Qatar Newspapers: Which is the best?

I have subscribed to the Gulf Times for some time, and I chose it because, although I often prefer the Peninsula’s style of writing (which is a bit more spiky), I have generally found that the Gulf Times has better coverage of Qatar stories.

However recently I have noticed Qatar stories popping up in the Peninsula (through my Google alerts for Qatar, which pick up stories from both newspapers) which I haven’t noticed in the Gulf Times. I also have friends who prefer the new paper on the block, The Qatar Tribune, citing its coverage of international issues. It seemed like a good time for a comparison, so on Friday I purchased and read all three newspapers.

I started on the front page, and quickly noticed that both the Tribune and the Peninsula carried the story of the Kahramaa’s network expansion plans. With a planned QAR 10.2 billion of contracts, this could be considered important, from a financial view at least. However, the Gulf Times relegated to this the third page, replacing it with what I thought was a far more important story.

This covered the story of a journalist jailed (in absentia) for three years for defamation of Hamed Hospital. The journalist had reported the story of a man who had allegedly “come back to life” after being placed in the hospitals mortuary. The newspaper in question stated that the reported had obtained documents, a photograph and a taped recording of interviews with the man.

Following on from the recent prosecution of the newspapers and journalists for carrying the story of cannibalism, with the prosecution once again seeking jail sentences for the journalists, this seemed like the best choice of a front page story to me.

A quick scan through the other two newspapers revealed that neither of them had carried the story.

I also laid out the newspapers to compare their front pages, and I noticed that the Gulf Times seemed to carry more information. Not surprising - a closer look revealed that the Gulf Times is definitely the largest of the three papers. The Gulf Times also seemed to make better use of the extra space, with a full thirteen stories being carried on the front page compared to ten in the Tribune and seven in the Peninsula.

The Peninsula seemed to have the widest coverage of Qatar stories. With the Tribune, after the front page (which carried five Qatar stories), I had to get to page 13 before I could find anything Qatar related - and that was a continuation of a story from the front page. However, I then spotted the Nation, Qatar Tribune’s supplement, which had several more Qatar stories, and lots of pictures - mostly of school children passing their exams. I managed to find 15 stories about Qatar in the Gulf Times (admittedly, not all of them were very long or interesting) and 17 in the Peninsula (if you count the editorial!)

All the papers seem to have reasonable coverage of international issues, not surprising given the varied ethnic mix that exists in Qatar. The papers dedicate a page to major regions and countries, starting on page 2 with the Tribune and on page 4 with the other papers. Interestingly, both the Tribune and the Gulf Times carried quite a major story on falling house prices in the UK (down a record 2.5% in a month) which has huge implications for the British economy, but the Peninsula seemed to have missed this one.

The Peninsula, on the other hand, definitely had the best overall selection of pictures and the most colour pictures, and was altogether more colourful than the other newspapers - although the tribune carried more colour pictures on the front page.

It’s not fair to judge the papers on the basis of a single day, and I’ve certainly see the Peninsula have better days. Still, for now at least, I think I’ll stick with the Gulf Times, which seemed to have more detail and better coverage of the type of stories I want to read. I will, however, also keep an eye on the Peninsula's (superior) website!

Also see: Qatar Newspapers and Media

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Euro 2008

The Intercontinental have sent us the flier below, stating that football enthusiasts will be able to watch the Euro 2008 from June 27th to June 29th at the Intercontinental pool.



Also see: Qatar Football






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Qatar Jobs: Qatarisation

Qatarisation (or Qatarization if you are American) is Qatar's attempt to increase the proportion of Qataris employed in a country where most work is still done by expatriates. Obviously, in a country where Qataris themselves number around 25% of the population, this can only go so far.

What's more, the population is increasing at an incredible rate - when I arrived here three years ago the population was estimated at less than 800,000. Today it is thought to number nearly twice that. With targets for Qatarisation formed in terms of percentage, that makes achieving the target even more difficult.

Nevertheless, the targets are ambitious - according to the Financial Times Qatar is aiming for a total of 50% Qatarisation in non-specialised government posts and 20% in private sector posts. Qatar has been trying to accelerate the process of Qatarization by assigning quotas of Qatari employees to private companies and to ministries.

