ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER Thursday 26 September 2013 20 Dhul-qa’da 1434 - Volume 18 Number 5834 Price: QR2 Sheikh Thani Venus reaches honoured with quarters of Pan top award Pacific Open Business | 17 Sport | 28 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Emir meets Kerry Qatar’s first Dragon Mart global fashion brand launched DOHA: Leaders and top exec- set to open utives from the fashion world attended the launch of QELA, Qatar’s first home-grown glo- bal fashion brand, at a pri- in December vate VIP reception held at the QELA boutique at The Pearl Qatar. Discreet and exclusive, characterised by classic lines 3,000 Chinese likely to join and understated Arab influ- ences, QELA is designed for BY SATISH KANADY materials, hardware, furniture, women with a sense of mod- electronic materials, commu- esty who value the quality of DOHA: The first exclusive nication products, textiles and fine craftsmanship and precious Chinese market in Qatar, Dragon furnishings. materials. Mart, is expected to open its Barwa’s leasing subsidiary Full report on page 5 doors to customers at the iconic Waseef’s CEO Abdullah Jabara Al Barwa Commercial Avenue on Rumaihi in a separate interview the Abu Hamour-Industrial to a local Arabic daily said a large Pakistan quake death Area road in December this portion of the Commercial Avenue year. has already been leased out. Most toll crosses 325 Jiang, CEO, DragonMart Doha of them are in the final phase told The Peninsula yesterday that of preparations to open as some AWARAN: Desperate villagers ‘everything has been put in place of them are awaiting the safety in southwest Pakistan clawed and we are excited to announce certificates from the competent through the wreckage of their that we will throw open our doors authority. The Dragon Mart is ruined homes yesterday, a day in December”. also expected to open soon, he said. after a huge earthquake struck, Originally scheduled to open Another senior executive of The Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani with US Secretary of State John Kerry during a meeting on killing more than 325 people on July 1, 2012, the Dragon Mart Dragon Mart said the develop- the sidelines of the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, yesterday. and creating a new island off was forced to put off its plans as ment of the “China Town” is the coast. The 7.7-magnitude it faced huge delay in getting the fast progressing near the Barwa quake hit on Tuesday after- electricity connection. Commercial Avenue. noon in Baluchistan province’s As their project schedule went The township is expected to remote Awaran district. haywire, the company had to become the largest gathering Full report on page 13 cancel shipments of hundreds of place for Chinese in Qatar capa- Body to solve rent disputes thousands of tones of materials. It ble of accommodating over 3,000 also sent back a large number of residents with the entire infra- Saudi car owners fined workers and a group of engineers. structure. An estimated 2,500 to DOHA: The State Cabinet yes- the law No (4) of 2008 concerning weekly regular meeting of the “We faced an unexpected delay 3,000 Chinese are expected to join terday approved a decision to the rents of real estate properties. Cabinet at the Emiri Diwan. for letting women drive in getting the power connections as staffers in over 200 shops and set up special committees to The amendment aims at faster The Cabinet also approved the for Qatar General Electricity and retail outlets in the initial phase of deal with rent-related disputes. settlement of disputes between draft law annulling the law of the DUBAI: Saudi traffic police Water Corporation. Now we got the opening of Dragon Mart. The Cabinet nod for the dispute tenants and landlords. During authorities and general institu- have fined several car owners the electricity connection and The township will be hosting the settlement committees could help the acute housing crisis a few tions issued as per law No (26) after six women were found the fit-out works and interior families of these staff. resolve the problems that may years ago, the government had of 2004 . The annulment was to defying the kingdom’s male- designs have almost completed. Planned as a dedicated liv- arise from an increase in build- made it mandatory for tenancy cope with the structural devel- only driving rules, a Saudi daily We are all set to open our outlets ing area for the vast number of ing rents, due to high demand in contracts to be registered with opments that had occurred at reported yesterday. in December,” Jiang who is cur- Chinese families, the township will the market. the Ministry of Municipality and the authorities and the general The fines in Eastern Province rently in China, told over phone. have nearly 