Karwa men say three cheers to crackdown on illegal cabs

DOHA-In recent weeks, the Traffic and Patrols Department has stepped up its crackdown on illegal private taxis plying in the city.

The offence is punishable under Qatar Traffic laws with a fine of QR3,000 and impounding of the car.Karwa Taxi drivers, the consequential victims of the offence, are naturally happy with the new development.

As the illegal and more numerous competitors stole their passengers with impunity, the Karwa drivers see this move as a morale booster.

A Filipino Taxi Driver, Ninto Mendel, said: “the increasing number of illegal taxis had apparently outnumbered Karwa taxis in the country causing the average daily income of Karwa drivers to fall.

With this crackdown, I hope to be able to meet the company’s demand and save for myself.

This crackdown is very good.” Rasik an Indian Karwa driver said, “I am happy with the current crackdown on private cabs, they compete with us at major shopping malls and bus stops, they pick up passengers from the roads and also get prior bookings on phone.” Usman Badrou an Eritrean driver wanted stronger action.

“If private cabs are totally eradicated from the roads our productivity and efficiency will be go up as there will be more passengers per vehicle to pick up.

We’ll be prompt and happy to work,” he said.

With these efforts to curb illegal private cabs, however, many residents believe that shortage of taxis in Doha would aggravate, unless Mowasalat goes for a further expansion of its fleet of buses and taxis.

Mowasalat on its part has no plans to increase its fleet of taxis.

“For now, we are concentrating on completion of the Karwa City project.

Any major expansion would come up next year,” said an official.

Kimo Mohammed, a Sudanese resident said, “Private taxis are not only cheaper than Karwa taxis.

They also come at short notice in contrast to Karwa taxis where booking 24 hours in advance is probably the only guarantee.”

Nigerians yearn for native food


If you are a Nigerian and wish to savour your country’s delicacies in Doha, you may find it very tough to cater to your taste buds.

Since typical Nigerian dishes are very rich and spicy foods, having different varieties and flavours, it is almost impossible to find them in the local restaurants.

As a result, many Nigerians have compromised with the situation and taken to alternative foods.

Talking to Qatar Tribune, Gbenga Aladesanmi a Nigerian music teacher, said, “My eating habit has changed because I don’t have access to ‘iyon’ (pounded yam).

There are no Nigerian food stores here.

So we have to make do with what we have in locally available food items.

This has resulted in poor and, at times, unhealthy eating habits because most of us are not so good at cooking healthy meals.

Instead, we prefer to eat fast foods.” He said if at all the food items of their country are available, they are very expensive.

“The cost of a yam tuber range from above QR150 and to elaborately prepare a meal of pounded yam you need two to three tubers, which is expensive.

Most of the time, it is easier to pick up your phone and dial a meal that would be delivered at your doorsteps.

The absence of a Nigerian restaurant affects my eating habit.

I have taken to local foods like kubus which is different from my Agege bread.” Commenting on the absence of Nigerian delicacies and what he misses about home, Bayo Anjorin, said, “During many evenings, I think of the food, not just any type of food, but the type that could be eaten or enjoyed in the company of my native friends and family over some drinks, complemented by a football game on TV and spiced up with arguments and debates over the different aspects of our national life.

I miss amala and gbegiri, not to forget ‘ewa agoyin’.

These are meals I can’t find here, even at family kitchens.” Ibrahim Yusuff, an IT expert, said, “I hope to relish eating a typical Nigerian delicacy when we celebrate our national day on October 1. There are food stores, Indians, Filipinos, Nepalis and other nationalities, but none for Nigerians.

May be the cost of setting up a food store is something enormous that the average Nigerian food vendor can’t afford.” Since the Nigerian expatriates miss their authentic delicacies, they are always on the look out to go back to their country during the vacations to enjoy a good meal.

Etihad to open new premium lounge at London Heathrow

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is to open a new premium lounge at London Heathrow airport as part of the airline’s flights moving from Terminal Three to Terminal Four on 30 September 2009.

First and business class customers and Etihad Guest Gold and Silver card holders will have access to the new lounge, conveniently located opposite the gates most commonly used by Etihad Airways for flight departures.

The lounge gives passengers an opportunity to relax in style and enjoy a range of services and facilities. These include individual treatment rooms where therapists from Six Senses Spa will offer facials, foot and leg massages. Customers can also enjoy five-star dining facilities in the lounge with a selection of foods from around the world, all cooked in an open kitchen.

A modern timber panelled business centre provides individual workstations and privacy for those with laptops. Other features include a prayer room, a relaxing seating area with Poltrona Frau leather chairs and a bathroom and shower facilities for customers to freshen up in prior to departure.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer, said: “We are proud that we will soon be offering one of the best customer lounges available at London Heathrow.

“Our new premium lounge at the airport represents a major investment and demonstrates the airline’s continuing commitment to deliver world-class premium products and services to its first and business class customers on the ground as well as in the air.”

Etihad Airways unveiled its first new premium lounge outside the UAE in July 2009 in Frankfurt, Germany.

