IT´S
been 10 long years since the Palestinians and Israelis last
came close to establishing a permanent peace, in January 2001
at Taba in Egypt. During my career in the Egyptian Air Force,
I saw the tragic toll of war between the Arabs and Israel. As
president of Egypt, I have endured many ups and downs in the
Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Egypt´s decision to
be the first Arab state to make peace with Israel claimed the
life of my predecessor, Anwar el Sadat. Ever since the day in
1981 that I witnessed his assassination by extremists, I have
tried to turn the dream of a permanent peace in the Middle East
into a reality. Now, after a nearly two-year hiatus in direct
negotiations, we are opening...
PRESIDENT Barack Obama is embarking on
something I´ve never seen before - taking on two Missions
Impossible at the same time. That is, a simultaneous effort
to heal the two most bitter divides in the Middle East: the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Shiite-Sunni conflict centred
in Iraq. Give him his due. The guy´s got audacity. I´ll
provide the hope. But kids, don´t try this at home. Yet,
if by some miracles the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that
open in Washington on Thursday do eventually produce a two-state
solution, and Iraqi Shiites and Sunnis do succeed in writing
their own social contract on how to live together, one might
be able to imagine a Middle East...
TARIK AL TOUBASSI
is about to move the company he
manages out of a villa on the
outskirts of Doha, and into new
offices downtown that command
three times the rent. It's either
that or close down...
THE Georgetown
University School of Foreign Service
in Qatar held its sixth annual
student activities fair on Wednesday.
Around 30 top institutions, including
the Education City, Brookings...
QATARI banks
have emerged relatively unscathed
from the global financial crisis
and regional downturn displaying
strong financial profiles, although
high credit risks, taken during
the lending boom, continue to
pose challenges...
GOODBYE,
Melanie Oudin. Hello, Beatrice
Capra. The day after the sensation
of last year's US Open departed
quietly, another 18-year-old American
made her way unexpectedly to the
third round. Capra, a wild-card
...
JUST 65 years
ago, David Livermore's paternal
grandmother died following an
operation to remove her appendix.
It didn't go well, but it was
not the surgery that killed her.
She succumbed to a series of infections
that the pre-penicillin world
had no drugs...
THE Penal and Correctional Institutions Department (PCID) at the Ministry of Interior organised an annual Ramadan gathering to honour winning teams in sports activities held for jail inmates. The event was attended by the PCID Director Col Mohammed Saud al Otaibi, Director of Social Rehabilitation Centre Rashid al Nuaimi as well as heads of other sections at the PCID and a number of officers. Welcoming the guests, Col al Otaibi said, "The PCID organised the cultural...
THE achievements of Carnegie Mellon University at Qatar (CMU-Q) have been lauded by President of Carnegie Mellon University Jared L Cohon whose tenure has just been extended by one year. Cohon´s current and third five-year term ends in June 2012. With the extension he will have three years remaining as president through June 2013, allowing him the time necessary to complete and make significant progress on key initiatives. Mark Kamlet, executive vice...
THE Ministry of Interior conducted three security and traffic safety awareness programmes on the sidelines of the "Iftar and Brotherhood with Communities Project" organised by the Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) in collaboration with the ministry for the Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian communities at Al Ahli and Al Arabi clubs recently. Apart from officials of RAF and ministries of interior and municipality and urban planning...
ANGLO-IRISH energy firm Tullow Oil said on Thursday it would buy a 50-percent stake in six exploration licences in Kenya and Ethiopia, expanding its reach in east Africa. Tullow, already a major player in Africa, will pay Canada´s Africa Oil Corp up to 33.75 million dollars (26.3 million euros) for a share of six licences that cover two exploration blocks in Kenya and one in Ethiopia. "Tullow Oil plc announces the...
BURGER King Holdings Inc, the nation´s perennially No 2 hamburger chain, said on Thursday that it is selling itself to little-known private equity firm 3G Capital in a deal valued at $3.26 billion. Its shares soared to an 18- month high. Thursday´s $24-per-share tender offer comes after a day of speculation about the deal that sent shares up more than 15 percent. The offer is a nearly 46 percent premium over the company´s stock price before rumours of a buyout began...
