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Residents living on the outskirts of Doha and neighbouring towns have been complaining about a shortage of taxis, particularly in the morning peak hours, despite a significant rise in the number of cabs on Qatar’s roads over the past two years. According to the country’s transport authorities, the two private taxi franchisees together have more than 1,000 cars, besides the 2,000-odd vehicles of Mowasalat. While there is little doubt that the three operators have been meeting the requirements of passengers in Doha, those living on the city’s outskirts and its immediate neighbourhood continue to face problems. “The availability of taxis in our neighbourhood is poor, unlike in Doha, and one has to wait endlessly for a cab to arrive,” said a resident of a new community development in the vicinity of Hamad Medical Corporation, Al Wakrah.

Similar views were aired by some shop owners in the area. One of them said though a large number of residents have moved to localities in the vicinity of Doha, the availability of taxis remains a problem in such places.

Qatar Airways and Boeing have announced an order for nine 777-300ER jets in a deal worth up to $2.8bn at current list prices. The order for the additional aircraft, which is an extended range version of Boeing 777, will help the airline open up new routes and add capacity to existing markets in its rapidly-growing network. The airline’s outstanding order for seven Boeing 777 jets will increase to 16 and boost its current fleet of thirty-five 777s to some 51 aircraft. Of the current 777 fleet, Qatar Airways operates a mix of passenger and cargo aircraft – 22 Boeing 777-300ERs, nine 777-200LRs (long range) and four Boeing 777 freighters, with a fifth cargo plane set to be delivered to the airline this month.

According to Boeing, Qatar Airways took delivery of its first Boeing 777 in November 2007. In September 2011, the airline received a 777-200LR that became the 100th airplane to join its fleet.

The much-awaited Afghan Taliban office in Doha is expected to officially open today, the AFP news agency reported quoting Qatar-based Al Jazeera television yesterday.

Since 2011, talks have been underway to open a Taliban office in Qatar, which was touted as a tool to help facilitate talks between the militants and the Afghan government.

Al Jazeera cited anonymous sources for its report and gave no further details but a Taliban spokesman in Kabul told AFP he was “unaware” of any such development.

Qatar ranks seventh in fibre optic penetration in the world, reaching out to 66 percent of the households, reveals a study.

The country also has one of the fastest nationwide fibre roll-outs in the world, as seen by the average percentage of homes passed by fibre (33.3 percent of the total) and the number of homes connected (6.3 percent) per year, according to the report ‘National Fibre Strategies: National economic imperative or just another private industry task?’ by Arthur D Little (ADL).

Having stunned over 40,000 fans at eight sold out shows, officials from Sport & Entertainment Solutions (SES) yesterday revealed plans to return to Qatar with more Disney Live! productions.

Disney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic concluded its four-day tour in Doha on Sunday, leaving tens of thousands of adoring fans eagerly anticipating what might be next for the Disney On Ice series.

Having stunned over 40,000 fans at eight sold out shows, officials from Sport & Entertainment Solutions (SES) yesterday revealed plans to return to Qatar with more Disney Live! productions.

Disney On Ice celebrates 100 Years of Magic concluded its four-day tour in Doha on Sunday, leaving tens of thousands of adoring fans eagerly anticipating what might be next for the Disney On Ice series.

A 29-year old Nepalese worker has got his severed hand reattached in a complex 12-hour surgery performed by a team of surgeons from Rumailah Hospital.

The man’s right hand was completely severed at the wrist in an accident involving a block pressure machine, and he was brought by ambulance to the Emergency Department at Hamad General Hospital.

Katara Hospitality’s Raffles Singapore property has been recognised as ‘Best Hotel in Asia’ in the Ultimate Luxury Travel Related Awards (ULTRA), for the sixth consecutive year. The award was announced at a ceremony recently held in London.

The forthcoming Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX 2014) would be the biggest yet, with an increase in the number of participating companies and countries, say organisers.

“The number of companies has increased by 40 percent; the last edition saw over 150 companies, DIMDEX 2014 would have more than 200 companies,” Brig Dr (Eng) Thani A Al Kuwari, Assistant Chief of Staff for Financial Affairs of Qatar Armed Forces, told The Peninsula on the sidelines of a press conference to announce the event, yesterday at the Diplomatic Club.

For the first time, an ice rink has been installed at Qatar National Convention Centre (QNCC), where Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and their friends from Disney are set to enthral audiences in Doha.

Japan booked their spot at the 2014 World Cup finals with a draw against Australia last week but the Asian champions have a score to settle in their final qualifier today and have no intention of going easy on Iraq in Doha.

Iraq held Japan to a 2-2 draw in the Qatari capital 20 years ago in a game that denied the Japanese a place at the 1994 World Cup and was dubbed the “Agony of Doha” by the country’s media.

