Cairo, September 22 (QNA) – Egypt’s Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Osama Kamal, said on Saturday that his country is looking forward to strengthen ties of cooperation with Qatar, especially in the promising investment opportunities in the field of importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar .
Elaborating he said Egypt also is mulling to enhance such a cooperation in the establishment of units capable of receiving LNG, in Egypt, for industrial usage, power generation and petrochemical industry for the benefit of the two countries.
The Egyptian minister, in an address ahead of his meeting here today with Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry HE Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, who is also Chairman of Qatar Petroleum (QP), expressed his country’s aspiration to achieve a new leap of constructive cooperation with the State of Qatar, based on sound economic pillars to serve the interests of both countries.
He considered Qatar’s announcement of participation in the construction of a new oil refinery, of a rate of investment approximately USD 3.7 billion, which falls within the context of the fruitful cooperation between the two sides.
Kamal added that this contribution is an initial step towards further cooperation between the two countries in the fields of oil, gas and petrochemicals, referring to the Egyptian government’s encouragement to Arab investments especially Qatar’s in these areas.
The Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources meantime said in press remarks following his talks with Qatari side headed by HE Dr. Mohammed bin Saleh Al Sada, that the talks with the Qatari side, including talks on importing Qatari LNG were good and promising adding that the results will show up shortly. (QNA)

Doha, September 22 (QNA) – The world’s only Flying Eye Care hospital, housed within a DC-10 aircraft parked at the Doha International Airport (DIA), opened for visitors Saturday as part of its four-day goodwill tour of the Middle East.
The plane brought here in partnership with the DIA and Oryx Rotana Doha by non-profit global organisation ORBIS which is celebrating this year the 30th anniversary of empowering, training and providing technology for eye hospitals in developing countries.
Over the next four days, the unique Flying Eye Hospital (FEH) will receive visitors from the medical, corporate and philanthropic organisations, officials said while orienting the local media with the on-board facilities.
Speaking to the media, ORBIS Chairman Dr Robert Walters said, “Around 285 million people in the world are visually impaired and have such poor vision that they cannot do daily routine work.”
Around 246 million have low vision and 39 million are estimated to be blind. “A majority of the world’s visually impaired people live in developing countries,” he said at the event attended by ambassadors of United States, United Kingdom and South Africa to Qatar.
Approximately 1.26 million children are blind and 19 million are visually impaired. Of all people having visual impairment 80% can be avoided or cured. 
“The FEH is a unique tool that provides teaching and training to eye care professionals to empower them to take better care of people in their own communities,” said Dr Walters.
The FEH contains a complete ophthalmic operating suite, a four-bed pre-operation and recovery room, sub sterile room and laser room.
FEH Co-ordinator McKenzie Price, speaking to Qatar News Agency (QNA) said, “The FEH has 12 medical staff, including four surgeons and five nurses and eight-member non-medic crew.”
FEH Director of Nursing Heather Machin said, “We provide hands  on training and all our courses match international standards since we are committed to long-term relationships.”
The purpose of the FEH’s visit to Qatar is to engage the community here and spread awareness.
“Our strategy is to get the eyes and ears of the ministers, the policy-makers. We are on a fund-raising tour. It is a charity and we need to ensure that we run this service efficiently and use our donors  money effectively,” said Dr Walters.
The FEH has visited 77 countries, and conducted more than 280 training and service programmes in 154 cities.
In 2011, 936 medical professionals received training on-board and are now using their skills in their local areas. 386 eye surgeries were performed, and 71 medical volunteers from around the world shared their skills and knowledge with local doctors and medical professionals.
Oryx Rotana General Manager Kevork Deldelian said, “Oryx Rotana Doha is committed to playing and an active role in supporting such a global initative to combat preventable blindness.”
“The FEH will next visit Abu Dhabi and then fly to Ethiopia and Zambia,” Dr Walters told QNA.
ORBIS plans to explore the potential of youth development schemes in Qatar where students can travel with the plane to experience the work of the medical team first-hand. (END)

