces claimed control of the army's last stronghold in the western Darfur region.Since May 2024, El-Fasher has been besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have been fighting a brutal war with Sudan's army for over two years.Footage shared by pro-democracy activists on Monday purportedly showed dozens of people lying dead on the ground alongside burned-out vehicles.AFP was unable to contact civilians in the city, where the Sudanese Journalists' Syndicate says communications, including satellite networks, have been cut off by a media blackout.The syndicate expressed "deep concern for the safety of journalists" in El-Fasher, adding that independent reporter Muammar Ibrahim has been detained by RSF forces since Sunday.The RSF said on Sunday they had seized control of the city, but the army and its allies did not respond to requests for comment.If confirmed, the city's capture would mark a significant turning point in Sudan's war, which has killed tens of thousands and displaced nearly 12 million people since April 2023.It would give the RSF control over all five state capitals in Darfur, consolidating its parallel administration in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.Such a shift could potentially partition Sudan, with the army holding the north, east and centre, and the RSF dominating Darfur and parts of the south."This represents a terrible escalation in the conflict," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in answer to an AFP question on Monday, adding that "the level of suffering that we are witnessing in Sudan is unbearable".Around 260,000 civilians, half of them children, remain trapped in El-Fasher without aid, where many have resorted to eating animal fodder.Despite RSF assurances of civilian protection, the local resistance committee accused the paramilitaries of committing atrocities, saying that since Sunday, innocent civilians had suffered "the worst forms of violence and ethnic cleansing."A video circulated by the RSF appeared to show fighters detaining dozens of men in civilian clothing accusing them of supporting the army and the Joint Forces.Fighting, pro-democracy activists said on Sunday night, continued "in the vicinity of El-Fasher airport and several areas west of the city," with a "complete absence of air support", citing failures by the army and its allies to protect residents.The army-aligned governor of Darfur called on Monday for the protection of civilians in El-Fasher and demanded "an independent investigation into the violations and massacres carried out by the militia away from public view."The UN last month voiced alarm over potential massacres targeting non-Arab communities in El-Fasher, similar to those reported after the RSF captured the nearby Zamzam camp in April.The United Nations's migration agency said 2,500 to 3,000 people fled El-Fasher on Sunday, seeking safety within the city or westward to Tawila and Mellit towns.Sudan's de facto leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, appeared publicly on Sunday night but only for a meeting with the Turkish ambassador in Port Sudan.The army-led Transitional Sovereignty Council said they discussed the "siege imposed by the terrorist Rapid Support militia on El-Fasher."Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), called for safe passage for civilians trapped in the fighting.Access to the city remains severely restricted due to ongoing combat.Since August, the RSF have intensified artillery and drone attacks on El-Fasher, gradually eroding the army's last defensive positions.Despite repeated international appeals for a ceasefire, with both the RSF and the army accused of committing atrocities, neither side has shown willingness to compromise.Representatives from the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates met in Washington on Friday to plot a path towards "peace and stability in Sudan" and a transition to civilian rule, according to a statement by US senior advisor for Africa Massad Boulos.But the meeting appeared not to yield any tangible progress."It is clear that... it is not only a Sudanese problem, with the army and Rapid Support Forces fighting each other," Guterres said."We have more and more an external interference that undermines the possibility to a ceasefire and to a political solution."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that any Western troops deployed to Ukraine would be legitimate targets for Moscow to attack.Putin was speaking a day after French President Emmanuel Macron said 26 countries had pledged to provide postwar security guarantees to Ukraine, including an international force on land, sea and in the air.