BRITAIN´S state-rescued lender Royal Bank of Scotland said on Thursday it was cutting another 3,500 jobs, sparking anger from union bosses. An RBS company spokesman told AFP that "3,500 job losses have been announced in the business services division," which comprises backoffice functions such as IT and payment operations. The lender is shutting 12 of its business services centres at locations across Britain, including Harrogate, Leeds and Liverpool in northern...
DEFENDING champion Spain advanced to the round of 16 at the basketball world championship on Wednesday and so, more surprisingly, did Angola. Angola made the last 16 four years ago, but it began this year´s tournament with a 50-point loss to Serbia. It kept improving, however, and rallied from a 10-point deficit late in the game to stun Germany 92-88 in overtime on Wednesday. "We made history for Angola today," coach Luis Magalhaes said. "My players never give up...
VODAFONE Qatar will be the main sponsor of the forthcoming seventh Basketball Cup 2010 of Pinoy Basketball of Qatar (PIBAQ). The championship, which promises to be much more exciting than previous years, is due to start on October 22. "The Filipino community is very important to us. We´re setting up a call centre in Manila that will be able to service our thousands of Filipino customers in their own language and offer many services like great calling rates...
WORLD Cup champion Spain begins the long road to defending its European Championship title when it plays Liechtenstein in a qualifying match on Friday. Nearly two months after lifting the World Cup trophy in South Africa, Spain returns to the competition that helped it shed the underachiever tag that long followed it until the 1-0 triumph over Germany in the Vienna final in 2008. The Group I match...
WHILE most of her contemporaries are married and settled with kids, Sushmita Sen is still in the news for her relationships and break-ups. But the actress says she definitely has plans to tie the knot one day. "Well, I will get married. It was just that I didn´t feel like getting married at 23-24 which is considered to be marriageable age," said Sushmita, 34. "And I am tired of answering what kind of a man I want in my life. I will show you the full sample whenever it happens," she added...
MUSIC composer duo Vishal- Shekhar hardly go wrong when it comes to judging the pulse of youth and creating music to suit their tastes. After the success of their last venture I Hate Luv Storys, they are back with their new album Anjaana Anjaani that has the potential to rule the charts. The film offers nine tracks. It opens with the title track Anjaana anjaani ki kahani, the one that has already become a favourite...
SHIA LaBeouf, star of the Transformers movies, has topped a list of Hollywood best value actors with Anne Hathaway following second. The best value actor in Hollywood, for the second year running, was LaBeouf, 24. His films had big budgets but took in a huge total of 2.6 billion pounds ($3.5 billion) at the global box office. They made a profit of 81 pounds for every 1 pound the actor was paid. Hathaway topped in the actress´ category and second overall on the list. Her films made a profit...
THE three Pakistan cricketers implicated
in the match-fixing controversy had
asked to be kept out of the team’s
remaining matches in England,
Pakistan’s High Commissioner said in
London on Thursday.
TEN Afghan civilians were killed on
Thursday in a NATO air strike on
three vehicles carrying election
campaign workers in northern
Afghanistan, President Hamid
Karzai said in a statement.
THE Penal and Correctional Institutions Department (PCID) at the Ministry of Interior organised an annual Ramadan gathering to honour winning teams in sports activities held for jail inmates. The event was attended by the PCID Director Col Mohammed Saud al Otaibi, Director of Social Rehabilitation Centre Rashid al Nuaimi as well as heads of other sections at the PCID and a number of officers. Welcoming the guests, Col al Otaibi said, "The PCID organised the cultural...
THE achievements of Carnegie Mellon University at Qatar (CMU-Q) have been lauded by President of Carnegie Mellon University Jared L Cohon whose tenure has just been extended by one year. Cohon´s current and third five-year term ends in June 2012. With the extension he will have three years remaining as president through June 2013, allowing him the time necessary to complete and make significant progress on key initiatives. Mark Kamlet, executive vice... 
