Amid Gulf rift, Qatar offers visa-free entry to 80 nations including India

Agencies
August 9, 2017

Doha, Aug 9: Qatar announced on Wednesday a programme to allow visa-free entry for citizens of 80 countries to encourage air transport and tourism amid a two-month boycott imposed on the Gulf state by its neighbors.

Nationals from dozens of countries in Europe and elsewhere including India, Lebanon, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States will now receive tourist visas on arrival to the gas-rich country which hosts the soccer World Cup in 2022.

"The visa exemption scheme will make Qatar the most open country in the region," Hassan al-Ibrahim, Chief Tourism Development officer at Qatar Tourism Authority told reporters at a press conference in Doha.

Oil giant Saudi Arabia along with Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates imposed a boycott on Qatar on June 5 and cut off all transport links with the country after accusing it of supporting terrorism and of close ties to Iran.

Doha denies the charges. Since the boycott began, Qatar has sought to build up its diplomatic and trade ties beyond the Gulf region. The visa scheme is just the latest in a series of measures aimed at preparing Qatar for greater economic independence in the long term. Efforts led by Kuwait to resolve the rift are ongoing.

Qatar has flown in food supplies from Turkey and Iran and chartered new shipping routes via Oman to bring in construction materials but hotel occupancy rates have fallen with Saudis, a key source of tourism, barred by their government from visiting the country.

Visitors from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council usually account for almost half of all visitors to Qatar.

Air links suspended by the four Arab states represented around 25 percent of flights by state-owned Qatar Airways, one of the region's big three carriers.

On August 3, Qatar approved legislation allowing certain permanent residents to benefit from parts of the state's generous welfare system, including education and health-care services, a first for the Gulf.

Under the law, children of Qatari women married to foreigners and people with special skills "needed by the state," can benefit from the new status.

Foreign workers from countries including India and Nepal account for around 90 percent of Qatar's population of 2.7 million.

Qatar's World Cup organising committee has said the Arab sanctions will not affect preparations for the World Cup.

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News Network
April 2,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 2: A health worker, who was part of a team fighting against the Coronavirus disease in the city, was allegedly attacked by a mob and duped of her belongings at the Sadiq Layout in the Shivajinagar area on Thursday.

According to police sources, the health worker came under attack by a mob of youths when she was collecting data from those who were sick in the locality.

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News Network
February 28,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 28: The Liquefied Petroleum Gas penetration in Karnataka is 'absolutely 100 per cent' due to the Prime Minister Ujjwala Yojana, Indian Oil Corporation Karnataka Executive Director D L Pramodh said here on Friday.

In 2014, LPG penetration in the State was only 68 per cent, but after the PMUY, massive number of gas connections were given in the last five years, he said, adding, "It is absolutely 100 per cent today."

"There are 1.6 crore LPG connections out of which around 31.5 lakh -- or around 20 per cent -- come under the PMUY. The 100 per cent LPG penetration in the state will help women in rural areas to make their kitchens smokeless. Against the national average of 2.88 cylinders per family per PMUY annually, the figure is Karnataka 3.4 cylinders in Karnataka," Pramodh told reporters.

On the initiative of blending ethanol with petrol, he said it's 8.6 per cent in Karnataka, the highest comparedto other states, where it's five per cent to 5.5 per cent. The state aims to increase it to 10 per cent. By March 31, the IOC would commission the Rs 10 crore Vapour Recovery System at the Devanagonthi terminal on the city outskirts which would ensure that vapour does not go out in the air when tankers are being filled with fuel. "This is an important measure taken tominimise pollution", he said.

Pramodh also said the IOC has started mobile fuel dispensers, delivering fuels at the doorsteps.

Regarding the IOC's preparedness for Electric Vehicle charging stations, Pramodh said the Ministry of Power has given the company a target to set up 500 charging stations across India in the first phase. The IOC has already signed MoUs with NTPC, Power Grid Corporation Limited, Hyundai Motors, Tech Mahindra and Tata Power in this regard.

In Karnataka, 58 sites have been identified for setting up charging and battery swapping stations.

"Total electric vehicle charging facilities planned by IOC in Karnataka by March 31 is 34, out of which 26 will be EVcharging sites and eight battery swapping stations," Pramodh said.

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News Network
February 23,2020

Bellari, Feb 23: Fringe outfit Sri Ram Sena leader Sanjeev Maradi said on Friday said that organization will reward Rs 10 lakh to the person who will 'eliminate' those who have raised "pro-Pakistan" slogans including Amulya who recently raised "Pakistan Zindabad" slogan at an anti-CAA protest in Bengaluru.

"We request both state and central government not to release them (Pro-Pakistan sloganeers) on bail. If they will be released Sri Ram Sena will eliminate them or will give a reward of Rupees 10 lakh to those who kill them," said Sanjeev Maradi.

"We condemn such slogans. This is like a virus. First, it happened in Jammu and Kashmir, then in JNU, then Mysore and then a student named Amulya raised pro Pakistan slogan in Bengaluru," he added.

A girl named Amulya raised 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogan on Thursday at an anti-CAA protest where AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi was also invited.

Thereafter, a case was registered under Section 124A (Offence of sedition) of the Indian Penal Code against the student.

Meanwhile, Imran Pasha, the organizer of the anti-CAA protest said that Amulya was not invited to the event.

"We were the organizers of the event. At around 6:45 pm on Thursday, when I and Member of Parliament Asaduddin Owaisi were entering the stage area, we did not notice Amulya was present there. I did not invite her," Pasha told media.

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Thouseef Ahmed
 - 
Sunday, 23 Feb 2020

So theese guys have come out in public with supari and police department is on mute mode . 

 

Kannadiga
 - 
Sunday, 23 Feb 2020

Spirit of quarter bottle and plate of Beef Sukha. Subject to HQ feeding these are awake else always with DUFF and Blind eye and now nil knowledge about our Nation. What are the nation organization institution are day by day loosing .

O God Give some education knowledge these sena soldiers to behave like human.

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