Etihad Airways also provides a complimentary limousine service for its first and business class passengers flying in and out of London Heathrow. First class customers flying to London Heathrow are also the first to take advantage of the airline’s new first class product.

The airline’s highly-anticipated new first class suite entered into service between Abu Dhabi and London Heathrow on Wednesday 25 August.

The new private suite provides first class customers with an extra-large leather seat, upholstered by world-renowned leather company Poltrona Frau, which extends to a fully-flat bed, 80.5 inches in length.

Within the cabin customers also have access to a large and luxurious changing room with a full length mirror, wash basin and leather fold-down seat to allow passengers to freshen up at any time during the flight.

IATA: In the Red, Despite Demand Improvements

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced international scheduled traffic results for July showing passenger demand declining 2.9% compared to the same month in the previous year while freight demand was down 11.3%. The international passenger load factors stood at 80.3%.

The July passenger demand fall of 2.9% was a relative improvement over the 7.2% drop in June and the 6.8% decline recorded over the first seven months of the year. July capacity was more in line with reduced demand than in previous months and load factors are similar to those recorded in July 2008. These positive developments, however, have come at the expense of yields which continue to fall sharply.

The 11.3% decline in cargo demand for July was also a relative improvement over the -16.5% recorded in June and the -19.3% average for the first seven months of the year. Despite this improvement, the July freight load factor of 47.6% was lower than the 49% recorded in July 2008.

“Demand may look better, but the bottom line has not improved. We have seen little change to the unprecedented fall in yields and revenues. The months ahead are marked by many uncertainties, including the price of oil. The road to recovery will be both slow and volatile. In the meantime, the industry remains in intensive care,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

International Passenger Demand

All regions saw improved demand performance compared to June, but significant differences by region should be noted:

Asia-Pacific carriers are experiencing the extremes of this recession. The 7.6% fall in passenger demand compared to July 2008, was the largest decline of any region. At the same time, compared to the -14.5% recorded in June, the relative improvement to -7.6% was also the biggest among all regions. Economic growth returned during the second quarter in a number of Asian economies, to a much larger extent than elsewhere. This was likely the driver behind July’s better performance. The impact on passenger confidence from Influenza A(H1N1) was also somewhat diminished as media coverage of the disease decreased.

• European and North American carriers saw declines of 3.1% and 3.2% respectively. Passengers have been trading down to cheaper seats in the face of recession pressures. Airlines have also been leaving less expensive fares open for sale much longer (closer to departures dates) in the face of excess capacity and intensifying competition. The July improvement in travel demand was more the result of deep discounting than stronger incomes or greater economic confidence.
• Latin American carriers saw demand decline by 3.5%. This was the only region to see a greater decline in June than the seven month average which is -3.0%.
• African carriers saw a fall of 5.5% compared to the seven month average of -8.6%.
• Middle Eastern carriers were the only region to grow in July. The 13.2% growth in July was slightly better than the 12.9% recorded in June. The growth is fueled by increased capacity and greater market share in traffic between Europe and Asia.

International Air Freight

Freight demand on international markets was 11.3% lower in July than a year earlier, but was a considerably better result than the -16.5% recorded in June. All regions, except Africa, saw improvement in demand compared to June. The Middle East was the only region to grow.

Falls by Asia-Pacific carriers, European carriers and North American carriers were 9.5%, 16.2% and 14.6% respectively.

• African carriers posted the worst performance at -25.9%. This was the only region to see a deterioration in freight demand compared to June when the region’s carriers posted a 20.2% decline compared to the same month in the previous year.
• Middle Eastern carriers were the only region to grow, posting a 1% growth in demand compared to July 2008.
• Latin American carriers posted a 1.2% fall in demand compared to July 2008.

The stabilization of air freight demand in the first quarter and its improvement in the second quarter has helped reduce the rate at which excess capacity has been growing. But load factors are still lower than levels seen at the same time last year. Downward pressure on freight rates and revenues continued to intensify in July.

“The freight numbers tell an interesting story. The sector is being boosted as companies re-stock depleted inventories. Once inventories are at desired levels in relation to sales, improvements in demand will level off until business and consumer confidence returns. Given the large amount of debt in all sectors of the economy, instant relief is not in the forecast,” said Bisignani.

“Airlines need to make their money in the June-August peak travel season. Planes are full. Load factors are high. But revenues are way down. Conserving cash, effectively managing capacity and cutting costs will be the long-term theme for every business in the air transport value chain,” said Bisignani.

Abu Dhabi Expands Links to Europe with Ukraine International Airlines New Direct Route to Kiev


Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC) today announced that Ukraine’s leading international carrier, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), will commence the first direct service from Abu Dhabi to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev.

The initial flight is scheduled to depart from Abu Dhabi International Airport on Friday 25 September 2009, with twice weekly flights due to arrive in Abu Dhabi at 2030 hours on Mondays and Fridays, and depart the following morning at 0155 hours on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

In addition to generating traffic between Abu Dhabi and Kiev, the operation is timed to allow easy transfer for passengers onto the wide network of onward services offered from Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Ukraine International Airlines will operate a Boeing 737 aircraft configured in two product classes, business and economy, for the flight which is expected to take around five and a half hours in each direction.