THE Ministry of Interior conducted three security and traffic safety awareness programmes on the sidelines of the "Iftar and Brotherhood with Communities Project" organised by the Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF) in collaboration with the ministry for the Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian communities at Al Ahli and Al Arabi clubs recently. Apart from officials of RAF and ministries of interior and municipality and urban planning...
ANGLO-IRISH energy firm Tullow Oil said on Thursday it would buy a 50-percent stake in six exploration licences in Kenya and Ethiopia, expanding its reach in east Africa. Tullow, already a major player in Africa, will pay Canada´s Africa Oil Corp up to 33.75 million dollars (26.3 million euros) for a share of six licences that cover two exploration blocks in Kenya and one in Ethiopia. "Tullow Oil plc announces the... 
BURGER King Holdings Inc, the nation´s perennially No 2 hamburger chain, said on Thursday that it is selling itself to little-known private equity firm 3G Capital in a deal valued at $3.26 billion. Its shares soared to an 18- month high. Thursday´s $24-per-share tender offer comes after a day of speculation about the deal that sent shares up more than 15 percent. The offer is a nearly 46 percent premium over the company´s stock price before rumours of a buyout began... 
BRITAIN´S state-rescued lender Royal Bank of Scotland said on Thursday it was cutting another 3,500 jobs, sparking anger from union bosses. An RBS company spokesman told AFP that "3,500 job losses have been announced in the business services division," which comprises backoffice functions such as IT and payment operations. The lender is shutting 12 of its business services centres at locations across Britain, including Harrogate, Leeds and Liverpool in northern... 
DEFENDING champion Spain advanced to the round of 16 at the basketball world championship on Wednesday and so, more surprisingly, did Angola. Angola made the last 16 four years ago, but it began this year´s tournament with a 50-point loss to Serbia. It kept improving, however, and rallied from a 10-point deficit late in the game to stun Germany 92-88 in overtime on Wednesday. "We made history for Angola today," coach Luis Magalhaes said. "My players never give up...
VODAFONE Qatar will be the main sponsor of the forthcoming seventh Basketball Cup 2010 of Pinoy Basketball of Qatar (PIBAQ). The championship, which promises to be much more exciting than previous years, is due to start on October 22. "The Filipino community is very important to us. We´re setting up a call centre in Manila that will be able to service our thousands of Filipino customers in their own language and offer many services like great calling rates...
WORLD Cup champion Spain begins the long road to defending its European Championship title when it plays Liechtenstein in a qualifying match on Friday. Nearly two months after lifting the World Cup trophy in South Africa, Spain returns to the competition that helped it shed the underachiever tag that long followed it until the 1-0 triumph over Germany in the Vienna final in 2008. The Group I match...
WHILE most of her contemporaries are married and settled with kids, Sushmita Sen is still in the news for her relationships and break-ups. But the actress says she definitely has plans to tie the knot one day. "Well, I will get married. It was just that I didn´t feel like getting married at 23-24 which is considered to be marriageable age," said Sushmita, 34. "And I am tired of answering what kind of a man I want in my life. I will show you the full sample whenever it happens," she added... 
MUSIC composer duo Vishal- Shekhar hardly go wrong when it comes to judging the pulse of youth and creating music to suit their tastes. After the success of their last venture I Hate Luv Storys, they are back with their new album Anjaana Anjaani that has the potential to rule the charts. The film offers nine tracks. It opens with the title track Anjaana anjaani ki kahani, the one that has already become a favourite... 
SHIA LaBeouf, star of the Transformers movies, has topped a list of Hollywood best value actors with Anne Hathaway following second. The best value actor in Hollywood, for the second year running, was LaBeouf, 24. His films had big budgets but took in a huge total of 2.6 billion pounds ($3.5 billion) at the global box office. They made a profit of 81 pounds for every 1 pound the actor was paid. Hathaway topped in the actress´ category and second overall on the list. Her films made a profit...
