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Educational site for teachers and students launched

Al Jazeera Children�s Channel (JCC) launched yesterday �Taalam.TV�, the first educational website in the Arab world which will provide videos on demand to students and teachers.JCC general executive manager Mahmoud Bounab said during a demonstration session held at Abu Bakr Preparatory Independent School that the website displayed curriculum-related educational videos of three minutes to help students understand lessons better.�The new online channel aspires to encourage the usage of multiple educational devices in schools and become the leading resource centre for Arab educators and students,� he said.
A group of educational experts from Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco have monitored the content available on the website in order to ensure its compatibility with most Arabic educational curricula and guarantee its authenticity and accuracy.
Bounab maintained that all the videos available on demand from Taalam.TV are sourced from JCC�s media archive.
�The website features 800 educational and pedagogical video clips of good quality that allow teachers to magnify the film and picture sizes,� he said.

He pointed out that the website was directed to the Arab world and all Arabic teaching schools worldwide. However, the channel was studying to offer the same services in both English and French languages as well.
Omani teacher Abdullah bin Mohamed al-Maamari said that the videos would save teachers� time and effort in the search of online educational clips to support classroom lessons.�Each video is accompanied by an excerpt about its content and additional information, which teachers can use to complement the subject and support the learning process,� he said.The website�s services include �My Taalam.TV� option, which allows schools to customise it to suit their needs.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=338354&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

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Panel mulls future land usage in Qatar

ULI officials al-Balushi, Brandes, Kistler with Dohaland associates Nached, al-Khuzaei and Rose
Land-use experts discussed issues such as demographics, capital markets, energy, infrastructure, and climate change in the Qatari context at an Urban Land Institute (ULI) Qatar roundtable meeting yesterday.
The exploratory roundtable �MENA 2050: Future Development Drivers in MENA Cities�, sponsored by Dohaland, was aimed at identifying market-specific data and insights and to develop messages and presentations for delivery at the upcoming ULI international leadership retreat and forum in Muscat under �The City in 2050: Building Tomorrow�s Legacy Today� conference on March 22-23.Issues such as demographics, capital markets, energy, infrastructure, and climate change were discussed with a Qatari context.

Earlier sessions in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Muscat and Manama under ULI MENA, together with Doha�s roundtable yesterday are to serve as the capstone for the March event, officials said yesterday.
�The City in 2050�, by the non-profit research and education organisation with over 40,000 members worldwide, is a programme based on ULI�s initiative examining trends and factors shaping the design and development of cities in the 21st century.
ULI EMEAI (Europe, Middle East, Africa and India) president William Kistler, who led the regional roundtables, yesterday maintained the sessions and MENA 2050 illustrated the Institute�s expanding outreach in rapidly developing markets throughout the region.

�The Middle East has enormous potential in the years ahead as a global magnet for investment and development. We are excited to offer ULI�s expertise in an area of the world that has so much to offer in terms of contributions to the built environment,� Kistler said earlier during a press briefing. The 25 largest cities in the Middle East have an average annual urban growth forecast of 2.7%, ULI officials noted.
�The roundtables have been designed specifically for real estate development professionals in both the public and private sectors who want to share their land use expertise and perspectives,� al -Balushi said.
Among the MENA 2050 programme of the March summit are development of clusters and cities, design and development drivers and scenarios, sustainability, technology, environment and else.
�MENA 2050 will bring together international experts in sustainable development with key regional leaders and decision makers to explore how global best practices in land use and lessons learned can be applied locally. On the summit�s first day, a small group of invited industry leaders will discuss forces shaping cities both internationally and in the MENA region,� said ULI MENA executive director Shahswar al-Balushi.
ULI Initiative Group vice president Uwe Brandes said: �Cities around the world are grappling with urban growth issues related to achieving economic stability, environmental preservation and social equity. We will be examining the implications of these issues for cities in the Middle East, in terms of being global leaders in land use.� Dohaland officials Imad Nached (marketing director), Jawaher al-Khuzaei (public affairs assistant manager) and John Rose (development director) also participated in the briefing held during the day. Meanwhile ULI Qatar president Bernardo Retana, Senior Associate Real Estate Investment & Financing at QInvest, yesterday told Gulf Times the interest to the pre-eminent multi-disciplinary real estate forum continues to grow in the country. The official said any query should be directed to 600 1653.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=338146&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

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Video site for school education
Source ::: The Peninsula / By Huda NV
Al Jazeera Children�s Channel (JCC) has launched a website with content for school education.

