Qatar Airways allays fears over swine flu

Qatar Airways has assured passengers that is taking all measures to tackle health concern over the swine flu.
Qatar Airways has taken several steps to tackle health concerns following the recent outbreak of swine flu in Mexico.
Qatar Airways chief executive officer Akbar al- Baker said: “The health and wellbeing of all our passengers and employees is of paramount importance and Qatar Airways in no way compromises the safety of any individual.
“Passengers should be reassured that modern aircraft have very advanced air filtration systems which ensure a high level of air quality despite the confined environment they travel in.”
Qatar Airways has been working closely with health authorities in Qatar and monitoring developments with international health organisations and governments around the world in order to be able to take the most appropriate measures.
Since April 27, Qatar Airways has mandated that all flight deck and cabin crew wear masks on flights originating from the United States – namely daily services from New York, Washington DC and Houston.
The airline has taken additional mandatory measures for all 1,100 flight deck and 3,400 cabin crew in the company to be vaccinated against influenza to limit the risk of contamination to passengers and staff. The flu vaccine is a protective measure and only protects against a certain strain of flu, not swine flu, which is at the centre of the current health concerns.
Passengers on Qatar Airways’ flights originating from the US are being given masks upon boarding and advised to wear them on board. In addition, all Qatar Airways’ customer contact staff in the United States and at Doha International Airport are required to wear masks.
If prior to boarding in the US or during transit in Doha, passengers are identified as having flu or fever-like symptoms, they will be referred to a local medical centre to determine their suitability to travel.
The airline’s decision has been taken to control the potential transmission of the virus to fellow passengers and crew onboard.
Al-Baker said that the airline took these unconditional measures at an early stage in the full interests of the public.
“There is absolutely no compromise for the safety of any individual, whether they are travelling or not. As an airline we are fully responsible for the safety of our passengers, crew and ground staff, but also as the national carrier of the State of Qatar, we have a responsibility to reduce the risk of exposure to people living and working in the country.”
“Qatar Airways strongly recommends that in the best interests of fellow travellers, passengers refer to information available through international health authorities, including the World Health Organisation, at www.who.int prior to travelling. In addition, individual countries are issuing their own travel advisories.”
Qatar Airways Head of Medical Services Dr Soha al-Bayat added: “In light of the current situation, it is vital for people to observe strict personal hygiene controls to protect themselves and those around them.
“If passengers develop fever or flu-like symptoms, they are advised to consult their doctor or medical practitioner straightaway. Symptoms of this A (H1N1) particular strain of flu include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue,” she said.
Health authorities around the world have advised that in the interests of personal hygiene, people should cover their mouths when coughing and sneezing; avoid touching their eyes and nose in case the virus has been transmitted, and frequently wash their hands.

Gulf Times

Emir maps way out of crisis

The Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani yesterday said the right way to deal with the current economic crisis is to acknowledge and correct past errors.

“The solution lies not in abandoning the market laws and free trade or to resort to selective protectionist measures or to reject planning entirely, but the solution as is the case with each crisis, lies in striking a balance between responsibility and freedom, between market laws, and public social responsibility,” the Emir said in his address to the 9th Doha Forum on Democracy, Development and Free Trade, that opened at the Doha-Sheraton last evening. He also said the crisis has exceeded what is usually foreseen and expected of the market activity, from expansion to deflation. “It has gone out of control and has turned into a dangerous hurricane that threatens beyond our imagination,” he said.

The crisis is not a natural catastrophe like a hurricane or earthquake, but a result of human policies, miss-planning, excessive self confidence, desire to get rich quickly, and mixing the necessary loans needed for production and consumption with borrowing for speculations that exceed the gross production, the Emir said.

“What happened was a result of confusing beneficial investment in the stock exchange with gambling. It was also a result of turning away from the fundamentals of sound economy that is based on labour, production, market, and profit,” he said. He added that what is more dangerous than the economic crisis is the cultural and moral crisis which would not have been taken seriously by some people, had this critical crisis not happened.

The culture of consumption and getting rich quickly without production, he said, has spread out and turning speculations into a norm in the same developed countries in which the extent of the financial catastrophe was suddenly revealed.

The Emir also pointed out that the state should interfere in a crisis of such a magnitude and adopt new laws to monitor the activities of banks and financial institutions in general.

“However, there should be a warning against this interference turning into a wrong attempt to put the blame on others or on the principle of free trade itself on the one hand or in exaggerations in defending all its negative aspects and those of the banking system on the other,” he said warning against protectionist measures as a way out of the crisis. He said such measures would hinder international efforts to face the crisis and its repercussions.

Historically the crises had a corrective effect on the course of economy when producers and decision makers collaborated in drawing the correct conclusions, and not by looking for sedatives and painkillers that would mitigate the symptoms while the ailment aggravates, the Emir said.

The Peninsula

Lisbon links

HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani being welcomed by Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates upon his arrival at Sao Bento Palace in Lisbon yesterday.

They attended the signing of a joint statement to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries, an agreement to encourage and protect mutual investments, and a memorandum of understanding between Qatar Olympic Committee and the Olympic Committee of Portugal.

