Nation Feb8 2009

Sunday, February 8, 2009

WEATHER TODAY

Sunrise 6:18 am

Sunset 5:24 pm

High 25ºC

Low 14ºC

Wind 8 mph

Visibility very poor

Pressure 1018 mb

Rel. humidity 48%

PRAYER TIMINGFajr: 4:53 am Dhuhr: 11:49 amAsr: 3:00 pm Maghrib: 5:24 pm

Isha: 6:54 pm

Ikebana Art of a craftCultural extravaganza at India’sRepublic Day event

Metro Musings 19Dateline Doha 18 QT Spotlight 24

200 kids attend FEC campaign

MUHANAD AL NIDAWI

DOHA Kahramaa Company andthe Japanese Chubu ElectricPower Company have renewedthe contract between the twosides, which had expired onDecember 31, 2008.

The contract was signed atQP headquarters by DeputyPrime Minister and Minister ofEnergy and Industry andChairman of Kahramaa HEAbdullah bin Hamad al Attiyahand Chubu President &

Director Toshio Mita. In thepresence of Kahramaa officialsand the Chubu company dele-gation, HE al Attiyah expresseddelight at having one of thelargest electric power compa-nies like Chubu as a partner toQatar in its power supply proj-ects.

As per the MoU, Chubu willadvise Kahramaa on power sys-tem technology with regard tostability, ancillary services(including voltage and reactivepower), in addition to the oper-

ation protocol of the connectedpower system, including theinformation exchange of inter-national codes and standards.Parties can exchange theirexperts if necessary. Besides,Kahramaa staff will be providedthe required training courses bythe Japanese company.

“The partnership would beon different levels. It would beon training, exchange of infor-mation and experts. They havealso sent their experts who have

Continued on page 18

Kahramaa, Japanesefirm renew MoU

Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry HE Abdullah bin Hamad al Attiyah (second right)presents Chubu President & Director Toshio Mita a memento in Doha on Saturday. (HANSON K JOSEPH)

RAKESH PANDEY

DOHA Residents of Doha, especially school-children and commuters, are likely to face arough weather on the first working day ofthe week on Sunday, as major parts ofQatar are in for another day of overcastskies, intermittent rain and murky weather.While the kids will be forced to pull outtheir umbrellas and raincoats to escapepossible morning showers, the drivers willhave to tread cautiously as visibility is likelyto get reduced significantly.

Talking to Qatar Tribune, a weatheroffice official said that the weather, whichchanged from midnight on Friday, wouldcontinue till noon on Sunday. “Though theshowers, which will be sporadic throughthe night and early part of the next day, willhave little impact on maximum and mini-mum temperatures. The country mayexperience mist and haze in the morning.While the maximum temperature will be24 degrees Celsius, the minimum will be 15degrees. Areas like Al Wakrah, Dukhan, AlKhor and Messaieed will also experiencesimilar conditions,” he added.

Giving reasons for the inclement weath-er, the Met official said that the clouds,which had formed over central SaudiArabia, have moved towards Qatar andother Gulf areas bringing light and scat-tered rain. “The wind will blow from south-easterly to southwesterly direction at aspeed of 10 knots inshore and 12 knots out-shore. Visibility will range from 5 km to10km. However, it is likely to go down signifi-cantly in the morning posing problems fordrivers, especially on highways,” he added.

Be ready for overcast sky, light rain

Dark clouds over the Aspire Tower in Doha on Saturday. (MANEESH BAKSHI)

NICKYTA DAS

DOHA As part of FEC’s annualongoing programme called ‘AFlower Each Spring’, the first tripfor school children was organisedto Al Khor desert on Saturday.

More than 200 school studentswere given a first hand knowl-edge of Al Harm, or Zygophyllumqatarense which has been chosenthis year for ‘A Flower EachSpring’ programme.

Students from KainatFoundation, MES, PakistanEducation Centre (PEC),Palestinian school, Tunisianschool and Culture Centre forDisabled participated on the first

day of the programme. Speaking about the pro-

gramme, Friends of EnvironmentCentre (FEC) Chairman Dr SaifAli al Hajari said, “On the first dayof the annual programme, shortdiscussions on Qatar’s flora andconservation of birds of Qatarwould help students gain aninsight into environmental issuesand raise awareness about thenation’s ecology,” said al Hajari.

Explaining the significance ofAl Harm to students, SM Shah,environmental co-ordinator, PEC,told Qatar Tribune, “The roots ofthe flower holds the sand, pre-venting sand storms. Al Harmalso forms the source from which

a local medicine is made.” He alsosaid that Al Harm is usually foundin salty sands.

In addition, experts alsoenlightened the students on theendangered bird species and theimportance to conserve birds topreserve the ecology of the coun-try.

Shakil Ahmed Kakui, co-ordi-nator scientific and environmen-tal affairs, MES Indian Schooltold Qatar Tribune, “This pro-gramme offers practical knowl-edge to students on environmen-tal issues. This will help themrealise the importance of preserv-ing nature”.

Later, the students wereinvolved in various group activi-ties such as drawing, painting

and group discussions to high-light the features of Al Harm.

