Doha News

In a bid to address “enormous untapped demand” for a more integrated shopping experience here, UrbaCon General Contracting has announced plans to build the $824 million (QR3 billion) Mall of Qatar.

The three-story mall is slated to open in September 2015 and will be located at the intersection of Al Rayyan Highway and Celebration Road, close to Education City. The mall is expected to have its own Metro station and parking for 7,000 cars. 

Construction on the project began last year, with the demolishing of existing buildings on the site.

‘Fulfilling demand’

Developers say they expect the facility to include a major hypermarket, multiplex, five department stores and at least 20 restaurants, although none of the space has been rented yet. 

However, a scale model of the mall and a leasing campaign will kick off next week at Cityscape Qatar.

Size-wise, it will be a third larger than Villaggio, but significantly smaller than rival Doha Festival City, which is due to be completed in 2016.

In terms of breadth of retail offerings, it sounds similar in scope to Villaggio, with a dedicated luxury retail wing and cafes and restaurants making use of what the designers call “an indoor streetscape.” A luxury hotel is also expected to be built onsite.

For those thinking that Qatar, which just saw the opening of Ezdan Mall in Gharafa, already has enough shopping malls, UCC officials say:

“We are launching the Mall of Qatar at a time when there is clearly enormous untapped demand for quality integrated shopping, dining and entertainment facilities in the country,” Shem Krey, Deputy Managing Director, Mall of Qatar, told journalists at a launch event yesterday. 

“Our research has shown there is a significant amount of capacity that has to be met in the retail area and our Mall will be a major step in fulfilling demand.” 

Thoughts?

Credit: Image courtesy of UCC website

Responding to growing speculation and criticism over a sudden editorial decision to delete an opinion piece about Israel and Zionism from its website, Al Jazeera English has reversed course, saying “we should have done better.”

The piece in question, written by Columbia University Professor Joseph Massad and titled, ”The last of the Semites,” was published on May 14 and then taken down on May 19 without any explanation.

Notably though, it was received with angry cries of “anti-semitism” by US and Israeli commentators, including The Atlantic’s Jeffery Goldberg.

Over the past few days, the network has now caught flak for the removal of the article, both inside and outside the newsroom. Speaking to Doha News, a number of Al Jazeera employees expressed their dismay at the heavy-handed decision, saying the directive came down from above.

Mindful of the criticism, AJE reposted the article on its website last night with a note to readers from Imad Musa, the channel’s recently appointed Head of Online, who said:

Al Jazeera has always demanded transparency from the centres of power around the world, and we demand it from ourselves as well…

We should have handled this better, and we have learned lessons that will enable us to maintain the highest standards of journalistic integrity.

Hours before AJE apologized, Guardian columnist Glenn Greenwald posted an article criticizing AJE’s lack of transparency with regards to Massad’s article. He wrote:

“How can a media outlet possibly publish an Op-Ed, quietly delete it six days later in response to controversy, and then fail to utter a single word about what happened?”

…Who made the decision to take the extraordinary step of deleting the Op-Ed, and what was the rationale for doing so?”

“… Refusing to comment on secret actions of this significance is the province of corrupt politicians, not journalists. It’s behavior that journalists should be condemning, not emulating.”

Electronic Intifada co-founder and pro-Palestinian activist Ali Abunimah has also been loud in his criticism of AJE for removing the original article.

In a story about the debacle, Abunimah identified Al Jazeera America’s Executive Director for International Operations Ehab Shihabi, a Palestinian American, as the manager who ordered the article be taken down, apparently over fears it could hurt the network’s reputation in the run-up to the launch of its new US-based channel.

The assertion was confirmed to Doha News by an Al Jazeera Network source, saying such a precedent should not be allowed to stand. Though Shihabi did not technically have the authority to order the article removed, those on the website apparently acquiesced to his directive. 

In a post in Arabic on his Facebook page, Al Jazeera Arabic commentator Azmi Bishara minced no words on the issue:

“If the price of Al Jazeera’s entry into the United States means its submission to Zionist dictates, then this means that America will be moving into Al Jazeera and not the reverse,” he said, as per Electronic Intifada’s translation.

