ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFIED NEWSPAPER Friday 24 May 2013 14 Rajab 1434 - Volume 18 Number 5709 Price: QR2 Most Gulf Ahmed, Ebrahim markets clinch silver plunge medals for Qatar Business | 13 Sport | 19 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com [email protected] | [email protected] Editorial: 4455 7741 | Advertising: 4455 7837 / 4455 7780 Ministers to look into Deputy Emir receives Iraqi defence minister shortage of shops Govt may acquire land for new complexes in Doha DOHA: The government has Abdulrahman bin Khalifa Al “The ministers, however, hinted it might try to acquire Thani. assured that they would do their land in neighbourhoods in Doha The meeting was held at a hotel best to locate plots of land in some and other towns to build com- here on the sidelines of a signing busy neighbourhoods to build mercial complexes to help meet ceremony where the first phase of shopping complexes,” Al Meer a severe shortage of shops and a government-initiated project to said. “We have to first find big push down their demand-driven build major shopping complexes plots of land and only then can high rent prices. (Furjan markets) in remote and we build shopping complexes so The Qatar Chamber, represent- sparsely populated areas of the shops could be allotted on afford- ative body of the private sector, country, was awarded to a local able rent,” Al Meer quoted the yesterday raised the issue with company. ministers as saying. two key ministers of acute short- Present at the meeting were About the Furjan project, the age of shops particularly in Doha the chairman of the Chamber, trade minister said that it was due to large-scale demolitions Sheikh Khalifa bin Jassim Al being launched in three phases The Deputy Emir and Heir Apparent H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met Iraqi Defence Minister Dr of old buildings for development Thani, and board member of the and on completion of the last Saadoun Al Dulaimi and his delegation at the Emiri Diwan yesterday. projects. Chamber and its contracting phase there will be some 200 The ministers said they will committee head, Nasser Al Meer. ‘Furjan’ shopping complexes in try their level best on behalf of Emerging from the meeting, Al different parts of the country. their ministries to acquire plots Meer told reporters the Chamber Chamber officials also said that of land in busy neighbourhoods, asked the two ministers why the Qatari contracting companies had Opposition chief especially in Greater Doha, where government was not building such little business since there were no Neighbourhood shopping complexes could be built shopping complexes in neighbour- projects in the market. offers ‘safe by the government so shops could hoods particularly in Doha for The trade minister said that be allotted on affordable rent. allotment since there was a huge tenders were expected to be The issue of shop shortages shortage due to large-scale demo- floated for some development exit’ to Assad was taken up by Qatar Chamber litions of old buildings. projects over the next few weeks. markets planned BEIRUT: Syria’s outgoing officials at a meeting attended The ministers, according to Al And tenders for a slew of opposition chief published an by the Minister of Business and Meer, explained that the govern- projects could be expected to be BY MOHAMED OSMAN In the second phase, some 18 initiative yesterday that would Trade, HE Sheikh Jassim bin ment did not own land in these floated in the second half of this complexes will be built in various grant President Bashar Al Abdulaziz Al Thani, and the busy neighbourhoods, whereas in year, Al Meer said citing the trade DOHA: Remote and sparsely localities and will together have Assad a safe exit, and urged dis- Minister of Municipality and remote areas it did, so it was build- minister. populated areas of the country 176 shops. Each complex will be sident factions to adopt his plan. Urban Planning, HE Sheikh ing commercial complexes there. THE PENINSULA will soon have large commercial spread over an area of 700 to Ahmed Moaz Al Khatib pub- complexes so that people don’t 2,000sqm. The remaining 14 com- lished his initiative on Facebook, have to travel long distances to plexes will be built in the third as the main National Coalition he access commodities and serv- phase and their sizes will each headed until March gathered in ices of daily need. vary from 3,000sqm to 7,000sqm. Istanbul to choose a new leader The proposed shopping centres They will together have 290 shops. and discuss a US-Russian peace are being built by the government By the end of all phases, about initiative dubbed Geneva 2. Obama acts on Gitmo, drones and the shops will be rented out 200 