18 Sunday, February 8, 2009 Dateline Doha

FireAmbulancePolice 999Electricity 991Water 991Hamad Hospital 4394444Childs Emergency Centre (Al Saad) 4393333Rumila Hospital 4396666Women’s Hospital 4396666Airport Services- Enquiry 4622999Airport Services-Operator 4656666Qatar Airways 4496666/4496000Qatar Airways (Airport) 4496688Gulf Air 4455444Gulf Air (Airport) 4656318Immigration & Passport Department 4890333Traffic Department 4890666Water Emergency 4325959Electricity Emergency 4677601Weather Forecasting (Admn) 4656590Drain Centre 4687894Municipality (Doha) 4336336Ministry of Education 4941111Qatar Television (QTV) 4894444Qatar Broadcasting Service (QBS) 4894444Qatar University 4852222Postal Department 4464000SriLankan Airlines 4322628/4369910Oman Air 4320509/4321373Oman Air (Airport) 4626835

DIAL DOHA

CONTACT USEDITORIAL: [email protected]@qatar-tribune.comCOMMERCIAL PRESS RELEASE:[email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]

Qatar Tribune — Editorial: Phone: 4422077Fax: 4416790Administration & MarketingPhone: 4666810 Fax: 4654975P. O. Box: 23493, Doha

MUHANAD AL NIDAWI

DOHA The Ministry of MunicipalAffairs and Urban Planning will notcompromise on quality to meetdeadlines but will ensure that theend product meets with internation-al quality standards, the Minister ofMunicipal Affairs and UrbanPlanning HE Sheikh Abdurrahmanbin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz al Thanisaid.

Speaking to mediapersons at theministry here on Thursday, HE theminister said that following theexpress wishes of the Emir HisHighness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifaal Thani all authorities responsiblefor infrastructure projects have beeninstructed to concentrate on deliver-ing quality and meet internationalstandards.

“His Highness the Emir was veryclear in his directive to all authoritiesconcerned to study current projectsin a serious manner, reschedulethem according to the right priori-ties, and not to deliver projects

which are below the desired levels ofperfection. His Highness the Emirhas also stressed on the quality of theend product, be it a road or a grandproject,” Sheikh Abdurrahman said.

Commenting on the rumours con-cerning merging Ashghal again withthe Ministry of Municipal Affairs andUrban Planning SheikhAbdurrahman said that a decision tothat affect was still to be taken.“Ashghal’s director has beenchanged, and his replacement has tohave enough time to update himselfwith the affairs of Ashghal and its

projects. He will have a full agendawhich includes completion of proj-ects, producing end products of thehighest calibre, contracting compa-nies capable of delivering quality fin-ished projects and other such,” hesaid.

Explaining the delay in the DohaCauseway project, HE the ministersaid that a large underground cavitywas discovered during digging at theJaidah intersection, which delayedthe completion of the intersectionand the causeway.

Speaking about the ministry plansfor 2009, Sheikh Abdurrahman said,“supporting the electronic govern-ment is high priority on my agenda,and as I personally use the Interneton a large scale to pay for examplemy telephone bills, I think it’s time toutilise the web in digitising our serv-ice on a wide scale for more efficientoperations. The second area of focuswould be recycling. As we are in avery critical juncture in time, weshould seriously start recyclingwaste.”

No compromise on qualitystandards, says ministry

Explaining the delay inthe Doha Causeway project, HE the ministersaid that an undergroundcavity was discoveredduring digging at theJaidah intersection, whichdelayed the project.

SANTHOSH CHANDRAN

DOHA The Traffic departmenthas waived off the fine againstthe five Indian drivers, who ranaway from their Qatari sponsorsafter notching up fines in trafficoffences amounting toQR10,000. Now free to go, theywill leave for India within a week,Indian Community BenevolentFund (ICBF) President DrMohan Thomas said.

Put up at the deportationcentre since October 2008, thedrivers had approached theICBF to help them. Thomas metwith Traffic DepartmentDirector Brigadier Mohammedal Kharji and requested that thefines of the drivers be pardonedas they had no means to pay thedues.

“The formalities will endwithin a couple of days and theICBF has arranged air ticketsfor all the drivers and they can

leave Qatar for India within aweek,” Thomas said.

The ICBF has thanked theMinistry of Interior, Directorand staff of the TrafficDepartment for their kindnessand the continuous support theIndian community receivesfrom them.

Traffic dept waivesoff fine, 5 Indians toleave Qatar soon

ICBF President Dr MohanThomas

200 kids attend FEC campaign

FEC Chairman Dr Saif Ali al Hajari with students as part of ‘A FlowerEach Spring’ programme at Al Khor on Saturday.

AILYN AGONIA

DOHA Get ready for the return ofthe retro look and the Rock andRoll era as the Doha playersstage the all-time Broadwayfavourite ‘Grease’ fromFebruary 12 to 21. The perform-ance is the theatre group’s firstmusical of the year and theirtribute to the hit musical writ-ten by Jim Jacobs and WarrenCassey. The much-talked aboutshow will bring together on cen-tre stage their finest actors torelive the glory of Rydell HighSchool’s popular groups T-birdsand Pink Ladies.

Talking to Qatar Tribune dur-ing their first dress rehearsal onSaturday, Doha PlayersProducer Elaine Potter said

‘Grease’ is one of their biggestproductions so far, which hasbrought together the most tal-ented teachers in Qatar. “Theactors in this production areteachers from different schoolshere like American SchoolDoha, Doha College, ParkHouse, Qatar Academy andTexas A&M University. Theseactors will be acting like teensas the characters in the musicalsuggest, so it will be great towatch them act that way onstage,” she said.

