Qatar Daily News

Stage 1
Team Sky blitz the team time trial and Edvald Boasson-Hagen pulls on the leaders yellow jersey after an 8.2km circuit around West Bay Lagoon.
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Qatar is on track to open its new $14 billion international airport in 2011 as the world’s largest gas exporter looks to diversify government revenues and stimulate employment, an official said on Sunday.

Speaking at an aviation conference in Doha, Qatar, the chairman of the country’s civil aviation authority said the new airport would have capacity for 24 million passengers and cargo of 1.4 million tonnes a year.

“The new $14 billion airport will be over 22 kilometres and open in 2011,” Adul Aziz Al Noaimi said.

Qatar has been pouring billions of dollars into infrastructure development to diversify the economy away from hydrocarbons, help propel itself on the international arena and become a transport hub between Europe and Asia.
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Doha has become a major destination for the cruise ships in the Gulf. The cruise agencies now regard Qatar as a regular port of call on the Middle East maritime routes because of new visa rules.

The new visa procedure allows Qatari authorities to process all visas in four to seven working days in advance before the ship’s arrival. On the day of arrival, while passports are gathered and collected, passengers can directly disembark and begin exploring Qatar immediately.

Qatar Tourism and Exhibitions Authority is keeping pace with all cruises coming to Qatar, ensuring that all procedures go smoothly and welcoming passengers at the port with a display of traditional Qatari hospitality. 280 passengers from the American ship Silver Wind were warmly welcomed at the Doha port, yesterday.
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Qatar Airways has expanded its operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by increasing frequency between Doha and Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam.

On the Dammam route, five flights per week have been added to the schedule, bringing the total frequency on the route to 12 services each week. The new early morning departures from Dammam on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays offer passengers excellent connections to the new mid-morning long-haul service to Houston in Texas, which Qatar Airways is launching on 30 March.

The capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Riyadh is being served with two additional flights a week, taking weekly capacity up to five services.

Two extra flights have also been introduced between Doha and Jeddah, a route previously served with five flights each week.
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The Sudanese government and a key rebel faction Tuesday began their peace talks in Doha, capital of Qatar, in a bid to end a five-year civil war.

In his speech to open the talks, Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Hamadbin Jasim bin Jabir al-Thani said the Qatari-brokered talks on peace in Darfur is about to make a significant breakthrough towards a comprehensive settlement of the conflict.

It is the first peace contact since 2007 between the Sudanese government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), he was quoted by Qatar’s official news agency as saying.

The first round of peace talks is the fruit of concerted efforts made by Qatar, the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), the United Nations and the African Union, he added.
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The Humanitarian Forum – a network of key humanitarian and charitable organisations from Muslim donor and recipient countries; the West; and the multilateral system – is organising a meeting on 1 February in Doha, Qatar, to ensure that aid earmarked for Gaza is effective and reaches the most vulnerable population.

Participants will include Qatar Charity, which will host the event, Qatar Red Crescent, Humanitarian Forum Kuwait, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Mercy Corps, Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation, International Committee of the Red Cross and Turkey’s Foundation for Human Rights, Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief, and the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

United Fashion Company (UFC), a United Development Company subsidiary, today (Sunday, January 25) opens Gianfranco Ferré, the first in a series of luxury brands to be launched on The Pearl-Qatar in the coming weeks.

“This is a very exciting venture for us,” said Michela Piva, CEO of Gianfranco Ferré Spa: “The opening of this Gianfranco Ferré boutique reinforces our presence in the Middle East, a strategic area for the luxury goods industry. We chose The Pearl-Qatar because the Island represents the ideal environment for a luxury brand like ours. We are proud to have joined forces with UFC, the perfect partner for the expansion of our brand in this important market.”

Malik Awan, UFC general manager, said: “This is a very proud moment for the UFC team. UFC is making history with the opening of the first luxury store on the Island and the first Gianfranco Ferré in Qatar.

“The strength of the retail scene on The Pearl-Qatar lies in having both first and second line products of the same high-end designer in the same place.

“What makes The Pearl-Qatar unique is the way it has been designed to be a lifestyle experience, rather than simply a shopping mall. We are creating and inspiring the culture of designer brands, which is why, in a year, UFC managed to secure 10 major international brands and the promise of many more to come.”
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