WEDNESDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2013 • [email protected] • www.thepeninsulaqatar.com • 4455 7741 inside Set designer COMMUNITY Eve Stewart is • World Bihar Organisation up for a Bafta felicitates expatriate and an Oscar P | 4 P | 8-9 CAMPUS • Texas A&M University hosts international Liberal Arts conference P | 5 HEALTH FOOTBALL • Could too much calcium be bad for your heart? P | 7 MANIA WHEELS Football fans in Qatar are in for a treat as World champions Spain take on South • Are electric cars running out of American championship winner Uruguay juice again? today at 9pm. P | 2-3 P | 11 TECHNOLOGY • Windows co-chief looking for surge with new hardware P | 12 LEARN ARABIC • Learn commonly used Arabic words and their meanings P | 13 2 PLUS | WEDNESDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2013 COVER STORY Fans watching Spanish players I want to be at their training session. By Isabel Ovalle ootball is their passion, it grows on them from a very young age and they want to like them! pursue it. Luckily, Qatar is ‘the place’ to be for foot- Fball-crazy youngsters to develop their playing skills as the country gears up to host the World Cup in 2022. To promote an already popular sport among people of all ages and nation- alities here, the Khalifa International Stadium will host a friendly match between the Spanish national team, winner of the last world and European championships, and its Uruguayan counterpart, recent winner of the South American championship, today. It’s safe to say that the crème de la crème of football will be playing in Doha, starting at 9pm. A large number of fans got the opportunity to see their idols in action at their training sessions yesterday. Uruguay trained at 5pm at Khalifa Stadium, followed by the Spanish team’s workout at the same venue. The Uruguayan community in Doha, comprising approximately 25 people, came to watch the players go through their paces. María, from Montevideo, has lived in Qatar on and off for two years, and began her latest stint here three months ago. She came to the stadium with her three daughters, all of whom were excited to see the national team for the first time out- side Uruguay. Uruguay’s Luis “Love for football has grown since I Suarez signing first came to Qatar, however, it is very an autograph for low compared to Uruguay and other a young fan. American and European countries,” María said. PLUS | WEDNESDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2013 3 Spanish players during their training session. The Ambassador of Uruguay, Jose more than 290,000 square metres, Luis Remedi, a football fan, was also consisting of more than eight football there to watch his compatriots train. fields and a boarding school with over a “My favourite sport is motorcycling, hundred rooms that can accommodate but I think the current team is the over 250 athletes. best there has ever been. The sky- Approximately 200 fans gathered to blue colour of the jersey awakens watch the Spanish team train for an passions among Uruguayans,” he hour. Ivana, from Spain, came to the added. stadium with her husband and daugh- “The national team is loved among ter. “As expats, we feel very happy to our community in Doha because they see the team in Doha. We never imag- get into people´s hearts, they always ined we would be able to see them here. Diego Aguire, Al Rayyan coach, do their best,” he said. Actually, for us it’s the first time we are with Uruguay’s Diego Forlan For the ambassador, the Uruguayan seeing them,” she added. community is like a family, and they Young Manuel, 12, was especially often gather for events such as yester- excited because he is a big fan of day’s, which, he stated, “is an excellent Barcelona Fútbol Club, many of whose opportunity for fans.” players are part of the Spanish side. Qatar’s efforts to promote foot- “Pujol is my favourite, and tomorrow ball involve painstaking work, which he will celebrate his 100th game with began more than two decades ago the Spanish team. I want to be like with the gradual strengthening of the him,” he said. national league. The country is aim- Some Qatari football fans also came ing to become a point of reference glo- to the stadium yesterday. A 16-year- bally by implementing initiatives such old, himself a football player, was very as the Aspire Academy for budding happy to see Spain, his favourite team, footballers. in Doha. “I’m sure they will win tomor- More than 6,000 children and youth row,” he asserted. have passed through the academy, The organisers don´t know if the where they get the chance to train 50,000-seat stadium will be full today, under professionals from many coun- however, it’s clear that Spanish and tries, including Uruguay and Spain. Uruguayan fans will fill up as many The Academy has world-class facili- seats as possible. Uruguay players ties, with a training centre