The show features Scienceelementary teacher NickMitchell as Danny and musicalveteran Isabella Kondili-Sturesson as Sandy, the leadcharacters. The interesting lineup of actors in this production

also included the lead singer oflocal rock band ‘G-Force’ AndyBaldwin as Doody, Peter Gibsona member of the Qube battle ofthe bands 2008 runner up, TheGAP, will portray the role ofKenicke, Business instructor atCollege of North Atlantic DougMcDonald will act as Sonny,Liberal Arts lecturer at TexasA&M University at Qatar CurtisElliot Farmer as Buck Turbeauxand other theatre veterans likeRuthan Glover, Geoff Heney,Pauline Markey, Yvette Haringand Enrique Aligato. They arejust some of the great actors inthe production who will makeuse of their singing and actingprowess to recreate the excitingproduction numbers like‘Summer Nights’, ‘You’re the

One that I Want’ and the all-time favourite ‘GreasedLightning’.

With barely a week togetherbefore starting their eight con-secutive performance nights,Elaine said that the show isalready a hit judging from theirticket sales. “So far we have soldover 3000 tickets and with fewdays to go we know we will stilldo better,” she said.

Grease Director AngelaWalton also proudly announcedthat this is the first time ‘Grease’will be performed in Qatar.According to her, it is also one ofthe biggest productions of DohaPlayers since it features over 50actors and production people,and took six months for them toput together.

Doha Players set to stage ‘Grease’

A dress rehearsal of Doha Players’ Grease being performed in Doha on Saturday. (MANEESH BAKSHI)

Continued from page 17visited different facilities of

Kahramaa for evaluation, as weprepare to go ahead from thepoint they have reached. Thecurrent agreement proves thatour partnership is not onlymeant for supplying Qatari gasto Chubu but also to exploredifferent areas of cooperationbetween the two sides”, he said.

HE the Deputy PrimeMinister reflected on the long-standing relationship betweenChubu and Qatar by referring tothe fact that Chubu was amongthe first who imported naturalgas from Qatar and still repre-sents the largest importer ofQatar Natural Gas in Japan.

“When everyone was scepticalabout Qatar’s ability to provide asustainable supply of natural gas,Chubu company came andsigned a contract with us to pro-vide them with our products ofnatural gas, which gave us a hugemoral boost at that time, andhelped drive the relation into astronger position,” he said.

Kahramaa,Japanese firmrenew MoU

19Sunday, February 8, 2009Metro Musings

French furniture now at your door-stepsRAJESH MISHRA

DOHA Ligne Roset, the famousFrench brand of multinationalcontemporary furnishingsopened its first showroom onSalwa Road in partnership withthe Jaidah Group amid a glitter-ing function on Wednesday.

The double-storied, fashion-able European style showroomspread over an area of 570square metres showcases furni-ture such as beds, sofas, diningtables, study tables, wardrobesas well as a wide selection oflighting, textiles, rugs andaccessories from the 2008/09Ligne Roset Collection.

Highlights of the 2008-2009Ligne Roset collection in Dohainclude, the ‘pumpkin’ seatingoriginally designed only for pri-vate apartments of former

French President GeorgesPompidou, now available tosophisticated buyers for thefirst time. The Ligne Roset col-lections are known for classicglamour, sophistication andfemininity.

Speaking at the function theDirector of BusinessDevelopment and Marketing atJaidah Group MohammedJaidah said that the motivebehind opening a full-fledgedshowroom for Ligne Roset fur-niture was to offer Qataris themost sophisticated range of fur-niture available in the worldmarket.

He said, “There is an increas-ing demand for sophisticatedfurniture in Qatar and here weare offering them a whole rangeof luxurious contemporary fur-niture.” Jaidah added, “Jaidah

family shares a special bondwith Lignet Roset because oftheir long traditions and dis-tinction as business families.”

Later talking to QatarTribune Lignet Roset Director(Export) Bernard Vinson saidthat their target customerswere Qatari nationals, who hada taste for contemporarydesigns and who could alsoafford them.

Vinson remarked, “I thinkthis is the right time to launchthe full range of contemporaryLignet Roset’s products inQatar. Despite our long associa-tion with the Jaidah Group, ittook us 20 years to decide onlaunching a showroom in Dohabecause we felt that Dohaiteslooked for classical rather thancontemporary designs.However, now I think the

demand for contemporarydesigns has increased withmore Qataris visiting France foracademic and business purpos-es.”

Though admitting that thefurniture market in Dubai andKuwait had been affected byglobal recession, he said that itwas a temporary phenomenon,which would pass by with thepassage of time. Ligne Rosetsalready has showrooms inKuwait, Dubai, Bahrain,Riyadh, Jeddah and Lebanon,Vinson informed.

Speaking about the companyhe said, “It has around 250showrooms in 60 differentcountries and not without areason. It combines simple andthe exotic in appearance, isflexible in terms of occupyingspace and easy to use.”

Officials at the opening of Ligne Roset showroom in Doha, on Wednesday. (HANSON K JOSEPH)

Cultural extravaganza at India’s Republic Day event

SANTHOSH CHANDRAN

DOHA The Indian community inQatar celebrated IndianRepublic Day on Friday at DohaCinema. More than a thousandpeople were in attendance.

The function organised byIndian Cultural Centre (ICC)was inaugurated by Hamed alMarwani, Industrial RelationsManager of QAFCO. AhmedAbd al Aziz al Ansari, marketingmanager of Mowasalat waschief guest on the occasion.

Al Marwani in his speech

expressed happiness that Indiawas growing to become a globalpower.

While speaking on the occa-sion, Minister of IndianEmbassy Sanjiv Kohli urged thecommunity to preserve thenation’s hundreds of years ofgreat tradition. Referring toIndia’s bilateral relations withQatar, Kohli said, “India’s rela-tion with Qatar will be strongerin the nearest future.”

Following the inaugurationceremony, there was a threehour long cultural programme

which began with a welcomedance by ICC students.

