What's cool about this camera is, if I decide to become more elaborate with my photography, I can purchase a flash, strobe and macro lens for this particular model.
| Published: Wednesday, 7 May, 2008, 02:24 AM Doha Time |
By Bonnie James The new graduates with HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, HH Sheikha Mozah Nasser al-Misnad, Qatar Foundation president Mohamed Fathy Saoud and Qatar Foundation’s vice president of education Abdulla Ali al-Thani. PICTURE: Maher Attar
QATAR Foundation’s Education City hosted its historic inaugural senior convocation yesterday to celebrate the graduation of 122 students from four university campuses, in the presence of a galaxy of global and regional leaders and academicians. 
The ceremony honoured students from the inaugural classes of Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, and Texas A&M University at Qatar, as well as the seventh graduating class of Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar.
The gathering, led by HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and his wife HH Sheikha Mozah Nasser al-Misnad, had South African President Thabo Mbeki, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid al-Maktoum among the prominent guests.
Qatar Prime Minister and Foreign Minister HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor al-Thani, Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Industry HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, several other members of the Cabinet, leading citizens, diplomats and dignitaries from various walks of life were also present.
Addressing the graduates, HH the Emir focused on the importance of education and the unique opportunity that Education City offers. He also expressed his appreciation to HH Sheikha Mozah for her commitment and tireless efforts to make Education City a reality.
“All the thanks and gratitude of all Qataris go to you, Sheikha Um Jassim, for devoting your time, energy and efforts to elevate our country by implementing the reform of our national education system and raising the standard of our people,” he said. “It is now a reality of which we can all be proud.”
It was a moment of pride for the graduates, comprising 67 Qataris and 55 others from 17 nationalities, when their names flashed on the big screens as they stepped onto the stage at the Ceremonial Court to receive their rings.
One of the highlights of the event was the presence of the globally acclaimed Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, which provided musical interludes and accompanied Italian operatic pop tenor and classical crossover singer Andrea Bocelli and Iraqi singer Kathem al-Saher providing a fitting finale.
The ceremony began with Qatar National Anthem, performed by Qatar Army Band with vocals provided by the choir of Qatar Academy, Education City’s K-12 international school, followed by a procession of the deans, faculty members and the graduates.
Subsequently, the Education City Anthem, ‘Madeenatul elm’ (City of Knowledge) was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra with vocals by the student choir.
In his welcome speech, Qatar Foundation’s vice president of education Abdulla Ali al-Thani described the occasion “as a day when we harvest the fruits of years of hard work”, and went on to give an overview of Education City’s progress during the past 13 years of its existence.
“Today, you leave the coast of our haven, in the boat of our future, sail all over the world with confidence,” he urged the graduates while reminding them that they have been given an opportunity that might be one of the most important and precious in their life: “knowledge and education at its best, according to the highest quality standards”.
The screening of a video on Education City, specially produced for the convocation, was followed by three representatives, each from the four universities, depositing select articles in a time capsule, which is to be opened after 10 years.
HH Sheikha Mozah then deposited a signed list of all the distinguished leaders and special guests from around the world that attended the ceremony.
Qatar Foundation president Mohamed Fathy Saoud and Abdulla al-Thani presented rings to the graduating students.
“Our gathering here today to celebrate the graduation of a new generation of students is the realisation of our vision,” HH Sheikha Mozah said.
“We are still at the beginning but today is an important step for Education City in that our graduates will now go forth and use their knowledge to help Qatar grow by contributing to our national development,” she added.
In between, the Qatar Faculty of Islamic Studies (QFIS) dean Hatem al-Karanshawi spoke about the institution which was established in Education City in September 2007.
“The vision of QFIS is to become a focus of thought and dialogue that leads research and debate in all that relates to Islam and Muslims, be that contemporary concerns, or issues of heritage,” he said.
QFIS, which presently has 39 students from 16 nationalities in three academic programmes, is to establish research centres, the first of which will be named after Qatar-based Islamic scholar Sheikh Yousuf al-Qaradawi, the president of the International Association of Muslim Scholars, as designated by HH Sheikha Mozah.
“The El Qaradawi Centre for Research in Moderate Thought will be followed by other centres that will work on areas of research such as the study of contemporary Muslim societies, Islamic urban planning and architecture, Islamic governance, Islamic financial product and environment issues,” al-Karanshawi added.
For over a decade, Qatar Foundation has been engaged in a ground-breaking project to bring some of the world’s top universities to Education City, in line with its founder HH the Emir’s vision to provide an elite educational environment in the heart of the Gulf.