The service forms one of the key components to build upon the already strong business links between the Ukraine and the UAE. Other measures include the establishment of the Ukraine – UAE Business Council to facilitate trade and economic relations and realize the potential commercial opportunities between the two nations.

In this regard, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Vice President of Airline Marketing and Aeronautical Revenue of ADAC, stated: “We warmly welcome Ukraine International Airlines with their new route to Kiev, which helps to expand the number of European destinations serviced directly from Abu Dhabi International Airport”.

“Not only does the service provide the opportunity for business and leisure tourists to experience the rich tourism offerings within the Ukrainian capital, it also allows passengers from Kiev to utilize the fast and efficient transfer facilities at Abu Dhabi International Airport, and take advantage of the links provided by International carriers and Etihad Airways to other destinations around the world.”, Al Bulooki added.

From his side, Yuri Miroshnikov, President of Ukraine International Airlines, stated:“We are delighted to be expanding our operations in the Middle East with this new service to Abu Dhabi. We have already had a great response from our business customers wishing to take advantage of the convenient new direct service, and leisure passengers travelling to experience the distinctive Arabic hospitality and unique culture and heritage of the UAE.”

To support the new route into the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) facilitated a familiarization trip for representatives of the Ukrainian media. As part of the trip, ADAC hosted an afternoon presentation at Abu Dhabi International Airport, which focused on ADAC’s main role and mission to develop the aviation sector in the UAE, and highlighted the upcoming developments such as the landmark Midfield Terminal Complex and the world-class boutique duty free offering at the new Terminal 3.

Romanian Special Envoy envisions Improved Qatar Ties


The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its Ambassador at large or Special Envoy, Vasile Sofineti recently visited Qatar to boost the relationship between its Country and Qatar, with other Gulf Countries.

The Ambassador at Large visited the Ministry of foreign Affairs , where dialogue and discussions centered on opening new bridges of understanding and partnership between the two nations.Also the meeting touched on ways of boosting relationship and creating a portfolio of opportunities for Qatari business men and other GCC nationals.

The visit to Qatar is the first in the region by the Ambassador who will visit other Gulf Countries in the coming days.

The Ambassador said, " My Mission is not easy but it has the chance to succeed, we are organizing a Romanian Business Forum come next April 2010, the forum is for Romanians, Central European and GCC businessmen to come see the business potentials and opportunities in Romania .A Cultural display by participating nations is also on cue, am thrilled with the meetings that i had, and with the ideas that i got from all those meetings, which help fulfil my mandate"

"Am Promoting the ideas of partnership, we invite Qatari business men to look into the Romanian Market, where they will find a lot of opportunities and they can be assured of our full support", said Vasile Sofineti.

"Romania has excellent Political relations with Gulf Countries, the Political dialogue is very sincere and friendly,in the last 20 years we align our relationship with the European Union and NATO because they are closer and we are in the same Continent, we want to ignite and open new bridges with friends"

"Traditionally we have had a lot of Arab Students studying in Romania now we have a few thousands, because of that we have large numbers of Arab Communities in Romania.So many have taken Romanian Citizenship, the people who study in Romania are large assets for us"

"We have had good economic ties with the Arab World.We can work together in oil inspection field, we can also assist the big projects that Qatar is envisaging, like the security systems in the new airport, also Information technology, though India is close, we have had successes in Tunisia. In Tourism and Agriculture there is open invitation to know each other better as a member of the EU and NATO, am sure Romania will be a pleasant surprise for Qatari businessmen.

The new Ambassador at Large for the relations with Arab countries in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is a Journalist Cum Diplomat, he served as Editor in Radio Bucharest (1978-1990)in charge of Persian Language, he has also served as Ambassador in Jordan, India and accredited to Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Malaysia Dangerous Place To Visit

Malaysia is the most recent Countries according to Rights watchdog Amnesty, who has failed to abolish caning, saying that tens of thousands of migrants had received the "inhuman and degrading" punishment in recent years.

Amnesty cited a statement in Malaysian parliament last week that said local authorities had caned at least 34,923 migrants between 2002 and 2008, 60 percent of them from neighboring Indonesia.

"Amnesty International urges the Malaysian government to rid the country of this cruel punishment," the London-based group said in a statement.

"Whipping someone with a cane is cruel, inhuman and degrading, and international standards make clear that such treatment constitutes torture."

Apart from Indonesians, those caned were also from Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines and Thailand.

Malaysia, Southeast Asia's third largest economy, has 2.2 million migrant workers in Malaysia, who are the mainstay of the plantation and manufacturing sectors.

The caning sentence was added to Malaysian immigration laws since 2002, amid concern over the ramifications of having a large migrant workforce.

Under the laws, those staying in Malaysia illegally are subject to a mandatory whipping of up to six strokes of the cane, fines and up to five years in jail.

Caning is also carried out for serious offences including rape and drug trafficking.

"The practice is humiliating, and causes such pain that people have reportedly fainted. Those caned often carry scars, psychological as well as physical, for years," Amnesty said.