Rain and Doha...like Oil and Water.

Doha roads jammed with traffic following flooding, Salwa Road closure

By: SHABINA S. KHATRI | 6 HOURS AGo | 19 COMMENTS

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After some 24 hours of drizzling and intermittent rains, Doha’s roads were clogged with cars this evening.

Flooding in the Salwa Road tunnels earlier in the day led to at least one car getting stuck and the Qatar Decor underpass being closed temporarily, shunting rush-hour commuters onto the smaller service roads.

The Public Works Authority, Ashghal, has deployed emergency teams to drain Salwa Road flooding and said in a statement that it expects the work to be completed within a few hours.

Ashghal

Drainage work in the Salwa Road underpass

The partial closure had an apparent knock-on effect as drivers sought to avoid the area, leading to backups on surrounding roads, including B-Ring, C-Ring, and congestion at Al Waab. Traffic levels were also higher than usual in the West Bay area and elsewhere in Doha.

Amid criticism from Qatar residents for the flooding of the new Salwa highway, Ashghal sought to defended itself, saying the issue stems from as-yet uncompleted Abu Hamour infrastructure work.

In the statement issued this evening, it said:

“Ashghal asserts the fact that Salwa Road encompasses an efficient and deep water drainage system including pipes with large diameters, providing high drainage capacity for surface water to serve Salwa Road. However, as the project’s underground drainage connection to the sea through Abu Hamour network is still not yet constructed, Salwa Road drainage network is currently used to receive and store surface water inside the pipes only as a temporary procedure till the main drainage network is ready to streamline the water to the sea as planned.

When these pipes reached its maximum capacity within a very short time due to heavy rains as was the case today, water suction pumps and tanks are immediately deployed to the area to handle the eccess water from the Salwa Road drainage pipes to the nearest drainage network in order to reduce the level of water levels inside these pipes.”

Other parts of Qatar have also seen flooding, most notably the Industrial Area:

Police began redirecting traffic in the Salwa Road area early in the afternoon:

The Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning has tweeted that trucks have been deployed on the roads to suction the rainwater:

Nonetheless, commuters are warning each other to stay off the streets if possible:

Meanwhile, forecasters have said the rain will likely clear up by tonight. Rain during this time of the year is typical, as the country transitions from the cooler months into the hotter ones.

Blast conclusion.

Inquiry finds leaking oven at fault for last month’s deadly gas blast

By: SHABINA S. KHATRI AND RIHAM SHEBLE | March 24, 2014 | 2 COMMENTS

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Peter Kovessy

With reporting from Tory Scott and Ankita Menon

The cause of an explosion that killed 11 people and injured 35 others in Qatar last month was a pizza oven at a Turkish restaurant that was not properly turned off and leaking liquid petroleum gas (LPG), officials have said.

Speaking at a press conference this morning, the head of operations at Civil Defense and the director of the Ministry of Interior’s forensics department added that the gas was ignited by the electrical current from the restaurant’s refrigerator.

The oven’s LPG was likely left on when the eatery was closed around 2 or 3am the previous night. The eatery was closed at the time of the blast, around 10am.

Officials also said today that the idea that the blast was deliberate was almost immediately discounted, because no remnants of any potential explosives were found, among other factors.

Prosecutor’s case

On the day of the accident, government officials said the blast originated from a 1,000-liter LPG tank owned by Woqod and used by Istanbul Restaurant for cooking.

Woqod officials later said their tank was not responsible for the blast. Shortly thereafter, Qatar’s Attorney General Dr. Ali bin Fetais Al Marri issued a media publication ban on all investigation-related reports.

But yesterday, QNA announced that the investigation has concluded, and the ban was lifted, after Al Marri referred the case to criminal court.

In response to questions from reporters about who was referred to the court, officials declined to name the party involved, saying it was the prosecutor’s job.

When reached by phone today, restaurant owner Baris Yilmaz told Doha News he would be picking up papers from the prosecutor’s office today and could not comment for now.

Woqod declined to comment to Doha News today, saying officials needed to confer about the investigation results first.

Safety concerns

Last month’s accident has renewed concerns among residents about the safety of Qatar’s restaurants, particularly those situated in petrol stations.

In response to questions, Civil Defense’s head of operations said that officials have been cracking down on eateries who do not comply with Law No. 9 of 2012, which bans cooking with gas in petrol stations.

That law was passed shortly after the deadly Villaggio mall fire and gave the government more power to enforce safety standards in Qatar.