Altogether five Indian schoolsand 13 cultural organisations

made the event a real Indianfestival by staging varieties ofcultural items from differentparts of India.

While Gujarati Samajenthralled the audience withDandiya, Essensmrithi, a cultur-al forum from southern part ofIndia stole the hearts of theaudience with Oppana, thecommon group dance relatedto the wedding celebration ofMuslims in Kerala.

The group dance performedby Middle East School, BiralaPublic School, Shantiniketanand Ideal Indian School show-cased their talents in contem-porary Indian dance.

The special skit staged onoccasion by HOPE Qatar, aninstitution in Qatar establishedfor caring mentally challengedchildren also got its way intothe hearts of the audience.Through the 15-minute longskit, the students portrayedsome sequences form theIndian freedom movementwith the support of black andwhite video clips. The fusiondance choreographed byRajesh from Kerala MalayaliSamajam also earned wideapplause.

While Habibun Nabi, the sec-retary of ICC welcomed thegathering, KM Vargheese, thepresident of ICC presided overthe function.

ICBF launches protection schemeTRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA Indian residents inQatar got a Republic Day gifton Friday when the IndianCommunity BenevolentProtection Scheme (ICBPS).was launched. It is for thebenefit of lowly paid Indianworkers in Qatar. Theannouncement was made byMohan Thomas, president ofIndian Community Bene-volent Fund (ICBF) on theoccasion of Indian Republic

Day celebration here.According to the scheme,

while an Indian citizens jointhe scheme by paying QR20,their nominees back homewill get Rs150,000 as financialaid in case of their death. Thescheme will cover both natu-ral and accidental death.Only those who can proveIndian citizenship can enrollin the scheme, limited only tolow paid Indian workers.

While talking to QatarTribune, Thomas said ICBF

would conduct an Indianmusic programme and festi-val to raise funds for thescheme.

Udit Narayan, the Indianplay back singer will performat the musical programmeslated for March 26. AnIndian Festival has also beenplanned this year to meet thefuture requirement of ICBPS.“ICBF is planning to collectone million Qatari Riyal fromthese programmes.” Thomassaid. (SC)

A student with the Indian flag. JALAL PATHIYOOR.

The group danceperformed by MiddleEast School, BiralaPublic School,Shantiniketan andIdeal Indian Schoolshowcased their talents.

Artistes performing a dance drama.

The physically-challenged were also there.

The national anthem being rendered on the occasion.

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AL ULAIYA COMPUTER CENTRETel: 444 1202 Fax: 444 7242

CONSULTANCY SERVICES

MORISON MENON CHARTEREDACCOUNTS LCCFeasibility, Business set up, Accounting & Tax. Tel 4670299 Fax: 467 3660 Mob: 589 4647

AL DOSARI AUDITING & ACCOUNTINGTel: 431 9112/3 Mob: 583 8171 Fax: 431 9114, www.aldosariauditing.com

E.A ACCOUNTING & AUDITING(Member of CPA Associates International) Tel: 4420707 Ext: 205 Mob: 585 3119 Fax: 442 0606,Email: [email protected]

AL HEDFA AUDITING & ACCOUNTINGAuditing and Accounting, Tax Consultations,Management Consultations, Feasibility Studies,Company Formation and Liquidation. Tel 436 6333,Fax: 436 6444 P.O Box 16141,Website: www.alhedfa.com

FINE ARTS

SKILL DEVELOPMENT CENTRECenter for Fine Arts & Performing arts P.O. Box 2701Doha. Tel 465 5433 Fax: 465 9481

FLORIST

QATAR INTERNATIONAL NURSERYFresh cut flower, garden plants, garden tools, fertilizer,manure, potting soil, peat moss P. O Box 6160 Tel. 4420553 Fax; 432 7330 Mob: 550 1709

FLORENZA INTERNATIONAL NURSERY W.L.L.Landscaping and Irrigation, indoor and outdoor plants,fresh flowers, garden tools, potting soil, fertilizer andchemicals, seeds, stainless steel, GRP pots, ceramic,planters, brass ware, and maintenance. Tel: 469 9982Fax: 458 0501 Email: [email protected]

FURNITURE

OFFICE 1Office Furniture, office equipment & supplies. SalwaRoad Tel. 465 9244 / 465 9442

JEWELLERY

CANARA JEWELLERYShara Kharaba Tel. 442 2071 / 435 7283

MASSAGE AND BEAUTY SALON

THAI LADY MASSAGE AND BEAUTY SALONThai (dry),oil, foot, body scrub & facial therapy mas-sage. Villa # 4. Al Kinana St Al Sadd Tel. 435 0143

OPTICIANS

AL JABER OPTICIANSContact Lens Centre. Electricity St. Tel. 442 4037 /444 1949

YATEEM OPTICIANSTel : 4323009

PHARMACY / MEDICINE

FAMILY MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENTRetail and wholesale dealers of medicine & medicalequipment. Tel. 436 5489 Fax: 431 4100

KAZEM PHARMACYTel : 4435900

DOHA DRUG STORETel : 4506245

QADSIYA PHARMACYTel : 4412522

OUSRA PHARMACYTel : 4320567

GROUP 1 MEDICALTel : 4361211

OFFICE SUPPLIES STATIONARIES

LEMON STATIONARIESAll kinds of stationary supplies, any where in Qatar. Allleading brands available. Office deliveryContact : 3021562

PEST CONTROL & CLEANING SERVICES

DOHA PEST CONTROL

& CLEANING CO. W.L.LWe help people o lead healthier lives. Call for freesurvey and advice. Contact; 436 0901/02fax: 436 0838 Email: [email protected],Web: www.dohapest.com

