Qatar Tourism Authority (QTA) said that its vision included promoting Qatar as a cultural centre to the world and encouraging local tourism. “The Museum of Islamic Art, the museums to come, and the cultural exhibitions hosted by Qatar would go a long way in making our vision a reality,” QTA chairman Ahmad Al Nuaimi...
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The cost of living remains high in Qatar despite the relative stabilization of rents, a Qatari daily has said. Rising prices of basic commodities and services are to blame for the demanding living conditions. “We appreciate the efforts of the Consumer Protection Department of the Ministry of Business and Trade but the prices of...
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One Bahraini and 50 Asian Bahrain-based fishermen are currently detained by Qatari authorities after a court ordered the release of a Bahraini and his two Asian companions. Last month, Manama said that Doha was holding 107 fishermen and asked for their prompt release. Adel Al Taweel, who was shot by Qatari coastguards for allegedly...
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Kuwait’s criminal court on Monday ordered the release of writer and lawyer Mohammad Abdul Qader Al Jassem on a 2,000-dinar ($6,850) bail and will review his case in September. Jaser Al Jadei, his lawyer, said that the Kuwaiti people welcomed with great enthusiasm news of the release of Al Jassem following 49 days of...
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Kuwait is planning to hire prayer leaders and muezzins (callers) from mainly Morocco and Egypt, two countries with strong Islamic Sunni traditions. Al Qabas daily said that the Kuwaiti religious authorities wanted to bring in 100 people to help meet requirements and that the focus would be on Arab countries, mainly Morocco and...
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Kuwaitis have called for a study of the phenomenon of Kuwaiti women taking up foreign husbands after records for the first five months of this year indicated that 1,020 Kuwaiti women got married with non-Kuwaiti men. The mixed marriages make up a slight figure of the 11,258 weddings celebrated between January and May and...
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Kuwait has expressed reservations about a Libyan-Yemeni proposal to turn the Arab League into an Arab Union, diplomatic sources have said. “The establishment of an Arab Union that includes the formation of a regional Arab security system to defend Arab member countries, requires huge financial burdens with no guarantee of its effectiveness in light...
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Authorities at the King Fahad Causeway linking Bahrain with Saudi Arabia have dismissed crossing fee increase claims as “adolescents’ BlackBerry abuse.” “We have no plans to increase the BD2 fee to cross the causeway from or to either country,” Fahad Al Atishan, the deputy head of the King Fahad Causeway Authority, said. “We are...
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You are looking for the Indian embassy website in Bahrain and you Google “Indian embassy Bahrain”. The first result? A teen porn website! The portal once owned until last year by the embassy has turned into a site promoting teen pornography. Batelco, the local internet provider, blames the embassy for the oversight. Indian embassy...
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At least one billion cigarettes are smoked in Qatar annually, a staggering average of 12,000 per individual, a recent study by Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar (WCMC-Q) indicates. The study also shows that $65 million are spent on cigarettes annually, while $150 million are spent to cover the healthcare costs of patients affected...
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