While private companies often find themselves struggling to fill their quotas of Qataris - Qataris themselves often prefer to work in government posts - the government have been more successful with government posts. Government ministries have recently been pushed to replace non-specialised workers with Qatari job seekers, with the ministries being warned about reclassifying favourite workers as specialised workers.

The desire to encourage Qataris to take a greater role in government and the economy, and to reduce dependence on foreign workers for work that can be done by Qataris, is understandable. The government also appears keen to avoid a dependency culture where nationals rely on handouts an oil and gas rich state. Nevertheless, Qatarisation can be devastating for some foreign workers.

Some of the people doing non-specialized work may have been in the country for years - often their children will know no other home - and come from countries where job prospects and salaries are poor. As those replaced are often those doing work without specialized skills, they are likely to find it particularly hard to find replacement jobs. It also makes a lot of people nervous!

Normally, if you have specialised qualifications in Qatar you should not be too worried about your job. In any case, your position should be safe until your contract has finished - which may not be much of a consolation if it is up next week!

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Japanese food in Qatar

La Cigale have opened up a new restaurant: a ¥en Sushi Bar, which will feature a revolving belt and rice paper walls, and guests will be able to watch the sushi and sashimi prepared in front of them. My Japanese friends will be overjoyed - they were already excited to hear that the new Carrefour, based in Landmark, had a sushi section.

Sadly, members of our forum report that the Korean restaurant Moon Palace in Al Nasser street, which served excellent sushi, has been closed down by the Ministry of Health. This seems to happen to half the establishments in Doha at some time or other so hopefully they will be open again soon. In the meantime people can continue to visit the Korean Garden on Suhaim Bin Hamed street (close to the Ramada signals), which also does sushi, or the Japanese restaurant in the New Ramada.

Also check out:

Japanese food and cuisine (on Japan Visitor)

Eating out in Doha

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Dinosaur tracks found on the Arabian Peninsula

For the first time dinosaur tracks have been found in our region. The tracks, which were left by a group of 11 plant eaters which traveled on all fours (sauropods) as well as a single dinosaur which travelled on two legs (an ornithipod) were found on mud flats around 50 km north of Sanaa in the Republic of Yemen.

The Saurpods would have been 10-13 feet tall, making them about the same height as a bus - and probably longer than one too.

The findings were revealed by researchers in a paper published on scientific site Plos One. The researchers believed that it was likely that further dinosaur tracks would be discovered in the area. However, there have yet to be any findings in Qatar!

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Qatar census: Ratio of men to women in Qatar

Men in Qatar outnumber women 3:1, the Peninsula reported today. In total men make up 75.7% of the population compared to just 24.3% who are women. However, this number applies only when taking into account the mostly male expatriate workforce - native Qataris are pretty evenly split between men and women.

The total population was confirmed at just under one and a half million: 1,448,446 to be exact.

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Aramex moves to new location

Aramex, which runs the popular shop and ship service which allows internet shoppers to bypass Q-post, is moving to a new location. The move will take place on May 24th 2008 and the location will be between Qatar Decoration roundabout and Maamora roundabout - please see map below for more information. (Click on the map for a larger image.) For information about and a review of the service see Aramex Shop and Ship.

Note: Click on the map below for a larger image.







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Qatar and Lebanon

According to The Interpreter, Qatar is punching above its weight again in regard to Lebanon. After the recent strife in Lebanon which raised fears of a return to civil war Qatar moved rapidly to host talks between the different factions, and the different factions are now attempting to talk it out in Doha.

Qatar is an ideal host for the talks. In addition to the fact that many Lebanese live and work in the country, Qatar strives to be a friend to everyone and an enemy to no-one. Sometimes this can be difficult: maintaining relationships with Israel, America and Iran at the same time is no easy matter. What's more, despite major Qatar investment (to the tune of $12 billion over the next five years) Syria, which is deeply involved in Lebanese politics, may not always have been so very friendly back, at least according to the Counter Terrorism blog.

Nevertheless, Qatar is admirably ploughing on, although Lebanon' s quagmire politics must be a challenge for its geniality. Hopefully, the famous Qatar hospitality can pull it off and prove that this tiny country can indeed punch above its weight.