Over the past month, restaurants inside of petrol stations that have not switched to using electric stoves have been closed. Officials have also ordered Woqod to stop selling LPG Shafaf gas cylinders at their petrol stations.

Cooking with LPG

The canisters should still be available at more than 200 shops around Qatar, according to Woqod’s website.

However, it appears that the recent suspension of sales of Shafaf LPG gas cylinders at Woqod petrol stations is having a knock-on effect on residential customers, some of whom are struggling to find refills from other sources.

In speaking to several of the shops who stock the canisters, about half told Doha Newsthey had some available, while others said they did not know when they’d receive another delivery.

Woqod’s gas delivery team told Doha News that the current shortage is being caused by a run on existing supplies, as Shafaf users who normally buy from Woqod petrol stations search for new outlets.

However, the team added that deliveries are continuing to go out, and dwindling supplies are being replenished. Customers who are running short of gas are advised to call nearby outlets in advance to check stock levels, or call Woqod on 40217777 for advice.

Meanwhile, at the press conference, when asked about the safety of LPG for home cooking, officials said residents should operate the canisters responsibly, adding that electric stoves are preferable.

They urged anyone who sees anything unsafe at a restaurant or a petrol station to report the information to Civil Defense or the Ministry of Interior on Twitter.

Have you ever...

...filled out a nurse form for a runny nose?

White Shirt Memo.

Wacky day in Doha!

Well, it was bound to happen.  Something finally hit our car.  Not another car, but an object.

Newton's Third Law of Motion states, "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction".  Well, whatever hit our our caused a big dent as the energy was transferred and equally caused all of us in car to react like something just blew up.  no one was hurt and thankfully the object hit the car door and not the window.

On top of this madness, we had a huge rain storm today and there was widespread flooding.  We are heading into Spring the weather is changing each day.

So, I headed over to the Police Station downtown first.  Wrong one.  Not at all surprised.  So we headed back up to our neck of the woods and they then proceeded to refer me to another station.  I dug my heals in and ask that they accommodate me.  The shirt and tie may have helped.  Luckily we have full insurance and the report was filled out and I was on my way.

I was sitting beside these Nepalese guys who looked a little scared.  I am not sure what they did, but all of them went into the back room and the door was locked behind them.  Good luck fellas!

2014 Qatar Moto GP

For the past four days there has been a rumbling off in the distance.  From our house, we can see and hear the Losail International Circuit.  The Moto GP event is held at night with several practice and qualification sessions leading up to the big race night.

The event attracted a huge Italian and Spanish crowd cheering for their beloved Valentino Rossi (46) and Marc Marquez (93).  Marquez broke his leg dirt biking before the start of the season four weeks ago.  Somehow he managed to overcome the pain and finish 1st ahead of Rossi in second place.  Down the 1km straight they were traveling up to 346kph!

A student of mine gave me a pit pass and I was able to rub elbows with both of these crazy athletes who put on perhaps the best motorcycle clinic in recent history.

Here are some photos from my night at the track...

Yep...that is a million dollar car.  The McLaren.

Pit lane.

I snuck into the pits somehow.

A Moto2 bike getting ready to be packed up for the next race in Texas.

The starting grid.

A dime a dozen here.  Notice the plate number.
Low numbers mean closer ties to the top.

The most coveted endangered fish in the Mid-East.

UAE restaurants take over-fished Hamour off menus Article Reader Comments Email To Friend

By Hotelier Middle East Staff

Feb 13, 2013

A number of UAE-based hotels and restaurants have opted to take Hammour off the menu, but many continue to offer the endangered fish.

Abu DhabiIndian restaurant Ushna is among those that have stopped serving the local orange spotted grouper, in light of recent discussions highlighting over-farming of the slow-producing fish, which is often caught before it has had the opportunity to breed.

Others include Le Royal Meridien Abu Dhabi, the recently-opened Dubai Indian restaurant Memsaab by celebrity chef Anil Kumar, and popular Dubai-based Asian restaurant Mango Tree.

“We took Hammour off the menu due to it being so overfished that the size of the hammour we wanted was not always available. We want to support the fish becoming strong in the Gulf sea again. Hammour is a very slow reproducing fish and with the demand so high they can't reproduce fast enough,” said Mango Tree chef Paul Kennedy.

According to the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, overfishing of Hammour has placed the species on the endangered list. In recent years, Hammour has been over-fished seven times above the level that would allow the species to naturally replenish itself.

