Shop withdraws offensive toys

A MAJOR retail shop in Doha yesterday withdrew hundreds of mini footballs after they were deemed insulting by customers.
The soft balls were being sold at the shop in an assorted pack of three for QR7. One of the balls in each pack bore flags of countries from all over the world, including those of Saudi Arabia and Iran.
The Saudi flag has a shahada – Qur’anic declaration of faith, and the first of the five pillars in Islam. The centre emblem in the Iranian flag reads Allah and the phrase Allahu Akbar is written 22 times in the borderlines of stripes.
“My five-year-old child picked up a pack while we were there on Sunday, and said, ‘Papa look, this football shows la ilaha illallah on it’,” an extremely offended father told Gulf Times.
“I was outraged. This is being sold as a football that children will kick around and eventually throw in a dustbin. This, right here in Qatar!” he expressed surprise.
Because the inscription on the flags is considered holy it is not printed on t-shirts or other items. Saudi Arabia protested against its flag’s inclusion on a planned football by FIFA in 2002 Football World Cup that was to have flags of all participating countries. The Saudi government said that kicking the creed with the foot is unacceptable.
Meanwhile the enraged father brought the matter to the officials of the enterprise who “assured” him that “this was a one-off mistake and promised to withdraw the stock”.
However, yesterday morning shoppers were still able to purchase packs with the offensive football and one was brought to the attention of Gulf Times.
When contacted, the officials at the busy enterprise, having two outlets on Airport Road and Salwa Road, said they “must have received the stock by mistake”.
“We purchase our stocks directly from a factory in China. We have taken the objectionable items off the shelves and deeply regret the offence,” the manager told Gulf Times.
Other toy shops of all categories said they were not aware of any such football, while some said they had specific guidelines on cultural and religious sentiments.
Toys R Us store manager Ahmed Fawaz said: “We ensure that no offensive material ever enters our store. Our buying team is specifically trained on that aspect.”
In August last year, a small demonstration took place in south-east Afghanistan after the US military dropped footballs, some of them with the illustration of Saudi flag, for children from helicopters. It was the latest in a string of incidents that has angered Muslims around the world.

Barwa allottees to occupy flats from January

NATIONALS and expatriates selected for Barwa apartments at Mesaimeer will start occupying these in January.
Some 992 persons, including nationals, have been chosen as prospective tenants of two- and three-bedroom apartments at Mesaimeer under the Barwa housing programme.
They will start occupying these apartments in January, Barwa president (strategy and investment) Yousef Mohamed al-Horr said yesterday.
He said the lease contracts with the prospective tenants would be signed after Eid al-Adha, from December 15-25.

Yousef Mohamed al-Horr gives an update on the Barwa housing programme yesterday

Al-Horr said provisions for electricity and water had already been made at the Barwa apartments at Mesaimeer. Butane gas would be provided to tenants at an annual charge of QR360 per housing unit.
Barwa is co-ordinating with Civil Defence to conduct the necessary and required tests on power facilities and connections.
Barwa has already reached an agreement with Qtel to provide Mozaic packages to prospective tenants at its Mesaimeer apartments. Mozaic provides three-in-one service – Internet, landline and TV channels to customers.
Al-Horr said Ashghal had provided roads to Barwa’s Mesaimeer residential site from Al Wakrah and the Industrial Area.
The two-bedroom apartments will be rented out at QR3,000 and three-bedroom apartments at QR3,500 a month. The rents are fixed and there are no proposals for revision now.
He said those selected for the residential units would be taken on a site tour this Friday and Saturday. Barwa officials will be available at Mesaimeer to brief prospective tenants about the facilities being provided at the residential units.
Barwa would shortly get in touch with these beneficiaries to fix the time for their lease contract signing.
“We have ensured that our prospective tenants have good facilities, privacy and maximum comfort. The project has been designed to achieve these,” he explained.
Al-Horr said Barwa’s other project site for low/middle group accommodation at Al Sayliyah would be completed in the first half of 2009.
He said the delay in project completion was not because of shortage of funds but due to scarcity of raw material and workforce.
There were plans to launch such projects in future but it was too early to give details, he said.
Asked on the break-up of Qataris who have been allotted residential units at Mesaimeer, al-Horr said, “I cannot give you the precise figure now, but some 388 Qataris have been chosen for units under the Barwa housing programme.”
“There is no doubt we had given much attention to Qataris in the programme and the first list of beneficiaries comprised only nationals,” he said.
On the impact of the global liquidity crunch on Barwa, he said, “We have not had any problems so far. There are no plans to downsize employees as is being done by some leading real estate developers in the region.”
Al-Horr also clarified that none of the beneficiaries had declined the offer for the two- and three-bedroom apartments at Mesaimeer or Al Sayliyah.
But some of those originally shortlisted were found ineligible in detailed scrutiny. Such people were knocked off the list and eligible people from the waiting list considered.



