Qatar Daily News

Dubai Aquarium, one of the emirate’s flagship tourist attractions, reopened on Saturday following a two-day closure after it sprung a leak and flooded Dubai Mall, UAE daily Gulf News reported on Sunday.

Chaos broke out Dubai Mall on Thursday when water began pouring out of one of the panel joints of the main tank, which holds some 10 million litres of water, forcing the evacuation and closure of part of the shopping centre.

On Saturday, however, the only evidence of the drama that unfolded was a lower water level in the main tank, the newspaper said, adding that both the aquarium’s main viewing panel and the walkthrough tunnel were once again open to the public.
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The first hanging bridge in Oman, Khor Al Bath, connecting mainland Sur and the village of Aijah, has been completed. A project of the ministry of regional municipalities and water resources and executed by Strabag Oman, the bridge spans 204m with the biggest span measuring 140m. Construction of the bridge started in February 2008. The RO6m project will also reduce the distance between Al Aijah and Khor Bath villages in Sur by 10km.

Renowned Indian artist MF Husain, under attack from hardline Hindus for his paintings of nude Hindu goddesses, has been offered Qatari nationality.

The artist made the announcement in The Hindu newspaper. It is not clear whether he will accept the honour.

Since 2006, 95-year-old Mr Husain has been living in Dubai and in London.

The Hindu said that his “impending change of nationality brings to a close one of the sorriest chapters in independent India’s secular history”.

Correspondents say that Mr Husain – who has been forced to flee the country – is one of India’s most pre-eminent artists. Read the rest of this entry »

Qatar plans to buy land in Georgia for corn cultivation and to begin this year importing as many as 70,000 sheep a year from the former Soviet republic, Georgian Agriculture Minister Bakur Kvezereli said.

“They’re interested in buying land in Georgia for agriculture and are also interested in importing our vegetables and sheep,” Kvezereli said in an interview late yesterday on a flight from Doha to the Georgian capital Tbilisi. “They’re willing to pay as much as $250 per sheep.”

Kvezereli accompanied Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri to Doha this week for talks with government officials and business leaders, following President Mikheil Saakashvili’s trip to the country last November.
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Qatar Petroleum and Exxon Mobil Corporation today announced the Al Khaleej Gas-Phase 2 (AKG-2) project, with 1,250 million cubic feet per day (mcfd) of sales gas capacity, initiated operations in December 2009.

“This is another major achievement to ensure the optimal use of Qatar’s hydrocarbon resources to meet increasing local demand and contribute to further development of Qatar’s industrial base. This project is helping to support the country’s rapid economic expansion.”

The new facilities are designed to meet the growing demand of local industries. Combined with Al Khaleej Gas-Phase 1 (AKG-1), which began production in 2005, AKG will have a total capacity of 2,000 mcfd, making it the largest source of domestic gas supply in the State of Qatar.
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Abu Dhabi and ConocoPhillips plan to award Dh36.8 billion ($10.02 billion) of contracts in the first half of 2010 to develop their Shah gas project, Emirati newspaper al-Ittihad reported on Monday.

State-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) said in February it expected to see first production from the joint-venture by late 2013 or early 2014. It is the first project the UAE has undertaken to exploit a sour gas field.
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Qatar may launch its planned single financial regulator this year, the head of the Qatar Financial Centre Regulatory Authority (QFCRA) said on Monday.

The Gulf country first unveiled the plan for a joint market watchdog in 2007 to cope with its growing financial and banking sectors, and to attract foreign investment as it competes with regional rivals such as Dubai.

The Greek government has agreed to establish a bilateral working group between Athens and Abu Dhabi, the Greek Ministry of Economy, Competitiveness and Shipping announced on Sunday.

The first meeting of the group will take place in Athens in the following weeks. The two sides will explore the possibilities of economic cooperation and the possible involvement of Abu Dhabi in the Greek Development Fund, as well as the European Investment Bank and other international financial institutions.
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Oman has opened its first terminal for cruise passengers at Port Sultan Qaboos. It is hoped the new building, which boasts a reception check-in, information centre, cafeteria, internet café, and restroom facilities, will boost the sultanate’s reputation as a stop-over point for cruise ships

Petrochemical Industries Co., a unit of state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp., plans to build a third olefins plant that may cost as much as $5 billion, the company’s deputy managing director of olefins said.

Petrochemical Industries expects to complete plans for the plant this year, Yousef al Ateeqi told reporters in Kuwait City today. The facility may have a production capacity of more than 1 million metric tons a year of ethylene and should be operational in 2015, he said.