Ushna restaurant manager Uday Goel urged other UAE restaurants to stop serving the fish, and to educate diners.

“Sometimes the end consumer misunderstands that local is best, this is not always the case. Many of the local fish are being over farmed and the stocks in the sea are declining. Hammour has historically been the most popular fish in the region so it is only natural for them to ask for it. We then inform them of our initiative, which is also mentioned on the first page of our menu,” said Goel.

Kennedy added: “There is a misunderstanding – people think it is always more sustainable to fish locally – but as we see by the ever-decreasing numbers of Hammour, it is not. Guests do request hammour a lot as it is a local fish, however, we explain that because it is overfished it is not a sustainable fish so we do not want to serve it and 95% of the time the guests understand”.

Both restaurants offer local varieties of Snapper, Bream and Sea Bream as an alternative to Hammour.

However, other outlets in the emirates continue to promote the endangered fish on their menus.

These include Al Waha, an Arabic seafood restaurant recently launched at Taj Palace Hotel Dubai, where diners can choose their own live Hammour from a fish tank in the restaurant.

British seafood restaurant Scott’s, which opened in the Jumeirah at Etihad Towers Abu Dhabi hotel in December, also serves the near-extinct fish, describing it as a dish “you have to have”.

“You try to maintain the integrity of Scott’ but also of the local market and cater to what they would like to see on the menu too,” Jumeirah at Etihad Towers executive chef Loughlin Druhan said.

“Scott’s [in London] is very much about sustainability. It is important for us as well and with most of our menu, you’ll see is very sustainable using fish that are in plenty supply. But you do have clients that prefer certain items. We try not to put it [hammour] on the menu unless it is specifically requested – we try to offer substitutes too where possible and if they are happy taking it, great. It’s not always the case though and at the end of the day we try to keep our customer’s happy – we don’t want to upset our guests,” he added.

By Louise Birchall, with additional reporting by Hannah-Farah Abdulla.

Yep, that's a horse!

A horse in the back of a truck outside the convenience store.

Bad boys bad boys...

...whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when they come for you?

A new public awareness campaign...

Theoretically speaking

I have come up with a theory.

Nate has had a running nose for most of the year.  All of us are constantly tired, even where we try to catch up and go to bed at 7pm.  I thought that it might be the 5am starts and we are just worn down.  But then I came across an article in the Gulf Times that caught my attention and made me think a little bit.  It made reference to the fact that MENA (Middle East North Africa) has the highest concentration of air pollutants in the world.

According the the World Health Organization (WHO), the acceptable concentration of air pollutants per metre cubed is 20mcg/m3 (mcg = micrograms).  In Iran, the reading earlier this week was 372mcg/m3, almost 19 times what is acceptable.  The Middle East has an average reading of 130mcg/m3.  So on a good day here the air is still bad.

I could not see the city line from my bathroom window the other day.  There is a smear of brown across the sky.  If there is a smear of brown across the sky over there, then what are the people in the city seeing when they look back at me?

We are surrounded by refineries, V8 SUVs and dust kicked up from the surrounding deserts.  For example, I had sand in my teeth the other day and my nose was all stuffed up.  There are other contributing factors as well such as pollution from ships, pollution from incineration of trash, pollution from aircrafts, pollution from exploration and exploitation of the sea, continental shelf and land, and whatever else is going on that we don't know about.  Basically, we are surrounded by things that cause the air quality to be compromised.

So back to my theory.  We inhale, the air is captured in our lungs, the oxygen is dissolved and becomes part of our blood stream.  In other words, the air become part of us.  If it is not of good quality, would it not make perfect sense that we are feeling tired because we are deprived of quality air?  I'm sure that this is not rocket science.

I shared my theory in the grade 12 common room today and there was one kid, who looked really tired, and his eyes lit up.  It was like I made sense of why he was feeling like crap all the time.

Anyways, that's my theory and I'm sticking to it!

NFL contract up for grabs.

So I was in Ezdan Mall today after school with Linds and the kids.  I was standing outside of a store when I was approached by a Qatari.  This is a first for me and a generally rare occurrence as well.

Out of nowhere he started talking about American style football.  He told me that he wanted to play in the NFL.  What???

Here is my logic...I guess that because I am a bigger than average white guy, he assumed that I must play professional football and I therefore could hook him up with a contract to play in the NFL.  I love it!

So here is the best part.  I grabbed his right bicep and told him that he has some work to do!  We exchanged a laugh together and as quickly as he came, he went.  "Time" he said, as in time to go, and we parted ways.