DOHA: To serve the education system in the Arab world, Al Jazeera Children�s Channel yesterday launched an educational video site that uses multimedia technology as a knowledge provider. Taalam.tv (learn), is an integrated learning website that constitute a reference for educators, teachers and students at schools and home. The site provides students at primary and elementary levels educational videos gleaned from its productions along with pictures, sounds, illustrations, graphics and maps to support school curricula and facilitate the understanding of various subjects. �We aim to serve the education system � which means that we have provided content to teachers and students with the whole curriculum in chemistry, physics, biology mathematics, history, geography in the visual form,� said Mahmoud Bouneb, Executive General Manager, Al Jazeera Children�s Channel (JCC).

�We have moved from blackboard to computer education without ever using the video or television as an education tool. It is time to start visualising topics, as we live in a visual era. We try to support the school curriculum with as much audio-visual contents as possible,� he told The Peninsula.

The site is based on the experience of Al Jazeera to use visuals for knowledge dissemination. It has been designed in collaboration with a group of Arab teachers, and educational experts to be the first educational Video-on�Demand online platform in the Arab world. Teachers from nine Arab countries examined, evaluated and helped in the development of web content. The portal has, by now, data of over 900 clippings running up to 54 hours extracted taken from JCC in-house productions. Each video runs for an average of three minutes. All contents are based on school curricula for specific grades and hence the content uploads are controlled. �The website is open to all, however to build an education community, we have asked for registration. Eventually a very symbolic fee might be introduced just to keep the registration going on.

It�s essential to build up a pan-Arab Arabic schools network which uses this network as a common platform,� he said. The portal is in classical Arabic language in line with the JCC aim to promote classical Arabic language in the education system. After a year long assessment of the website usage, the portal would be checked to be opened in other languages.

�Surely after cementing the portal in Arabic and assessing it, multiple language sites may be looked into. The site is just a supporting material not a replacement for teachers and hence is complementary to the educational system and family,� Bouneb said. The website makes monotonous classroom teaching more colorful with attractive web designs. The audio-visuals tend to make education more entertaining and at the same time allow students to store, process and recall information more rapidly

The Peninsula

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdeIjMzzQ4c&feature=related

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http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&month=January2010&file=Local_News201001287136.xml

[lollaerd]

I wonder how many Qataris know her. My mom was her fan. She's too old for Berlusconi.


Gina Lollobrigida set to wow Qatar with her exhibition
1/27/2010 3:17:12
Source ::: QNA
Doha: The Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage office was buzzing with activity yesterday. Senior officials and junior staff rushed from one department to another, ferrying files and facsimile messages to the General Secretary�s office. The adrenalin levels in the ministry were high due to the excitement and anticipation for the opening of the month-long fiesta �Doha Capital of Arab Culture 2010� on Thursday that would herald a slew of events ranging from opera, Islamic art shows, documentary films, symphony orchestra, poetry reading, drama, competitions for youth, seminars to conferences. Away from the bee-hive of activity, an elegant lady sat in the conference room on the third floor of the culture ministry. She was reading a document among the sheaves of papers, drawing rolls and an exquisite designer handbag that proclaimed her fashion statement. She paused when she heard the approaching footsteps, turned around, looked up said, �Hello, I�m Gina Lollobrigida.�
The eyes, beautiful as ever, still reflected the sparkle on her face that captivated Italian cinema lovers and Hollywood from the 1950s to the early �70s.

�Doha has changed so much since I first visited this sunshine country in 1970s,� she told Qatar News Agency, going down her memory lane that is embellished with incredible show biz moments and so many achievements that compelled top editors to feature �The Most Beautiful Woman in the World� on the covers of their magazines of that era.
�The city has changed so much, I could hardly recognise it. The memory of my first visit is still vivid. I enjoyed the warmth and hospitality of this country and I�m glad to be back here,� said the top actress of yesteryears who has featured on the covers of over 7,000 magazines globally.
Lollobrigida, 82, is in Qatar to oversee the preliminaries for her exhibition to be held here from March 9 to 16 at the Four Seasons Hotel. �I will be exhibiting two sculptures; one is six metres high depicting the plight of hungry people and the other one is of Esmeralda, a character that I played in the film �The Hunchback of Notre Dame,� she said. She had endeared audiences by her performance with co-star Anthony Quinn who played Quasimodo in that film. Although she captivated the world by her extra-ordinary beauty and her films, art and photography are her passion.