100 villas and 1,168 Five committees will be set up, Urban Planning. institutions as far their modus coincide with a campaign called Dragon Mart is the single apartment suites. The project will each to be headed by a judge. The The civic ministry had also set operandi and administration are by women’s rights activists to group that has leased out maxi- also feature Chinese restaurants, committees will come into exist- up committees in each munici- concerned. challenge the ban on women driv- mum space at the 8km Barwa supermarkets, playgrounds, recre- ence with a formal approval from pality that were tasked to reg- The Cabinet was briefed on the ing in the conservative Islamic Commercial Avenue. As the ini- ation clubs and salons. Apart from the Cabinet. ister rent contracts and resolve recommendations of the Advisory kingdom late next month. tial phase, its shopping mall facil- the township, Dragon Mart is also The members of the commit- disputes arising between tenants Council on the security and safety Traffic police issued fines total- ity alone has leased out 20,000 sq developing a vast ‘logistics village’ tee will be nominated through a and landlords. measures in commercial com- ling SR5,400 for allowing “an m. An estimated 300 companies with a total area of 200,000 sq m Ministerial decision, Qatar News The Prime Minister and plexes and other facilities, and unqualified person to drive”, Al have invested in the shopping mall, that would have various ware- Agency reported yesterday. Interior Minister H E Sheikh on supporting the Civil Defence Sharq newspaper reported, quot- which will offer a wide range of houses, including a cold storage. The Cabinet approved a draft Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa with more skills, experiences and ing an acting police spokesman. products ranging from building THE PENINSULA law amending some provisions of Al Thani presided over the capabilities. THE PENINSULA REUTERS NSA spied on Indian, UN UN chemical experts return to Syria missions: Snowden files DAMASCUS: UN inspectors cal weapons. The group, led by demanded on Tuesday tough situation for the international LONDON: The US National March 2013 the NSA, along- returned to Syria yesterday to chief expert Ake Sellstrom, flew Security Council action against community, 13 key Syrian Islamist Security Agency may have side its effort to capture data pursue a probe into poison gas to Beirut in Lebanon and trav- Syria as the conflict there domi- groups said they did not recog- accessed computers within the within the US, also collected attacks, as Russia and the West elled by overland convoy via the nated debate at the annual UN nise any foreign-based opposition Indian embassy in Washington 97bn pieces of intelligence from wrangled over how to eliminate Masnaa border post to Damascus. General Assembly. group, including the main Turkey- and mission at the United computer networks worldwide. the country’s banned chemi- US President Barack Obama Further complicating the based Syrian National Coalition. Nations in New York as part The largest amount of intel- The groups include members of of a huge clandestine effort to ligence was gathered from Iran, the main rebel Free Syrian Army mine electronic data held by its with more than 14bn reports in and more radical Islamists, such as south Asian ally. that period, followed by 13.5bn the Al Qaeda-affiliated Al Nusra Documents released by the US from Pakistan. Jordan, one of Front. Sellstrom’s inspectors are whistleblower Edward Snowden America’s closest Arab allies, expected to examine the alleged also reveal the extent and came third with 12.7bn, Egypt use of chemical weapons some 14 aggressive nature of other NSA fourth with 7.6bn and India fifth times in the 30-month conflict datamining exercises targeting with 6.3bn. estimated to have killed more than India as recently as March of Though relations between 110,000 people. this year. The latest revelations — India and the US were strained After a preliminary visit last published in the Hindu newspaper for many decades, they have month, his team concluded in a — came as Indian Prime Minister improved considerably in recent report presented on September Manmohan Singh, flew to Europe years. President George Bush 16 that banned chemical weapons on his way to the US, where he saw India as a potential coun- had been widely used in fight- will meet US President Barack terweight to China and backed ing between President Bashar Al Obama. The NSA operation tar- a controversial civil nuclear Assad’s regime and rebel forces. geting India used two datamin- agreement with Delhi. Obama There was clear evidence that ing tools, Boundless Informant received a rapturous welcome sarin gas was used in an attack in and Prism, a system allowing the when he visited in 2010.