Today’s announcement comes as Qatar Airways prepares to take part in the world’s leading meetings, events and exhibitions trade show, IMEX, taking place in Frankfurt from May 22 – 24.

The award-winning airline currently operates to over 100 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America flying a modern fleet of more than 100 aircraft.

With a network that is growing at a phenomenal rate, MICE operators will have a wider choice of destinations to choose from as the airline not only introduces new routes, but also provides delegates with greater flexibility with increased frequency.

As part of its bid to venture further into the MICE business, the Doha-based airline has been actively involved in promoting Qatar as an international MICE destination.

Qatar Airways works closely with its inbound destination management arm Discover Qatar to promote the airline’s Doha hub, as well as the hospitality business in Qatar as a year round market.

The airline is capitalising on the burgeoning hospitality sector in the State of Qatar, encouraging event organisers and related MICE companies to bring their business to the Gulf state to enjoy a Five Star experience.

The ICCA is one of the most prominent associations in the MICE sector with over 900 members across 90 countries worldwide. Its members comprise leading specialists in the MICE industry, including handling, transportation and accommodation experts.

Qatar Airways will have a dedicated exhibition stand (E625) at IMEX in Frankfurt this week with strong representation from the airline’s local and global sales team who will be able to engage in dialogue with MICE organisers from around the world for new business opportunities.

Qatar Airways currently operates 35 weekly flights from Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin and Stuttgart to Doha with connections to cities across the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Business Class passengers enjoy the airline’s award-winning Five Star product, with comfort and service a hallmark of the airline’s hospitality.

All passengers, regardless of class of travel, have access to an interactive inflight entertainment system offering more than 900 different audio and video options from around the world. [Read More]

“I call on Israel to take a positive step in favour of peace and coexistence,” Sheikh Hamad told a Doha conference.

Israel “can no longer count on the friendship of leaders who were toppled by Arab Spring revolts and it should also not bet on others against their people,” he said, in a possible reference to Syria, as some in Israel voiced fear that a regime change in Damascus could be worse for the security of Israel.

If it does, Israel “will definitely find itself within a short period without any friends at all,” he said.

Qatar has taken a hawkish stance in favour of the rebellion in Israel’s neighbour Syria, against President Bashar al-Assad, which broke out in March last year.

Sheikh Hamad, whose country lent the support of its air force to NATO-led operations in Libya and deployed ground troops, has repeatedly called for arming Syrian rebels and for sending Arab and foreign troops to the unrest-hit country.

Arab Spring uprisings began in Tunisia late in 2010 toppling its strongman Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, and sparked a string of revolts in the region that ousted three other autocrats, including Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak who had strong links with Tel Aviv.

Sheikh Hamad said the coalition between the Likud party of Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu and the centre-right Kadima, which was announced earlier this month, gives the Israeli leader a strong footing to make concessions for peace.

“The head of the Israeli government has managed to create the largest and strongest coalition throughout his country’s history… so he could no longer argue that the fragile government’s coalition does not allow flexibility and concessions,” said the Qatari leader.

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Israel’s two leading parties sent “a very strong signal” to revive peace talks with the Palestinians when they formed a coalition government.

“I call from this forum for the Arab Spring to be accompanied by just peace in the Middle East,” said the leader of the gas-rich country.
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They will participate in week long cultural activities focusing on the revolution. The events will take place at Katara from June 1 to June 8.

“This is the first time Syrian artistes are gathering here with the message of the revolution in such large numbers. We want to send a message to the world that this revolution is not restricted to certain segments of the Syrian society and writers and artistes in the country are also standing beside the people,” Elaf Yaseen, one of the organisers told The Peninsula yesterday.

Yaseen, a journalist working with Al Jazeera said about 150 Syrian writers and artistes had fled the country since the beginning of the popular revolts. They are currently living in other Arab or European countries.

She expressed strong conviction that the revolution will eventually win despite all the odds.

“The revolts have not ended. They are still going on. We have no doubt that the Syrian people will win,” said Yaseen.

The activities of the week will include plays, films, a painting exhibition, musical concerts, poetic sessions, opera and a charity bazaar.