What a funny place.

Nate at the mall.

Timmies in the background!

Syria is in bad shape.

What are the two best days in a boat owners life?

The day they buy the boat and the day they sell the boat.

Check out this one docked at the the Pearl!  Good thing fuel is cheap over here.

A little worried...

Sanctions from GCC nations unlikely, but Qatar preparing nonetheless

By: SHABINA S. KHATRI | March 15, 2014View as "Clean Read" | 20 COMMENTS

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Ddesiderio/Wikimedia

In the event that diplomatic relations between Qatar and Saudi Arabia deteriorate further, the tiny Gulf state has been working out contingency plans to prevent disruptions to residents’ everyday life, the Financial Times reports.

The preparation comes after Saudi, the UAE and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Qatar earlier this month, citing internal security concerns and Doha’s support of “hostile media” as their main concerns.

Qatar has responded by saying the dispute actually appears to be over external matters, largely believed to be the country’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood, particularly in Egypt. That political group and former President Mohamed Mursi were overthrown in Cairo last year.

Since then, Saudi, the UAE and Kuwait have pledged billions of dollars to the new military-backed Egyptian government, which Qatar has criticized for cracking down on dissenters.

Escalation questions

Pressure on Doha to fall in line with Gulf policy does not appear to be working so far. Last week, its foreign minister said that the country’s independent foreign policy is “non-negotiable.”

So far, the tensions have remained political, but there are concerns that the three Gulf countries will further press Qatar by closing off its land border and airspace.

Qatar is a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water, and shares its only land border with Saudi Arabia. It also imports more than 90 percent of its food.

In 2012, Qatar imported 66 percent of its dairy, 39 percent of its vegetables and 6 percent of its poultry from the Kingdom, according to Qatarvironment.org. Trade disruptions with Saudi could thus pose a significant problem.

However, according to FT, sanctions appears unlikely. The newspaper cites a Qatari official as saying:

“Saudi Arabia does not want to push the GCC towards disintegration. Closing borders is a bad sign for them as much as us.”

Still, preparations are underway to manage any potential disruptions on the ground, with government departments asking suppliers if they would be able to continue their services in the event of a “crisis.”

The newspaper also reports that Qatar is discussing how to handle potential trade disruptions from Dubai:

“Qatari officials have discussed the potential impact of Dubai’s tran-shipment hub, the largest in the region, being closed to its shipping…

(But) the UAE would also be wary of escalating matters, given its dependence on natural gas imported from Qatar for its power generation.”

Economic leverage

According to Bloomberg, Qatar’s natural gas wealth makes it hard for Saudi and other GCC countries to pressure Doha economically. It cites John Sfakianakis, chief investment strategist at MASIC in Saudi Arabia, as saying:

“Direct economic leverage is of little impact. Qatar could go it alone, as long as the world is in need of gas, and as long as they don’t get all their neighbors to be their enemies.”

The news service adds that last year, in a move unrelated to any regional disputes, Qatar hired consultants to draft food-supply contingency plans in case regional trade routes were disrupted. One scenario included the closing of the Saudi border.

With Qatar standing firm on its policy decisions and other Gulf countries expressing unhappiness at is maverick status, what happens next remains to be seen. Abdulkhaleq Abdullah, an Emirati academic and author of “The Gulf Regional System,” tells Bloomberg that the stakes for Doha are high:

“Qatar is asked to reverse 15 years of policy, of being anti-status quo, of having an alliance with the Brotherhood, of going it alone. To change all that means that the Qatar you and I know will no longer be there.”

Our Kia Cerato didn't make the cut.

PHOTOS: Supercars converge at the Qatar Sports Club

By: OMAR CHATRIWALA | March 15, 2014View as "Clean Read" | 5 COMMENTS

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(All photos copyright Sally Crane Photography)

Dozens of high-powered and expensive vehicles turned up at the Qatar Sports Club this weekend for the latest supercar gathering.

The event on Thursday night brought out Ferraris, Porsches, Lamborghinis, Mercedes, Jaguars and more.

Photographer Sally Crane went to the meet-up and captured these images. Here’s what she had to say about it:

“I was surprised at how organized it was with the catering, and TVs set up showing ads, big floodlights all round, and proper stands from some of the big companies. Even a few Aston Martins which I’ve very rarely seen here), yes and catering tent and hospitality seating areas.

The drinks and food were being offered around everyone there all evening. They seemed to think perhaps a few less cars than they expected because it was odd weather.”