She has often said, �I became an actress by mistake�. She had studied painting and sculpting at school, but went to enter the world of fashion modelling. She later successfully contested in several beauty pageants which opened door for her long career in films. �I was lucky to start my career in films at a time when there were good directors and actors in the 1950s when cinema was at its peak,� said the native of Subiaco, Italy, who has featured in over 70 films and television productions up to 1997. Lollobrigida, given the sobriquet of The Mona Lisa of the Twentieth Century, did not take to photography and painting as a passing fad. She continued clicking artistic photos while travelling the world to different locations for her film shoots. She focused more on photo journalism and art in the mid 70s. She has held exhibitions in Moscow and Paris as well as published two books showcasing her vast collection of photographs which also includes Hollywood actor Paul Newman and Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali.

Her major journalist work was an exclusive interview with Cuba leader Fidel Castro. In 1973 a collection of her work was published, Italia Mia.
�I have done photography for over 50 years,� she said. �I was always interested in being the camera rather than in front of it. I have rare photographs of China that doesn�t exist anymore.�
The screen diva who has won many awards for her contribution to cinema was honoured with lifetime achievement award at the Rome Film Festival in 2008. She was nominated as Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations in 1999. Lollobrigida will return to Qatar in March for her exhibition.

[veiledsentiments]

Wow them? My first thought was 'wow, she's still alive?" I doubt that more than a half dozen Qataris have even the slightest idea who she is.

VS

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Qatar revises visa-on-arrival regulations


The new visa regime is expected to come into force from next month



Qatar has revised the visa-on-arrival scheme, making it mandatory for citizens of a number of countries to obtain a visa before travelling to Doha, foreign diplomats told Gulf Times yesterday.
The new visa regime is expected to come into force on May 1.
A visa is available on arrival to citizens of 33 �affluent� countries but it could not be verified whether the change would affect all the countries on this list.

�The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the embassy that American citizens would need to obtain visas before arriving in Qatar starting on May 1,� consul at the US embassy, Alex Ave-Lallemant, told Gulf Times.
�We will keep Americans informed by updating the Qatar section of the US government�s website for travellers (travel.state.gov) as well as the consular section of the embassy�s website (qatar.usembassy.gov),� he added.

Talk about Qatar adopting a new policy of �reciprocity� has been circulating in recent weeks.
Although many diplomats were unable to confirm whether the new rules would apply to their particular country, reports suggest that the change will apply to all nations who do not offer visas on arrival to Qatari nationals.

A spokesman for the Japanese embassy said the matter was under discussion and a
statement would be issued today.
�We are meeting top Qatari officials tomorrow (Thursday),� a spokesman for the mission said yesterday.
The deputy head of mission and charge de affaires at the French embassy, Alain Beucler, confirmed the mission had received a notification in this regard from Qatar�s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
�According to the notification we received, ordinary French citizens travelling to Qatar will need to get a visa from the Qatari embassy in Paris before embarking on their journey.This decision does not affect French diplomats and special passport holders,� Beucler said.
The deputy head of mission at the Italian embassy, Federico Ciattaglia, told Gulf Times that he came to know about the development several weeks ago when the Italian mission in Doha had received a letter forwarded from the European Union. ]

�The notification by the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs was addressed to the EU delegation in Riyadh and Brussels. They forwarded it to us, because Italy is part of the Schengen system,� Ciattaglia said.
�We still don�t know the exact timing but it�s supposed to be applied from May 1,� he added.
�We have heard rumours about the new law but we have not heard anything official as of yet,� said a spokesperson for the German embassy.
She explained that if this was introduced it would mean more hassle for travellers from Germany as they would have to get their visas from the Qatari embassy in Berlin, adding �Germany is a huge place, and this may cause them problems�.
Currently only Germans carrying a temporary passport need to apply for a visa prior to travel to Qatar.
�We are receiving many inquiries,� claimed the spokesperson, �but we are yet to be informed.�
The minister-counsellor at the Korean embassy, Yong-jin Choe, told Gulf Times: �Qataris do not require a visa to visit South Korea for 30 days. South Koreans are given visa on arrival in Qatar.�
Other embassies chose not to comment on the potential changes but said they would be updating their citizens when information becomes available.
A prominent British businessman who has worked in Qatar for 15 years told Gulf Times: �This will obviously have an effect on families who come to visit relatives working in Qatar, as well as those arriving for business on trips arranged at short notice. I hope that the Qatari embassy in London is prepared for the heavy volume of processing work that this will undoubtedly entail and that they will be able to turn round visa applications quickly.�


Nationals from many countries have always had to apply for visas before travelling to Qatar.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=352533&version=1&template_id=57&parent_id=56

Seems to be a way to get people to stay in the dozens of overpriced and unoccupied hotels.