Several prominent Arab writers and artistes from countries like Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine will join the Syrians to support the revolution. “The painting exhibition will include 32 paintings by Syrian children who have lost their father, mother or relatives during the revolution, expressing their grief, sorrow and protest. There will be another 20 paintings by noted Syrian artists,” said Yaseen.

The charity bazaar will feature products and handicrafts made by Syrian women, who are the victims of the oppressive regime.

“They have sent their products to us. All the proceeds from the charity bazaar, painting exhibition and musical concerts will be sent to Syria to support the poor families there. Qatar Charity will help us in this regard,” said Yaseen.

Plays and films written and directed by Syrians living abroad will be shown through out the week. The Assad government has imposed a ban on such works because they are conveying the message of the revolution.

The events will begin at 4pm on all the days and continue until 11pm. There will be daily screening of films and staging of plays. Poetic sessions and musical shows involving Syrian and Arab artistes will also be held all the days. The opera will be staged on June 6. “All the events, except the musical shows and opera are free. We are expecting a large number of visitors through out the week since majority of the Arabs are supporting the genuine rights of the Syrian people,” said Yaseen.
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Employees also attended a workshop on preserving general health and managing stress at work. The sessions offered guidance on how staff can assess the status of their general health and how they can support each other to lead healthier lives.

The workshop was co-organized by Doha Takaful and Fitness First Gym, which offered employees of both Qatari Diar and Lusail special packages to help them stay fit.

“Helping our staff stay fit and healthy is one of the company’s priorities,” said Mr. Abdullatif Mohammed Al Noaimi, Chief Administration Officer at Qatari Diar.

“Not only are we looking to contribute to fulfilling Qatar’s vision of a healthy society, but we recognize that the high performance and exceptional execution that sets Qatari Diar apart from other companies can only be maintained if we also maintain a healthy lifestyle and sense of well-being, whether in the workplace or at home.”

“Our corporate social responsibility towards our employees dictates that we keep them aware and update them regularly about what they need to stay healthy,” he added.

Eng. Essa Mohammed Ali Kaldari CEO of Lusail Real Estate Development Company commented, “These two events come as part of our initiatives to provide care to our employees in all forms, whether socially or medically. Keeping our staff and their families fit and aware about smoking cessation is very important to us, because smoking is not only harmful to the individual smoking – its greater harm lies in affecting the general health of the public and, therefore, reducing productivity.

One employee who attended the lecture said he had been a heavy smoker and, despite wanting to quit for a long time, had always lacked the motivation he needed. However, he says, these sessions have given him the tools and the information he needs to know about how and why to stop smoking.

Another employee said: “Even though I’m not a smoker, I learned a lot from this lecture. I have a lot of friends who smoke to whom I now can offer advice and accurate information about just how dangerous smoking is to them and to the community.”
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Smoking is considered a main cause of chronic diseases, causing several kinds of cancer as well as heart disease and strokes. In Qatar, the percentage of male smokers has reached 32.7% with evidence showing an increase in women smokers. In 2003, in a move to curtail numbers, Qatar banned smoking in public areas.

Rogge’s legacy, the competing interests of the Uefa 2020 European Championship, and even the viability of staging the Olympics in its traditional European heartland will all be at play as Rogge meets with his executive board this time next week in Quebec.

Doha is up against four competitors, all of whom have complications. Madrid, Tokyo and Istanbul are bidding for a third successive time, with the Turkish capital having, on the face of it, the most compelling story to sell to the IOC.

Those three are joined by Azerbaijani capital Baku, second-time bidders making a more serious and coherent pitch this time round and, like Doha backed, by mineral wealth. (Rome dropped out of the race after the Italian government could not provide the financial guarantees required.)

Next week the IOC will decide whether to let all five become fully fledged candidates, or whether to trim the field. It is a hugely complex call.
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Were the IOC to remove Doha and Baku, on paper the weakest bids, the IOC would be left with only three candidates. With Madrid vulnerable to the eurozone crisis and Istanbul’s candidacy complicated by Turkey’s parallel campaign for the 2020 Euros, that could look thin.

