December 18 - Qatar National Day Celebration

Qatar marks its National Day on December 18 to commemorate the historic event of December 18, 1878, when Sheikh Jassem bin Mohamed al-Thani, founder of the state, assumed power. Law No. 61  was issued in 2007, announcing the day of Sheikh Jassem bin Mohamed al-Thani’s assumption of power as the National Day. Earlier Qatar used to observe the occasion on September 3, to commemorate September 3, 1971, when it declared independence from being a protectorate of the UK.

Qatar ‘is fastest growing economy in the WORLD'

Qatar is currently the fastest growing economy in the world with a compounded average real GDP growth of 15.7% during 2006-10, QNB Capital has said in its latest report.
According to QNB Capital, large investments made by the State in the natural gas and other sectors have ensured rapid growth and diversification of the economy. The benefits of this have also stimulated activities in the private sector, which along with increased government spending have ensured strong growth also in the non-oil and gas sector. The non-oil and gas sector witnessed a compounded average growth of 16.4% during 2006-10.
QNB Capital forecasts that Qatar will continue to be the fastest growing global economy in 2011 with an estimated real GDP growth of 21.0%. The forecasts are based on further expansion in natural gas and related sectors as well as the non-oil and gas sectors.
The oil and gas sector will be one of the main driving forces for GDP in 2011 with an expected growth of 29.5%.
The key individual driver within this sector will be natural gas, which is expected to witness a substantial growth in 2011 with LNG production capacity already reaching 77mn tonnes, from 62mn tonnes in 2010.  Condensate production (including GTL) is estimated to reach 685,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2011, from 396,500 bpd in 2010. Pipeline gas is estimated to reach 4bn cubic feet per day in 2011 through the Dolphin and Al Khalij projects.
Also supporting growth for the economy is the crude oil sector with an average estimated production of 800,000 bpd in 2011 from 780,000 bpd in 2010. Although oil production capacity has reached over 1mn barrels per day (bpd) in 2011, output is restricted due to output targets set out by OPEC.   
The non-oil and gas sector is expected to grow by 14.1% in 2011, driven mainly by manufacturing, financial services and a rebound in the construction sector.
The manufacturing sector will get a major boost with extensive expansion in petrochemicals mainly through Q-Chem II, Qatofin, Ras Laffan ethylene cracker, and additional capacity at Qapco. Sound monetary policy will help both the financial services sector and the construction sector, as lower interest rates will support credit growth, QNB Capital said. 
Further, the government’s commitment to spending and economic stimulus will form a back-bone of confidence for the private sector. The 2011-12 State budget has allocated around $16bn for projects in infrastructure, education, youth welfare, and healthcare. Projects with an estimated value of $185bn are expected to be carried out in the coming ten years.
This along with strategic external investments by the State will provide additional diversification opportunities and sustain economic growth for many years to come, the report said.

Source: Gulftimes.com

Exit permits from services centres

The Ministry of Interior has announced that exit permits can henceforth be obtained from any of its immigrations service offices in different districts of the country .

“To make it easy for exit permit applicants, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) has activated issuance of exit permits for expatriates and Qatari minors in all services centres spread across the country,” a spokesman said.
Apart from the Passports and Airport Security Department, services centres in  Al-Khor, Mesaiemeer, Al-Shahaniya, HMC, Q-Post, Industrial Area, Al-Shamal, Al-Wakrah, Souq Waqif, Umm Salal, Al-Dhayin and Dukhan will issue exit permits for expatriates and Qatari minors, said the director of Unified Services Centre (USD) Colonel Abdullah Ali Al-Sulaiti.
This is in addition to the facility to apply electronically through e-government portal and self-service kiosks of the MoI spread across the country.  Exit permits for single travel and multiple travels will be issued from the services centres.

For this purpose, filled in application forms available at  the MoI website, with authorised signature shall be submitted along with original ID of the sponsor or establishment card of the company and the passport copy of the sponsored persons. Fee for single travel permit is QR10 and for multiple travels QR500 to be paid by bank cards.
The assistant director of Information Systems Department of the Ministry, Colonel Abdul Rahman al-Maliki said that the exit permits applications can be submitted  electronically also through the e-government web portal or MoI self-service kiosks. These kiosks are available at 11 locations in different parts of the county in shopping complexes and malls such as Lulu Hypermarket, Villaggio Mall and Landmark. The Ministry is planning more kiosks in different locations, he added.    

Using smart cards, individuals and authorised representatives of companies can obtain exit permits electronically and it is password protected to ensure authorisation. After keying in the password, the applicant shall select the exit permit service and furnish the Qatari ID of the travelling person. The system will extract the information and issue the permit.

New maintenance plan for mosques in Qatar

Date:	Aug 11, 2011
Category:	News
Source:	Qatar News Agency

The Maintenance Section of the Mosques Department at the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs “Awqaf” are studying plans to develop maintenance work of mosques in light of their increase in the State of Qatar. The number of mosques in Qatar has reached 1600 in addition to another 81 under construction and 77 permits ready to build mosques in different locations.
Head of Maintenance Section Abdullah Ali Al Mudahki said that the plan, dubbed Qatar Mosques 2022, was designed to meet the needs, in terms of mosques, of Qatar's growing population.
He said that the plan considers quality and encourages creativity through constructive competition and ease of communication between all sectors of the society.
The plan includes building three maintenance sub-offices in Doha, Al Khor and Al Rayyan, Al-Mudahki said, adding that the offices will help de-centralize maintenance work.
He said that the office in Doha will provide a service to 545 mosques, while the ones in Al Khor and Al Rayyan will service 332 and 736 mosques respectively.

Source: Hukoumi Website

Dates the Sweetest Fruits during Ramadan Season

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around the Persian Gulf.^[1] It is a medium-sized plant, 15–25 m tall, growing singly or forming a clump with several stems from a single root system. The leaves are 3–5 m long, with spines on the petiole, and pinnate, with about 150 leaflets; the leaflets are 30 cm long and 2 cm wide. The full span of the crown ranges from 6 to 10 m.

See Wikepedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_dactylifera