Education City, described as an academic hub, is now home to six universities, with Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar and Northwestern University in Qatar being the two most recent additions.
| Published: Monday, 5 May, 2008, 02:54 AM Doha Time |
By Bonnie James 
Thirteen members of WCMC-Q’s first batch of medical graduates
QATAR is all set for a landmark achievement in its development saga when the first batch of 15 home-trained doctors graduate from Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar at a grand ceremony on Thursday. “This is a moment of history,” WCMC-Q dean Dr Daniel R Alonso told Gulf Times. This is also a first for an American university to graduate medical students outside the US, he explained.
The Class of 2008 represents seven nationalities, with the Qatari flag being held high by three young women and a man, and others from countries as diverse as the US, Nigeria, India, Syria, Bosnia, and Palestine.
WCMC-Q offers a six-year integrated programme, comprising a two-year pre-medical course followed by the four-year medical programme leading to the Cornell University Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree.
The first pre-medical batch opened in fall 2002 with 27 students. Of these, 14 secured admission to the first batch of the medical programme and two came from outside.
Of the 16, only one is not graduating this week and that student, pursuing some research for now, would graduate next year, public affairs director Mike Vertigans clarified.
The graduates are preparing to specialise in select areas, ranging from radiology to surgery to teaching and research, once they complete the residency training in hospitals in the US and in Qatar.
Qatari Khaled al-Khelaifi, who decided to become a doctor after having an appendectomy as a child, plans to do a residency in surgery in Doha and the US.
“The feeling of satisfaction, that you have made a patient better through surgery, is so amazing,” said the 25-year old, who is also involved in clinical and statistical research with surgery department vice-chair Bakr Nour.
Al-Khelaifi is determined to settle and work in Qatar. “I have a goal to come back and serve my country,” he declared.
Bosnian Amila Husic, 24, who attended Qatar Academy along with fellow Bosnians Dino Terzic and Vildana Omerovic before coming to WCMC-Q, has found that as a plastic surgeon, she can influence lives of people in a unique way, both physically and psychologically.
Terzic, 25, is set to do a residency programme in neurosurgery at the University of Minnesota at Minneapolis. He hopes to combine a surgical practice with research and teaching.
Omerovic, 24, hopes her upcoming residency in general surgery in the US will set her on a career path of an academic surgeon and researcher.
Born and raised mainly in India, Ibrahim Sultan, 22, hopes to specialise in either cardiac or bariatric surgery, apart from being an active teacher and researcher. Ultimately, Sultan hopes to return to WCMC-Q to help create and build on post-graduate education and residency programmes for medical graduates in Qatar.
Palestinian Subhi J al-Aref, who will graduate with honours in research, had received a Tamayoz Award, from Harvard Medical School’s Dubai Center, in 2007 for research that has implications for organ transplants and cystic fibrosis treatment.
Al-Aref, 22, plans to do a residency in internal medicine, with an eye towards possibly specialising in cardiology.
Nigerian Ayobami Omosola, 24, who was always interested in becoming a doctor, in part because she admired her mother’s work as a nurse, prefers internal medicine.
Her next stop will be New York for residency and fellowship training. Eventually, Omosola hopes to establish a practice in an academic hospital back home.
Jehan al-Rayahi, who will represent her class as WCMC-Q’s first commencement speaker, wants to specialise in radiology, a field that combines everything she enjoys most, especially physics.
After her residency, she will return home to Doha to contribute to the progress of health care. Al-Rayahi, 22, also has found a passion for teaching, whether it is in the lecture halls or in the hospital.
Osama Alsaied, 23, plans to complete his postgraduate training in Doha and the US and return to Qatar to practice as an academic surgeon.
“What attracted me was the level of responsibility and the decision making on quick grounds, you have think on your feet,” he said.
American Sharon King, 25, had always wanted to be a family physician in a rural community. She had planned on medical school in the US until a chemistry professor suggested she consider Qatar.
“The chance for an American medical education in a foreign setting intrigued me,” she said while recalling that she has learnt so much by studying in a new culture and a new place.
King, who did her undergraduate studies at Eastern University in Pennsylvania, also saw her stint in Qatar as a chance to dispel “false impressions in the US, where so many think the outside world is scary”.
She is all set to head back to the US for residency training and eventually small-town practice.
Kunali K Dalal, an Indian who grew up in Doha, plans to specialise in obstetrics and gynaecology, and hopes to return to Qatar after post-graduate training abroad. “I have a vested interest in this country,” the 23-year old said.
Pakistani American Ali Farooki, 24, hopes to teach and practise anaesthesiology, critical care medicine and pain medicine. He plans to return to Qatar after completing post-graduate training in the US.
Qatari Aisha Yousuf, 24, hopes to return and practice obstetrics/gynaecology, after residency and fellowship training in the US. “I like helping women, understanding their health and concerns,” she said.