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Mc Cain

Okay, this has absolutely nothing to do with Qatar - although on the other hand we have all seen the damage having an idiot running America can do to the Middle East.... Anyway, I don't often go off topic but this is worth watching.

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Qatar Inflation to Rise

In what is bad news for, well, everyone, Qatar inflation is set to rise still further, the Peninsula reported today. The news followed on from an earlier report this week that inflation this year would reach 16-17% from almost 14% last year. Inflation has been hurting everyone, recently, and while even the better off expatriates among have been feeling the pinch those on low wages - of whom there are many in Qatar - are really struggling. Like many in Qatar, we are weighing up our options, and if there is no pay rise soon next year may well be our last!

For an idea of current prices check our recent cost of living update, which lists the price of many household items.

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Renewing your Residence Permit

How To Renew a Family Visa

Update: After finding the forms unavailable on Hukoomi, we have now scanned the forms and added the PDFs to the Qatar Visitor website - see links below.

While employees residence permits are usually renewed by companies, employees may have to renew the residence permits of those they sponsor - wives/husbands, children e.t.c. Fortunately, renewing a residence permit is a relatively simple matter.

When the time came to renew my daughter's residence permit we headed down to the typists in Sofatel to pick up a form and get it typed up (but any typist will do). To complete the form you need:

• your passport/ID
• your dependents' (wife/children) passports
• your telephone number
• your PO Box number

We needed my passport and my daughter's passport, one picture (the background should not be white, although in fact ours was and it did not cause any problems) and photocopies of the passports. The renewal of the visa cost QAR300, although government employees with the relevant letter can get it free. The form should be signed, but young children can give a thumb print instead.

Having got your form typed up, you can renew your residence permit in either the post office or in immigration. We chose the post office - it turned out to be a good choice, as the there was only a small queue. Although being Qatar, the automatic machine that gives you a waiting number was behind a screen and desk, and had an operator, meaning that you had to stand up and queue to get the ticket that meant you didn't have to stand up and queue!

Still there were only a couple of people waiting, the post office is a pleasant and civilized place (my wife went to the cafe to get a coffee while I waited) and the whole process only took about ten minutes. And now we don't have to do it again for my daughter for another three years - hooray!

Official Forms: Form to Renew Residence Permit | Important Notes

Renewing your Residence Permit on Hukoomi

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Fish, Fish Prices and Fish Stocks!

Qatar is known for its bountiful fish catches - but with an increasing population the Government is acting to preserve fish stocks



In Qatar's poorer days, fish was what sustained the local population. Fish was so plentiful that people were embarrassed to give guests fish - it was seen as being mean, or a sign of poverty. In fact, fish was so plentiful that it was exported to be used as fertilizer.

If you are a fish lover in Qatar, nothing quite beats buying the fish fresh off the boats on the Corniche. There you can buy the long silver king fish, small sharks or bucket loads of crabs - and of course the ugly but very delicious hamour.

For a more complete choice you should visit the wholesale fish market, where you can buy squid, tuna, octopus and a whole range of other fish I couldn't even name. For two riyals a kilo - the price is set by the authorities - a man will clean the fish for you. Just make sure you visit the fish market in the morning, especially in the hot season, or you may find you the stench overpowering.

However, the price of fish has been increasing over recent years. When I first came here I could still buy a whole tuna for 5 riyals at the wholesale market, which would feed the whole family, but those days are past.

Perhaps the reason for increasing prices is due to the increasing population which Qatar's fish stocks are feeding. Three years ago Qatar's population was estimated at 800,000 - many times the few hundred families that lived here at the turn of the century, and just over half the latest estimate of one and a half million.

Now both fans of sea food and fishermen will be complaining after the government has imposed restrictions on the movements of fishing boats.

There already no-go areas in Qatar, but now boats are only allowed to make three trips a month, with each trip lasting no longer than five days.

Fish prices have already increased. According to the Gulf Times on Friday, King fish had increased from QR22/kilo to QR40 a kilo, while the price of Hamour had increased by about 75%.