AL NADA TRADING CO.Tel : 4437474

QATAR PEST CONTROLTel : 4368737

NATIONAL PEST CONTROL Tel : 4427176

CERPROTEC Central projects Engineering Services & TradingCompany, Tel : 4357448

PORTA CABINS

AL MASAOOD BERGUMP.O Box 22219 Tel. 465 9028 Fax: 465 9703 Mob: 586 5103

RENT A CAR

ABDULLAH ABDUL GHANI & BROS CO. W.L.L

RENT A CARTEL : 4437000, 4605980,Email : [email protected]

AL FURSAN RENT A CARSalwa road behind Bukkanan Furnishing Retaj ComplexOffice No. B - 52. Tel. 458 3259 / 458 3257 Fax: 458 3256 Mob: 663 3816 / 551 0643

AVIS RENT A CARMain office-C Ring Road Al Taleb Tading Co. Complex,Opp. Subway Restaurant, Tel: 466 7744, Fax: 465 7626

BUDGET CAR & VAN RENTALTel : 4310411, 4622678email : [email protected]

NATIONAL CAR RENTALTel : 4601905, 4878068, Fax : 4881695Email : [email protected]

BITMAX RENT A CARRenting out of brand new zero mileage brand new carsand vans for long and short term, Tel: 436 3696 Fax: 436 3697, Email: [email protected]

DEALERS RENT A CAR W.L.L.Daily, Weekly & Monthly rentals. Airport Drop & PickupTel: 4502841, Fax:4502837

RESTAURANTS & PASTRY SHOPS

LONDON BAKERYAll kinds of pastries and roasted kernels Tel: 4421411

ROYAL TANDOORContemporary Indian RestaurantFor Take Away DeliveryTel: 4323244, 4323255

AL-AAZAMIYA IRAQI RESTAURANT Tel: 4324326 – Mob: 6695813

AL-MUSHRABIYA EGYPTIAN RESTAURANTTel: 4312288

ASRAR RESTAURANT

Oriental & Western Syrian food varieties(barbecue, mezze, pastries, sandwiches,juices, cocktails) Open from 8 am to 12am, Open buffet for 60 QR per person,Special occasion catering availableTel: 4422779, 5118255, 6640277

PERFUMES

AL-NAKAWAperfumes and garments from SudanOpposite Naki stores, Tel: 4436660

SHAMS PERFUMERYOud, amber, saffron and a complete collec-tion of French perfumes, Tel: 4354943,5430005

SAAIKOOud, incenses, oriental perfumes, FrenchperfumesTel: 4423719, 5846796

AL-OSAJ PERFUMERY Oud, amber, incenses Gift Items Tel: 5533570, 5069252

KHANINCambodian oud, Bahraini incenses, gift items, Tel: 5874587

HONEY

MA’RAB CENTERfor finest Yemeni honey and special mix-tures, Tel: 4357232, 5836667

ANTIQUES & GIFTS

AL-BIDAA for Arabian swordsTel: 4354555

AL-SADAF GIFTS AND

ANTIQUE SHOPTel: 4442590, 5812670

AL-NAYEF antiques and antiquities shop, Tel: 6735886, 5266163

KANZ AL-KHALIJ gifts and antique shopTel: 4315089, 6761034

ZAMAN AWWAL gifts and antique shop, Tel: 5742072, 6591167

AL-KHARAYEG GIFTS AND

ANTIQUE SHOPHandmade carpets, broidery, furniture,processed paper and paperboar Tel: 5671612

AL-SAHIRA ANTIQUESTasbih prayer beads, precious stones,silverware & accessories, Tel: 4312050

DATES & ROASTERIES

AL-MAAMILfor Coffee and Dates Tel: 5729608

AL-RAHHAL Roasteries and Mills Tel: 5012181

TABARAK for Coffee, Dates and Related Accessories Tel: 4415037, 5055702

AL-ZABARA for Finest Dates and Foodstuffs Tel: 5305496

FABRICS

RAMINfor men fabrics, Tel: 4438535

AL-WISHAH AL-MALAKI

(ROYAL SCARF)for finest men fabricsTel: 4445080

AL-NAKAWA FOR GARMENTPerfumery from Sudan Tel: 4436660

NAQI STORESfor men and women fabrics ,Opposite Al-Nakawa Perfumery, Tel: 4417055

AL-KHAN FABRIC STORE Tel: 4324010, 5511164

EXCURSION APPARELS

QATAR SUBfor spear-fishing and free diving apparelsBehind birds shop, shop No.24Tel: 5705465, 5558425www.qatarsub.com

BU ZULUFfor all excursion apparels – Tel: 6985396

Classifieds 21Sunday, February 8, 2009

Your Business is Our Business

AROUND Souq Waqif

22 Sunday, February 8, 2009 Coast to Coast

LN MALLICK

DOHA A new Pakistani socio-cultural forum namedPakistan Muslim League (N)Welfare Qatar was launched atthe Sheraton Hotel here onFriday.

Doha-born Pakistani busi-nessman Rashid Rafique Buttis the president of the neworganisation while otheroffice-bearers include QaiserAwan Malik (vice-president)and Shafqat Rana (general sec-retary). Chaudhry Noor HTanvir, UAE-based Pakistanibusinessman presided over theevent. Tanvir has earlierworked in Qatar as administra-tion manager of El SeifEngineering and Contracting.Mohammad Rafique Butt, whoarrived in Qatar in 1968 and isone of the pioneers of TeyseerGroup, also attended theevent.