An armed group that controls part of western Sudan appealed Tuesday for foreign help in recovering bodies and rescuing residents from torrential rain, after it said at least 1,000 people were killed when a landslide buried a mountain village.Only one person survived the destruction of the village of Tarseen in the mountainous Jebel Marra area of the Darfur region, said the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army.SLM/A, which has long controlled and governed an autonomous portion of Jebel Marra, appealed to the United Nations and international aid agencies to help collect the bodies of victims, including men, women and children."Tarseen, famed for its citrus production, has now been completely levelled to the ground," the group said in a statement. Continuing rains have made travel in the region difficult and could impede any rescue or aid efforts."Nearby villagers are overwhelmed with fear that a similar fate might befall them if the ... torrential rainfall persists, which underscores the urgent need for a comprehensive evacuation plan and provision of emergency shelter," the group's leader, Abdelwahid Mohamed Nur, said in a separate appeal.A statement by the UN's resident co-ordinator put the death toll at between 300 and 1,000, citing local reports.Arjimand Hussain, regional response manager for the development group Plan International, said the last 45km of the route to Tarseen were impassable to motor vehicles and could only be negotiated on foot or by donkey.Nine bodies were recovered by volunteers, said Abdelhafiz Ali from the Jebel Marra Emergency Room, who noted that the village had hosted hundreds of people displaced by fighting.The SLM/A has remained neutral in the battle between the main enemies in Sudan's civil war, the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The two foes are fighting over control of Al-Fashir, capital of North Darfur state, which is under siege from the RSF and has suffered famine.Residents of Al-Fashir and nearby areas have sought shelter in Jebel Marra, though food, shelter, and medical supplies are insufficient and hundreds of thousands have been exposed to the rains. Tawila, where most have arrived, is in the throes of a cholera outbreak, as are other parts of Darfur.The two-year civil war has left more than half of Sudan's population facing crisis levels of hunger and driven millions from their homes, leaving them especially exposed to the country's damaging annual floods.Sudan's army-controlled government expressed its condolences and willingness to assist.The prime minister of a newly-installed RSF-controlled rival government, Mohamed Hassan al-Taishi, said he would be co-ordinating with the SLM/A on the delivery of aid supplies to the area.Pope Leo sent his condolences and said he was praying for those affected, according to a Vatican statement.

China has succeeded in matching or surpassing Western industrial technology in cars and trains.But in planes, it’s still woefully behind, a dilemma underscored this week by reports that Chinese airlines intend to order nearly a thousand new jets from Boeing Co and Airbus SE.Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd, as it is formally known, has delivered less than 200 planes since it was established in 2008 and they’re primarily flown by domestic carriers that are state owned also. That’s despite billions of dollars and years of effort into reducing China’s reliance on the duopoly of Airbus and Boeing.As it is, Comac risks falling short of delivering some 75 jets this year.“Any additional Boeing or Airbus narrowbody orders will deal a blow to Comac’s ambitions,” Eric Zhu, Bloomberg Intelligence Asia aviation and defence analyst, said.Comac’s C919 jet, a 158- to 192-seat aircraft, is meant to take on the Airbus A320neo and Boeing’s 737 Max. But it’s struggling to sell internationally, mainly because Comac has been unable to secure certification of its airworthiness from gold-standard regulatory bodies outside of China.Because the C919 is also heavily reliant on Western-made parts, including from the US, Shanghai-based Comac has been in the crosshairs of Washington’s tit-for-tat tariff dispute with Beijing that saw levies rise to as much as 145% before the two committed to a trade deal.Previously, the US restricted some key parts including jet engines from being exported from the US to China, harming Comac’s efforts as its raised output. The single-aisle plane is built mostly with customised versions of parts from other manufacturers, such as engines from CFM International Inc, a Franco-US venture.Comac planned to build and deliver as many as 75 planes this year, according to Cirium. To date, it’s handed over just five C919s to Chinese customers as of mid-August. China’s three biggest airlines — Air China Ltd, China Southern Airlines Co and China Eastern Airlines Co — expected Comac to deliver 32 C919s between them from a coordinated order of 300 planes made over the past 18 months.Comac’s other jet that’s already in the skies is the smaller, regional C909, again operated by mainly domestic carriers as well as Indonesia’s TransNusa. Despite Beijing’s efforts to elevate Comac, the planemaker has placed less than 400 of its C919s to Chinese airlines despite an order book exceeding 1,000, largely populated by domestic aircraft leasing companies.Airbus, meanwhile, which started producing its A320 family of jets in 1988, is about to outsell Boeing for the first time, perhaps as soon as next month, as the pair’s cumulative sales of their cash cow single-aisle jets top close to 12,175 units.“For the time being, Comac is supplementary to Airbus and Boeing,” Lionel Olonga, senior valuations manager at aviation consultancy Cirium, said. “In the mid-2030s, it may have enough production and for replacement of narrow bodies, airlines could pivot to the C919.”Comac has been trying to build an international presence, opening sales offices in Singapore and Hong Kong. It’s also targeted Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia to sell its planes. In some cases, it has offered generous financing terms, including even proposing to invest in airlines directly, to secure deals.One area China and Comac is at least seeking less reliance on is its Western supplier base. Comac has been developing a China-made engine that it can deploy on the C919 and other future aircraft models it makes.“Aircraft development and production is one of the hardest things and Comac is still one of the newest kids on the block,” said Alan Lim, director at Singapore-based Alton Aviation Consultancy. In the long run, as the C919 builds up a safe track record, “it may have the potential to challenge the duopoly.”