The first stage of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) will be implemented from next month, providing coverage to all Qatari women aged 12 years and above for their maternity, obstetrics, gynaecology and related healthcare issues, the Supreme Council of Health announced yesterday.

Internet giants from Google and Facebook to Yahoo and Zynga are scrambling to adapt to an online world where people reach for smartphones or tablets instead of traditional computers. Social games pioneer Zynga, which rose to stardom making titles played at Facebook’s website, is cutting nearly a fifth of its staff as part of a move to focus on titles for mobile gadgets. After taking over as chief executive at Yahoo last year, former Google executive Marissa Mayer laid out a turn-around strategy that made a priority of tailoring offerings to smartphones and tablets.

The dismal performance of Facebook’s freshly-launched stock last year was blamed in large part on fears that it lacked tools to cash in on members who are increasingly accessing the social network from mobile devices.

H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser with a young Moroccan during her visit to the Rabat headquarters of the National Agency for Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC) yesterday.

Rabat, Morocco: H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser visited Morocco’s National Agency for the Promotion of Employment and Skills (ANAPEC) in Rabat.

The first Qatari man to scale Mount Everest, Sheikh Mohamed al-Thani, says he is not done yet and wants to achieve another record for his country - reach the highest peak on each of the seven continents of the world. Also, the mountaineer says the personal milestone has brought more clarity in his life and taught him to be patient. He was addressing a press conference for the first time in the country, held at Qatar Foundation’s Recreation Centre yesterday after his remarkable Everest feat.

Sheikh Mohamed began his two-month-long, adrenaline-filled journey to Mount Everest on April 4 and successfully reached the peak on May 22.

Basra, Iraq: Qatar Airways yesterday launched flights to Basra — its fourth destination in Iraq.

The new service, operating four-times-a-week non-stop from the airline’s Doha hub, takes the carrier’s global network to 128 destinations worldwide.

The launch also marks the rapid expansion by Qatar Airways in Iraq since the middle of 2012 when it began flights to Erbil, followed by the capital Baghdad and, earlier this year, Najaf.

With yesterday’s route launch, Qatar Airways’ frequency across Iraq rises from 12 to 16 flights each week – representing a more than 25 percent increase in services.

visiting German health delegation is offering support to Qatar in fighting diabetes in the country.

The delegation comprising representatives from leading healthcare firms in Germany — Emperra and gepa2 GmbH — yesterday met with senior officials of Hamad Medical Corporation, Primary Healthcare Corporation and Al Ahli Hospital.

France's culture minister has branded online retailer Amazon a "destroyer" of bookshops in the latest confrontation between the Socialist government in Paris and America's giants of the digital economy.

"Today, everyone has had enough of Amazon, which, by dumping, slashes prices to get a foothold in markets only to raise them once they have established a virtual monopoly," Culture Minister Aurelie Filippetti said.

HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani.

Vodafone Qatar will work with ictQATAR to face the threats posed by unlicensed operators working through the voice over internet (VoIP) service, said CEO Richard Daly.

“We have paid a substantial amount as licence fee. To that end we believe we should always be protected from unlicensed operators coming into the market and undercutting prices, which they can afford because they did not have to pay for the licence.

The world premiere of new works by prominent Qatari and British composers featured in a concert held on Monday at Cadogan Hall in London as part of Qatar UK Year of Culture 2013. Barry Wordsworth conducted the evening’s special guests: British violinist Chloe Hanslip and Royal College of Music (RCM) alumnus and resident of Qatar, pianist Amira Fouad, with percussionist Gary Kettel.

The evening included the world premiere of several new pieces of music by Qatari film music composer Wael Binali and British composer David Heath with two special pieces dedicated to the Year of Culture: Hope Springs Eternal and Journey to the Oasis.

An official survey has found that some three to six percent of women here smoke or use tobacco in some form.

An alarming rise in tobacco addiction has been noticed in the country over the past six years, reveals the survey conducted by the national statistics agency.

The Supreme Council of Health (SCH) has asked all private hospitals to put anaesthetists on duty round-the-clock to attend to emergency cases.

All medical practitioners working in the emergency unit must obtain an Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) certificate.

They are also required to submit a proof of it to the registration team at SCH. ACLS refers to a set of clinical interventions for urgent treatment of cardiac arrests, strokes and other life-threatening medical emergencies, as well as the knowledge and skills to deploy those interventions.

The Qatar Mobility Innovations Centre (QMIC) has won the regional award for Information Technology in the Middle East and North Africa for its Intelligent Dispatch System, a part of its Masarak Solution, at the International Public Transport and Mobility Congress in Geneva.

The 60th Biennial World Congress of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP), held between May 26 and 29, saw strong participation from a number of leading Qatari entities including top officials from QMIC.