Qatar Daily News

After maintaining almost a week’s silence after announcing his change of nationality, artist M.F. Husain appeared on NDTV 24×7 on Wednesday to speak about the change. A day later, he spoke to Mint from his new homeland, Qatar. Edited excerpts from a phone interview:

When you spoke to Mint in October, you said you were desperate to return to India and end your self-imposed exile. What changed between then and now?

I realized that all this talk was coming in the way of my work. I’m 94 and not getting younger, and I want to focus on my art at this stage. I’m dedicating myself to finishing the artworks for three permanent museums in London and Qatar that are being prepared to host my works. There’s also this project on the 100 years of Indian cinema that I’m set to finish soon. I’m really looking forward to all of this. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

Georgian Prime Minister Nika Gilauri will pay a two-day visit to Qatar Feb. 24.

This visit as the minister’s previous visits to Dubai and Kuwait, aims to attract investment into the country.

During the visit, Gilauri will be accompanied by the ministers of the economic bodies

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday, “I hope that visa requirements between Turkey and Qatar would be lifted soon. We want to commence a new era in our relations with Qatar like we did earlier in our relations with Syria, Jordan and Lebanon. Turkey’s gates are wide open for Qatari investors, tourists and businessmen.”

Speaking at the Turkey-Qatar Business Forum at Doha’s Four Seasons Hotel, Prime Minister Erdogan said, “Turkey is among the countries that were least-affected from the global financial crisis. Recently, our economy has begun giving signals of recovery from the crisis. As of the second half of 2009, shrinkage in our economy stopped. International organizations affirmed that Turkish economy would grow rapidly in 2010 and 2011. Our target is to make Turkish economy one of the world’s biggest economies in 2023.”
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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will pay an official two-day visit to Qatar starting on Saturday at the invitation of Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabir al Thani.

Erdogan is to attend the forum U.S.-Islamic World, which will take place in Doha on Saturday.
The Turkish prime minister is also scheduled to meet the Emir of Qatar Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and participate in a Turkish-Qatari business forum.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Qatar and Saudi Arabia this weekend amid efforts to boost ties with Muslim nations, revive Arab-Israeli peace talks and tackle security concerns.

During the February 13-16 trip, Clinton is scheduled to attend the US-Islamic World Forum on Sunday in Qatar and meet the tiny Gulf state’s emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said.

The chief US diplomat will also meet Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Al-Thani, who plays a dual role as Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Crowley added in a statement on Tuesday.

At the US-Islamic forum in Doha two years ago, delegates voiced support for then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, although some warned against expecting any radical policy change should he win the White House.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Al Hariri met here on Saturday with Qatari Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry Abdullah Bin Hamad Al Atiyyah who is currently visiting Lebanon.

A statement issued by Al Hariri”s press office said talks during the meeting dealt with the situation in the region and relations between Lebanon and Qatar and means of bolstering them especially in energy domain.

Azerbaijan and Qatar will sign an agreement to provide diplomats with visa-free program, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister said.

The ceremonial signing of the agreement will be held after a meeting between Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, who is on an official visit to Doha.

“I wonder how the unarmed people of Gaza can pose a threat to the security of Egypt,” said renowned Qatar-based Islamic scholar, Dr Yusuf Al Qaradawi while calling on Egypt to stop construction of the controversial steel wall along its borders with Gaza. “We have been criticising Israel for constructing a wall around Israeli settlements. Now we are doing the same thing. We are in fact competing with Israel by deciding to construct a steel wall,” Qaradawi said, in his Friday sermon at the Omar bin Khatab mosque.
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The Dubai TV correspondent detained in Tehran on Sunday is expected to be freed by Thursday, Gulf News has learned.

A colleague of Dubai TV’s Tehran correspondent, Redha Al Basha, has said that the television station’s office has been notified by the Foreign Press Bureau at the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance that the journalist was authorised to work in Iran and was not found to be in violation of any rules.

The colleague, who did not want to be named, said Al Basha is expected to be released from Tehran’s Evin prison by midday on Thursday.
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