Earlier, the function startedwith the recitation of someverses from the Holy Quran byQari Abudul Rasheed.

Speaking on the occasion,Irfan Siddiqui, Pakistan’s toppolitical analyst and colum-nist, urged his countrymen towork hand in hand to promotethe image of their homeland.

“We need to make concertedefforts and overseas Pakistaniscan play a vital role in thisregard,” he said. Siddiqui, whoattended the function as thechief guest, noted that therewas a dire need to promote asoft image of Pakistan. He saidthat Pakistanis are highly tal-ented and competent but vari-ous political incidents in thecountry has contributedtowards tarnishing theirimage. “Elected governmentsof Benazir Bhutto and NawazSharif were overthrownunconstitutionally thus derail-ing the political system of thecountry,” he said.

Reminding communitymembers about the challengesfaced by Pakistan, Siddiquisaid that disparity in differenteducational systems inPakistan is the main cause of

disharmony and conflictamong masses.“Unfortunately, there are fivedifferent teaching methodolo-gies in Pakistan, which havewidened the ideological andpolitical gap between people,”said Siddiqui. He paid richtributes to the lawyers ofPakistan who are strugglinghard to restore deposedjudges. “These lawyers do notbelong to any political partyand are working for supremacyof law,” said Siddiqui, whilelauding the services ofdeposed chief justice IftikharChaudhary Muhammad whohas been given Medal ofFreedom award by HarvardLaw School Association, US,recently

Butt, who is managing part-ner of Adnan-Sultan Tradingand Contracting, vowed towork for the betterment of hiscountrymen and sought com-munity cooperation in carry-ing out the activities of theforum. “The aim of launchingthis forum is not to enter into

race with other organisationsbut to serve our countrymen intrue spirit. We will work for theprogress and prosperity of ourmotherland and will makeevery effort to pull the countryout of crises,” said Butt, whohas studied in Doha and laterin the US.

He said the decision tolaunch the new organisationwas taken after his recentmeeting with Pakistan’s formerPrime Minister MohammadNawaz Sharif. “Quaid NawazSharif is of the view thatyounger generation ofPakistan should come forwardto change the fate of the coun-try.

His motivation and encour-agement was the driving forcebehind launching this newforum and I accepted the chal-lenge,” said Butt.

Tanvir, Malik Sarfraz Khan,chairman of Safeer-e-Watan,and Shaukat Chandana, HRexpert, in their speeches,assured of cooperation tooffice-bearers of the new

organisation. Tanvir said 87percent of Pakistani popula-tion was looking towardsSharif to come back to power,during whose tenure Pakistanmade strides in different

spheres. “Sharif, during his two terms

in government, carried outimmense developmental proj-ects for which the nation isindebted towards him.

“Gwadar Port, Motorway,Green channels for overseasPakistani, end of ghostschools, scrapping of toll taxare few of the projects initiatedby Sharif,” said Tanvir.

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA RasGas CompanyLimited (RasGas) has demon-strated its support for humani-tarian issues with a companywide fund raising initiative tohelp families suffering as aresult of the Gaza crisis.

Response by the company’semployees has enabled RasGasto donate over QR1,250,000 tothe people of Gaza.

Within one week of RasGasasking its employees to donatefunds, over QR626,000 wasraised from a combination ofdirect salary deductions andpersonal donations. As part ofthe company’s corporate socialresponsibility programme,RasGas matched this amount

making a total donation ofalmost one and a quarter mil-lion Qatari riyals.

RasGas Managing Director(CEO) Hamad Rashid alMohannadi presented a chequefor over QR1,250,000 to ReachOut To Asia (ROTA), a Qatarinon-governmental organisation(NGO) supporting the childrenand youth in Gaza Strip.

Speaking at the presenta-tion, al Mohannadi said, “Thiswas an initiative driven by allour employees, secondees andcontractors. RasGas’ greatestassets is its’ employees and weare proud of their commitmentto helping people in needthrough their immediate andgenerous response to thishumanitarian cause. I am sure

that their generous donationwill be of benefit to many fami-lies suffering in Gaza”.

RasGas employees wereasked to donate money eitherthrough deductions at their dis-cretion from their salary or viadonation boxes set up in the RasLaffan and Doha based RasGasoffices. With a long history ofmaking its resources availableto those less fortunate, RasGasstaff responded immediately tohelping out those in hardshipduring these extremely difficulttimes in Gaza.

On a visit to receive the dona-tion, Omnia Nour, director ofROTA, Maha al Sulaiti, sponsor-ship and fundraising coordina-tor, and Mohamed Saleh, headof events met with al

Mohannadi and the seniormanagement team to providean overview of the ROTA assis-tance programme in Gaza.

The presentation outlined allaspects of the emergencyhumanitarian aid being provid-ed to people in need and ROTA’smedium and long term plansfor the recovery period .

After the presentation, Noursaid, “On behalf of all ROTA Iwould like to take this opportu-nity to express our deepestappreciation to RasGas and itsemployees. With your generousdonation we shall be able toreach more underprivilegedchildren and youth in Gaza bysupporting their educationalinfrastructure especially afterthe recent hostilities.”

Pakistani expats float new socio-cultural forum

Irfan Siddiqui addressing community members as Chaudhry Noor H Tanvir, Qaiser Awan Malik,Rashid Rafique Butt and Shafqat Rana look on, in Doha on Friday.

RasGas employees donate for Gaza

Officials of RasGas and ROTA at a meeting in Doha, recently.

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA DPS-Modern IndianSchool participated in inter-house quiz competition heldrecently in the school. A pre-liminary test was conductedfor the students of classes 4and 5 to qualify them for thecompetition.