While fishermen and consumers in these countries may be complaining, those in other countries should be wishing that their countries had taken the same steps years ago. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, commercial fish populations in the North Atlantic of cod, hake, haddock and flounder have fallen by as much as 95%.

I have also seen it personally. Catches of mackerel on trips home have fallen every year, while on a return trip to a town in Spain I was sad to see the once proud fleet of fishing boats reduced to just three solitary ships.

I was surprised to see that the market and the shops were still well stocked with fish - until I was told that they were now all imported. It seems that the answer of those countries who have destroyed their own fish stocks is now to destroy other country's.

Nitin Desai, Secretary General of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, has warned that:

“Overfishing cannot continue. The depletion of fisheries poses a major threat to the food supply of millions of people.”

Acting strongly to preserve fish stocks now might mean that, unlike much of the rest of the world, the population of Qatar can continue to eat fish for years to come.

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Qatar Airways adds in-flight call ability - and then bans it!

Qatar Airways recently upgraded all of its planes with the very latest in mobile phone technology - only to encounter a wave of passenger protest.

80% of passengers voted against the system, finding it disturbed their sleep and comfort.

As a result the system was switched off - a move which drew high praise indeed from British newspaper The Times:

Accordingly, the Travel section would like briefly to suspend its editorial impartiality and say what a wonderful, sensible airline Qatar is.

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What to expect when you first arrive in Qatar

For me the first shock arrived three days before I left for Qatar, when my sponsor informed me that my wife and children would not be able to join me until I had my residence permit. Until that time I thought we were going together. In fact I very nearly didn't go.

It was actually longer than three days, as the journey to Qatar was delayed and delayed. I actually had another job lined up in case this one fell through, but in the end I had to make the choice, and then I felt very nervous indeed - not least because the savings in my bank were disappearing rapidly.

Incidentally, I have since met other people in Qatar who had to wait much longer than me. Against this, I am convinced that I made the correct choice - both my wife and I are very happy here.

Arrival

When I arrived I was picked up by a Persian gentleman who spoke few words of English. I was lucky - sometimes labourers arriving here from Asia are left for hours to languish upon the airport floor until their companies/agencies can be bothered to pick them up.

The gentleman who picked me up navigated me through the large building site I had landed in (that was Doha prior to the Asian Games, by the way), and his driving was so crazy that I didn't even notice how bad everyone else's was until later.

He asked me for my passport, but I refused to give it to him. I later learnt that it is normal to relinquish it upon arrival. I did so the next day instead. My passport was later returned to me after all official business had been finished.

I was advised not to give original education certificates, which were for some reason required. Friends who gave their certificates received them back with scribbles and notes upon them. Photocopies of the certificates, as with most documents, were acceptable.

Residence Permit

Before you can do anything in Qatar - get a permanent driving licence, obtain an alcohol permit, open a bank account e.t.c. you have to obtain a residence permit. In all fairness, my employer pushed along the process of obtaining this as quickly as she could, as she knew I was desperate to get my family along.

What I didn't need at the time was police clearance. After I had arrived people were told they did need it. However, I have now known three people who have acquired the police clearance and then not needed. I wouldn't rely on this experience, though, as what is needed does sometimes seem random. I needed my education certificates, scans of my wife and children's passports - and our birth certificates.

Medical Checkups

After getting the initial paperwork done, you need to have a blood type test done. You can get this done at a clinic - I got mine done at the Doha Clinic in Al Nasser street. Note that this needs to be done before your medical test.

Then there was the blood test and medical checkup, which took place at the same time. I don't like blood tests, but this was the best test I have ever been given - I didn't feel a thing. The there was the x-ray and a cursory examination.

When taking the test men and women were separated. For the men, the staff seemed fine, if a little brusque. However, I have heard several women complain at the treatment they have received (from the female staff) at the center.

Fingerprinting

After your test has been completed, and assuming you have passed it (the vast majority of people do), you will need to go for fingerprinting. Here hope you have a good Mandoub, the person in the office responsible for getting bureaucracy done, handling stuff for you - he will then be able to use his local contacts to rapidly circumvent large queues.

And finally...