Original Article from : Gulf Times

QCB official hails Qatar monetary policy

The US dollar is expected to fall again by 2010 triggering up inflation rates in the Gulf states, a top Qatar Central Bank official said in Doha yesterday.
“This will happen by 2010-end when the global financial crisis is likely to reach its end in the US,” said Khaled Rashed al-Khater, director of the department of research and monetary policy at QCB.
About the repercussions of the global financial crisis on the US, the official predicted that the dollar will lose its position as the international reserve currency in the long-run, saying that the US share of the world output would decline in the coming years.
“There will be a shift of weight of world demand for oil from the US to China, India, and other countries. The current rally of the US dollar is temporary. It is expected to depreciate in the medium-run by no less than 20%,” he said.
Qatar’s proven resilient banking system amid the current financial turmoil as well as its “credible and independent” monetary policy make it “very eligible” to host the planned common Gulf central bank, the senior official said.
Speaking at a lecture yesterday at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, al-Khater said that Qatar’s independent monetary policy as well as its resilient banking system made it very eligible to be the hosting country of the Gulf central bank.
“We are very eligible. We have a credible monetary policy. We conducted many researches on monetary union and inflation in the Gulf states. At a time when all the Gulf states followed the US Fed cutting the interest, Qatar was the only country among the group which did not follow the US Fed. We also do not have a problem with our banking system or the availability of liquidity,” al-Khater said.
Gulf leaders are due to meet in Saudi Arabia next month to decide on the location of the common central bank which is expected to administer the planned monetary union which will culminate in the single Gulf currency.
However, al-Khater ruled out the possibility that the Gulf states would be able to meet the 2010 deadline for the single currency.
“It is unlikely or impossible to launch the single currency in 2010. The plans for the monetary union have started but still need more effort to meet the criteria,” he said.
Asked whether the QCB would interfere in the local banks policies regarding overseas investment, the official stressed that the central bank would not impose any restrictions on local banks about their investment choices, saying that such decisions were up to the banks.
“This is free economy and free market. Of course there are regulations that banks should abide by, but we do not interfere in their investment policies,” he added.
The expert also admitted that there was a decline in the cash inflow for Qatar, saying that this was due to shortage of liquidity in the entire world.
About Qatar’s monetary policy, al-Khater hailed it as “credible and independent”, saying that Qatar’s banking sector was among the least affected and the most resilient in the region during the current global financial turmoil.
“When the market bubbles burst in the region in 2006, Qatar was the least affected among its neighbours. Thanks to QCB’s pre-emptive conservative credit policy during the lending boom in 2002-03, our banking system is still the most resilient in the region,” he added.
“If we do not have an independent and credible monetary policy, we would have to follow the recent interest cut made by the Fed since we are pegged to the US dollar, but we did not,” he maintained.
He added that QCB was still ready to extend liquidity in the banking system via its collateralised and refinance-standing facilities, and direct deposit at the micro-level.
Al-Khater, who was briefing the Georgetown University School of Foreign Services on his views about the implications of the global crisis as well as Qatar’s monetary policy, also said that the implications of the financial crisis would require the Gulf states to reconsider their dollar peg arrangements in the future.

Original Article from: Gulf Times

Qatar shines amid global gloom: Expert

The World Bank warned yesterday that the global recession was going to last long and the worst has yet to come, especially in the developing countries.

The world has experienced economic shocks and there has been a contraction in trade this year, Carlos Primo Braga, Director for Economic Policy, World Bank, said during the conclusion of a conference here yesterday.

Addressing the 3rd International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD) 2009 at the Carnegie Mellon University-Qatar, Braga, however, said the only high-growth country in these challenging times was Qatar due to its vibrant liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry.

Qatar’s efforts to put emphasis on knowledge-based economy has played a significant role in stimulating stable economic growth even in the face of the global financial crisis.

Braga said with the deepening financial crisis, several governments saw investments in Information Communication Technologies (ICT) as an integral part of recovery efforts.

“I’m happy with what I’m seeing in Qatar, which is investing in its future, not only in infrastructure, but is also concentrating in its knowledge-based economy to sustain significant growth.”

The ICT industry is better positioned to confront the crisis, said Braga. “The telecommunications service is the leading indicator of economic recovery.”

Braga concluded that e-business and ICT use will continue to expand on a global basis and their benefits can be substantial not only for business, but in also promoting trade and enhancing productivity at a macro-level.

“Convergence in e-business practices can happen, but… unless the governments provide the proper regulatory environment for private action and support efforts to expand digital literacy, with special attention to the needs of Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SME), the digital divide at the level of business practices will widen,” he said.

With more than 350 scholars, practitioners and social scientists focused on a broad range of domains from around the world, the ICTD organisers have declared the conference a success.

“ICTD2009 has already achieved great success. We are extremely pleased with the number of people who have joined us from so many places around the world. The level of excitement and quality of participation has exceeded our expectations,” said Bernardine Dias, PhD, assistant research professor of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University and ICTD2009 Conference Chair. Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar hosted the three-day ICTD2009 conference, with the TechBridgeWorld research group.

Original Article from: The Peninsula