Admit all five, however, and the race could be the most challenging the IOC has run in a decade. The decision will ostensibly be made on technical grounds, but there are unspoken political and reputational issues at play.

There are a number of practical reasons why the IOC executive might be reluctant to go to Doha. It would be comfortably the smallest city to host the Games, raising questions about its infrastructure.

Climate is also a major issue, and Doha is proposing alternative dates, outside the traditional summer window when temperatures exceed 40C. It will have to persuade the IOC that the alternative schedule is acceptable to athletes, medical staff and broadcasters, who face clashes with their autumn sports schedules.

Set against that is Qatar’s committed pursuit of major sporting events. Doha is a supporter of many international federations and, while it lost out to London in the race to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships, its commitment to athletics was evident last week as it staged the first Diamond League meeting of the season.

Four years ago, the last time Doha bid, concerns over climate were enough for the IOC to exclude it from the 2016 race. Despite scoring more highly in technical assessments than eventual winners Rio, Doha was ditched.

The unspoken reason, alongside genuine practical concerns, was the impact that Doha’s vast campaign budgets might have on the race. Qatar’s oil and gas reserves give it the deepest campaigning pockets in world sport and, as the World Cup demonstrated, that can be effective.

Rogge, who steps down as president following the election of the 2020 hosts, will ponder all this as he considers his next move. He is known today as the man who helped clean up the Olympic movement and will not want his final bid campaign becoming the sporting equivalent of an arms race.

There is a further level of complication courtesy of Uefa, which last night closed its deadline for candidates to host the 2020 European Championship.

Turkey is the clear favourite the Euro 2020, having received unequivocal backing from Uefa president Michel Platini, but both Uefa and the IOC accept it is impossible to host both events a month apart, meaning something will have to give.

The IOC is desperate for Istanbul to remain in its competition. It offers a compelling ‘new world’ alternative, and is an historic city that could claim to bring east and west together.

But it can only do so if Turkey agrees not to host the Euros as a condition of its Olympic campaign.

That poses a politically ticklish problem for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, who is committed to both bids, but knows his electorate are keener on football than Olympic sport.

Yesterday a joint Celtic Euros bid from Wales, Scotland and Ireland, as well as one from Georgia were tabled with Uefa. Thanks to these bids’ late emergence, the IOC can risk including Istanbul on its shortlist, hoping that Uefa’s decision will come after the IOC vote.

But the compound complexities mean that all five cities could make it on to the IOC’s shortlist next week. That would make for the most intriguing campaign.

Who will sort out stadium mess?

The most surprising element of the Olympic Stadium saga is not that it has been delayed, again, but that no one has taken responsibility for sorting out the mess, or for the continued failings of the process.

On Monday the London Legacy Development Corporation announced that for the second time it is rewriting the tender process to try to avoid a legal challenge from Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn.

The LLDC has changed its chairman – Margaret Ford will be replaced by Daniel Moylan next month – and its lawyers, Allan and Overy replacing Eversheds – but the chief executive responsible for the major decisions, Andrew Altman, remains. His position must be vulnerable as the new chairman takes charge.

The board, meanwhile, will have to live with a complete lack of consultation over the appointment of Moylan, a political ally of London Mayor Boris Johnson, who has rewarded the Kensington and Chelsea councillor for his loyalty with a plum job.

Whoever is in charge, the legal jeopardy around the stadium will remain until someone grasps the nettle and focuses on what matters: reaching agreement with West Ham, and striking a deal with Hearn.

Hearn is right to defend his club from the impact of West Ham’s move on to his patch, but a deal should be possible. Whether it is cash, loan players, guaranteed fixtures or other support, Orient need recompense.

If this was a commercial negotiation it would have been done by now. But with a £500million public asset at stake no one has taken responsibility.