buildings will be ready. Under his initiative, Assad through allotment to citizens of The project is being launched would have 20 days from yes- WASHINGTON: President imminent, a change of the policy on him to take action. “There is those areas on moderate rentals. by the Ministry of Business and terday to give “his acceptance Barack Obama outlined plans of launching strikes against a sig- no justification beyond politics The complexes, to be known as Trade, in coordination with the of a peaceful transition of yesterday to limit the use of nificant threat. for Congress to prevent us from Furjan (neighbourhood) markets, Qatar Development Bank (QDB) authority”. drone strikes against extrem- He said the Defence closing a facility that should never will house provision stores, baker- and the Ministry of Municipality After accepting, Assad would ists abroad and took steps to Department will take the lead have been opened,” he said. ies, butcheries, pharmacies, ATM and Urban Planning. have one month to hand over break a deadlock on closing in launching drones, as opposed He announced steps to get kiosks, laundries, barber shops, The first phase was yesterday power to either Prime Minister the Guantanamo Bay military to the practice of the CIA tak- some prisoners out. He lifted a fruits and vegetables vending awarded to Qatar Power Company Wael Al Halqi or Vice President prison. ing charge. Any drone strike will moratorium on detainee transfers areas and eateries, among other by the QDB vide an agreement Faruq Al Sharaa, who would then In a major foreign policy speech be launched only when a terror to Yemen out of respect for that facilities. signed between both sides. govern Syria for a transitional after two weeks of fending off suspect cannot be captured. The country’s reforming government. A highlight of these shopping Mansoor bin Ibrahim Al period of 100 days. domestic scandals, Obama limited US will respect state sovereignty He called on Congress to centres will be that they will Mahmoud, CEO of the QDB, and As part of the transition Al the scope of what his predeces- and limit strikes to Al Qaeda or lift restrictions on the trans- have utility services outlets as Sheikh Jassim bin Ahmed bin Khatib envisages, Assad would sor, George W Bush, had called associated targets, he said. “And fer of terror suspects from well, such as those manned by Khalifa Al Thani, from the Qatar “leave the country along with a global war on terror after the before any strike is taken, there Guantanamo and asked the Kahramaa (electricity and water Power Company, inked the deal. five hundred people whom he will 9/11 attacks. must be near-certainty that no Defence Department to identify a distributors) and telecom service Present at the signing cer- select, along with their families “Our nation is still threatened civilians will be killed or injured — site to hold military tribunals for providers. emony were the Minister of and children, to any other country by terrorists,” Obama said at the highest standard we can set.” Guantanamo detainees. “Where The project is being launched in Business and Trade H E Sheikh that may choose to host them”. Washington’s National Defence Faced with congressional oppo- appropriate, we will bring terror- three phases. The first phase will Jassim bin Abdulaziz bin Jassim This is the first time one of University. “We must recognise sition, he has been frustrated ists to justice in our courts and see a dozen complexes coming up bin Hamad Al Thani, and the Syria’s opposition chiefs has made however, that the threat has by his inability to carry out a military justice system,” he said. in different areas. Minister of Municipality and an offer of political immunity to shifted and evolved from the one 2008 campaign pledge to close He said he would pick a sen- They will together have 122 Urban Planning, H E Sheikh Assad and key members of his that came to our shores on 9/11.” the prison in Guantanamo Bay, ior envoy to handle detainee shops with each complex admeas- Abdulrahman bin Khalifa Al regime. He said the US will only use Cuba. A hunger strike by 103 of transfers, a position vacant since uring a built-up area of between Thani. THE PENINSULA REUTERS drone strikes when a threat is the 166 detainees has put pressure January. REUTERS 2,500 and 3,000 square metres. Continued on page 2 See also page 4 Fire at scrap shop Doping horses Saudi confirms another to be criminal offence in UAE death from coronavirus DUBAI: Giving anabolic ster- DUBAI: Saudi Arabia has announced another death from the oids to horses will become SARS-like novel coronavirus (nCoV) in its central Al Qassim a criminal offence in the region, bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 17.