Tokyo, September 22 (QNA) – The Qatari basketball team won Bronze in the AFC Asia Cup, after the team defeated the Philippines Saturday 79-63. Iran won the tournament after it defeated hosts Japan 53-51 in a very closely contested game. This is the first time Iran had won this competition.  HE President of the Asian Basketball Federation Sheikh Saud bin Ali Al Thani handed out the trophy to the champions and medals for the top three teams. In other games in the tournaments, China came in fifth after it defeated Taipei 67-63. Lebanon came in 7th place after defeating Uzbekistan 84-73.
Head of the Qatari Delegation to the competition Mohammed Ali Hobash said that the Qatari team’s achievement will drive the players for more success. Qatar will compete in the 2012 GCC Basketball tournament in late September. Hobash expressed his hope that the AFC Asia Cup revealed to the coaches the tactical aspects the players need to work on in order to improve for the GCC tournament. (QNA)

Doha, September 22 (QNA) – Last year’s runners up Al Jaish defeated Qatar Stars League (QSL) title holders Lekhwiya 1-nil in the match played on the Thani bin Jassim Stadium in Gharafa sports club. The win provided Al Jaish with a precious win over their rivals in the race to win the league. Karim Zayani scored the only goal of the game in the 85th minute. Both clubs had a shaky start to this year’s campaign, which is only two weeks old. Both of them managed to win one match and lose the other. (QNA)

Doha, September 22 (QNA) – In collaboration with the Museum for African Art, New York, Katara, the Cultural Village Foundation, will bring to Doha Ibrahim El-Salahi: A Visionary Modernist, the first museum retrospective of acclaimed Sudanese artist Ibrahim El-Salahi.
The exhibition will open at 7:00 pm on Thursday 4th October in Gallery 22, Katara, and will run until Tuesday 27th November 2012.
Including approximately 80 works encompassing over five decades of the artist s career, this retrospective highlights drawings and paintings from international institutions and private collections. A Visionary Modernist follows work produced during El-Salahi’s travels and ongoing spiritual journey.
Commenting on the occasion, Ibrahim El-Salahi states, “I have arrived at the conclusion that the work of art is but a springboard for the individual intellect, acting as a mirror reflecting our desires and ambitions. The picture floats freely within the realm of a simple relationship between the viewer and the subject, encouraging visual meditation and better self knowledge.” He continued, “I am delighted to collaborate with Katara, the Cultural Village.”
Sa’id Costa, Curator of Visual Arts Exhibitions and Educational Programs said, “The retrospective explores several themes which El-Salahi illustrates through his use of color, texture, and variations. His artworks represent the spiritual journey he embarked upon from the Middle East, to Africa and through Europe which has resulted in this inspiring collection of works. Katara is committed to cultivating a creative atmosphere by providing world class artists with a platform to showcase their artistic abilities and in turn stimulating creativity amongst the youth of Qatar. Katara is fast becoming the epicenter for arts and culture in the GCC.” 
A Visionary Modernist begins with paintings from the periods before, during, and immediately following El-Salahi s time at the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art at University College, London, in 1954. This was a time of self-discovery as well as an introduction to other world cultures and artistic practices. Inspired by art ranging from Ancient Islam, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, to Modernists such as Cezanne, Pissarro, and Seurat, El-Salahi began to incorporate various visual techniques into his work.
The exhibition continues with work made upon El-Salahi’s return to Sudan in 1957 and the years that followed. A Visionary Modernist concludes with paintings and drawings produced after El-Salahi’s return to Oxford, England, in 1998, to the present day, a period that represents the culmination of the artist s experiences and career.
The exhibition A Visionary Modernist opened in United Arab Emirates on March 20, 2012 at the Sharjah Art Museum. The exhibition is guest curated by Dr. Salah M. Hassan, professor of African and African diaspora art history and visual culture at Cornell University. A Visionary Modernist is supported, in part, by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. Additional support has been provided by the Sharjah Art Museum.
The exhibition catalogue is published with the assistance of the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development and the Getty Foundation. Ibrahim El-Salahi: A Visionary Modernist is organized by the Museum for African Art and will be a featured exhibition in the Museum s new building on New York’s famous Museum Mile. (END)