Once the selection was done,all the house wardens andteachers got busy with prepar-

ing their respective House par-ticipants. After about a week’spreparation the competitionwas held.

Quiz master Rakesh workedvery hard to bring variety andcolour to the various rounds ofthe quiz contest and made itvery interesting.

Mythili, the computerteacher, presented the visualrounds which were very excit-ing for the students and the

audience. The different roundswere audio, visual literature,sports, science and generalawareness.

The first position wasbagged by Lily House whichwas guided by Jessy andVidhya. The second positionwent to Rose House guided byNavneeta and Preeti Modi. TheLotus House got the consola-tion prize. It was guided byShivani Sarin and Sunita.

DPS kids excel in quiz contest

DPS-MIS students participating in a quiz competition in Doha recently.

BPS shines at debate competition

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA The Birla Public Schooldebate team put up brilliantperformance in the TalkingMatters Inter School DebateCompetition conductedrecently in association withQatar Foundation. The teamrepresented by Moiz Bohra,Sailesh Kalayan and RahulSreekumar won the runners uptrophy.

Sailesh Kalyan who wasadjudged as the best speakerwas awarded a special trophy

and a latest mobile phone,courtesy Gulf Consolidated ina special function held in theschool premises.

Meena Easy, president, DohaTalking Matters and Paul, pres-ident, Doha TalkingMatters–Membership gracedthe occasion to do the honours.

Meena appreciated the chil-dren’s talent and motivated thestudents to come forward toparticipate and sharpen theirdebating skills.

Paul thanked the school forextending them the invitation

and hoped for a long associa-tion with the school.

Principal A K Shrivastavathanked the guests for encour-aging the students.

In another event, the KidsValley of Birla Public Schoolconducted a fancy dress com-petition recently. The varietyentertainment included acolourful and talented displayof children dressed up asgrapes, historical leaders,witches, fairies, spidermen,supermen & batmen who out-numbered the unique few like a

Damas jewellery mannequin,washing machine, fruit gardenand twinkling star.

The unique ones were thevictims of Gaza who came allbandaged and wounded.

Parents made a lot ofefforts in training their chil-dren and dressing them upwith artistic make-up. Thelittle participants took greatpride in introducing them-selves in front of all theirclassmates.

It was a good day for thechildren of BPS Kids Valley.

Students and officials of BPS at a debate competition in Doha, recently.

Indian engineers inQatar hold meeting

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA Qatar Chapter ofthe Institution ofEngineers (India), thelargest professional bodyin the world, held itsannual general bodymeeting at the AshokaHall ofI n d i a nC u l t u r a lCentre hererecently.

T h em e e t i n gc o m -m e n c e dwith a wel-c o m eaddress ofthe Chai-rman Deb-ashis Roy. HonorarySecretary AniruddhaKulkarni presented theactivities report for theyear 2008 and the pro-posed plans for 2009.Honorary Treasurer VenuMadhav presented thestatement of accounts forthe year 2008 and budgetfor the year 2009. Bothwere unanimouslyapproved by the generalbody.

Aniruddha Kulkarni

appealed to all membersto put in utmost efforts toincrease the membership.He also urged all themembers to registeronline at www.ieiqatar.organd update their contactparticulars. Graduateengineers practising in

Qatar werea l s orequ e st edto registeronline tob e c o m emembers ofthe QatarC h a p t e r .A M I Ee x a m i n a -tion of theInstitutionis recog-

nised as equivalent toBachelor’s Degree inEngineering. Examina-tions are held in June andDecember every year. Thisprovides an opportunityto diploma-holders of anynationality to becomegraduate engineers. Deta-ils can be obtained fromthe website www.iein-dia.org or by contactingthe Qatar chapter officeon 4427673 (6 to 9 pmexcept Fridays).

TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA The Iranian embassy inQatar will celebrate their coun-try’s national day on Monday atthe Diplomatic Club. It will alsoorganise cultural activities onSunday at the Doha Cinema inthe presence of Qatari andIranian artists and intellectuals.The celebration will mark the30th anniversary of the Islamicrevolution in Iran, a pressrelease issued by the embassysaid.

Iranian Ambassador to QatarHE Mohamed Taher Rabbanisaid, “Iran has accomplishedgreat progress. Iranian scien-tists have opened a new chapterin Iran’s history after the launchof the satellite AMID for aero-space research. They have givenhope to the Iranian people.”

He said Teheran has devel-oped its relations with the Araband Muslim states. “Tiesbetween Qatar and Iran are verystrong. Both the countries areworking together to ensureprogress of the Islamic world,”he added.

He said the financial andhuman resources of Iran will bealways deployed to serve theinterests of the Islamic worldand the neighbouring coun-tries. He hoped that Iran’s tieswith the Arab world willstrengthen at cultural and eco-nomic levels.

Iran’s nationalday tomorrow

This provides anopportunity to diploma holders ofany nationality tobecome graduateengineers.

23Sunday, February 8, 2009Ice Hockey

Al Ain Vipers lifted the Desert Cup 2009 defeating Abu Dhabi Scorpionsby 5 goals to 1 in the final game of the Ice Hockey Tournament thatconcluded in Doha on Saturday. Earlier, Al Ain Vipers defeated the

Bahrain Sharks while Abu Dhabi Scorpions overpowered Dubai Buds toreach the finals of the three-day tournament.

The Desert Cup has gained popularity as an international event in thelast four years. Ten teams from five GCC countries participated this year.Qaar Qanucks, a team from Qatar defending Desert Cup champions, failedto make a mark this year. They could not reach the semi-finals.