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Knowledge Enrichment Centre opens

DOHA: Dohaland�s Knowledge Enrichment Centre, located off the Doha Corniche, opens its doors to the public from 3pm to 6pm on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Entrance is free.

The Centre, a floating structure at Doha Corniche, has been designed to support the people of Qatar to flourish and enrich their experiences. It will also serve as a venue for workshops, seminars, conferences and exhibitions that encourage the new culture of exchanging and sharing knowledge and ideas. The Knowledge Enrichment Centre hosts an ongoing exhibition titled �A Blueprint for the Future�, which showcases the local landscape and its ever-changing horizon over time, being presented in three different sections that look at �Qatar in the Past�, �Doha, the Evolving City� and the �Musheireb, the Future�.

Each section takes an overview of the designs, traditions and interpretations of heritage within each stage with a look towards the future of the nation and its ongoing development. The Knowledge Enrichment Centre has been based upon the idea of both land and sea, whilst incorporating elements of Bedouin history into its building theme.

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QR86,000 collected as fines
A total of QR86,000 hasbeen collected as fines from 354 violators since the Supreme Council of Health launched the anti-smoking campaign in March, an official said yesterday.
The campaign was specifically launched to combat smoking in public places like malls and shopping centres where huge number of people frequent often.
Speaking about the campaign, the SCH�s Health Promotion and Communicable Diseases director Dr Alanoud al-Thani said that the number of health inspectors in each inspecting team has been raised to 10 to further boost the duties of the inspecting unit.
So far, inspectors have carried out a total of 117 checks on the malls and shopping centres across the country.
�Some health inspectors and volunteers have been granted legal authority by the Emiri law number 20 of 2002 to enforce the law and the council is planning to increase the number of volunteers with legal power to ensure effectiveness of the law and deter people from smoking in enclosed places,� Dr al-Thani said.
She mentioned that the anti-smoking unit was planning to open more smoking cessation clinics in a number of primary healthcare centres for those willing to quit smoking as well as to encourage more people to stop.
The only existing cessation clinic is at the Hamad Hospital, she said.

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I hope my landlord cleans the tank on the roof. There are twenty apartments in my building!!!! I think I will ask them to clean the tank I wonder when they cleaned it last????


Health hazards from water tanks� Water storage tanks on roof tops and at ground level of most of the buildings in Doha are perennially neglected and can cause serious health hazards to the public if they are not periodically cleaned, says a report published in a local Arabic daily.
�The plastic and metal substances with which these tanks are made include chemicals which can disintegrate under extreme heat and mix with the water stored in it. Consequently the water consumed by the public from these tanks through their taps in apartments and villas can endanger health.�In a random survey it was found that even most of the residents were unaware of which particular tank caters to each one�s apartment. They were also not aware of the various types of water storage tanks and the need to wash and clean them periodically.
The head of the safe environment cell at the Supreme Council for Health, Dr Mohamed Ahmed Ali, had recently issued a statement advising the public on the necessity of cleaning the water storage tanks every six months.

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All streets in Qatar to get names

Source ::: THE PENINSULA


DOHA: Qatar�s innumerable unnamed roads and avenues will get official names soon. A recent cabinet decision (No. 15/2010), empowers the Central Municipal Council (CMC) members to hold public hearings in their respective constituencies to suggest names for the streets, avenues and public parks that do not have an official name at present. The cabinet took the new decision amending a previous decision (No. 17/2008) regarding the christening of streets, open public grounds, parks and avenues across the country. According to the new decision, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning would constitute a panel for the naming process. The chairperson and the deputy chairperson of the panel would be nominees of the ministry. The committee will also have representatives from the Supreme Education Council (SEC), the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage, the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), the CMC and the private sector. These members would be selected by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Urban Planning. The �Street Naming Committee� would be functioning in two ways to find apt names for streets and public spaces. Senior officials of various government agencies can propose names that would be approved by this committee if it finds the names ideal for the public spaces. The names must be suitable to the Qatari culture and environment. Odd names will not be accepted by the panel.

�The Committee itself is free to propose an ideal name for the unnamed streets and public spaces directly to the CMC and the CMC would then refer these names to the CMC members of the respective constituencies. The members can hold a public hearing for reaching on a consensus on the name�, said Jassem Al Malki, Deputy Chairperson, CMC. With Qatar witnessing unprecedented urban development, many new streets have emerged in several parts of Doha and in the interiors of the country. Many of them have neither street names nor numbers. There are also several avenues and public parks that do not have names, he said.