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Experts’ team to inspect school buildings for safety

SCHOOL buildings are to be inspected annually henceforth to ensure proper maintenance and the safety of all concerned, Private Education Department director Hamad Ali al-Sulaiti told Gulf Times.
“We will start with Arabic private schools, to be followed by community schools and international schools,”

Hamad Ali al-Sulaiti ... ‘big demand for school spaces

he explained in an interview yesterday.
The evaluation of the buildings of the Arabic schools, most of which were established about 30 years ago, should be over within two months.
“A team of experts, comprising experts from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Ashghal and Civil Defence Department, are to undertake the inspection,” the official said.
Once the inspection reports are ready, a committee chaired by the ministry’s undersecretary Rabia al-Kaabi and featuring eight members from various internal departments, would decide whether the buildings are safe or not.
“The report, ensuring the safety of a school building, is to be made mandatory at the time of the renewal of the institution’s licence every year,” al-Sulaiti said.
The official pointed out that Pak Shama School and College, the oldest expatriate educational institution in the country, had recently shifted to new premises at Wakrah from their old facility.
In addition to the safety requirements, the schools have to adhere to the stipulations regarding making available adequate space for students inside and outside the classrooms.
“In a classroom, each student should have 1sqm area whereas it is 2sqm outside. For example, if a school has 500sqm area outside, the maximum intake should be 250 students,” he explained.
Asked if the schools were following this guideline, al-Sulaiti said most of them do and the others would be found out through the inspections.
The Private Education Department oversees the functioning of more than 130 schools, accounting for about 85,000 students.
“Some schools may have only 200 students whereas there are institutions with more than 8,000 students,” he observed.
The director pointed out that there is a big demand for school spaces, especially in international schools, given the influx of expatriate families.
“Some expatriate schools have more than 500 students on the waiting list,” he said while maintaining that the licensing procedures for new schools are very simple.
“The most important criterion is to have a big and suitable building,” al-Sulaiti maintained.
The Private Education Department has given licence for seven new schools this year, including the recently opened German School.
“Four international schools, owned by Qataris, and a Japanese school scheduled for opening in April 2009, are among this group,” the official added.

Braille version of UN rights declaration unveiled in Doha

A BRAILLE version of the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights was released in Doha yesterday. Al-Nour Institute for Blind director Hayat Nathar said the Braille copy was the result of a co-operation between the institute and the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC).


Nathar said the aim of the project is to educate, necessary for the development of the society.
As the project included printing a Braille version of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, she said the Braille version would help raise awareness and educate people with special needs about their rights and responsibilities in civil society.
“The project also produced a CD in Arabic for the visually challenged,” she added.
NHRC secretary general Ali Semaikh al-Marri pointed out that the Braille copies and CDs would not only be beneficial to the blind in Qatar but also others across the Arab world.
Al-Nour public relations manager Khaled al-Shoaibi said the NHRC not only solves problems of nationals and expatriates, but also supports the cause of the people with special needs.

JORDAN KING ENDS VISIT

HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani seeing off Jordan’s King Abdullah at Doha airport upon his departure after a two-day state visit to Qatar yesterday.

HH the Emir and King Abdullah held official talks at Al Wajbah Palace on Monday evening. Following the talks, the Emir and the king attended the signing of an additional protocol to an agreement on regulating recruitment of Jordanian manpower.