Qatar : Weekend watching the Wallace and 0Gromit at Museum of Islamic Art

by : mohamed ibrahem

 

 

Qatar : Weekend watching the Wallace and 0Gromit at Museum of Islamic Art
Doha Film Institute’s UK Cinema Showcase, a part of the Qatar UK 2013 exchange program, continues this weekend with two “Wallace and Gromit” showings.
The classic stop motion comedy series, created by English filmmaker Nick Park, focus on Wallace, a bumbling inventor and cheese lover, and Gromit, his brilliant canine companion. The films are typically quite a lot of fun for the whole family.
Screenings this weekend are Friday (May 31) and Saturday (June 1), 4pm at the Museum of Islamic Art Auditorium, at a cost of QR35 per person. Each showing will include three 30-minute Wallace and Gromit shorts.
Earlier features of the DFI UK Cinema Showcase include Ken Loach’s 1969 feature “Kes” and the Palme d’Or-winning “Secrets and Lies”, while the space monsters film “Attack the Block” screened just yesterday.
Next on the lineup: “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, coming June 27.

 

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Qatar : The Summer in qatar heat puts Qatar worker conditions back in spotlight

by : mohamed ibrahem

 

 

 Qatar : The Summer in qatar  heat puts Qatar worker conditions back in spotlight : Though temperatures are already hitting 40C (104F) and above in Qatar, it will be another two weeks before summer working hours take effect for those working outdoors.

From June 15 until the end of August, companies here are required to suspend work in open areas from 11:30am to 3pm. But with 14 days to go, some employees are already buckling under the strain,

Compounding that issue for many low-income expats is poor housing conditions that give them no respite from the heat even when they’re done working for the day.

 

Flouting rules

Last week, the National Human Rights Committee issued a guidebook for companies, reminding them of key labor law regulations, including the housing of no more than four people per room, a ban on bunk beds and requirements for proper ventilation and natural lighting.

But on a visit to construction sites in Qatar late last month, Sharan Burrow, the secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation, said she found flagrant disregard for the rules.

Gulf Times reports:

“Workers exposed to heat conditions are finding it difficult to work even in the mornings. Heat conditions set in as early as 9am or sometimes even earlier and the mercury keeps on rising for the next 5 or 6 hours.
As a result, work is affected at most worksites across the country and the output of workers keeps falling,” said one of the engineers in charge of a major urban development in downtown Doha.

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Qatar : Widamseeks to shore up Qatar’s chicken supply with$124 million dolar for poultry plant

by : mohamed ibrahem

 

Qatar : Widamseeks to shore up Qatar’s chicken supply with$124 million dolar for poultry plant : Following last year’s chicken shortage, the Qatar Meat and Livestock Co. (formerly known as Mawashi) has been working on plans to move into poultry products.

The company, now known as Widam Food, aims to produce 22 million chickens a year to sell domestically, Bloomberg reports.

It has sought a license to build a $124 million poultry plant, but government approval has been slow as land and water issues are being studied, said Ahmad Nasser Sariya Al-Kaabi, managing director.

Reducing food dependence

In the fall of 2012, Qatar witnessed a severe shortage of fresh chicken after Saudi Arabia stopped exporting poultry, due in part to demand in its own country.

Despite initial claims that Qatar’s locally raised chickens could cover the shortfall left by the ban, many stores around Doha sold out of fresh poultry within hours of putting it on the shelves.

Qatar previously saw shortages and rising prices of poultry in 2009, amid fears of avian influenza (bird flu).

Widam, which is diversifying away from cattle into poultry, also plans to pursue fish farming and build a new plant to make hamburger, sausage and other processed meats, Al-Kaabi told Bloomberg.

Qatar imports 90 percent of its food and has been working to shore up its food security so as to reduce its dependence on goods from other countries.

 

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