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ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER Friday 22 February 2013 12 Rabial II 1434 - Volume 17 Number 5618 Price: QR2 IQ nets record Qatar’s Noora, QR8.4bn Aya book place profit in 2012 in main draw Business | 13 Sport | 21 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Flying high Heir Apparent due Big backlog of in Riyadh today DOHA: The Heir Apparent H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani will head to Riyadh today for a one-day visit to Saudi trainees for Arabia. The Heir Apparent will be accompanied by a high-level official delegation. QNA driving tests OPINION Schools miss computerisation deadline Why Egypt, KSA, BY AZMAT HAROON resume on Sunday, when the UAE and Qatar? computer tests will be available,” DOHA: Several driving schools Ibrahim said, adding that the prep- N February 24, John in the country have put on hold arations were almost complete. Kerry is expected to their theoretical, “L” and park- Officials at several driving schools Olaunch his first offi- ing tests due to delay in imple- have welcomed the new system, cial tour abroad since he took menting a new, computerised saying it would be beneficial for the office at the system for the theoretical tests. traffic police conducting the tests US State The development has report- as well as the trainees. Department. edly caused a huge backlog of “The computer system was a His tour will trainees waiting for the tests necessity. The previous method A young diver flies through the air with an Aerodium Technologies member at the Astonishing Air Dive activity cover nine over the past two weeks. was primitive,” Adil Salim, man- held as part of ‘Spring Festival 2013’ at Souq Waqif yesterday. SALIM MATRAMKOT countries in Driving schools were given ager of Al Raya Driving School, Europe and a February 10 deadline by the in Madinat Khalifa, said. Some the Middle Traffic Department to imple- driving schools are already con- East, among Khalid Al Sayed ment the computerised system for ducting the computerised tests them four EDITOR-IN-CHIEF theoretical tests. However, most on an experimental basis. Many, Arab states: of them are still in the process however, believe the new system Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United of installing the necessary equip- will take time to become fully Strict budget guidelines issued Arab Emirates, and Qatar. ment, it is learnt. functional, due to the lack of Israel and the Palestinian ter- The theoretical tests are enough equipment in the schools DOHA: The ministries and Finance’s document lays down monitoring of spending. Fund allo- ritories have been excluded intended to assess the trainees’ and shortage of trained staff. various government entities will strict conditions for accepting cation would be based strictly on from this trip on the grounds knowledge of traffic signs and “The new system requires tech- submit their draft budget pro- the government bodies’ requests performance and the outcome of that Kerry will accompany laws. The new system will see nical expertise, which staff in posals for the next three fiscals for budget allocations. They have spending. The ministry has asked President Barack Obama when touch screen computers replace the many schools lack,” said an official in early March. The Ministry of been asked to provide a detailed all the entities concerned to comply he visits Israel next month. paper charts that were used earlier from a driving school. “There will Economy and Finance has issued account of fund utilisation and with the guidelines. The media carried state- to conduct the tests. “There will be be difficulties in the beginning, a ‘ budget guideline’ to 142 gov- the desired outcome of budget The budgetary allocations would ments by State Department no need of paper anymore. The which is why many schools have ernment entities, including min- spending. also be based on the performance of spokesperson Victoria Nuland trainees will be asked to identify not finished installing the new istries and government agencies, The sector-based budget for each government entity the previ- saying that among the topics images using touch screens. They equipment till now,” he added. detailing how they should pre- the fiscals 2013-14,2014-15 and ous year. The spending pattern in Kerry would discuss during his will also be given headphones to He denied reports of long wait- pare budget drafts for the fiscals 2015-2016 would aim to keep the previous fiscal would be evalu- trip was “facing the challenge listen to instructions in a language ing lists of applicants at some driv- 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16. the Qatari economy sustaina- ated before funds are released for posed by extremists who want of their choice,” Muhammad Al ing schools, with people waiting for The budget, with