The emerging interior towns of Qatar also face this identity crisis of sorts. CMC members who represent the Old Airport, Kharatiyat, Shamal and Dukhan areas say there are many streets in their respective constituencies that are without names. The unnamed streets and public places are causing lot of problems in the day-to-day life of the local residents, especially when they are in need of emergency services and have to call an ambulance or firefighters. For instance, in Kharatiyat, when an ambulance is needed, the local residents normally request the ambulance team to reach the local petrol station; the locals wait at the petrol station to guide the medical team to their homes. For want of street names and numbers, fire-fighting personnel also find it difficult to find the exact location they have to reach, said the CMC member who represents the constituency.

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Radiation from power lines not a hazard: Study

Source ::: THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Electromagnetic radiation from overhead power lines, underground cables and distribution stations in the country do not pose any serious threat to public health and they are in conformity with international standards, according to a study released by the Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation (Kahramaa). The study proposed by the Central Municipal Council (CMC) was conducted by Kahramaa in collaboration with Qatar University. The study covered 400 kilowatt transmission lines and high-voltage stations near residential areas in Khartiyat, Gharrafa, and Frej Abdul Aziz. A similar study was conducted on underground high-voltage cables which Kahramaa recently replaced. The study aimed to reassure that the levels of electromagnetic radiation from power network and wireless services in many places of the country are in conformity with international standards.

It also aimed at finding solutions for radiation if it was found to be exceeding the permitted limits. Latest techniques, accredited worldwide, were used to measure electromagnetic fields, power lines and high and medium power stations in comparison with standards approved in Europe. The study recommends to develop standards for electromagnetic radiation in the country and to verify the electromagnetic fields of the towers in West Bay.

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Mountain bikes scale the dunes

Arambarri and Pritchett push their cycles up a dune
Despite sand, winds and a bit of rain towards the end, Qatar Chain Reaction, a fraternity for all cycling enthusiasts in the country held an Inland Sea Traverse Mountain Bike event over the dunes in Mesaieed last weekend.
The race began at 8am about 2km from the Sealine Beach Resort and ended at the Inland Sea a few hours later, with a total of 36 cyclists, covering hard-packed sabkha, soft sandy areas and at least half a dozen small dune crossings.�It was a fantastic event. The dunes were upwards of 30metre tall, it was the first Inland Sea Traverse race, and first ever in Qatar and seventh for QCR,� the group�s founder-member Suzette Lang told Gulf Times. �A huge thank you to the volunteers who manned the check points, and those who helped with the course setup, course sweeping and collecting of flags,� she added. Earlier, the night before the race, as volunteers headed out to set up the course a few cars got stuck in the dark at 9pm and were only retrieved at 1am.
�The race day was a fine morning; a bit overcast and cool, although the wind was from the south and got stronger during the morning. However, this time our truck carrying bikes got very stuck in the sand. Thankfully, a French team came to the rescue with their two huge SUVs.
�Over the course of the race, the pack fought baby dunes and monster dunes while occasionally they had to sling the bikes over their backs and march up the dune,� the official noted. When the last dash was made, Gavin Bethune (Open category) came out on top with Sean Knoflick coming in second. The Masters was won by Thomas Rossius while Richard Pritchett and Ed Arambarri shared the second position. In the Ladies� Isabelle Tanguy rode the fastest.

[wilberforce]

Proposal to house bachelors away from family areas

An Advisory Council member yesterday proposed to classify bachelor workers in Qatar into three categories and to deal with their housing problems accordingly. Nasser Rashid al-Kaabi said that the phenomenon of bachelors living near residential areas had given room for complaints and the issue had figured in the media and the popular radio programme �My beloved homeland, good morning.�The reports said the bachelors� behaviour often went against the local culture and hurt the feelings of the residents. According to him, the general complaints have been workers gathering near the houses and supermarkets, indecent dressing, harassing the pedestrians and gathering on the roofs to peep at the neighbours. The member suggested providing alternative housings for the bachelors away from the family populated areas.


He said that the bachelors could be divided into three categories � people working in the administrative fields, mediapersons, doctors, engineers and other highly qualified professionals.The second category could comprise people working in the commercial areas. Their nature of their jobs requires that they live near their working places such as restaurants, supermarkets, and shopkeepers and barbers. The third category, the council member said would include industrial and construction workers who ought to be housed in the industrial areas.The speaker of the council said that the proposal was raised three years ago and the Cabinet had referred it to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs �but we have not heard from them since then�.The proposal was referred to the services committee for further review and presenting a report.An official at the ministry said that there was no law that prevented accommodating bachelors in the city�s residential areas though strict rules for public hygiene and other requirements had been imposed. He said that the landlords were responsible for renting out their premises to the workers.