The Annual Research Forum (ARF), organised by Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, will take a new international dimension in its second edition with the theme ‘Globalisation of Research. The forum will showcase the latest research being conducted in and for Qatar that can also benefit developing countries. This year’s theme takes its inspiration from a speech delivered by H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser at the inaugural Annual Research Forum in December 2010, in which she noted, “It has become acceptable to talk about globalisation in the fields of education, economy, culture and information technology. The time…

The number of private heathcare facilities is rapidly growing in the country, and so are public complaints about the exorbitant fees charged by such facilities as well as their services that are said to be far from satisfactory. The tough monitoring by the Supreme Council of Health (SCH) has helped to improve the performance of private healthcare providers to some extent, but their charges remain untouched until now. The Permanent Licensing Committee (PLC) and the Medical Licensing Department (MLD) at SCH that are responsible for licensing and monitoring private healthcare facilities in the country have so far abstained from regulating…

As we all know, last month a deadly E. coli strain was detected in Germany, now over 20 deaths have occurred in Europe. But the exact cause of the current E. coli outbreak is still considered unknown. First the culprit was thought to be cucumbers, then bean sprouts, now they are again unsure. But the bottom line is that with vegetable exports commonly coming from Europe, everyone must sit up and take notice of this public health disaster. As I have repeatedly said before, we must be our own health advocates and our families’ also. Don’t wait for government agencies…

The second Board of Directors meeting of the GCC Criminal Information Centre to Combat Drugs (GCC-CICCD) began on Monday, 6/6/2011 at the headquarters of the Centre in Doha. The meeting that continues for three days will discuss several issues related with drug trafficking and GCC cooperation in the field. The director of the Centre Colonel Saqr Rashid al-Murakhi said that the meeting is held in the context of cooperation and coordination between GCC countries in drug combating. He stated that the infrastructure project for centralized database and its programs and systems prepared in association with United Nations Office on Drugs…