a focus on ble and build a better future in the coming years. to hijack the achievements of Zain Ibrahim, Executive Manager more than a month to enrol. “It’s not seven strategic development pil- line with Qatar National Vision The budgets for the coming some Arab Spring revolutions”. of Gulf Driving School, told this true. The maximum waiting period lars, is expected to be announced in 2030. The new budget will focus three fiscal years will set aside This indirectly means Kerry’s newspaper yesterday. in most schools is two weeks,” said early April 2013. The new budget on infrastructure, science and a huge outlay for infrastructure discussions with political and He said the theoretical tests the official. He, however, noted that will leverage the government’s technology, improving the serv- development as Qatar’s ongoing civil society leaders in Egypt and as well as the “L” and parking many driving schools did not have spending efficiency, according to ice sector, economic diversifica- projects are valued at more than the GCC states will focus on the tests had been put on hold at the enough instructors to meet the the document handed over by the tion, education, health and the $250bn. A staggering $100bn is Muslim Brotherhood and the school until the computers were growing demand. “There is also Minister of Economy and Finance environment to support sus- planned to be spent on develop- Salafis. Kerry, before assuming installed. Only trainees who pass high demand for female instruc- H E Yousuf Hussein Kamal. tainable development. ment projects ahead of the FIFA the post of foreign secretary, the theoretical tests qualify for tors. An increasing number of The ministries and government The ministries and government World Cup in 2022; even before had said during his confirmation the other two tests. The final women now want to learn driving, agencies have been asked to sub- agencies will prepare their budget Qatar won the bid to host the hearing in the Senate that the road test was being conducted for but many of them, especially Arabs, mit their proposals at least three proposals as per strict instructions event, the real estate market, Muslim Brotherhood needed to those who had already passed the feel comfortable only with women weeks before discussion on the from the Ministry of Economy and with an actual value of $55bn, had respect diversity in Egypt, which other tests, he added. instructors,” he added. budget begins. Finance, which has also made it experienced significant growth. had not happened the way the “The tests are expected to THE PENINSULA The Ministry of Economy and clear that there would be strict THE PENINSULA US wanted. Continued on page 3 No request from Egypt election to begin on April 27 Qatar to invest CAIRO: Egyptian parliamentary elections will begin on April 27 and will be held over four stages, according to a presidential decree in VTB: Russia issued yesterday. Voting will take place over three months with the new People’s Assembly invited to convene on July 6, accord- MOSCOW: Russia has not ing to the decree. Egyptian President Mohammed Mursi and his received a request from Qatar’s Muslim Brotherhood backers hope the election will mark an end sovereign wealth fund to buy to a turbulent political transition punctuated by spasms of violence shares in state-controlled bank that have thwarted his efforts to revive an economy in deep crisis. VTB, First Deputy Prime Min- Earlier in the day, the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, ister Igor Shuvalov was quoted adopted an electoral law as amended by the Constitutional Court, as saying yesterday. Shuvalov’s clearing the way for Mursi to set a date for the lower house election. comments responded to a report A presidential source had earlier told Reuters that Mursi would call in British newspaper The Daily the election starting in April. The vote would be held in phases in Telegraph last week that VTB different regions because of a shortage of poll supervisors. may issue the Qataris with $1.5bn of new equity and $1.5bn of man- New death from Sars-like virus in Saudi datory convertible bonds under a Syrians carry an injured man after a powerful car bomb exploded near the headquarters of the country’s ruling proposed deal. Sources familiar Baath party in the centre of Damascus, yesterday. GENEVA: Another person suffering from a Sars-like virus has died with VTB’s plans had said the in Saudi Arabia, the World Health Organisation said yesterday, bring- report was not accurate. “The ing the worldwide number of fatalities from the mystery illness to government did not receive any seven. The Saudi health ministry had informed the UN’s health body requests,” Shuvalov was quoted Car bomb kills 59 in Damascus that the patient had been hospitalised on January 29 and had died as saying by Russian news agen- on February 10, WHO said.