T is as easy to be distracted by the outward glamour of a prime ministerial visit to Washington as it is to fail to discern its occasional real inner substance. Both things apply in the case of David Cameron's White House talks with Barack Obama on March 14.
I'D like to thank the makers of the "Kony 2012" video for goading me to write about Joseph Kony. With about 100 million views, it is now one of the most viral videos of all time...
DUBAI FOUR more members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kuwait have decided to close their embassies in Syria over its violent crackdown on
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DOHA THE 28th GCC Traffic Week celebrations received a huge response from Doha residents.More than 55 public and private agencies participated the traffic exhibition organised at tents near Doha Exhibition Centre recently....
CONSUMER prices rose by the most in 10 months in February as the cost of gasoline spiked, but there was little sign that underlying inflation pressures were building up...
SACHIN Tendulkar made history with his 100th international century but India failed to stop Bangladesh from registering an upset five-wicket win in the Asia Cup tournament in Dhaka on Friday...
THIS is a great time to be a movie buff. Within a week of Paan Singh Tomar, which should incontestably win Irrfan Khan the National Award for best actor, comes Kahaani in which Vidya Balan is so...
DOHA THE direct contribution of travel and tourism to Qatar's GDP is expected to reach $1.1 billion in 2012, compared to $800 million in 2009, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. Qatar has embarked on an aggressive infrastructure spending programme as it prepares to host the 2022 World Cup, and for life beyond. "The economic conditions are excellent. We see Qatar as a crucial addition to our GCC portfolio and look forward to our core brand Radisson Blu making its entry in the market in 2012. The country has certainly become a key hotel investment destination," commented Kurt Ritter, president and CEO, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group...
DOHA QATAR has moved up the ladder in the global ranking in e-government and e-services. A recent e-Government Survey released by the United Nations (UN) has raised Qatar's position to number 27 in the global ranking of e-government services, a significant improvement from its previous ranking of 90 in 2010. The Survey also placed Qatar at number nine in the e- Participation index for 2012. Assistant Secretary- General of ictQATAR Hassan al Sayed said, "The rise in the rankings demonstrates Qatar's prioritisation of making our government more responsive and transparent for those its serves through an integrated e-Government strategy...
DOHA EXCLUSIVE paintings of Qatari artist Faraj Daham were on display as part of an exhibition titled 'street language' at Katara on Thursday. The main objective of the exhibition, according to Daham, is to spread the message of painting to the 'people on the streets'. "I decided to start highlighting this subject in 2006. It is necessary for intelligent people to understand artworks of painters and their interpretation of daily life in the streets, and transform it into painting...
FINANCE Minister Pranab Mukherjee's budget proposals on Friday failed to enthuse investors and a benchmark index for Indian equities markets closed nearly 210 points lower. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,656.81 points, closed at 17,466.2 points, down 209.65 points or 1.17 percent, from its previous close at 17,675.85 points. The 50-scrip S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also closed lower at 5,317.9 points, down 1.16 percent from its previous close...
NEW DELHI FINANCE Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday proposed building 8,800 km of highway under the national highways development project (NHDP) for the 2012-13 fiscal. "I propose to set a target of covering a length of 8,800 km under NHDP next year. The allocation of the ministry (road transport and highways) has been enhanced by 14 percent to Rs.25,360 crore in 2012- 13," Mukherjee told Lok Sabha while presenting the union budget 2012-13...
BEIJING CHINA'S plan to partly privatise its way out of a 10.7 trillion yuan ($1.7 trillion) local government debt problem is music to the ears of investors who have long lobbied Beijing to sell the family silver to shore up faltering finances. Premier Wen Jiabao's announcement on Thursday that asset disposals, project transfers and equity stake sales are all part of the policy playbook underlines how seriously the government takes dealing with a problem that analysts believe to be one of a few that could trigger systemic financial risks in China. But besides giving investors a chance to secure a stake in one of the world's most attractive markets ...
AL Kharaitiyat's goalkeeper Khalifa Ndiaye produced another heroic performance to deny Al Arabi from scoring a last minute goal during a round 19 Qatar Stars League match that ended in barren draw at the Al Sadd Stadium on Friday. Both sides came all out in search of the maximum points to boost its standing on the QSL rankings. After today's result, Arabi sits in seventh place with 23 points while Kharaitiyat is second from bottom with 19 points with a playoff or relegation staring at its face. Arabi had more of the possession in the opening half, creating chances for its forward players comprising Djaco Arafat, Leonardo Pisculichi and Boualem Khoukhi...
SHEIKH Hassan bin Jabor al Thani began his Class One racing career in 2003 and, in the space of 10 exciting years of international power boating action, the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) has risen to the very forefront of the sport under his presidency. Qatar's Class One team has won Grand Prix in Europe and the Middle East and the European Championship title. The F1 team has triumphed in the UIM F1 H20 World Championship on two occasions (2008 and 2011) and the QMSF's professional staff has just hosted three back-to-back World Championship events in three separate marine sport disciplines...
REAL MADRID coach Jose Mourinho may be inching towards becoming the first coach to win the Champions League with three different clubs, but it is the La Liga crown that remains his chief target. Real tackle Malaga this weekend in search of their 22nd win from 23 games and boasting a 10-point lead over bitter rivals Barcelona in the title race. Mourinho has added steel to the Madrid side along with an attacking flair that has seen them score 88 goals so far in the league. In the Champions League, dreams have been stirred of a 10th European crown after having endured seeing Barca win two of the last three competitions...
THE other day at Kimara Ahnert's makeup and skin care studio on Madison Avenue, Sloane Kratzman, 12, was sitting on a chair, having blush applied to her cheeks, her legs dangling above the floor. She had been driven in after school from Greenwich, Connecticut, by her mother, Teresa Kratzman, a long time friend of Ahnert's, for her first makeup application lesson. "She's taken an interest in makeup, so she might as well learn to put it on properly," the elder Kratzman said. "There's so much out there now." "All my girlfriends are wearing makeup; it's the stage," Sloane agreed...
HIGH-END diving this was not. Off the coast of Havelock, part of India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal, we bobbed along on a dunghi, an oversize, motorised canoe, joined by only two other divers and two guides. A plain blue tarp pulled over curved bamboo stays provided shade, and our dive gear was piled unceremoniously in the back. Then we descended. Twenty-seven meters underwater we discovered an untrammeled paradise: Thousands of fish wove through brightly coloured coral peppered with striped crinoids, small marine animals that hold their tentacles curved like flowers...
ALTHOUGH actor Udita Goswami has done few films as part of her B-Town stint, her Bollywood repertoire fetched her sobriquet of 'bold and the beautiful', nonetheless. This Dehradun girl has constantly been in the news; be it for her bold roles, her relationship status or her support for social causes. After creating a storm at the Box office with her debut movie Paap and films like Aksar, A g g a r , Zeher and Chase, Udita recently tried her luck at the Box office with Diary of a Butterfly. Ask her about the long break that she had taken from the big screen and she says...
AFP MOSCOW ACTIVISTS in Russia’s protest movement against Vladimir Putin on Friday furiously criticised a documentary aired on a national channel that claimed the opposition bribed people to attend rallies.
WASHINGTON A SENIOR US senator warned the White House on Thursday to expect a tough battle over legislation to boost trade ties with Russia because of Moscow's human rights record and...