measuring The Peninsula 4 PLUS | WEDNESDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2013 COMMUNITY Sri Lankan cultural event on Feb 15 group of Sri Lankan singers and artistes will perform at a cultural event at Radisson Blu A Hotel, Doha, on February 15. The event has been organised to mark Sri Lanka’s National Day, which was celebrated yesterday (February 4). It is being organised by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in collaboration with Sri Lankan Coordinating Committee (SLCC) Qatar. Sri Lankan Ambassador Jayantha Palipane will be the chief guest at the event. A 15-member cultural troupe from Rivega Dance Studio with choreogra- pher Rangika Jeewantha will be per- forming in Doha for the first time. The troupe has been to many coun- World Bihar Organisation officials and guests with M S Bukhari. tries and is famous for its performance of traditional dances of Sri Lanka. Popular artistes Rodney Warnakula, Giriraj Kaushalya and Priyantha World Bihar Organisation felicitates expatriate Seneviratne will also perform at the event, said SLCC Qatar President Lenny embers of World Bihar Kakavi, president of WBO, humility and generosity of Bukhari, Cramer. Doha-based Sri Lankan band Organisation (WBO), conducted the programme, while who was presented with an award Black Cats will provide the music. founded by intellectu- Kareem, joint secretary, delivered on NRI Divas on January 10 in New Children from the dance academies of Mals and professionals the welcome speech. Delhi. The award was instituted by Senuranga Dance Troupe with choreog- from India’s state of Bihar living in Aqueel Ahmed, general secretary NRI Institute, a non-profit organi- rapher Asanka Salwathura, and Dinu Doha, gathered yesterday to felici- of WBO, congratulated Bukhari and sation set up to provide a plat- Ranga Kalayathanaya with choreogra- tate Indian expatriate M S Bukhari shed light on the vision, mission and form to Indians living abroad who pher Dinuk Lawrance, will also show- on his being conferred with an objectives of WBO. wish to contribute to the country’s case their talents at the event. award in his home country. The names of members of the development. The official sponsor of the programme The occasion also served as a governing body and executive com- Bukhari plans to invest more is Readymix Qatar, the platinum spon- launch pad for the newly formed mittee, patrons and advisors were of his energy and time in the field sor is Qatar Telecom and the main spon- organisation, which aims to extend announced. of education and for the uplift of sors are Commercialbank of Qatar and support from the expatriate Bihari Some of the distinguished mem- underprivileged members of society. Sri Lankan Airlines. Doha Bank and Sri community in Qatar and across the bers of the community present on Sarfraz Hassan, senior vice presi- Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment world to the development of Bihar. the occasion were Nilanshu Dey, dent, and Gauhar Altaf, vice presi- are also sponsors, with Dar Al Sharq The organisation is the brain- Mohammed Habibun Nabi, Azim dent of WBO, presented a memento (Lankadeepa Middle East) being the child of Bihari intellectuals, Abbas, Syed Abdul Hai, Harish and shawl to Bukhari and wished media sponsor. Tickets priced at QR100, including Shakeel Kakavi, Aqueel Kanjani, K M Varghese, Sulaiman him a bright future. QR50 and QR35 are available at all Sri Ahmed, Sarfaraz Hassan, Gauhar Dehlvi, Karim Abdulla, Milan Arun The function ended with a vote of Lankan outlets. More details can be got Altaf, Anwar Kareem, and Mahfuz and Anil Srinivasan. thanks followed by dinner. by calling 66580392. Hassan. Almost all speakers noted the The Peninsula The Peninsula Forum bids farewell to counsellor at Pakistan Embassy n behalf of the Pakistani community in Qatar, socio-cultural organisa- Otion Ehsaas bid farewell to Muhammad Afzal Sheikh, counsel- lor at the Pakistan Embassy, who has completed his tenure of three years in Qatar and will be leaving the country Counsellor Afzal Sheikh with forum next week to take up his new position officials and community members. back home. The function held at Shezan hotel was presided over by Nadeem Ahmed Bashir, president of Pakistan Welfare Forum. The heads of com- counsellor Gohar Riaz and first sec- had had an extremely satisfying and providing community services as well munity organisations, prominent retary Summer Javed Rana attended productive tenure in Qatar. as promoting Pakistani culture in community members and Pakistani the event. In his farewell address, a He praised the community organi- Qatar. Ehsaas general secretary Amin embassy officials, including defence visibly moved and emotional Afzal sations for doing a tremendous job for Motiwala lauded the services of Afzal attaché Commodore Zafar Mansoor Sheikh urged the community mem- the community.