Until they do, one legacy of the Olympic Stadium will be this farcical process.
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Cultural extravaganza
Malaysia is ready to stage its premier cultural extravaganza that will showcase the country’s arts and crafts. The Colours of 1Malaysia festival celebrates the country’s spectrum of cultures. This annual event brings the heritage and culture of Malaysians from all states. The carnival will be held on May 19 at Merdeka Square in Kuala Lumpur. This year, the parade is expected to attract about 100,000 spectators, both local and foreign. More than 7,000 participants are taking part in the 14th installment of Colours of 1Malaysia which has become the country’s iconic tourism event since its inception in 1999. The parade will feature a decorated float procession and a choreographed dance routine that showcases various tourism events and products in Malaysia. [Read More]

The 31 students, 20 of whom majored in International Politics whilst 11 majored in Culture and Politics, collected their degrees in front of an audience of over 500 family and friends, as well as leading international and regional figures.

The graduates represent 16 nationalities from around the globe, creating a multinational culture of diverse networks and partnerships within the university. John J DeGioia, the President of Georgetown University said: “As these students transition to become members of our global alumni community, we are deeply grateful to each of them. They have helped us to continue defining Georgetown’s leadership in this new kind of global engagement, and – by embodying its ethos – we know they will make profound contributions to our Georgetown community and to our world.”

The Georgetown University commencement is an opportunity to recognise excellence, as two students of the graduating class, Johara Al Thani and Qazi Rashid, were recognised earlier this week for academic excellence and their contribution to the community with the Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) President’s Award. A testament of great achievement, the six recipients from various universities received their awards from Abdulla bin Ali Al Thani, the President of HBKU and Vice-President of Education for Qatar Foundation.

SFS-Q Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Brendan Hill, participated in the nomination process for both Rashid and Al Thani for the prestigious HBKU award.

James J O’Donnell, Georgetown University Provost, conferred the degrees and addressed the commencement audience. A distinguished scholar and recognised educational innovator, O’Donnell is President of the American Philological Association and has been a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America since 2003. He congratulated the graduates saying: “The graduates from SFS-Qatar enrich and strengthen the Georgetown community and the world in many ways. It is my privilege to confer their hard-won degrees on them and congratulate each of them. Georgetown students in Qatar are amazingly impressive young people who will make their families proud and will make Georgetown proud of what they will accomplish in the future.”

“The Class of 2012 represents some of the best potential that Georgetown SFS-Qatar offers. Some will go on to secure government or private sector positions while others will go on to further their education at some of the best universities in the world. Whichever field they choose, the Georgetown “liberal arts” education, combining breadth with specialisation, has prepared them well to tackle some of the most challenging events of our time,” said Gerd Nonneman, Dean of SFS-Q.

Since the inaugural class of 2008, over 126 students have graduated from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar. The alumni have since successfully become involved in various aspects of international affairs careers and academic fields both globally and locally.
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Former national champion Poulomi Ghatak also could not qualify for the Olympics after a 2-4 loss in the second round late last night.

After a brilliant first round, Sharath and Amalraj drew a blank in the second round to crash out of the final Olympic qualifier. They needed to at least reach the quarterfinals to qualify for the Games.

The 2006 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Sharath lost 1-4 to lower-ranked Wang Yang of Slovakia to see his hopes of making it to his third successive Olympics go up in smoke.

Achanta, placed 127 in the global chart, lost the first two games 10-12, 7-11 to the 159th ranked Slovakian before making a comeback in the third game (12-10).

However, he lost the next two games 5-11, 7-11 to let go his chance of making it to the marquee event.

In other match of the day, Amalraj, who showed great promise by defeating second seed Emmanuel Lebesson of France in the first round, went down to Latvia`s Matiss Burgis without posing much of a fight. The Indian lost 4-11, 7-11, 8-11, 6-11 in lop sided encounter.

In the women`s section, Poulomi went down fighting to Taipei`s Chia-Hui Lin in a 2-4 marathon late last night.

The Indian paddler displayed some great fighting spirit as she came back from behind to level the scores before succumbing to 244th ranked Lin.

After losing the first two games 9-11, 8-11, the Bengal girl clawed her way back into the match by winning the next two sets 12-14, 11-6.

But that did not prove enough as Lin won the following games 11-8, 11-4 to seize the initiative.

Earlier Kumaresan Shamini failed to advance to the second stage after she lost to Joanna Parker of England to finish at the third spot in her group. [Read More]