During the final game between the first and second periods, six year-oldwonder child Ghanem The Winner gave a spectacular demonstration of hisunusual sledging skills and won the crowd’s applause.

Ghanem The Winner, a physically challenged child, was unstoppablewhen it came to sledging on the ice. The showers of praise and gifts fromthe audience turned the atmosphere at the Villaggio ice skating arena intoan emotional extravaganza.

The event came to an end with the presentation of the Desert Cup tro-phy to the winning team.

Photographs and report: Maneesh Bakshi

Vipers’ venom singes ScorpionsVipers’ venom singes Scorpions

24 Sunday, February 8, 2009 QT Spotlight on Ikebana

Twigs and leaves might not look as beautifulas flowers. But they can definitely add tobeauty of the flowers in an arrangement.And arranging flowers is not just the mat-ter of a few twists and nicks. If you have

doubts, ask the Japanese who have developed the craftof arranging flowers, mixing and matching whiffs andhues into a form of art and given it the name ikebana.The word literally means ‘flowers kept alive’.

“Flowers, nature in general, are essential elementsin our daily life. We arrange flowers for fun and tobeautify our homes. But, the activity requires knowl-edge of some important techniques,” HorikoYukizume, wife of the Japanese envoy here told QatarTribune during the ikebana demonstration and work-shop she hosted on Wednesday.

Ikebana, which dates back to 16th century, is notonly a disciplined way of arranging flowers, twigs andleaves but also of highlighting the beauty of the plantitself. It is more than just colour-coordination andstyling of the blossoms. It also takes into account theoverall balance, direction and harmony in an arrange-ment. The three points in an ikebana are said to repre-sent heaven, earth and man in some schools while forothers they stand for the sun, moon and earth.

The tradition of artistically arranging flowers isrooted in the Japanese tea ceremony, said Yukizume.Originally performed only during tea ceremonies, itlater became a day-to-day activity. “Japanese womenmake it a point to learn and master the art of ikebana.Even working women find time after office hours forflower arrangement classes. That is how much werevere this centuries-old tradition,” she said. SomeJapanese men also take interest in the craft but theyare few and far between and getting rarer by the year,she added.

Yukizume herself spent ten years perfecting thecraft. She gave at least two hours every weekend tolearning Ikebana at the Kozan School, one of Japan’s

premier flower arrangement schools. Finally sheearned the certificate that allows her to teach thecraft.

“Never use anything artificial in your arrangementis the first rule of ikebana,” she said. “While you mayuse any kind of flowers, leaves and branches you canget from your garden or buy. But the ideal branchesare available only in Japan,” she added. Also amongflowers, the most commonly used blooms arechrysanthemums, iris and cherry blossoms grown inJapan. Besides, roses, mums and bougainvellia arealso used. “We also often use twigs from pine trees,which to us symbolise long life because the plant staysgreen all year round,” she said.

The guest Japanese teachers had brought some oftheir country’s famous branches to the workshop onWednesday. These branches are softer than the typicalones, easier to bend and give direction to. They lookmore interesting also because of their graceful linesand attractive shades.

Among other must-haves for practitioners of thecraft is kenzan, a holder made metal with spikes tohold stems. These are also available only in Japan. Inthe absence of the holders, the attendees were told touse an oasis or a green sponge commonly used byflorists and available in local shops. Vases of any shapeand size, even plastic containers and bottles filled withenough can be used. With these tools you are all set forthe Ikebana experience.

Yukizume said while it takes years to master the artof ikebana there is no harm in beginners relying onbooks or self-study. However, to fully understand thereal ‘art’ behind the craft there is still nothing likebeing taught by experts.

Experts assure that flowers arranged in accordancewith ikebana stay fresh for a week provided youaccord the proper TLC (tender love and care). Theyalso insist that the bottom line of this craft is enjoyingnature and having fun!

IkebanaArt of a craft

IKEBANA BASICSChoosing the objects: Any type of flower will

do. The number of branches should be odd likethree or five. Also do not over-decorate yourarrangement since one of the important ele-ments in ikebana art is minimalism.

Groom your plants: Remove unnecessarystuff on your flower stems such as dry leaves orextra and unnecessary buds. This is to make sureyou only highlight the beauty of nature. If trim-ming flowers or branch-ends is necessary, makesure it is done while the entire thing is immersedin water. For branches, the ideal cut is diagonalwhile the flowers can be trimmed anyhow.Balance has to be kept in mind while cutting sothe length of the plants should vary.

Position everything according to harmony:Place the kenzan or oasis properly inside the vaseor container and pour enough water before fix-ing the plants. Fix the longest branch first to yourholder followed by the others. After the branch-es, fix the flowers and the leaves. Everythingshould appear like branching out from the samespot and not mushrooming out of nowhere.

Glance at your work once in a while: A quickcheck of the positioning of plants is important.Make sure the directions of plants do not contra-dict each other. “They should appear like chattingand not fighting,” was how the instructor put it.Avoid placing branches ‘appearing sad’ or indownward position. The overall positioning ofthe plants, especially the branches, should resem-ble a scalene or triangular form which can beobserved by looking at the way their tips arealigned.

The centuries old Japanese art of ikebana is about arranging

flowers, twigs and leaves to highlight their beauty with poise,

balance and harmony, Qatar Tribune’sphotographer Jalal Pathiyoor and

reporter Ailyn Agonia found at a workshop hosted by

Horiko Yukizume, wife of the Japanese ambassador to Qatar

Horiko Yukizume, wife of the Japanese envoy to Qatar and others at theikebana workshop hosted by her in Doha on Wednesday.