No launch date has been set for Al Jazeera’s American network launch, but employees say it is expected this fall.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Mohamed Nanabhay

Thirty-year-old Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani has become the first Qatari ever to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.

Sheikh Mohammed, who goes by Moe, reached the top of the world’s highest mountain this morning, at 7:15am Qatar time, flying the Reach Out to Asia flag.

@moealthani &his team just did it&reached #Eeverest Summit well done Shk Mohammed on.fb.me/14Qa7bQ #qatar #doha twitter.com/reachouttoasia…

— reachouttoasia (@reachouttoasia)

May 22, 2013

He made the ascent as part of a four person group, called Arabs with Altitude, which has been trying to raise $1m for ROTA’s educational projects in Nepal. Moe is Brand Ambassador for the charity.

This morning, Raed Zidan also became the first Palestinian man to reach the top.

Their fellow team member, 27-year-old Raha Moharrak, became the first Saudi Arabian woman to scale the peak over the weekend. 

Seven mountain challenge

Moe is no stranger to mountaineering. His Everest ascent marks the end of an odyssey to climb seven of the highest mountains in the world - Mont Blanc (Europe), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Vinson (Antarctica), Mount Elbrus (Europe) Mount Kosciusko (Australia) and Mount Aconcagua (South America.)

Speaking after his ascent of Mount Elbrus last year, Moe explained what motivates him:

“I am inspired by causes that motivate people to challenge themselves, to change their perceptions or the way things have always been in the search for something better. With each climb, I move out of my comfort zone but come closer to becoming the individual I aspire to be.”

Moe’s climb is being filmed by Qatar TV. 

We’ll update this post as soon as we have a photo of him at the peak. 

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo from Arabs with Altitude on Twitter

Amid Qatar’s efforts to reduce its dependence on imported food, the government is cracking down on the use of farmland for reasons other than farming, Al Arab reports.

The news comes as Qatar prepares for legislation (Law Number 2 of 2013) that was passed earlier this year imposing stricter penalties on violators to take effect next month, the newspaper said. 

After the grace period expires at the end of May, those found using farms for purposes other than farming, i.e. as hideouts for runaway workers, automobile workshops, labor camps, photo studios, gymnasiums or restaurants, could be served a six-month jail term and/or a fine of QR100,000.

The Peninsula translates:

The government allots land in arable areas of the country for farming and provides financial and other support as part of its plans to boost local agricultural production but the effort seems to be in vain.

There are an estimated 1,400 farms in the country and the Ministry of Environment’s agricultural department late last year detected some 71 of them that were found misusing the land. 

Meanwhile, Qatar’s food needs are rising faster than any other country in the Gulf. But last year, the nation produced only 7 percent of what was consumed within its borders, the GCC Food Industry Report found in March.

Qatar has established a National Food Security Program that it hopes will all but eliminate its dependency on imports within the next decade or so, but only 6 percent of the country’s land is farmable. Thus, the jury is still out on whether Qatar’s ambitious plan will work.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Enda Nasution

The Sheraton Doha will not begin a refurbishment until at least the end of 2014, during which it will close in parts, a spokeswoman at Katara Hospitality has told Doha News. 

The information ends confusion over the iconic building’s future, which was sparked in March, when Hamad Abdulla Al Mulla, CEO of Katara Hospitality, told Al Sharq that the hotel group was planning to spend up to $192.2 million rejuvenating the 31-year-old Sheraton.

Work on the hotel will be carried out in three phases. During that time, parts of the building will be closed, but other pieces will remain open, said the spokeswoman, whose company owns the Sheraton.

The entire renovation project is projected to take two years to complete.

Phases

The first part of the hotel to close will be the main building, including all bedrooms, lobby, restaurants and bars. 

Once this phase has been completed, attention will be turned to the Sheraton’s popular Convention Centre. Work is not expected to begin on this stage until the much-delayed Doha Convention Center and Tower opposite the hotel is complete.

The third and final part of the renovation work will focus on the hotel’s recreational facilities.

Plans for the entire renovation are at the “very early stages” and no contractor has yet been appointed to carry out the work, the spokeswoman said.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Jungle_boy