Doha, September 22 (QNA) – Qatar Statistics Authority (QSA) is currently working on developing the environmental statistics for the State of Qatar and on creating an advanced environmental database to keep pace with development witnessed by all fields in the country. QSA seeks to enter the official environmental data in the National Statistical System using international standards and to release and distribute them periodically, to meet the needs of National Development Strategy 2011/2016 as well as international bodies concerned with environmental information.
As part of these endeavors, QSA organizes, over the next three days, a training workshop on the concepts and frameworks of environmental statistics, to lay the foundation for official environmental statistics, with the participation of representatives of a number of key stakeholders in environmental issues including government agencies, business and research centers.
The workshop, which kicks off on Sunday, at Hilton Doha, will address the importance of environmental statistics in supporting development strategies to achieve the Qatar National Vision 2030, particularly with regard to environmental development, which is one of the four pillars of the vision.
It will also address the various challenges which the government agencies are facing in the provision of statistics and framing environmental requirements to ensure sustainable growth in Qatar.
QSA hopes such a workshop would come out with a mechanism that facilitates the integration of environmental information across different government bodies, and improves the quality of data in order to develop a database that serves the decision-making. Environmental data is expected to be published officially starting the second quarter of 2013. (QNA)

Doha, September 22 (QNA) – The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) organized a comprehensive workshop to assess of the capacity of the national health sector’s preparedness and response to emergencies and disasters, which is an important part of the national health plan 2011-2016. The workshop, held over two days, featured representatives of all relevant sectors in the field of disaster response and in the presence of an expert from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The final recommendations of the workshop stressed the need to revise and update the existing regulations and the mechanisms of response to disasters and emergencies, comprehensive joint training and qualifying emergency workers benefiting from local and international expertise. (QNA)

Cernobbio, Italy, September 22 (QNA) – Qatar Ali-Neama and HE Sheikh Hassan bin Jabor Al-Thani finished third and sixth overall in race one at the Italian Grand Prix, round three of the 2012 UIM Class One World Powerboat Championship, on Lake Como on Saturday afternoon. Partnered by Italian Matteo Nicolini and England s Steve Curtis respectively, the Spirit of Qatar duo were not able to stay with the Victory 3 crew of Arif Saif Al-Zafeen and Mohammed Al-Marri, once the Emirati crew made a good second start to the race that had initially been red flagged following a crash involving Gian Maria Gabiani and Luca Nicolini.
HE Sheikh Hassan held third place for much of the race and looked set to overhaul Team Abu Dhabi s Rashed Al-Tayer and Majed Al-Mansoori for second position when the wash and spray from the rival boat cost them time, flooded an engine and dropped them back to sixth position. Al-Neama and Nicolini duly inherited third place and held on to finish behind the two Emirati boats in an all Middle East podium.
“Team Abu Dhabi overshot a buoy and we had to go around them on the inside,” said Sheikh Hassan, president of the Qatar Marine Sports Federation (QMSF) and driver of Spirit of Qatar 96.
“But they shut the door on us from about two or three feet and the engine flooded and it flooded the canopy. We knew that there were some other boats behind so we stayed away from them and it took us a while to get back up to speed with the engine, by which time it was too late to make a charge.
“There is always tomorrow, but the way the race course is designed it is a very tight line to the first buoy for the pole position boat and not really an advantage. We will see what happens tomorrow and whether they change the start procedure.”
A race Jury met late on Friday evening to discuss an alleged incident whereby Victory 3 had struck a turn buoy on the final qualifying lap of the Edox Pole Position on Friday afternoon. The protest put down by the Qatar team was duly upheld and the lap was erased from the standings, meaning that Sheikh Hassan and Steve Curtis started the initial race from pole position in Spirit of Qatar 96.
“We found out that there was a missing buoy out on the course so there was an unfair advantage for the boats, which did not have the chance to run the shorter course,” said HE Sheikh Hassan.(QNA)