Fellow Qatari Mashal al-Khulaifi, wishes to specialise in anaesthesiology and plans to work as a clinician, researcher and teacher, after post-graduate training in the US.
Rana Biary, 23, is attracted to emergency medicine because of the diversity in both patients and diseases. She plans to be involved in clinical teaching and would eventually like to practice at an academic hospital in the US, her birthplace.
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| Shoppers at the Carrefour outlet at Villagio in Doha yesterday. (Qassim Rahmatullah) |
Doha • Carrefour hypermarket chain in Qatar has decided to fix the prices of 50 food items until the end of 2008 in a bid to counter the rising inflation, and in the larger interest of the consumers.
Carrefour, which has three outlets in Doha, is the first retail chain in Qatar to take this initiative, and said it was committed to providing basic amenities at controlled prices for a whole year.
Food prices have been the biggest casualty of global inflation. Yet, Carrefour has decided to restrain the prices of some food items, irrespective of the rise in costs from any of its suppliers or other third parties.
The company also said it would continue its efforts to sustain its reputation as the lowest priced retailer in the weekly list of 46 Fast Moving Consumer Goods published by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce on their website. The list is a comparison of costs of 31 food items and 15 other items among existing retail outlets in Doha.
Carrefour's decision to fix prices emphasises its promise to provide value for money and the priority it places on its customers, the company said in a statement yesterday.
Skyrocketing food prices has been an issue of major concern in many countries, including Qatar which pegs its currency to the dollar.
Inflation in Qatar soared to a record high of 13.74 percent in December, and food, beverage and tobacco prices climbed 10.5 percent in the fourth quarter last year.
In a bid to curb inflation, the United Arab Emirates said on Tuesday a supermarket chain had agreed to fix the prices of 56 basic food items at 2007 levels. The UAE’s Union Cooperative Society, French Supermarket retailer Carrefour, and Abu Dhabi-based Lulu Hypermarket Group have agreed to fix prices of some food items to rein in inflation.
On Tuesday, Lulu Hypermarket in Qatar said it was trying its best to control prices of basic food products directly imported by Lulu such as rice, meat, vegetables, edible oil and breakfast cereals. When contacted yesterday, Food Palace said they have no plans to control prices, while Q-Mart, Shoprite and Megamart have not yet issued any statements.
Tannourine mineral water 1.5lx6 11.00
Capri-sonne orange 200mlx10 8.25
Mirinda orange 2.25l 3.25
Barbican non alcoholic beer apple 330mlx6 9.75
Highland sparkling water 0.5l 2.25
Persil powder detergent low foam 2.5kg 18.25
Pearl detergent high foam 4kg 19.75
Pearl dishwashing liquid peach 1l 5.50
Kleenex toilet roll yellow 6pcs 11.00
Nivea visage cleansing milk dry 200 18.00
Huggies diapers xl 17pcs 22.50
N1 pasta chifferini 1kg 4.75
N1 pasta conchiglie 1kg 4.75
N1 pasta fusilli 1kg 4.75
N1 pasta penne rigate 1kg 4.75
N1 pasta spaghetti 1kg 4.75
N1 pasta vermicelli 1kg 4.75
N1 foul small beans 40r 1.50
N1 hummos tahina 400gr 1.50
Puck cream plain 170gr 2.75
Ferrero rocher x30 pcs 30.75
Al momtaz evaporated milk 170gr 1.50
Similac advance 1 iq 900gr 53.00
Affco mushroom piece & slices 425gr 4.75
Cortas hummos tahina 185gr 2.00
Cleopatra egyptian rice 2kg grade a 8.00
Poppins corn flake 500gr 16.00
Najjar classic coffee 200gr 11.00
Cadbury cocoa powder 125gr 5.25
Redlabel loose tea 450gr 11.00
Tiffany glucose milk&honey 60grx12 6.25
Bahlsen biscuits delice 100gr 5.75
Kinder bueno 43grx3 5.00
Delmonte pineaple slice syrup 234g 2.75
White flour 2kg 8.00
Al ansari sugar 5 kg 13.50
Nada tomato paste 135grx8 6.75
Sipa vermicelli 453gr 3.50
Best pistachios can 450gr 31.75
Lay’s potato chips ketchup 14grx25 11.50
Nutella hazelnut choco spread 200gr 7.25
Sandwich bread 850 gr - home made 3.75
Arirang milk bread 750 g 5.25
Florida juice orange 1.8l 13.25
Nada fresh milk low fat 1l 5.25
Nada uht milk low fat 1lx4 13.75
Nada white spread cheese 500gr 10.75
Al kabeer shrimps for cooking 1kg 19.75
Sadia chicken livers 450gr 3.75
Carrefour french fries 1kg 5.75