Then it is a matter of waiting, nagging a bit, waiting again and then finally getting your residence permit. Then hey-presto, you are a real person again. Albeit one who is not allowed to leave the country without first begging permission from your employer first. Doh!

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Qatar and Katrina: A lesson for America?

After the Katrina disaster, America's slow response was likened to that of a third world country. However, aid did come from unexpected parts of the world - from Qatar, formerly itself a dirt poor country, but now, on a GDP per person basis at least, far richer than America.

Qatar set up the Qatar Katrina fund, which, in partnership with local organisations, has been working in the fields of health care, education and housing. One American blogger wrote:

"The Children’s Hospital here, Habitat for Humanity, Tulane, Loyola and Louisiana State Universities, students seeking scholarships, the area’s homeless — all have benefited from the oil-and-gas-borne largess of Qatar, one of the most open-handed of the donors to come to the Gulf Coast’s aid after the disastrous 2005 storm. Two other Persian Gulf nations, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, have also given."

(Critical Dune)

Some American bloggers, some of whom want to bomb America's only real ally in the Gulf, have argued this gift is political. But even if it is political, how much nicer it is to help people than, say, invade and bomb a country half way round the world. In fact, Qatar's approach seems to be more akin of a hearts and minds policy - reaching out to people who are so different from them.

Certainly, the people who are being helped don't seem to care whether there is politics involved or not. One blogger, whose mother's life was saved by medical care funded by Qatar, wrote:

Because of the levee break and the mass floods that happened after the storm most of South Mississippi was forgotten by the press, and therefore, most of America.
The people of Qatar on the other hand did not forget.

Thanks to them my mother was able to get the medical care she needed.

Most folks have never even heard of Qatar. You only hear the bad stuff in the news. So here's something good to spread around...

(from BHeavenly)

Or rather more simply:


I am convinced that this is the policy America should be following. I first thought this in the aftermath of the tsunami that hit much of South East Asia.

Prior to the Tsnuami, Indonesia had been overwhelmingly anti-American, at least according to the opinion polls. However, the site of American forces helping Indonesians changed the opinions of many Indonesians.

"A new poll by Terror Free Tomorrow demonstrates that one year after the tsunami in Indonesia, the dramatic increase in Indonesian support for the United States and against Bin Laden has continued. American humanitarian aid to tsunami victims last year caused an overwhelming change of opinion in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country."

(source Terror Free Tomorrow)

Even after a year, 63% of Indonesians had a more favourable attitude towards America, while the number of Indonesians who believed suicide attacks were acceptable declined from 27% after the 9/11 bombings to 2% a year after the Tsnuami.

I suggest that instead of trying to fight the terrorists head on in countries like Iraq, America should send its troops round the world helping people. The site of American soldiers handing out aid and American doctors treating sick people would go a lot further towards defeating terrorism than the war in Iraq.

It would also have the advantage of being a lot cheaper than invading countries - meaning that America might even be able to afford to deal with its own disasters rather than having to rely on the largess of the Qatar Emir.

Also see: The Qatar Katrina Fund

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Qatar Visitor Forum Competition

Today we are launching our new forum. We hope to specialise in answering questions for people thinking of or in the process of moving to Qatar, but everyone is welcome to post.

To celebrate the launch of our forum, we will be holding a competition till the end of the month. The prize will be a $50 book token or - if you prefer and you use paypal - fifty dollars sent to your paypal account.

To enter the competition simply join the forum - and post.

See you at the forum!

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Ministry of Interior makes "lots of mistakes" with traffic offences

Local newspaper the Gulf Times today reported the case of an Australian expatriate who was done for speeding - in Saudi Arabia in 1928. This was the second time the poor chap had been done for speeding in a week - he had earlier been fined for going to Al Wakrah in the evening, despite never going there at that time of day. When the Gulf Times contacted the Ministry of Interior a representative explained that mistakes happened a lot of the time.

Read the full story: Expat Fined for Speeding

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Qatar Visitor's 90 second guide to driving in Qatar (podcast)

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This is Qatar

An excellent little documentary made by a visitor to Qatar:

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Qatar Pictures

I saw this picture on Marjorie in Qatar:



- there are lots more of these on the "WTF Only in Doha" group on Facebook.

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